Transforming Hawai`i

Governor Abercrombie Talks About the issues

2011-07-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

By Henry Curtis
On June 23, 2011 Governor Neil Abercrombie hosted a community forum at Washington Middle School.

Permits and Regulations

Should bad projects be stopped? Should the public be able to influence agencies to reject bad projects?

Governor Abercrombie: “Where this is concerned, where business is concerned, we have to make sure that we, don't put artificial barriers up for permitting …to see that the permits are not a barrier or an obstacle but that the permits are there for what it's intended to do, which is to facilitate good projects. The problems with regulations that are seen as just ways to stop everything, is that it ends up stopping good projects as well ... So we are going to take a look at all of those rules and regulations that are actually stopping us from progressing.”

Reappointing Resignees

The Governor recently asked for Board and Commission members appointed by the previous administration and unanimously confirmed by the State Senate to resign.

Governor Abercrombie: “Why do you think it is that I am talking about trying to get Boards and Commissions that are going to reflect the changes that I would like to see. It's not because I'm characterizing those serving now, I might even appoint them back if I had the opportunity. That's not the issue.”

Homelessness

Should soup kitchens only give free food to those who are living in a shelter? Should they require proof of residence? Should they be prevented from feeding people who wander in from parks and streets?

Governor Abercrombie: “Its difficult in a macro micro-sense, to necessarily see that progress is being made every day, but that's what we're doing, that's one of the reasons why we had to make a decision about, saying to people its not a good idea to feed, people, in the park, its not a good idea to aid and abet people in continuing to have the disease they have, that they have a mental illness, a chronic condition that they have to come to grips with, you have to take them out of that context in order to make a change, so that's why we have the hotlines out there, the numbers that can be called, we have coordinated in an unprecedented way over the last 60 days, we're not up to the 90 days yet, with the service organizations that are out there, so that we have actually prevented more people from going into homelessness, we've been able to stop some of that.”

Pineapples

Governor Abercrombie: “We're going to change the diet around, we're going to be doing things like trying to purchase, right now believe it or not pineapple is still part of the landscape, the native cultural landscape in Hawai`i. We should be purchasing pineapples for our schools, for our hospitals, for the prison system, for our public facilities right here in Hawai`i. We have to change some of the rules around.”

Utilizing Unimproved Areas

Governor Abercrombie: “I just finished the conversation yesterday morning with Secretary [of the U.S. Department of the Interior] Salazar ...The other thing the Secretary is very very interested in aiding and assisting us with, and [Lt. Governor] Brian [Schatz] will be working on this, is the, I almost said the ring, but what I'm talking about is the walk, we are know about Kamehameha's walk that saved Kamehameha. All along to coast of Kona from Hapuna all the way down past Pu`uhonua past Honokohau Harbor there's federal parks, there’s state parks, there's hotel entrances, there's harbors, there's agriculture, there's recreational areas. We're going to connect those up and we're going to connect them up in such a way, that you'll be, [able to] literally walk from one end to the other and not have to go to a hotel. The hotels going to help us with that. Because they understand that is part of the idea of Hawai`i. That makes it different from tourist destinations from the rest of the world.

So I can assure you whether it is, whether it is seen to that we, I don't even want to say restore, because it wasn't necessarily available before. We're going to make available, to our people, literally, the Kona Coast, to be able to transverse it as human beings, rather than be isolated in an automobile, and just driving from one hotel to another, or one business activity to another.”

Ka`ena Point

Over the past several decades there have been intense fights over Ka`ena Point. Some want to keep it the way it is, an unimproved wild area. Others want to preserve it by offering amenities that will enable large numbers of people to visit it.

Governor Abercrombie: “We're going to try to do the same at Ka`ena Point, on this island, to see to it that it is preserved, and that it is utilized in a way that reignites our sense of aloha for one another and the blessing that we have for living in paradise.”

Inmate Food

There are several ways of reducing the cost of housing inmates. These include providing cheap foods lacking nutritional value, limiting portion size, and eliminating drug treatment programs. Thin inmates are not always healthy inmates.

Governor Abercrombie: “Jodie Hirata is here tonight, the head of our Department of Public Safety. I can tell you right now when you see stories in the papers about unwanted weight loss, well that's a new affliction to me by the way. I don't know about the struggle you have, but unwanted weight loss is something I could really get or try to figure out.”

Exporting Inmates

The Hawai`i Government just signed an agreement with CCA for the continued export of Hawai`i inmates. The new three-year agreement (with two one-year extensions) will continue the practice of housing inmates abroad and justifying it with shoddy and inaccurate financial accounting methods.

Governor Abercrombie: “Very shortly we'll be coming out with a complete prospectus for you to consider with regard to new prison facilities to make sure we keep all of the prisoners, we don't want more prisoners in Hawai`i, but if somebody has to go away we want to keep them in Hawai`i, so that we can try and keep the families together and give them a chance to straighten their lives out they going to be growing their own food.”

Agriculture

Donalyn Dela Cruz (Governor’s Press Secretary): “Another big issue that came up was growing our own food, importation. ...There are going to be a lot of questions on this issue you can see. ... How can we get more produce, local produce, in our grocery stores? And to that I'll ask the other question as well. Very similar. What's being done to make changes in Hawai`i from being an importer to an exporter?”

Can we grow our own food? Can we eliminate the huge rains on our economy, exporting dollars for foreign food?

Governor Abercrombie: “We'll I start work from the last backwards. We are doing some exports now, niche industries right at the moment, that are out there. What we want to do with the Department of Business and Economic Development is, working right now, we're working with the Department of Consumer Affairs, and so on that has some of the regulations coming around public television, public access, and working on internet issues and broadband issues.

What we intend to do, is see to it that our agricultural industries, which are entrepreneurial and for the most part niche at the moment, are able to be out there. People want coffee from Hawai`i, not just Kona coffee by the way anymore, Ka`u coffee, Moloka`i coffee, Hawai`i coffee. I, we are making tremendous progress in these industries, farmers elsewhere that are providing a living for people I cannot tell you the number of young people who want to farm, but they have to be able to do it in a business-like fashion.

As my friend Richard Ha on the Big Island said to me over and over again, who's a farmer who is growing many of the tomatoes that your enjoying and was a pioneer in that effort. He said that ‘if your not, if your farming and your not in the business of farming your gardening.’ Nothing wrong with gardening. Nothing wrong with that.”

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Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

Pro & Con for Big Wind & Inter-Island High Voltage Transmission Line

2011-05-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

By Henry Curtis

Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI)

The Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) is not an energy agreement. If it were, then “clean energy” would be defined somewhere. It isn’t. Not in the agreement and not in state law.

The HCEI is an agreement between former Governor Linda Lingle and HECO that was signed just after oil hit its all time high in the summer of 2008.

The former Governor wanted to reward her financial backers. Castle & Cooke funded mostly Republicans. They wrote large checks to Republicans and also gave small amounts to a large number of Democrats. First Wind gave a minority share of their Maui wind projects to a key Lingle supporter.

HECO wanted economic security during a period of rising and volatile energy prices. HECO feared that as the price of oil rose they would have to raise the cost of electricity, which would encourage more people to leave the grid, which would require spreading the utility’s fixed costs over a smaller rate base, which would require raising rates again, encouraging even more customers to leave the grid, and so on and so forth. They feared a death spiral.

Competitive Bidding

HECO initiated a Competitive Bidding process by publishing a Request for Proposals for 100MW of renewable energy for O`ahu.

In response, Castle & Cooke proposed 400MW of wind power on Lana`i, while First Wind proposed 400 MW of wind power on Moloka`i and smaller wind farms in Kahuku and Haleiwa.

HECO, Castle & Cooke, First Wind & Governor Lingle proposed a backroom deal whereby Castle & Cooke & First Wind would each build a 200MW wind system on Neighbor Islands, connected to O`ahu via a high voltage undersea cable.

The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) noted that this rigged bidding process did not conform to the spirit of the Competitive Bidding process, but accepted the proposal anyway. Commissioner Kondo dissented. (He has since left the PUC and now heads the Hawai`i Ethics Commission).

HECO is traditionally the retirement home for senior Democratic Party officials. Senator Dan Inouye saw a way of funneling pork via the military for this project by insisting that the cable come ashore on O`ahu at either the Pearl Harbor Naval Complex or the Kaneohe Marine Corps Station.

Gubernatorial candidates immediately lined up behind the project

Gubernatorial Candidate Neil Abercrombie: “I have said that becoming independent from foreign oil is Hawaii’s most important energy endeavor. I believe wind projects are part of the energy independence for Hawaii we envision. Projects like Big Wind need to move forward with the full understanding and commitment of the communities that will bear the largest burden of these projects. We must ensure that all people share in the challenges and benefits of our moves toward energy independence in a way that is fair and equitable. We cannot shy away from, or worse, exploit divisions and conflict. We need to join hands with respect, listen to each other, and move forward together without undue delay, through community-based initiatives and public education.”

Gubernatorial Candidate James Duke Aiona: “The Big Wind project is one component of ensuring a clean energy future, which includes the expansion of wind farms, the development of an undersea cable, and the utility infrastructure upgrades that would allow the integration of a renewable energy electrical grid. By providing a statewide electrical grid and a more flexible and secure system, an undersea interisland cable will help our state move toward a clean energy future. The cable, and the Big Wind project, will help improve our energy security by reducing Hawaii's dependence on the volatile global petroleum market.”

Gubernatorial Candidate Mufi Hannemann: “Big Wind (i.e., large-scale wind farms) remains one of the most cost-efficient, mature alternative energy technologies available for development in Hawaii. We are blessed to have multiple renewable energy sources to tap into, with wind being one of the most reliable and cost-efficient. In order to stay on track with the state’s energy initiative of establishing renewable energy sources to replace our dependence of imported oil (which I support), we must continue to promote the adoption of Big Wind projects.”

Moloka`i and Lana`i residents became the first to express opinions. Some felt they could get a community benefits package. The Moloka`i Community Service Council wanted the wind farm to help them buy Moloka`i Ranch. Others on both islands objected to the destruction of their `aina to power O`ahu. Lana`i residents noted that Castle & Cooke has not honored past agreements with the community.

Self-Sufficiency

The simplest way for O`ahu to deal with its own energy issues is to require solar water heaters on all buildings, to require that hotel windows open to trade winds, that solar dryers (clothes lines) are permitted in all condo and town houses and that rooftops become a resource for housing renewable energy facilities. None of this is occurring.

HECO spent 3 years seeking to get a photovoltaic panel on their Ward Avenue facility. They asked Hoku (the recipient of massive 221 taxpayer subsidies) to install it. Eventually HECO gave up. The roof is available and unused.

Responses to the Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Notice

Life of the Land (December 2010): “The inter-island cable will be the longest transmission line in the state, and the installation of 400 MW of wind will be Hawaii’s largest single energy project ever brought on-line at one time. The proposal is the second multi-island energy project to be extensively studied, and if built will be the first of its kind in existence in Hawai`i. If successful it will transform Hawai`i. It will merge separate island grids into a unified multi-island grid. At the same time, as a result of its cost and the size of the renewable systems being planned, it will displace other alternatives that might achieve the same thing, with different technologies, different costs, and with different winners and losers. This is known as opportunity cost (the cost of passing up the next best choice when making a decision). Legally speaking, an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is supposed to analyzes the various alternatives. The required alternatives section is missing in this Hawai‘i Interisland Renewable Energy Program (HIREP) Environmental Impact Statement Preparation Notice (EISPN). Rather than the required “hard look” at alternatives, the EISPN does not even engage in a soft look.”

PRO

Windward Ahupua`a Alliance (May 3, 2011): “I support the interisland cable and am glad that it is on the Gov’s short list. If it weren’t so serious, it would be funny that so many so-called environmentalists oppose wind or solar or biofuels while pretending to be solid opponents of fossil fuels. What do you plan to use? Hamsters running on wheels?”

CONCERNS & OPPOSITION

Maui Tomorrow Foundation (April 4, 2011): “Maui Tomorrow Foundation agrees with the statements below from DBEDT Office of Planning and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that alternatives must be explored.”

