User:Bblsiz/sandbox

Graffiti in Hawaii

The majority of buildings and walls in Hawaii are covered in graffiti, and it has been an issue in Hawaii, as the rates of documented graffiti cases have increased massively. Graffiti is illegal drawings or paintings that are drawn into unauthorized public space by an individual or group. There are many graffiti in Hawaii that are seen as art. Conversely, there is much more graffiti around Hawaii that impacts views of a location or harms the environment itself. Graffitis is overall toxic to the environment as it emits fumes into the air that encourages global warming. As the graffiti is drawn onto public or private property, it is illustrated as vandalism. For this reason, there are many issues in removing the graffiti from a property because it takes so much time and work to remove or erase the graffiti by hand. Graffiti issues include environmental harm, property destruction, health problems, and public disorder in Hawaii.

Environmental Problems

Graffiti is reasonable to argue that it is toxic for the environment as graffiti is drawn or created by spray paint. Many claim that graffiti is unsafe to our surroundings, including air quality. Aerosol sprays, which are commonly used for graffitis, emit volatile organic compounds that destroy the earth's ozone layers. In addition to coupled with, when these volatile organic compounds tend to be exposed to sunlight, the volatile organic compounds interact with nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide to create a cloud of smog. According to the CMM Group, smogs can excite disease in plants, impede seed production, and hinder fertilization.

Furthermore, heatwaves and hot climates can aggravate photochemical reactions and lead to increasing low-level ozone. Volatile organic compounds equally promote global warming as methane is emitted when volatile organic compounds are exposed to the environment. Using spray paints is equivalent to increasing the earth's global temperature by trapping heat within the atmosphere. From the cause of volatile organic compounds, acid rain is released into the atmosphere. Acid rain is created by the chemical nitrogen oxide mixed with water. As the water reacts to nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide, the pH level tends to increase, disrupting national habitats.

Property Destruction

Many claim that graffiti is vandalism, which is property destruction. In Hawaii, you can find primarily murals that cover streets. Although, some roads in neighborhoods or places like Chinatown have streets and buildings covered with graffiti. For instance, Chinatown has many homeless, and the graffiti adds to more of an unsafe image in the environment. As a result, graffiti vandalism is a crime because it affects the community and surroundings. According to Khon 2, Kauai suffers from increased graffiti vandalism and will have harsher punishments for people who violate the law for damaging property. In addition, the Kauai Police department pronounced the recent damages, which are graffiti at a beach park, Waimea swimming pool, and public restrooms. The Kauai Police Department equally added saying, “What would have been a class c felony would now be a class b felony, which could mean more time spent in jail. Criminal property damage is potentially considered a petty misdemeanor, but would now elevate to a class b felony, which means up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.”

File:Stopsign graffiti May 18.jpg

Fig.1) Graffiti on a stop sign in Kaka'ako

Furthermore, graffiti on parks affect people who try to use the community restrooms or skateparks because of graffiti removal. The removal of graffiti is costly, and it would be all responsibility on a person's property when the person who committed vandalism is not caught. People and communities are getting impacts on using parks and public bathrooms because of this graffiti. As there is graffiti in public restrooms and parks, the communities or people who clean the bathrooms and parks tend to close their doors to clean the graffiti. The closing of parks and public restrooms have a negative impact on people who use the park daily, skateboarding, running, or so much more. Because Hawaii is a place of tourism, it would also significantly impact the community if parks were closed because of graffiti vandalism.

Health Issues

The use of graffiti furthermore impacts human health. According to the toxins included inside a spray paint used for graffiti, many chemicals are harmful to the human body. Research from Medicine.Net has found that it is hazardous to inhale paint; the following symptoms are intoxication, slurred speech, chemical odor, drowsiness, loss of inhibition, and irritation. Furthermore, pregnant women would be most affected by the inhalation of spray paint because it may cause developmental damage to the fetus. Spray paint also contains acetone, which is strictly harmful to human health. When a human body is exposed to acetone, it may lead to kidney, liver, and nerve damage. Some researchers say that acetone may likewise cause cancer in the body. Volatile organic compounds, which are the main toxins in spray paint, cause severe health issues like headaches, dizziness, memory loss, and visual impairment. The health issues are most likely to happen when volatile organic compounds are inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

Public Disorders

Public disorder can also be involved in graffiti. In Hawaii, during the 1990s, the first Hawaii media reported gang activity. Graffiti, theft, and drug-related crime were involved in the gang. More recently, in 2007, there was a warning about increasing gang activity in Kahili. In Hawaii News Now, they show an image of where the parking signs are covered with graffiti. In Hawaii, people can commonly see graffiti over parking meters, parking signs, and so on. The action of destroying these resources shows the lack of care in the community. People are concerned about these gang activities, along with signs of graffiti on public areas. Loitering is also involved in public disorder, leading to destroying an image of a particular place. For instance, if a person is standing outside a shop and starts to draw graffiti illegally right in front of the door, the customers would not get into the store. Moreover, people would not want to go to the store because of whatever image the person has created. In a situation like this, if this ever happens in Hawaii, it would affect several tourists to avoid going to stores and would impact economically.