Ka Lei Maile Alii Hawaiian Civic Club (April 4, 2011): “Ka Lei Maile Alii Hawaiian Civic Club opposes the generation of power on Lanai and Molokai for use by people on Oahu. Our club is located on Oahu. We support the generation of power on Lanai and Molokai for the use of the people who live there.”

KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance (April 4, 2011): “KAHEA supports renewable energy but opposes SB367.”

Friends of Lanai (April 3, 2011): "Energy conservation on O’ahu and throughout our state would get us much closer to our clean energy goals."

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA, Feb 28, 2011): “We recommend analysis of additional alternatives as early as possible”

U.S. Dept of the Interior: Fish and Wildlife Service (Feb 25, 2011): “The NOI [EIS Notice of Intent] does not indicate that an appropriate range of alternatives will be analyzed”

U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (Feb 28, 2011): “We advice a precautionary approach”

State of Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) Office of Planning (March 1, 2011): “It is necessary for the draft EIS to explore alternatives.”

DLNR State Historic Preservation Division (Feb 23, 2011): “Because this is a programmatic EISPN, it does not include specific information … We believe this approach is problematic.”

Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA, Feb 22, 2011): "OHA has strong reservations based on this early phase of the HIREP programmatic plan.”

Maui County (February 28, 2011): "In our opinion …resources in the vicinity of Oahu have been arbitrarily excluded”

Historic Hawai`i Foundation (March 3, 2011): “HHP recommends that the EIS include alternatives”

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (March 1, 2011): “The EIS must explore reasonable alternatives”

Isaac Davis Hall, Esq. (March 1, 2011): “It is not possible to find that this methodology complies with NEPA [National Environmental Policy Act] or HEPA [Hawai`i Environmental Policy Act]”

Indigenous Consultants, LLC (Mililani B. Trask, Principal): “According to Molokai resident Walter Ritte, the entire Island of Molokai could be energy self-sufficient with 1 windmill but is being forced to accommodate over 100.″

American Bird Conservancy, Washington D.C. (March 1, 2011): “Wind power can be an important part of the solution to global warming. …The state of Hawai`i will be a particularly challenging place to develop wind energy because the islands are already the bird extinction capitol of the world.”

Conservation Council for Hawai'i (March 1, 2011) "NEPA and HEPA require a study of alternatives. ...The EIS should describe and analyze the conservation alternative, especially on O'ahu, which would clearly have less of an adverse impact to wildlife, habitat, and other natural resources."

The Nature Conservancy (March 1, 2011): "TNC has held a Conservation Easement at Kanepu`u, Lanai since 1991. The Kanepu`u Preserve was created to protect and enhance the dryland forest community that is now rare across the islands. Road access to development in the area should be routed around the Preserve to avoid potential negative impacts. The EIS currently does not include an explicit evaluation of invasive species impacts. Well trafficked roadways are well known to be a primary conduit for the transport and introduction of invasive species, and the EIS should address mitigation to prevent prolifieration of current invasive plant species found within the affected area and to prevent introduction of new invasive species to the affected area. Further, specific fire prevention measures should be implemented along roadways to prot ect the neighboring Preserve."

Blue Planet Foundation (March 1, 2011): "A thorough analysis of the clean energy alternatives to the interisland wind project should be thoroughly examined in the EIS. ...The potential for off-island wind is mentioned, but there is no further discussion about the impacts, benefits or drawbacks to wind development in areas offshore O‘ahu, nor whether off-shore wind development could be a viable alternative or supplemental source to the selected locations on Lana‘i and Moloka‘i."

Life of the Land (December 11, 2000): "The inter-island cable will be the longest transmission line in the state, and the installation of 400 MW of wind will be Hawaii’s largest single energy project ever brought on-line at one time. The proposal is the second multi-island energy project to be extensively studied, and if built will be the first of its kind in existence in Hawai`i. If successful it will transform Hawai`i. It will merge separate island grids into a unified multi-island grid. At the same time, as a result of its cost and the size of the renewable systems being planned, it will displace other alternatives that might achieve the same thing, with different technologies, different costs, and with different winners and losers. This is known as opportunity cost (the cost of passing up the next best choice when making a decision). ...Rather than the required “hard look” at alternatives, the EISPN does not even engage in a soft look."

Rep. Cynthia Thielen: "There's just been a mad dash to build this wind farm on Lanai and the undersea cable"

PROPONENTS

Castle & Cooke Hawai`i (February 28, 2011): "We concur with the many public comments expressed that the Programmatic EIS should include a thorough analysis of other commercially available renewable energy alternatives and their associated impacts."

First Wind (March 1, 2011): "While First Wind obviously has a vested interest in the Big Wind concept, we strongly believe the HIREP Wind PEIS should equally address scenarios that consider all wind energy deriving from a single island in Maui County (i.e., Lāna‘i, Moloka‘i or Maui), as well as scenarios of all wind energy deriving from a combination of generation on multiple islands, along with associated programmatic approaches to cable corridors and routes and landing site locations."

Pattern Renewables Development Company LLC and Bio-Logical Capital, LLC (March 1, 2011): "A cost-benefit analysis of wind energy development in Hawai’i should be performed. This effort will require a regional analysis of the comparative economic and environmental costs of wind energy development compared with other forms of electricity generation and conservation measures. Such an analysis will also require data on the impact of wind development on fossil fuel consumption, land and water resources, emissions from conventional power plants, and the impact on greenhouse gases."

Robbie Alm, HECO (January 22, 2011): "I like to suggest we all watch out for two things. One is NIMBYism. Everybody love renewable energy until it comes to them next door, and at that point it’s like oh I love renewable energy, but not that one. You know if we’re going to allow that to stop us were we won’t make it. We just won’t. If every, if every community does not see itself as being a part of this we really are going to get stuck where we are today. And so I think we should all congratulate the Kahuku-Laie community for accepting that wind farm out there. Good for them. ...and we need other communities to do that."

Hawaiian Electric (HECO) (April 5, 2011): "We believe that SB 367, SD 3, HD 1 provides a strong public policy foundation and regulatory structure to protect the public interest with the ultimate goal of interconnecting the separate island grids."

The Division of Consumer Advocacy (“Consumer Advocate”) (April 5, 2011): "The proposed 400 MW wind farms will be instrumental in keeping electricity prices in Hawaii at affordable and level rates. This legislation that sets the regulatory structure for the undersea cable that will connect the wind farms to Cahu is key to obtaining the necessary financing for the undersea cable."

Representative Mina Morita (January 22, 2011): "The recent announcements of the community benefit agreements by Castle & Cooke and Hawaiian Electric Company for the Lana`i wind project can open up real substantive discussions for both the Lana`i and Molokai communities, and so I think an important discussion to have in the Legislature is the State’s role in enforcing the terms and conditions of these agreements, especially when these agreements are contingent on the State’s permitting and approval process."

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Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

Mauna Kea

2011-02-17T17:45:00.000-08:00

Searching the Universe while Destroying the Earth

By Henry Curtis

The Geography

Imagine a single mountain 60 miles long and 30 miles wide, standing almost five miles tall. Mauna Loa (Long Mountain) is the second highest mountain in the world.

Mauna Loa is dwarfed by the world’s tallest mountain: Mauna Wakea (Mountain of Wakea) aka Mauna Kea (White Mountain). Like Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea rises from the seabed with less than half of its height above sea level.

The third tallest mountain in the chain is Haleakala (House of the Sun). Through eons of erosion Haleakala has shrunk in size, and the island it sat on (Maui Nui) has retreated under the ocean, creating the separate islands of Maui, Lana`i, Moloka`i, Kaho`olawe, etc.

Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala are tall peaks within a vast ocean; the Pacific Ocean covers nearly 1/3 of the Earth’s surface.

Mauna Kea is significantly taller than Mt. Everest. From seabed to mountain tip, Mauna Kea is only slightly less in elevation that from the bottom of the deepest point in the Mariana Trench to sea level.

Mauna Kea: Picture by SOEST

The Northern Pacific Ocean extends from just off the islands on the edge of North America (Vancouver Island, etc.) to the islands on the edge of Asia (Philippines, etc.), from islands below the North Pole (the Aleutians) to the Equator. In this vast Northern Pacific Ocean region there are only a few land masses, most of which are low to the horizon. They are mostly atolls and islets. By contrast, Hawai`i (4000 square miles) has 7 of the ten largest islands of the Northern Pacific Ocean and over half the land mass of this vast empty oceanic region.

The Southern Pacific Ocean has more land areas, and many famous islands, but is still fairly sparse in terms of the land area compared to the ocean area.

Snow and Ice

Snow falls on Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa and Haleakala, unlike most of the Pacific islands located on either side of the equator.

Snow on Mauna Kea: Picture by NASA

To find snow outside of Hawai`i one has to travel 2,000-6,000 miles away: east to California; southwest to Puncak Jaya, Indonesia; southwest to Aoraki, New Zealand; and southeast to Ojos del Salado, Chile.

The Native People

The Pacific Ocean was settled by oceanic explorers travelling by double hold canoes over a period of several thousand years. They explored and settled in areas from what is now called Alaska, California and Chile, and all of the islands of the North and South Pacific.

Reaching Hawai`i from Tahiti in the south, they discovered a very large mountain. They named it Mauna Wakea, named after the great sky god Wakea. A shortened form of Wakea is Kea which has a second meaning: the color white. Hence Mauna Kea, with its snow belts visible from the sea, is sometimes translated to be White Mountain.

Travelling 1000s of miles by canoe and beholding the majestic Mauna Kea with its snow belt must have been breathtaking for the first explorers.

Mauna Kea is considered the piko by Native Hawaiians, a place of great spiritual value. Wākea (the sky father) married Pāpā (the earth mother) and their first born son is Mauna Kea. The summit is a taboo place, a region for high chiefs and a realm of the gods. The mountain is also known as Mauna o Wākea.

Four water goddesses ruled over the mountains north of Kilauea: Poliahu is usually referred to as the snow goddess; Lilinoe to fog, mist and rain; Waiau to the lake; and Houpo o Kane (the breast of Kane) is usually referred to at that point on the south side of Mauna Kea where springs break out and a small stream of water runs down the mountainside - as Kepa Maly describes - like a trickle of milk from a breast.

Clarence Ching notes "to have observed the 'trickle' of water around a foot wide at its beginnings calmly working its way down the mountain for at least a hundred yards of so, between, on both sides, a narrow, green carpet of grass (maybe 2 feet wide on each side), is a marvel to behold."

Kealoha Pisciotta: “It’s referred to up here as an alpine desert. But it’s important to realize there is a lot of water on Mauna Kea. Sometimes when you walk around, there are places where you can hear the water and it’s running. You can hear big drips. ...Like the pure water captured in the piko of a taro leaf before it can reach the ground, the waters of Mauna Kea, suspended high above in the realm of the sky father, Wakea, is considered pure and life giving. ...It is so pristine, it is the perfect water. It was the water that was able to bring back life, to resurrect someone who had already passed. That is how sacred the water from Mauna Kea is considered. It is not just water in liquid form, but water as ice, water as snow and also water from Lake Waiau. These are all considered sacred waters, and any water that’s harvested directly from the sky. ...Sometimes people harvest as the snow is falling. They collect it because that really hasn’t touched anything. ...Mauna Kea was one of the few places in the tropics that was repeatedly covered by glaciers during the ice ages. An ice cap as much as 400 feet thick once covered about 26 square miles of the summit area. The effects of the last ice age are still felt on the mountain. Permafrost, or ground ice, found just a few feet below the surface, is all that is left of a once-giant glacier."

Keawe Vredenburg: “Lilinoe is the kupua of fog and mist. And you can see Lilinoe as she comes down over the mountain sometimes. She flows up and over, very gently, very soft, like very fine kapa, white kapa*. It’s a remarkable sight and it really makes you very aware of the mist, of how mist flows around. It’s not obtrusive, it doesn’t get in your face. But it’s there and it’s obvious that it’s very, very beautiful.”

Lake Waiau: Photo by Na Maka o ka Aina

The Tsunami

Tsunamis struck Hilo in 1960 resulting in heavy damage to downtown Hilo. The Hawai`i Island Chamber of Commerce turned to astronomy as a possible economic answer. In 1961 the University of Hawai`i’s Hawai`i Institute of Geophysics (HIG) was founded with a solar observatory was planned for Haleakala. Thus a competition resulted between business interests in Maui and Hawai`i Counties for the future location of astronomical facilities.

The Moon Race and Mars

The world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik I was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957 and circled the world in 98 minutes. President John F Kennedy initiated a decade long drive to land a man on the Moon. In 1969 crew members from Apollo 11 landed on the lunar plain called the Sea of Tranquility.

NASA felt that Hawai`i would be the ideal place to build an observatory to monitor the Apollo spaceships. Hawai`i Governor John A. Burns agreed.

Honolulu Star-Bulletin Editorial (September 28, 1964): “Suddenly, in the rush to Space, the peaks of the Hawaiian Islands have become a scientific asset of incalculable value. They are unique; nowhere else do peaks rise so high surrounded by sea. Thus their tops are (1) high enough to be above most cloud formations and (2) in air uncontaminated by dust. ...Nobody is going to 'destroy' the peaks in the sense of bulldozing them down. But installations on their slopes which produce dust, bugs or other contaminators of pure skies would render them useless. ... Only the hand of man can destroy them as such. This must not be allowed to happen.”

In 1964 initial planning began for a road to the summit. Mauna Kea became home to an astronomy observatory to assist the Moon Mission. Then scientists began envisioning more telescopes. In 1965 plans were under way for a telescope designed to monitor Earth’s 1967 close encounter with Mars.

Gov Burns favored a road from the peak of Mauna Kea to the new science city of Waimea. "Burns cherishes the idea of a science city at Waimea, generated by the community of space scientists who will stare at the stars through giant telescopes at Mauna Kea's summit. It would be backed by a four-year residential liberal arts college, also at Waimea. ...‘Any development you get on any part of this Island helps the whole Island and the whole State,’ Burns said firmly. Now is a 'very real time of change and challenge,’ for the Big Island, not a time for 'parochialism,' said Burns." (Honolulu Star-Bulletin Editorial (October 20, 1967)

Gov. Burns wanted the scientists to live in Waimea. Burns stated: "Hilo is fighting to keep them in Hilo, but they don't want to go to Hilo. They want to come here. You've got such a nice place, people are going to move in. ...We can't hold up the progress of time. Change is with us." (Honolulu Advertiser, October 21, 1967)

The Hawaiian-Polynesian Rebirth

Following the illegal 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation, and decades of cultural and language suppression, Native Hawaiians began to reassert themselves in the 1970s.

In 1973 the Polynesian Voyaging Society (PVS) was founded. The Society sought to answer questions relating to how Polynesians voyage across vast sections of the ocean. In 1975 the Polynesian Voyaging Society began building the Hōkūle‘a and the following year the Hōkūle‘a sailed on its maiden international voyage, travelling from Hawai‘i to Tahiti, guided by master navigator Pius Mau Piailug, a resident of Satawal (Yap, Micronesia).

“Since its first voyage to Tahiti in 1976, PVS has journeyed across the islands of Hawai'i, from Cape Kumukahi and Ka Lae on the Big Island to Papahānaumokuākea; to the far corners of Polynesia (Aotearoa and Rapanui); from Vancouver south to San Diego and north to Alaska; and through Micronesia to Japan. It has explored the ocean of our ancestors in order to rediscover and perpetuate through practice Hawaiian voyaging traditions and values and to bring together communities throughout the Pacific”.

The navigation took place relying on ancient knowledge of the sea, the stars, the weather, without the use of modern technology.

Multiplying Pimples

The University of Hawai`i’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) was established in 1967, and planning was initiated for the first telescopes on the summit. Following delays due to altitude, ice, storms, and telescope equipment, the first major telescope on Mauna Kea, the UH 88-inch telescope (1970), was dedicated as the seventh largest optical/infrared telescope in the world. Others followed: UKIRT infrared reflecting telescope (1979); Canada-France-Hawaii optical reflecting telescope (1979); and the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (1979).

Mauna Kea Telescopes: Photo by IFA

Hawai`i County Mayor Herbert Matayoshi (1974–1984) considered the astronomical facilities on Mauna Kea to be “pimples of the face of a beautiful mountain."

Mae Mull of Sierra Club began to call for a limit on the proliferation of telescopes and improved management of the fragile summit in the late 1970s. The efforts of Sierra Club, and the complaints of hunters, skiers, and others including Mayor Matayoshi, led to a call by Governor Ariyoshi for a management plan for the summit.

Mauna Kea Management Plans

The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) and the University of Hawai`i (UH) created a series of management plans for Mauna Kea including the DLNR Mauna Kea Plan (1977); Hale Pōhaku Complex Development Plan (1980), the University's 1985 Mauna Kea Management Plan (approved by BLNR); the 1995 Management Plan (approved by BLNR); and the University’s 2000 Mauna Kea Science Reserve Master Plan (developed by Group 70 International; not approved by BLNR).

Group 70 International wrote the 1983/85 plan. The plan called for a maximum of 13 telescopes atop the mountain; the limit of 2 minor telescopes and 11 major telescopes, less than 125 feet tall, was based on the best available science. That number became a source of some of the conflict to follow. The 1983/85 master plan was intended to govern development on the mountain through 2000.

This was the last plan to describe how many telescopes should be on the summit. The 1995 plan was silent as to the telescope limit and the carrying capacity.

There are now at least 20 individual telescopes. (The Smithsonian submilimeter array has 8 individual telescopes).

Flair Ups

Kahea: “The law requires the state to collect fair market rent on our mountains, for the benefit of the people of Hawai'i. (HRS 171) We know that telescope time can go for as much as $80,000 per night; yet revenues from telescope time are collected by the observatories and remain with the observatories. For decades, summit conservation lands have been leased to some of the wealthiest national governments, institutions, corporations in the world for a mere $1/year.”

Sacred temple or window on the universe — or both? By Leslie Lang (Honolulu Weekly, March 27, 2002): “The 11,300-acre Mauna Kea Science Preserve, most of it at the summit of Mauna Kea, sits on ceded land. That’s land belonging to the Hawaiian Kingdom that was ceded to the U.S. government with the 1898 annexation. In 1993, Congress and President Clinton issued a formal apology for what they acknowledged was an illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. Hawaiians are still trying to regain control of those 1.8 million acres of ceded land, most of which was turned over to the state at statehood in 1959. The land beneath the astronomical observatories, which themselves generate a not-insignificant $142 million per year to the state’s economy, is leased by the state to the University of Hawai‘i through 2033. UH, in turn, leases land to the observatories for $1 per year.”

Destruction

While astronomers were exploring the stars, Native Hawaiians were finding that their family shrines were being removed by those connected to astronomy. Environmentalists noticed construction debris blowing down the mountain. Toxic chemicals were dumped. Summit cinder cones were flattened.

The summit ecosystems have been altered by dust, compaction, habitat alteration, pollution, and runoff. The habitat for the native alpine plants and insects has been diminished, but studies to monitor the impacts have not been funded as promised by the management plans dating back 1983. Fred Stone, an entomologist who participated in the studies leading the the first EIS, discovered major wekiu bug habitat destruction had occurred when the base of the Pu`u Hau`oki cinder cone was dozed for a construction site in 1996, contrary to protections outlined in the management plan.

An early study found that in less than two decades the wëkiu decreased in population by 99.7%. The studies funded since the discovery of habitat destruction (and since the study stating the 99.7% number) indicate that wekiu are widespread, but their numbers are affected by many factors, including compacted substrate and reduced snow cover.

It appeared to many that the summit was destined to become an industrial city. The use of cesspools has led to seepage of thousands of gallons of sewage and spills of hazardous fluids into the ground at the summit. This is an affront to the Native Hawaiians and practitioners who feel that the waters of Kane originate at the summit, and that the purity of the aquifer is tainted by this offense.

Kealoha Pisciotta (Mauna Kea Anaina Hou) and Nelson Ho (Sierra Club) has raised the issue of hazardous materials used in the telescope industry. For example, telescopes use mercury which is highly toxic. There have been a number of accidental mercury spills on the Mauna Kea Summit.

Subaru Excavation

The 1998 State Legislative Audit

At the request of the legislature, the State auditor conducted an audit of the management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve.

Audit of the management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve: "We found that the University of Hawai`i’s management of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve is inadequate to insure protection of natural resources. The university focused primarily on the development of Mauna Kea and tied the benefits gained to its research program. Controls were outlined in the management plans that were often late and weakly implemented. The university’s control over public access was weak and its efforts to protect natural resources were piecemeal. The university neglected historic preservation, and the cultural value of Mauna Kea was largely unrecognized. Efforts to gather information on the Wekiu bug came after damage had already been done. Trash from construction was cleaned up only after concerns were raised by the public. Old testing equipment constructed in the early years of development has not been removed as required by the lease agreement."

Life of the Land testimony to the UH Board of Regents (September 9, 1999): “The development of Mauna Kea is a huge issue in communities all around Hawai`i nei. The mismanagement of our natural and cultural resources was severely criticized in the February 1998 Legislative Auditor’s Report and the serious breach of trust with the community was the paramount issue at three public hearings held in late May in Kona, Waimea, and Hilo. This breach of trust is so serious that kupuna, Hawaiian organizations, community people, environmental groups, the Hawai`i Island Chamber of Commerce and the Big Island Economic Development Board have all called for a moratorium on development”.

Telescopes and the Courts (2001-07)

Unable to stop the University of Hawai`i and the Board of Land and Natural Resources from rubber stamping development plans in the sacred summit area, environmentalists and Native Hawaiians turned to the courts. These groups and individuals included OHA, Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, The Royal Order of Kamehameha I, Sierra Club and Clarence Kukauakahi Ching.

In 2003, The Office of Hawaiian Affairs sued NASA to compel it to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act. OHA prevailed. Judge Susan Oki Mollway ruled that “The court specifically holds that the present EA does not adequately consider the impact of development of the outrigger telescope site when added to other past, present, and reasonably foreseeable actions.”

The University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy filed a Conservation District Use Permit application (CDUA) with the BLNR to construct and operate up to 6 telescopes at the summit. The EIS eventual completed for the NASA Keck Outrigger telescopes revealed that the cumulative impact of telescope development on natural and cultural resources had been significant, adverse and severe. Following public hearings and a contested case proceeding, the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) approved the CDUA is 2004. On appeal, in 2007 Judge Hara ruled in favor of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou et al, noting that approval of a management plan was a “precondition to granting CDUP.” The last valid comprehensive management plan (the one approved by the BLNR in 1995) was silent on telescope development. Because no additional development was planned for, the permit granted by the BLNR for the Keck Outrigger project was in conflict with the plan they themselves approved. He therefore revoked the permit.

The 2005 State Legislative Audit

Follow up audit of the management of Mauna Kea and the Mauna Kea Science Reserve: The audit found that many of the recommendations from the 1998 audit had been acted on but that more needed to be done. The Management Plans needed updating, provide greater transparency and accountability, and increase community involvement. The audit found that the University had the responsibility for the protection of cultural and natural resources within its jurisdiction, but it could not legally establish and enforce administrative rules.

The Proposed Expansion Continues

Further Astronomical Facilities are being planned for Mauna Kea: Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT); Pan-STARRS; and the Subaru Telescope.

State Laws Continue to be Ignored

Miwa Tamanaha (Kahea, 2011): “The law requires the protection, preservation and conservation of Mauna Kea and Haleakalā through "appropriate management" and promotion of "long-term sustainability and the public health, safety and welfare." (HRS 183C)

The law requires the state to develop comprehensive management plans, (HAR 183C) to be approved by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) when astronomy developments are proposed in the conservation district. A proper planning process begins with the resource management agency (DLNR) from thorough baseline information on ecosystems, including habitat, hydrology, vegetation, cultural sites, traditional and customary practice, native species, and geology, and lead to a public, community-driven process for designating appropriate land use. In contrast, we have yet to see any study of the carrying capacity of Mauna Kea for industrial development. To date, few conservation districts anywhere in the world have been so industrialized with so little basic planning, so few basic studies of ecosystems and resources, and so little assessment of how ecosystems might be impacted by proposed development.

In April 2009 (Mauna Kea) and December 2010 (Haleakalā), over protests of community members and cultural practitioners, the BLNR instead signed off on plans written by the lead developer, the University of Hawai'i. These plans are not based on any study of carrying capacity of these summits for development. Nor do they attempt to place any upper limit on development. In approving these development plans, the BLNR literally "paved the way" for the largest expansion of industrial land use on these summits in nearly a decade--the 18-story Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea, and the 14-story Advanced Technology Solar Telescope (ATST) on Haleakalā, and supporting new roads, construction staging area (batch plant), parking, people, and vehicle traffic.”

The Cultural Clash Continues

Mauna Kea Anaina Hou et al (2010): “Mauna Kea has been and continues to be held in reverence by the Hawaiian people as a Wahi Pana and Wahi Kapu. Mauna Kea is revered in the same way that other religions revere churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques.

The upper regions of Mauna Kea reside in Wao Akua, the realm of the Akua-Creator. It is the burial ground of the most sacred of our ancestors. It is considered the Temple of the Supreme Being and is acknowledged as such in many oral and written histories throughout Polynesia. It is home of Na Akua (the Divine Deities), Na 'Aumakua (the Divine Ancestors), and the meeting place of Papa (Earth Mother) and Wakea (Sky Father) who are considered to be the progenitors of the Hawaiian People. It is where the Sky and Earth separated to form the Great-Expanse-of-Space and the Heavenly Realms. Lake Waiau is considered (among other things) to be the doorway into the Po (i.e., the mystical realm of the ancestors). Mauna Kea in every respect represents the zenith of the Native Hawaiian people's ancestral ties to the process of creation itself.

The ceremonies and practices on Mauna Kea (practiced nowhere else) formed the basis of the navigational knowledge that allowed Hawaiians to navigate over ten million square miles of the Pacific Ocean millennia before modern science and before Captain Cook ever set eyes on Hawai`i Nei. Hawaiian navigation is both a cultural and scientific contribution, not only to Hawai`i but also to the world and the global knowledge base. ...

The summit lands are designated conservation lands not only because of their unique cultural, historic, geological, and climatic features, but also because they are watershed lands. Mauna Kea is the principle aquifer for the island of Hawai`i.

If these waters are contaminated, they can no longer be used for ceremonies, healing, and/or for drinking. Mauna Kea's highly protected status as a National Landmark, a National Historic District, and a State Conservation District are because of these unique, rare and fragile features. These natural resources are part of the public trust recognized in Hawai‘i's Admission Act, the Hawai'i State Constitution, and in the judicially recognized public trust duties and responsibilities of the State. By comparison, the development of astronomy facilities, however valuable they may be in their own right, are not afforded this level of reverence and protection by our society.

Unlike the summit district and the practices related to it, construction of astronomy facilities is not mentioned in any state statute or the constitution. It is not a protected public trust activity.”

The Public Trust

The public trust is supposed to be enforced by the government, but sadly, it is being ignored at Mauna Kea. Instead, the public trust is being enforced by the courts as a result of actions by a handful of dedicated environmentalists and Native Hawaiians.

** The author wishes to thank Miwa Tamanaha, Clarence Ching, Deborah Ward and others for suggesting editorial changes which are reflected in this revised article.

By Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

Justice and InJustice in Hawai`i (November 18, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:11:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Prisons aren’t a sexy topic. It’s not a subject matter many care about. But on the other hand, 95% of all incarcerated individuals will be released and in the community. Hawai`i has the 5th worst parole revocation rate in the nation. Only four states have higher failure rates than Hawai`i.

Over the past 8 years we have made the situation worse.

The Maui Economic Opportunity Being Empowered and Safe Together (MEO BEST) Reintegration Program developed a reentry program aimed at serious and violent felons. While the State had a recidivism rate of 60% or more, MECO Best had a recidivism rate of 40%. Governor Lingle defunded the MEO Best Reintegration Program.

The State of Hawai`i Kulani Prison was the top rated sex treatment facility in the United States. Its recidivism rate was less than 2% since 1988. Governor Lingle defunded Kulani and sent the inmates to serve dead time at other facilities despite the promise of uninterrupted programming.

Hale Na'au Pono is the only national (CARF) accreditation, non-State operated community mental health center (CMHC) in Hawai`i. The facility has received national and local recognition. Governor Lingle defunded Hale Na'au Pono.

Emphasis on lowering recidivism rates can be justified on the grounds that it reduces crime, it saves money, and from many religious perspectives, it is simply the right thing to do when one believes in redemption.

Jesus said (Matthew 25:35-40) we are judged by how we treat the least among us: “I was ahungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee ahungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

National Conference of State Legislatures

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is a national bipartisan organization that advocates for the interests of state governments, and provides research and policy information to state legislators and staff.

Exit Strategy for Parolees: (NCSL, June 2010) “Returning to prison—for everything from committing a new crime to violating parole—is referred to as recidivism, and it’s a huge and costly problem for states. Lawmakers increasingly are turning to a growing body of information on what works and what doesn’t in supervising offenders. They’re using it to create policies that reduce recidivism, increase public safety and decrease prison costs.”

“In 2007, the U.S. state prison population was at 1.4 million inmates at a cost of $34 billion to states, and parolee recidivism accounted for about one-third of all prison admissions. That year, the Pew Center on the States reported that if nothing was done, the prison population would continue to grow to 1.7 million inmates by 2011 at an additional cost of $27.5 billion.

Although states have been experimenting with programs to reduce recidivism for years, the federal government got behind the effort in 2008 with the Second Chance Act. The law provides grants to states, local governments and nonprofit groups to improve community safety by providing services that will help ensure offenders’ successful transition back into the community.”

“In March 2010, the Public Safety Performance Project of the Pew Center on the States released a report that found, for first time in 38 years, the overall state prison population has declined. ‘Prison populations and costs have been going up for so long that many policymakers just assumed there wasn’t anything they could do about it,’ says Adam Gelb, director of the Public Safety Performance Project. ‘But it’s not fate. In the last couple of years, Texas, Kansas and other states have taken steps that keep the size of their systems in check while also protecting public safety and holding offenders accountable.’”

Howard Snyder, chief of Recidivism, Reentry and Special Projects, Bureau of Justice Statistics stated: “We must understand which intervention strategies used while in prison or after release are most effective in protecting the public.”

The Council of State Governments

The Council of State Governments (CSG) is a national organization serving the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government. The CSG created a Justice Center to develop data-driven consensus-driven strategies particularly in multi-disciplinary arenas such as criminal justice and public health; strengthen communities; and increase public safety. “Justice Reinvestment” is a “data-driven approach to reduce corrections spending and improve conditions in the handful of neighborhoods to which most people released from prison return. Justice reinvestment strategies are designed to help reduce recidivism while making these communities safer and stronger.”

The Second Chance Act of 2007 was a landmark bipartisan bill aimed at making better use of tax revenue in reducing crime and making communities safer. The bill was introduced by Senators Joseph Biden (D-DE), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Arlen Specter (R-PA).

Senator Leahy: “It is vitally important that we do everything we can to ensure that, when people get out of prison, they enter our communities as productive members of society, so we can start to reverse the dangerous cycles of recidivism and violence ...I hope that the Second Chance Act will help us begin to break that cycle.”

Governor Cayetano

Governor Cayetano sent inmates to the mainland in 1995 as a temporary solution to over crowding. Incarcerated men and women were sent to a number of privately owned facilities including Bobby Ross (Texas), CCA (Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona), Dominion (Oklahoma), and GRW (Colorado).

Governor Lingle

Governor Lingle took office on December 2, 2002, committed to bringing about a “New Beginning” for the people of Hawai‘i by making state government more open, accountable and responsive.

Making Government Work Better

“Restoring integrity to government requires us to share information openly with the public so the people of Hawai`i will know the true condition of state government, the programs it operates and the results of its efforts. Both elected leaders and the public must know the information essential to good decision-making. Government resources are limited, so all spending and policy choices must be based on reliable information and clearly articulated values and objectives, rather than short-term political considerations. ...Financial accountability and openness are essential if government leaders are able to make sound decision and then be held accountable for the actual results. They are absolutely necessary to break the vicious cycle of corruption and favoritism in state contracting, and to restore trust and integrity in government service.”

Governor Lingle got rid of state researchers and planners, severely restricted outside researchers from reviewing and analyzing data on incarcerated people to develop better tools to reduce recidivism, outsourced state jobs including expanding the use of privatize prisons, and allowed CCA to comb through the State of Hawai`i Department of Public Safety incarceration files to cherry pick inmates that would maximize their bottom line.

The cost to house inmates varies considerably. One could divide incarcerated people into two groups: those that would be cheaper to manage, and those with special needs (medical, health, mental issues, and/or violent tendencies) that would cost more to manage. By exporting only the first group, it would appear that it is cheaper incarcerated people on the mainland than to keep them in-State. However, the first group is cheaper to manage no matter where they are housed. The private prison charges an average cost to house all incarcerated people rather than the average cost to incarcerate people in the first group. Thus it is possible to game the system. This requires understanding who is incarcerated, and this can be achieved by allowing private companies to review confidential information held by the State.

Since Hawai`i began exporting inmates to the mainland, there have been unanticipated side effects. Hawai`i exported female inmates to a private prison in Kentucky where it is only a misdemeanor for a guard to rape an inmate. Inmates housed on the mainland have led to the formation of new gangs and gang activities that have spilled over into the streets of Hawaii.

Meda Chesney-Lind

Meda Chesney-Lind Ph.D. is a nationally recognized criminologist, a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology and the Western Society of Criminology, a Professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and the author of Beyond Bad Girls: Gender, Violence and Hype written with Katherine Irwin and Fighting for Girls co-edited with Nikki Jones. She received the Bruce Smith, Sr. Award “for outstanding contributions to Criminal Justice” from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences in April, 2001. She was named a fellow of the American Society of Criminology in 1996 and has also received the Herbert Block Award for service to the society and the profession from the American Society of Criminology. She has also received the Donald Cressey Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for “outstanding contributions to the field of criminology,” the Founders award of the Western Society of Criminology for "significant improvement of the quality of justice,” and the University of Hawaii Board of Regent's Medal for "Excellence in Research."

Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii (DPFH)

The Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii (DPFH) was founded in 1993 by Pamela G. Lichty and Don Topping to “encourage the development of effective drug policies that minimize economic, social, and human costs, and to promote the consideration of pragmatic approaches to drug policy based on: scientific principles, effective outcomes, public-health considerations, concern for human dignity, and enhancing the well-being of individuals and communities.”

Pam Lichty obtained her M.A. in Public Health (MPH) from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa in 1987. She served as Committee Clerk for the House Committee on Health 1988-89, a planner on the Governor’s Committee on HIV/AIDS for 2.5 years, and was instrumental in establishing Hawaii’s Sterile Needle Exchange Program. Pam has served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Hawai`i (http://www.acluhawaii.org/) and on the Board of Directors of the national Drug Policy Alliance. Her focus is on harm reduction, human rights, civil rights, medical marijuana, and public policy.

Community Alliance on Prisons (CAP)

The Community Alliance on Prisons (CAP) was founded in the mid 1990s to focus on reforming Hawaii’s criminal justice system. The original name adopted by the founding members was Rethinking Prisons Working Group (RPWG – not an easy acronym). The name scared people and it became Community Alliance on Prisons after its first conference, with CAP becoming its acronym. Putting a cap on prisons resonated with the first group that came together.

The Community Alliance on Prisons (CAP) Brain Trust

Carrie Ann Shirota is a Soros Fellow, attorney, justice advocate, a former enforcement officer with the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and the former director of the Mau`i Economic Opportunity (MEO) Best Re-entry Program on Maui.

Marilyn Brown is an Associate Professor at University of Hawai`i, Hilo and a criminologist who focuses on correctional policy, re-entry, incarcerated parents, and children of incarcerated parents.

Janet T. Davidson, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice at Chaminade University. Dr. Davidson has a Ph.D. in Sociology with a specific focus on crime, law and deviance. She also earned an M.A. and B.A. in sociology. Her research interests include institutional and community corrections, recidivism, and issues related to gender and crime. She has published numerous peer viewed and applied research publications, including “Female Offenders and Risk Assessment: Hidden in Plain Sight” (2009).

RaeDeen Keahiolalo Karasuda, Ph.D., Research Analyst, Kamehameha Schools

Jeanne Ohta, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai`i.

Kat Brady serves as Coordinator of Community Alliance on Prisons; Assistant Executive Director of Life of the Land, a 40-year old environmental and community action group; (Board member of Hawai`i Friends of Law & Civic Related Education;) member of the Hawai`i Women's Coalition; and Chair of the Honolulu County Committee on the Status of Women (2001-); the only prisoner advocate in the state on the UH Institutional Review Board reviewing social science research (2001-); the only community member of the (Judiciary) Interagency Working Group for Intermediate Sanctions ; Vice President and Board member of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai`i, Secretary of Drug Policy Action Group, Path Clinic Advisory Board, Co-Chair Children of Incarcerated Parents Task Force, member of Women’s Community Correctional Center Trauma Informed Care Working Group, and `Olelo producer of Hawai`i InJustice broadcast the first Tuesday of each month at 8:30 pm and everything Thursday morning at 8:00 am on Channel 54 or at www.olelo.org.

Kat Brady was Legislative Coordinator for the Hawai‘`i Juvenile Justice Project; Legislative Coordinator for the ACLU of Hawai`i; A community member of the Act 161 Interagency Council; the only community member of the Intermediate Sanctions Working Group formed by the Judiciary and Certificate of Recognition for Leo Ikaika, the strong voice for justice. (2010).

Kat is the proud recipient of the 2003 National Association of Hawaiian Civic Club’s Kako`o o Kalaniana`ole Award, which recognized her as the Outstanding Non-Hawaiian for Service to the Hawaiian Community. Her other awards include: the Interfaith Alliance of Hawai`i Certificate for Community Mobilization in 2004; Hawai`i Senate Certificate of Recognition for Social Justice Advocacy in 2005; Friend of Social Work awarded by the National Association of Social Workers in 2005; Hawai`i Friends of Civil Rights – Martin Luther King Jr. Friends Award in 2009; and the Critical Criminology & Justice Study's first recipient of the Advocacy for Justice Award (2010).

Hawai`i: Criminology 101

Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind, criminologist and professor of women studies at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa, spoke at CAP’s Unlocking Justice Conference (2009): “In the 1970s, and I know because I was there...we had one prison [in Hawai`i] with 300 inmates. We had no women’s prison, we had one woman. ...Now, that was not 5 million years ago, that was 30 years ago. ...we had 300 now we have over 6000.” (Video: Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind)

Michele Deitch was the keynote speaker at CAP’s Unlocking Justice Conference (2009): “I have actually been fascinated by Hawaii’s criminal justice system for more than 25 years. Hawaii’s prison system in fact taught me my first important lesson about prison reform at the very start of my career. I was only a law student at the time and interested in these prison issues and I spent the summer of 1984 working at the ACLU’s National Prison Project in Washington. This is the country’s foremost litigators on behalf of prisoners. I overheard the long-time Director Al Bronstein discussing his then recent trip to visit Hawaii’s prisons and he said that these were the worst prisons he had ever seen anywhere, and this was a man who had been in 100s and 100s of prisons around the country” (Video: Michele Deitch part 1)

Michele Deitch is an attorney with over 23 years of experience working on criminal justice policy issues with state and local government officials, corrections officials, judges, and advocates. She teaches criminal justice and juvenile justice policy at the LBJ School and at the Law School. She was awarded a 2005-06 Soros Senior Justice Fellowship by the Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation, one of the most prestigious prizes for individuals working on criminal justice policy reform. Her areas of specialty include independent oversight of correctional institutions, institutional reform litigation, prison conditions and management, prison and jail overcrowding, prison privatization, and juveniles in adult court.

She holds a J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School, M.Sc. in psychology (with a specialization in criminology) from Oxford University (Balliol College), and a B.A. with honors from Amherst College.

Mass Incarceration

Marilyn Brown: “In some ways, with good intentions, but a misunderstanding about the determinants of crime, and the terrible consequences of what people are calling mass incarceration on our families and on our communities that research is bringing to light now the destructiveness impact of mass incarceration” (Video: Smart Justice)

Carrie Ann Shirota: “We have some serious problems within our criminal justice system, and on the other hand we have some programs and initiatives that are very hopeful, and If we direct our energy, our research, our community resources, and implement smart justice strategies, we can go back to a time where there was a much smaller prison population, and we can divert those resources into treatment and into other activities that actually empower communities, educate our communities, strengthen families rather than what we are doing right now which is investing so much money into prisons, and prisons right now are just making us poorer not safer.” (Video: Smart Justice)

Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind: “We have the lowest crime rate the State has ever seen, so we are increasingly relying on incarceration with a falling crime rate.” (Video: Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind)

Parity

Male inmates were taught a variety of vocational skills while female inmates were limited to sewing classes and kitchen cleanup details, as if that would prepare them to reenter the labor force. It took CAP six years of perseverance to get the Legislature to adopt parity for female offenders (SB 467, Act 258-2000). Now female inmates have the opportunity to obtain a greater variety of job skills, still limited but more.

Exporting Inmates to Private Prisons

Kat Brady: “For this temporary solution to overcrowding 15 years ago no exit strategy” (Video: Smart Justice)

Marilyn Brown: “The NPR story and other stories, about the corruptive influence of Correction Corporation of America on the Arizona State Government” (Video: Smart Justice)

Carrie Ann Shirota: “What seems to be happening within our system is on the one hand we are saying we don’t have any money, and we have an overcrowding problem, so the only quote responsive is to send people out of state but we need to examine the actual physical costs, and the moral cost of sending people out of state. But also we are sending our resources out of state, were sending jobs ...we're sending that money out of state and profiting CCA shareholders” (Video: Smart Justice)

Marilyn Brown: “The closure of Kulani Prison which had evidenced based programs to prepare people to come into the community, that prison was closed, and where are the resources going? They’re going to pay for this experiment with private prisons ...It’s one thing to privatize government services ...but this is human beings, how can we subject human rights ...to the bottom line?” (Video: Smart Justice)

The Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) decision to transfer the Kulani land site from the Department of Public Safety to the state Department of Defense is being challenged by three parties: Kat Brady of the Community Alliance on Prisons, Michael Lee, a Kanaka Maoli cultural practitioner and lineal descendant with ties to the lands in question and DMZ-Hawai’i / Aloha ‘Aina. Meanwhile, on November 4, 2010, Governor Lingle, Cabinet Members, members of her staff, representatives of the Hawai`i Department of Defense, and Senator Mike Gabbard, boarded a Black Hawk helicopter and flew to Kulani Prison for a "Unifying Ceremony."

Kat Brady: “We don’t really even have a contract with CCA. Because to avoid the procurement law ...the outgoing Governor actually made a government-to-government contract with the City of Eloy, and when she made that contract, the Mayor of Eloy was a correctional officer at Red Rock Prison which is owned by CCA. So right there you have to say something is pilau.” (Video: Smart Justice)

Classrooms vs. Cells

Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind: “Where are we going to get the money for public education? ...How are we paying for all of this? ...Well that’s why I mentioned college education because in the years that America embarked on this massive prison experiment, we have essentially been taking money out of education, particularly higher education, and putting it into prisons.” (Video: Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind)

Kanaka Maoli

RaeDeen Karasuda: “For me, when I started to do my dissertation. It wasn’t so important to ask why are Hawaiians criminal. It was very important for me to figure out why are Hawaiians criminalized at such disproportionate rates.” (Video: RaeDeen Karasuda)

Native Hawaiians are no more likely to use drugs than the rest of society, but they are more likely to wind up in prison as a result of that drug use.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) issued a report “The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System” (2010) which concluded the Hawai`i Criminal Justice System is not friendly to Hawaiians. “Native Hawaiians make up 24 percent of the general population of Hawai‘i, but 27 percent of all arrests, 33 percent of people in pretrial detention, 29 percent of people sentenced to probation, 36 percent admitted to prison in 2009, 39 percent of the incarcerated population, 39 percent of releases on parole, and 41 percent of parole revocations. ...Native Hawaiians receive longer prison sentences than most other racial or ethnic groups. ...Native Hawaiians are sentenced to longer probation terms than most other racial or ethnic groups.” “The collaborative research effort began with the University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa, Justice Policy Institute and Georgetown University to employ both quantitative and qualitative research methods to gather valuable information to better understand and address the concerns of our indigenous people. The results and recommendations of this study are needed to initiate policy reform and systemic change for Hawai‘i.”

In public pronouncements, OHA has focused on the biased towards imprisoning Native Hawaiians while omitting the analysis that they are no more likely to use drugs or commit crimes than other groups. Furthermore, OHA has insisted that this disparity should not be immediately addressed, but instead a Task Force should be formed to look into solutions.

Kat Brady: “The majority of inmates in prison are there for the use of drugs. ...Hawaiians are no more likely to use drugs that other people in society. Why do we need a task force, we know what the problem is, we should be doing something, why waste money.”

Robert Perkinson, University of Hawai`i Professor and a 2006 Soros Justice Fellow wrote Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire (2008). The meticulously written book documents the history of racism in the prison system and the rise of private prisons, both of which are key to understanding the Hawai`i criminal justice system.

"Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire is a history of imprisonment, race, and politics from slavery to the present, with an emphasis on Texas, the most locked-down state in the nation. Sweeping in scope and exhaustively researched, it tries to answer some of the most vexing questions of our time: Why has the United States built the largest prison system in the world, unlike anything in the history of democratic governance, and why have racial disparities in criminal justice worsened over the past two generations, despite the landmark victories of the civil rights movement? Drawing on a decade of archival, legal, and legislative research, combined with scores of interviews, this book argues that the history of American criminal justice is a more southern story than most have acknowledged (the prison boom began and has remained most pervasive in the South) and that the politics of race and reaction have played a more prominent role in the expansion of incarceration than elevated crime rates. By drawing parallels between the development of segregation and convict leasing in the aftermath of Reconstruction and the rise of mass imprisonment in the wake of integration, Texas Tough contends that America’s imprisonment crisis has taken shape as the latest chapter in America’s tragic racial history and that a concerted nationwide effort will be required to move the country toward a more equitable and genuinely democratic future."

Public Health Issues

Kat Brady: “The majority of people in prison have drug problems, and yet there’s not a lot of drug treatment but plenty of drugs in prison” (Video: Smart Justice) “Why do we have so many people in prison who are suffering from public health problems?” (Video: Smart Justice, The Value of Hawai`i & Kulani)

Smart Justice Programs

Carrie Ann Shirota spoke at CAP’s Unlocking Justice Conference (2009): “There can be no success without preparation, and why is it that, even now when we use kind of these re-entry buzzwords with re-entry it’s like people are starting one year before they are released, six months before they are released. First of all, we should be focusing more on prevention. But even at that, once someone is in re-entry should start on day one.” (Video: Carrie Ann Shirota part 2) “The title of this presentation today is an `Olelo No`eau, a Hawaiian proverb, it’s Ho`i hou i ka iwi kuamo`o. ...The wisdom of Native Hawaiian, ancestors, I mean it’s there for you if you are willing to search. It literally translated means return to the backbone, but the kauna the hidden meaning of it, returning to your family or homeland after being away” (Video: Carrie Ann Shirota part 1)

Kat Brady: “One of the problems, it seems to me, is that, we always think that the answer has to come from somewhere else, or we have to take something from somewhere else and make it work here, when we have terrific minds actually thinking up these incredible things” (Video: Smart Alternatives)

Kat Brady: “Did you know that Hawai`i has a re-entry law? A law was passed in 2007, it is now referred to as Act 8 and in Hawai`i Revised Statutes it has its own section, 353H. The law was promulgated to really deal with people who have served sentences in prison and who are now coming back to the community; to help that transition to be smooth; and help them be successful and contributing community members. The law is a real philosophical change for the department, which, believe me, has been difficult especially under the Lingle Administration, because the Governor, Governor Lingle, is the only Governor in the nation to veto a re-entry bill.” (Video: Reentry, Substance Abuse & Women)

Marilyn Brown: “This is kind of under the radar I think, people don’t really know about the innovations that have been developed by people in Hawai`i that are actually now being adopted in other jurisdictions ... HOPE Probation ...was developed by Judge Alm ...this has been evaluated by really outstanding national researchers and they are having very impressive results and outcomes” (Video: Smart Alternatives)

Hawai`i Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald: “It’s my pleasure to present the [2010] Jurist of the Year Award to Judge Steven Alm, of the Circuit Court, First Circuit. Judge Alm has been a leader in the true sense of the word by advocating changing of the way we supervise probationers and then following through working with others throughout the judiciary to make that change a reality.” (Video: Jurist of the Year)

Marilyn Brown: “A program developed here in Hawai`i that’s now getting national attention and that’s the SKIP Program, supporting Keiki of Incarcerated Parents ...on the mainland is called supporting Kids of Incarcerated Parents.” (Video: Smart Alternatives)

Carrie Ann Shirota: “MEO’s BEST Reintegration Program on Maui was an embodiment of SKIP and other services, employment, housing, substance abuse treatment, not provided directly by our program but outside community providers, family reunification, cultural programs ...That’s where BEST came in, it started off very simple with dinners we would hold at MEO Family Center where the men and women would come to the family center with our staff, there would be some supervising ACOs, our partners could attend with probation and parole, they were always welcome and invited, and each client was able to invite several family members. ...It extended to movie nights and then some nights we had activities for children ...we need to do things that are more lifelike, and so we extended that by going out into the community and doing, not only family unification events, but events that gave back and an example would be going to Honokowai Valley area restoring archeological sites, planting Koa trees to reforest ... formerly incarcerated, families, their children, correctional officers, our staff, keiki to kapuna, all working together to whatever abilities we could contribute, even once we went out to the Hawaiian Homestead community and partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help Hawaiian families build their homes.” (Video: Smart Alternatives)

CAP published SMART JUSTICE: How Hawai`i Can Have Fewer Inmates and Safer Communities (July 2010) "This paper was born at a Strategy Session of the Smart Justice Collective, a group of academics, researchers, community advocates, and attorneys. The focus was Hawai`i’s increasingly costly and ineffective criminal justice system. Concerned by Hawai`i’s growing reliance on incarceration, we dedicate our efforts to make our system smarter on crime, rather than tougher on crime.

Both local and national research supports these efforts. In addition, Hawai`i’s current fiscal crisis has placed us in a position where the status quo in criminal justice can no longer be sustained. We believe that this 'perfect storm' presents a great opportunity to rethink and improve the quality of justice in Hawai`i.

This paper presents data on the consequences of mass incarceration and how they relate to public safety and Hawai`i’s fragile economy. We offer recommendations to stop the unprecedented growth in our correctional system, save money and reinvest those correctional dollars into communities most impacted by incarceration.

We hope this data stimulates dialogue and the enactment of Smart Justice policies that have proven cost-effective in decreasing crime and recidivism rates, and build safer communities."

Harm Reduction

Harm Reduction strategies focus on making people safer without judgment. Harm Reduction strategies include requiring the use of seat belts, caps on ball point pens, wheel chair ramps, safety glasses for people who work in saw mills, advertising campaigns encouraging designated drivers, offering free cab rides for really drunk bar patrons and promoting safe sex. The theory is that it is easier to promote safety than it is to get people to stop doing the risky behavior. An alternative approach is abstinence, such as the failed national prohibition on alcohol, the existing national prohibition on marijuana, and advertisement campaigns promoting the abstinence of sex before marriage.

“The [Honolulu] Path Clinic is a judgment free zone in which a woman with a substance abuse issue can receive excellent compassionate healthcare that addresses her addiction. The birth outcomes for women who receive Path Clinic services prenatally are much better than the average outcomes for the state and nation, even though the women struggle with addiction.”

Needle Exchanges provide clean needles to drug addicts. The program reduces the risk to drug users. According to the Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC), needle exchanges are supported by the AME Church Conference of Bishops, American Civil Liberties Union, American Medical Association, American Bar Association, American Public Health Association, American Psychological Association, Episcopal Church, NAACP, Physicians for Human Rights, Presbyterian Church, U.S. Conference of Mayors, United Church of Christ, and the Urban League.

Obedience

A key issue in criminal justice reform is monitoring what happens in prison, especially out-of-state prisons, something that does not exist in Hawai`i. The experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram and Phil Zimbardo show the absolute importance of independent community-based entities with the ability to have unannounced visits of prisons.

Stanley Milgram was born in New York City in 1933, graduated from Queens College (B.A. Political Science) and Harvard University (Ph.D. Social Psychology). Stanley Milgram, born into a Jewish family, started an experiment on obedience three months after the start of the trial of Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.

At Yale University in 1961 he asked participants to randomly pick a slip of paper designating them as a teacher or student. In actuality all participants pulled slips designating themselves to be teachers and the students were played by actors. The teacher and student would be placed in different rooms. The teacher was told to ask a series of questions, and each time the student got the wrong answer, the teacher was to administer an increasing electric shock to the student. No shock was actually delivered, rather the actor student would play a pre-recording response to the “pain” received. If the teacher asked to stop, they would be prodded to continue and be told that the teacher would not be held responsible. Only one teacher stopped before delivering a 300 volt shock and sixty-five (65) percent of the teachers delivered the final 450 volt shock. Four statements were used to encourage the teachers: (1) Please continue; (2) The experiment requires that you continue; (3) It is absolutely essential that you continue; (4) You have no other choice, you must go on.” Milgram wrote about his experiment "The Perils of Obedience" (1974).

“I set up a simple experiment at Yale University to test how much pain an ordinary citizen would inflict on another person simply because he was ordered to by an experimental scientist. Stark authority was pitted against the subjects' strongest moral imperatives against hurting others, and, with the subjects' ears ringing with the screams of the victims, authority won more often than not. The extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority constitutes the chief finding of the study and the fact most urgently demanding explanation.”

Phil Zimbardo was also born in New York City in 1933 and was a high school friend of Stanley Milgram. He graduated from Brooklyn College (B.A. psychology, sociology and anthropology), and Yale University (MS, Ph.D. psychology).

In 1971, Zimbardo conducted the Stanford Prison Project in which 24 normal college students were randomly assigned to be "prisoners" or "guards" in a mock prison located in the basement of the psychology building at Stanford. The prisoners, on arrival, were stripped, searched, shaved and deloused. The guards were ordered to maintain control, but were not told how to do so. A prisoner rebellion broke out on the second day. The guards placed the leaders in solitary confinement. Going to the bathroom was considered a privilege rather than a necessity, there were hunger strikes, sadistic behavior by 1/3 of the guards, and five prisoners had to be released early. The experiment was supposed to last 2 weeks, but had to be stopped after 6 days due to the brutal treatment of inmates by guards. The experiment was stopped by an associate of Zimbardo who later became his wife. At the end of the experiment all the prisoners and guards were brought together so that there could be a release of feelings and pain.

Conferences

Over the years CAP has sponsored and co-sponsored a number of conferences:

Restorative Justice: How to restore the well-being of the victim, the community, and the offender with Father Jim Consedine (September 1, 1999) at the Kaumakapili Church Hall

"Hawaii's Prison Crisis: Throwing Away the Next Generation." (October 21, 2000) held at the Central Union Church, featuring Al Bronstein, former director of the ACLU National Prison Project and others.

“Shattered Lives: How Drug Laws and Prisons Hurt Hawai`i’s Families,” (2001) featuring Chris Conrad and Mikki Norris co-authors of the award winning “Shattered Lives: Portraits from America’s Drug War.”

Pūpūkahi I Holomua (United to Move Forward) Conference (November 8 & 9, 2007) held at the Honolulu Community College

"The Psychology of Evil: The ‘Lucifer Effect’ in Action" with Professor Philip G Zimbardo (Stanford Prison Project) held at the University of Hawai`i's Shidler College of Business (October 23, 2008)

Unlocking Justice Conference (2009) held at Chaminade University

Related Videos

Judge Steven Alm (2009 Unlocking Justice Conference)

Carrie Ann Shirota (2009 Unlocking Justice Conference) Part 1, Part 2

Michele Deitch (2009 Unlocking Justice Conference) Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Hawaii Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP) with Andy Botts & Kat Brady

Geri Marullo became president and CEO of Child and Family Service (CFS) in 1998.

Renee Schuetter, RN, MEd, Clinic Manager, Executive Director: Perinatal Addiction Treatment of Hawaii (PATH) Clinic.

Lisa Haan and Jackie Bissen (2009 Unlocking Justice Conference)

Henry Curtis

Ililani Media

ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

Governor Neil Abercrombie’s Opportunity to Change Energy Policy (November 10, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:10:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Governor Neil Abercrombie will pick a new head of Hawai`i Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA).

This new cabinet member will pick the Executive Director of the Division of Consumer Advocacy (DCA).

This person, the Consumer Advocate, represents you, the public, in all proceedings before the Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission (Commission).

These proceedings focus on electric rates, transmission line location, coal, climate change, air pollution discharges, anything involving the electric utility, or any other utility.

Even if you could find their office, which is located in a downtown building, and is hidden within the building in a highly irregularly shaped hallway maze which requires you to go through two closed hallway doors, the office itself is locked to keep the public out.

As a rule the Consumer Advocate dislikes cross-examining HECO in regulatory cases, preferring to work behind the scenes and filing joint settlements with the Commission.

The following are recent quotes made by the Consumer Advocate during the Lingle Administration. As far as the public record is concerned, all of the statements below are still the official position of the Consumer Advocate.

* “Without knowing the specific facts under which global warming is expected to occur, and whether the islands will get impacted, as well as the extent of such impact, if any, the Consumer Advocate is unable to determine the reasonableness of basing Maui’s future on oil.”

* “People concerned with the impact of biofuel production have pointed to the ‘food versus fuel’ observation as one of the criticisms of biofuel production internationally. Whether the ‘food versus fuel’ critique is an ‘issue of great concern around the world’ is a judgment call subject to each person's individual beliefs and personal outlook on the subject. The Consumer Advocate declines to qualitatively describe the relative importance of the issue beyond acknowledging that the critique does exist.”

* “Dedicated biomass-to-electricity crops, biofuels produced from agricultural crops, it’s by-products, or waste products, would have an environmental benefit of being net zero in the overall carbon balance.”

* "Although ethanol presently is not being produced in the State as fuel, a recent advertisement by HECO indicates that six ethanol plants have been proposed for the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Big Island; and that three of Hawaii's largest land owners have formed a partnership to research the best crops and technology to make biofuels locally. Thus, there seems to be significant interest by several companies to install ethanol plants in the State."

In October 2008 the Consumer Advocate and Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) signed an Energy Agreement which states in part:

* “It is necessary to transmit the wind power produced on the other islands by undersea cable systems to Oahu.”

* "The parties [HECO-Consumer Advocate] are looking to the development of a series of projects including, but not limited, to ...Hamakua Biomass (25 MW) or Hu Honua Biomass (22 MW)"

* “The parties will support continued federal tax support for biofuels and will seek their extension to cover the full range of biofuel products including crude palm oil (CPO).”

* “Guiding principles in GHG [greenhouse gas] reduction measures include ... a preference for incentives and market-based measures over regulatory penalties”

* “EPA’s Regional Haze Rules, designed to protect visibility in National Parks, are ambiguous as to the effect of naturally occurring haze. Controlling visibility impairing emissions from Company [HELCO’s electric generation] units would be fruitless and very expensive.”

* “Allow electrical generation units to switch to green fuels (biofuels) without triggering New Source Review (NSR). Fuel switching could result in increased emissions (primarily NOx), potentially triggering NSR. Costs of NOx control on existing units switching to biofuels would be exorbitant with no appreciable benefit”

* “The parties further agree to request Commission suspension of the current intra-governmental wheeling docket”

* “Because of the uncertainties of GHG [greenhouse gas] legislation at the State and federal level, the parties agree to suspend any decision to implement a State REC [renewable energy credit] system until such time when these legislative actions become clear”

HECO and the Consumer Advocate filed a joint statement in the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) proceeding: “One of the greatest challenges to maintaining system reliability and power quality is uncertainty regarding the addition of new resources onto an island grid. One way to reduce the level of uncertainty is to set certain reasonable limits upon the size and system penetration of FIT resources during a particular period of time.” The Commission adopted this approach, limiting penetration of renewable energy.

Why does HECO need a Utility Advocate if they have all the marbles?

Henry Curtis

Ililani.media@gmail.com

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What Can Brazilian Prisons Teach Us? (November 8, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis,

Lorenn Walker, JD, MPH recently returned from visiting prisons in Brazil. She even stayed overnight in a male prison. Except they do not call it a prison, nor do they call the inmates “prisoners”.

Her talk was held at the Hawai`i Supreme Court where she was introduced by Elizabeth Kent (Hawai`i State Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution).

Lorenn used to be a Hawai`i Deputy Attorney General assigned to the state prison system.

The inmates are called recuperandos (“people undergoing a process of recuperation”). They do not wear uniforms. There are no guards wandering around the facility. When a new person arrives, their shackles are taken off at the door. Emphasis is on socialization, communication, literacy, job training and rebuilding connections to families. The facilities practice Restorative Justice and are affiliated with the “Association for the Protection and Assistance of the Convicted” (APAC).

Statistics are posted on the wall, including the number of people who wandered off, the number who came back on their own, the number who were brought back, and the recidivism rate.

The typical recidivism rate is 4-10%. That is, 1 out of 10 or 20 released people return to crime in three years. This is similar to Hawaii’s rate in 1970. It is far better than Hawaii’s current rate: 50-62% and much better than Hawaii’s rate a few years ago when it was around 70%.

Lorenn Walker described one facility: “It is more progressive that most drug treatment programs in the U.S.” The “prison” encouraged her to take picture inside the facility. It looked like a campus.

Beatriz, Lorenn and Carla outside the men's

APAC in Itauna, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Brazil is decentralized so a town or city must request that a facility be opened in their area.

If a Judge recommends a convicted person to attend the facility, then a panel of current and former inmates reviews their record to determine the appropriateness of that person joining their facility. One major consideration is that the person should have connections to that community. Handicapped people are eligible. There is a waiting list.

The facility has gardens, workshops with tools, a library, basketball courts, and other methods to keep people busy.

Lorenn Walker: “There are no drugs there. ...Anyone who has worked on prisons in the U.S. can tell you that you can find more drugs in prison than on the streets.”

Catholicism is part of the fabric of Brazilian culture. These facilities are Catholic based.

There are examples of both faith-based and non-faith-based Restorative Justice in the U.S.

Chuck Colson (imprisoned for his role in Watergate) promotes Restorative Justice thru the Sycamore Tree Project.

Lorenn Walker and Kat Brady have conducted Restorative Justice Circles in Hawai`i prisons. Lorenn Walker on imates: “We’ve been programming them for failure, [and] we need to program them for success.”

Kat Brady: The Circle focuses on three things: Who was harmed? How were they harmed? What can be done to repair the harm? “It is not easy, dragging up all these things that you’ve repressed, examining them, and repairing the harm [but] it’s transformative.”

I (Henry Curtis) remember visiting the Danbury Federal Prison around 1975. The facility was a minimum security federal prison whose inmates included tax evaders, draft dodgers and a few drug dealers. The cell doors did not lock, guards within the prison did not carry weapons, and the inmates cooked for the guards. Thus the guards treated the prisoners with respect.

Practically all inmates will return to society. In preparing for that day, should they be treated like dogs or people? Should they have job skills? Should they know how to read? Should they have the ability to communicate? Should they have resolved their issues with anger?

Restorative Justice is cheaper, more effective, more humane, and reduces future crime levels.

Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

WHAT IF ... Lobbying Was Transparent (November 7, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:07:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Years ago a lobbyist walked into an office of a Hawai`i State Legislator and stated that his company was looking for a lobbyist. The Legislator said what about my chief of staff. The chief of staff became the lobbyist.

A lobbyist can fund a pet cause of a Legislator, give gifts to family members, provide friendly questioners at public events or provide bodies to sign wave.

Lobbyists are sort of like tax accountants. There is always a way around every lobbying law.

What if ... ever way of lobbying were legal

But one had to disclose the lobbying campaign and identify all of the funds and techniques used.

What if ... the was an enormous penalty for failure to disclose

How does transparency (disclosure) compare to public funding of candidates. Which is more effective? Which is cheaper to implement?

Henry Curtis

ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

Thinking Outside of the Box: Breaking Down the Silos (November 5, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:05:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

One of the problems is that we keep looking at things through a very narrow lens, while life is actually a web and everything in interconnected. Unless we look at things from a systems approach, were all going to be locked in our silos, protecting our interests, and not looking at how we can built a workable solution. We need to look beyond pessimism and nay-saying, and come up with community solutions.

Food, water and energy are interlinked. Agriculture is heavily dependent upon irrigation powered by electricity. Farm vehicles currently use liquid and gaseous fossil fuel energy for power. Most electric generators require significant amounts of water. Coal, oil, and nuclear plants need water for cooling. Food crops and biofuels often used high amounts of water and many rely on fossil-fuel based pesticides and fertilizers. While fossil fuels are the number one source of climate change, land use changes generated for food, biofuel and timber production is the number two reason for climate change.

Agriculture is based on energy which relies on water. Agriculture is based on water which relies on energy for pumping and irrigation. Now there is a national policy of growing crops heavily dependent upon water and energy in order to generate biofuels to provide the power the move water and power farm vehicles. There are so many interlocking subsidies that it is difficult to determine what is sound and what is unsound public policy?

Agricultural policy is often poorly understood. One of my sharpest memories is from a college economics course. Depending on weather, in some years there is a bumper food crop and in other years there is a food shortage. When there is a bumper crop farm prices drop, when there is a shortage farm prices rise. On average farmers do okay. But on average the public does not do okay. When there are shortages, the rise in food prices leads to hunger, to economically challenged members of the public having to decide between food and shelter.

Since 98% of the public are non-farmers, there was a policy developed that appears to support farmers but actually supports non-farmers. Farmers are subsidized. This leads to marginal and non-production farm land becoming profitable, and this further leads to more food being produced. Thus on some years there is way too much food and in other years the right amount of food. Farmers lose because they fight each other for subsidies, with larger politically connected industrial farms winning and the small farm become losers because they get low prices and no subsidies. In addition, farmers are blamed for needing subsidies.

The subsidies for producing crops, for exporting crops, and for water use often mean that it appears to be cheaper to import food from 3000 miles away, even food flown in by airplane, then to produce food locally.

Frances Moore Lappe (Diet for a Small Planet) is the guest speaker this weekend for the Umematsu and Yasu Watada Lecture on Peace, Social Justice, and the Environment (Watada Lectures), sponsored by the Church of the Crossroads, and endowed by Kathy Watada Wurfel and David Wurfel.

Frances Moore Lappe notes that 1 out of every 9 dollars spent on health care is a result of our dietary choices. She further notes that half of the U.S. food supply is controlled by 10 companies with less than 150 board members.

What we need is food democracy, the return to local food production, where people know where there food comes from, where money stays circulating in the local economy. One example of this is school gardens.
Nancy Redfeather (nredfeather@kohalacenter.org) runs Kohala Center’s Hawai'i Island School Garden Network. The network works with 2/3 of the all the public and charter schools on the Big Island.

Nancy is working with food activists on other islands -- Tiana Kamen (Malama Kaua'i; Kaua'i School Garden Network), Kukui Maunakea (MA`O Farms), Eric Enos (Ka`ala Farms), and Gigi Cocquio (Hoa Aina 'O Makaha) – to form a statewide student garden network.

This past summer the Mala‘ai Culinary Garden of The Waimea Middle School held a conference (“Smart By Nature – Growing School Garden Curriculum K–12″). Information can be found on the School Garden Blog.

Schools use energy but often have flat roofs in open areas that could easily convert solar energy into hot water and electricity. Maui Community College is seeking to install a single wind turbine to help power the school.

Charlie Reppun and Frances Moore Lappe both believe that we need to move away from thinking about large scale industrial agriculture and into looking at yards, and small urban plots of land to grow food.

Gunter Pauli (Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives) spoke at the World Congress on Zero Emissions Initiatives sponsored this past summer by Enterprise Honolulu. He spoke to and interacted with a few hundred elementary school students. His message: most of what is used in the home to make coffee is wasted coffee grounds. These grounds can be put on plants killing earthworms and other friendly insects (due to their high caffeine content); they can be landfilled creating methane gas (a potent greenhouse gas); or they can be used inside homes to grow shitake mushrooms (which are high priced, taste similar to steak, and are a lot healthier to eat).

Timothy LaSalle, Ph. D. (Rodale Institute's CEO 2007-10) was a keynote speaker at the Hawaii Ag2010 Conference. He stated that “one of the things western education has done and this has gone global ...let’s look at one little thing and find an answer and that will fix it. ...In essence and search for answers we have to begin to open frameworks, and that’s where I had to challenge my own self, and this is a hard head.”

Water, land, energy, health, schools, and food are all interconnected. Community-based solutions are needed that cut across disciplines. Funding should follow from decisions made through community based decision making.

See also: The State of Agriculture in Hawai`i (September 8, 2010), Agriculture & Justice (July 27, 2010)

Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

Intentionally Increasing Failure Rates (October 26, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:04:00.000-08:00

State prisons are supposed to decrease recidivism rates, since inmates who do not commit future crimes make society safer.

But private prisons have a duty to maximize stockholder returns and the returns are greater when there are more inmates serving longer terms and when the public is afraid. In addition, sending inmates to the mainland private prisons have resulted in the formation of multiple gangs which does not bode well for future crime prevention and public safety.

In Hawai`i recidivism rates vary. In the 1970s the recidivism rate was about 5%. It hit a peak of about 70% a few years ago and has since dropped to around 60%. Some specific Hawaii-based programs such as the defunded MEO Best program and the Judiciary's HOPE Program run by Judge Steve Alm have much lower rates that traditional State programs.

The Community Alliance on Prisons has published a Smart Justice Research Paper.

Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

A Rail Nightmare (October 20, 2010)

2011-02-14T22:03:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Are you dense? Would you like to be denser? Imagine the future.

Let us assume that rail is successful.

The City and County of Honolulu wants to infill (“redevelop”) along the entire rail route with new multi-use buildings that have stores on the bottom floors, offices in the middle and residential units on top.

The Second City is able to expand with 200,000 more people in some length of time (short or long number of years).

Waikiki rises in elevation led by Kyo-sa, Ko Olina gets Walt Disney, Waikiki gets Donald Trump, the H1-H2 interchange gets Koa Ridge, Windward O`ahu become the Rural City, the Haleiwa Hotel is built.

The infill does not stop the expansion of Mililani Mauka to the Koolau Mountains since the County Council finds it difficult to reject proposed developments.

Koa Ridge Phase 1 and 2, at the intersection of H-1/H-2 become fact.

Whitmore Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area mauka of Whitmore Village, Wahiawa gets its second road (may already be approved). The new H-2/Whitmore intersection looks similar to the H-2/Paalaa Uka Pupukea Road intersection (the road which leads to the expanding Helemano Army Military Reservation).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints convinces the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting to replace the community created Koolauloa Sustainable Communities Plan with one developed by the church called “Envision Laie”. The Envision Laie proposal includes several new developments and a mauka highway from Laie to Kahuku. The transformation of Laie, Kahuku, Malaekahana and Turtle Bay puts pressure on the coastal highway where in spots the ocean is already lapping against it. The mauka highway goes from 2 to 4 lanes.

Business is booming with the 200,000-500,000 new residents and 200,000-500,000 new tourists. People need to get away. They can drive to Sunset Beach to see the giant waves, or they can take the train to the last stop in Kapolei and take a beach bus to Waianae, which has replaced the homeless with tourists.

Imagine the slogan: “Come to the open sandy beaches of Waianae, the real Hawai`i.”

What do you think the carrying capacity of O`ahu is? How many people is just one too many?

Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

# # #

Princess Ka`iulani

2011-02-14T22:00:00.001-08:00

Henry Curtis
henry.lifeoftheland@gmail.com

I went to the opening of the film “Princess Ka`iulani”. The film quickly departed from the history as I have learned it. I am willing to concede that my knowledge of history has errors, but there were so many discrepancies between my understanding and the film that it seemed that someone was tampering with history.

The film showed Ka`iulani riding her horse on windward O`ahu and many scenes in the film occurred there, but she lived on the grounds of what is presently the Ka`iulani Hotel in Waikiki.

The Bayonet Constitution occurred in 1987 and electrification of Honolulu occurred in 1888, however, the film depicted these as occurring simultaneously. There is some discrepancy in history as to whether Ka`iulani threw the switch electrifying `Iolani Palace. The switch logically was turned on at the power plant located in Nuuanu Valley. The film showed Ka`iulani turning it on in a very public event at `Iolani Palace.

The film focused on her resistance to the decision by her father (Archie Cleghorn) to send her to Europe while actually King Kalakaua sent her. The film showed her arriving in England accompanied by only Archie and going to the Theo Davies Estate in Southport north of Liverpool along the Irish Sea. Historically, Archie only went to San Francisco with Ka`iulani, then he returned to Honolulu. She continued on to England with her half-sister Annie Cleghorn and the Walkers. She arrived in Liverpool and went immediately to London (southeast of Liverpool).

The film centered on a long-term relationship and engagement of Clive Davies and Princess Ka`iulani. Historically he was one of the men linked to Ka`iulani, but not the only one. They were not engaged. Towards the end of the film Clive meets Ka`iulani along windward O`ahu and asks Ka`iulani to marry him and move to England. But in reality the event was a lu`au thrown by Ka`iulani for Clive as he was leaving Hawai`i to go to England to marry someone else.

The depiction of her meeting President Cleveland was shocking. The film showed Archie arriving at the Theo Davies Estate, informing Ka`iulani that he had sent telegrams to her regarding the overthrow. Ka`iulani had been unaware that the overthrow had occurred. Theo Davies had kept these hidden as they would interfere with the Clive-Ka`iulani marriage. She and Archie sailed to New York City and then Washington D.C. to meet with the President, but since he had only four weeks left to his term, there was little he could do. She then appeared to go the Honolulu.

In reality, Archie was in Honolulu during the overthrow, Mr. Davies got the telegrams on January 30, 1893, showed them to Ka`iulani, and then Theo Davies, his wife and his daughter Alice went with Ka`iulani to New York City. While they were in New York City the President was being inaugurated (March 4, 1893) having just been elected President. She then met the President. She returned to Europe for 4 more years.

The film had a tight shot of her return to Honolulu. Greeters could not be seen. She was then brought by an armed escort to see the imprisoned Lili'uokalani. In reality, she returned to Honolulu two years after the release of Queen Lili'uokalani and the docks were full of well wishers.

May the next film on Ka`iulani have some connection to reality.

Transparency and Accountability (July 21, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:58:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Act 221

The Star Advertiser Editorial (July 21, 2010) stated: “The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism now reports that 82 of 141 companies accepting the tax breaks had no full-time employees in 2008. Many of those companies may be fraudulent ... Indeed, the Lingle administration calculated six years ago that as many as 20 percent of the claims for research credits could have been illegal, based on an audit of only a portion of them. While DBEDT's report raises serious questions, it isn't completely negative. The other 59 of the 141 companies created 697 jobs”

The Act allowed some companies to obtain tax breaks. The loss of revenue was made up for by taxing the rest of us. Which companies got the tax breaks? Which companies took the money and left town? Were jobs “created” by moving people around within companies? Did the jobs go to residents or were people imported? Why aren’t the answers known?

Athletic Fees

Ian Lind (July 12, 2010) noted that the University of Hawai’i Board of Regents recently required students to pony up $50/year to support athletics. At the same time, the University of Hawaii “VP for Research (salary: $222,720) got two basketball season tickets, the VP for academic planning & policy (salary: $284,808) got football tickets, the university’s general counsel and VP for legal affairs (salary: $218,784) took a pair of free season tickets for women’s volleyball, football, men’s basketball, men’s volleyball, and baseball.”

This practice is not isolated to UH. It often involves golf club membership and/or games with celebrities and power brokers; real estate deals where one could buy and sell the same unit in one day making $100,000; and being bumped to the top of the list for condos and yacht berths.

Embedded Lobbyists

Disappeared News (June 16, 2010): “Mr. Mollway was put on administrative leave in February, thereby depriving the public of his services. The annual legislative package could not be introduced, and Mollway was not available to consult on issues that usually arise during any legislative session. As an example of issues that might arise, during the 2006 legislative session, Disappeared News filed one of two complaints with the Ethics Commission on “embedded lobbyists,” that is, high-level corporate executives hired as “interns” and working side-by-side with legislators in their State Capitol offices. As a result of Mr. Mollway’s response, corporate interns were banned from the Legislature the following session.”

Companies have found other ways to continue to influence legislators by hiring relatives of legislators, hold signs in legislative races, banquets and other freebies, and conducting other non-reported lobbying.

Executive Branch Disclosure

Proposed Hawaii Law -- SB 2224 (2010): “Hawaii Revised Statutes §84-17(c) requires key members of government to file a financial disclosure statement to be filed with the State of Hawaii. These individuals include the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT); the Executive Director of the Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs; the Commissioners of the Public Utilities Commission; and the Board Members of the Board of Land and Natural Resources. However, with the exception of the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), none of these financial statements are publicly available.”

When a bad proposal makes its way through regulatory agencies, the government knows a lot about the decision-makers, but that information is restricted from the public.

A Solution

The common problem is the lack of sunshine, the lack of transparency. Money, like water, seeps through the cracks. It always finds a way in. Some believe that the answer is public funding for all elections. An alternative approach can be borrowed from legal toxic releases by corporations.

Companies can get into a huge liability issue (civil and criminal) for not reporting releases, but are usually let off with minor penalties if they admit the problem.

What if gift giving were publicly listed on a government website? What if citizen suits were allowed for gifts not reported? What is the cost of the suit could be recovered from both the receiver and the giver? What if the statute of limitations was 20 years? What if the public knew at election time who was greasing whom?

Agriculture & Justice (July 27, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:57:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The Issue of the Indictment of Michael and Alec Sou has led to a flurry of emails among various people.

The Sou Farm

Aloun and Somphone Salamvathana emigrated from a refugee camp in Laos to Hawai`i and starting in 1977 leased 5-acres in Wai`anae. They raised four children including Michael and Alec. In the 1980s they shortened the family name to Sou. In 1995 they changed their business name to Aloun Farms – at that time they were leasing 880 acres in `Ewa and Kunia. Today the farm covers 3000 acres (5 square miles).

“Brother Mike serves as production manager. Father Aloun is president while mother Somphone serves as vice president. As general manager, Alec runs the finances. Big decisions are made by consensus. ‘But at the dinner table it doesn't matter,’ he admits. ‘I'm still the youngest. The decisions are made with a certain courtesy to seniority.’” (Green thumbs By Craig DeSilva. Hawaii Business, May 1, 1999)

Alec Sou is the Aloun Farms General Manager. He went to Wai`anae High School, Punahou, University of Puget Sound (BA: Asian Studies, 1990) and Bowling Green State University (MBA: Marketing, 1993). He is a board member of the Institute for Human Services; President of Hawaii Asian-Pacific Associates, Inc. (HAPA); and is on the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) Board of Advisors.

The Indictment of Michael and Alec Sou

Department of Justice (August 28, 2009): “They arranged for the Thai workers to pay high recruitment fees, which were financed by debts secured with the workers’ family property and homes. Significant portions of these fees went to the defendants themselves, as alleged in the indictment. After arrival at Aloun Farms, the Sou defendants confiscated the Thai nationals’ passports and failed to honor the employment contracts. The Sou defendants maintained the Thai nationals’ labor by threatening to send them back to Thailand, where they would face serious economic harms created by the debts. The indictment also charges that the defendants engaged in a visa fraud conspiracy by making false representations in documents filed to obtain employment-based visas.”

The Plea

Associated Press (January 12, 2010): “Many of the laborers were told not to leave the farm after work, and 11 were housed in mobile storage containers while working for Aloun, the federal government claimed.

Kapolei-based Aloun Farms is known for supplying a variety of Asian vegetables, melons and other produce to the state's largest wholesalers and grocers. It employs as many as 200 workers and covers about 3,000 acres. Its annual gross sales are about $8 million.”

Honolulu Advertiser (January 13, 2010): “We’re talking about forced servitude. It’s really pretty serious case,” said Melissa Vincenty, a private attorney representing some of the Thai laborers. ...The workers had to borrow $16,000 apiece to their recruiters and believed that they would be working at Aloun Farms for some three years. In reality, their visas were only valid for two months and were later extended another three months. Some of the workers were housed in substandard quarters and weren’t paid for months after the Sous deducted expenses for such items as housing, food, transportation and taxes from their wages, according to the government. Many of the workers were married with children and had pledged their homes and property in Thailand as security to repay the recruitment fees, according to court records.

Some 24 of the Thai workers are still in the Islands and private attorneys Vincenty and Clare Hanusz represent the legal interests of 22 of them. ...”

Department of Justice Press Release (January 14, 2010): “Defendants Alec Sou and Mike Sou, co-owners of Aloun Farm, pleaded guilty on Jan.13, 2010, in federal district court in Honolulu, to conspiring to commit forced labor. ...During their respective plea hearings, the defendants acknowledged that they conspired with one another and with others to hold 44 Thai men in forced labor on a farm operated by the defendants, using a scheme of physical restraint and threats of serious harm to intimidate the workers and hold them in fear of attempting to leave the defendants’ service.”

The Sentence

Star Advertiser (July 20, 2010): “The sentencing hearing for the owners of Aloun Farms on forced-labor charges will continue in September because brothers Alec and Mike Sou refused to admit to committing acts to which they had pleaded guilty in January.”

Sara Lin (Civil Beat, July 20, 2010): “Sentencing hearings are usually pretty brief. The defendant has already been convicted by a jury or pleaded guilty to a crime. The judge hears comments from prosecutors, defense lawyers and in some cases victims and others before meting out a sentence. But a really strange thing happened ...[a] marathon five-hour sentencing hearing for the owners of Aloun Farms, brothers Mike and Alec Sou.”

The Plea for Leniency

Dr. Kioni Dudley (July 16, 2010): “On Monday, Alec and Mike Sou, owners of Aloun Farms, will be sentenced. This should be a matter of grave concern to all of us. Their incarceration would threaten the food security of the people of this state. ...The Sous play an essential role in the continued well-being of our state. We all suffer if they go to jail. Let some way be found to allow them to serve their sentence while serving the community, for the good of us all.”

Malia Zimmerman (July 19, 2010): “Lyle Wong PhD, administrator for the Plant Industry Division in the state Department of Agriculture, writes in a May 2010 letter that the Sous and Aloun Farms are “good people”, “honorable gentlemen” and “close, personal friends.” He says there are many challenges in the agriculture industry including labor shortages. He downplays their guilty plea and says their sentencing should allow them to get back into agriculture and put the incident behind them. ...”

Kent R. Lau, senior vice president of First Hawaiian Bank, admits in his letter that First Hawaiian Bank has an interest in the sentencing outcome because of “numerous credit facilities to Aloun over a 14-year relationship.” In a May 7, 2010, to Judge Mollway, he attests to the character of Mike and Alec Sou and their family saying they are extremely hard working, down to earth family of unquestioned character and integrity. He also called them genuine, honest, forthright, hardworking, generous, and moral people, noting their generosity to the Hawai`i Foodbank, the Hawai`i Future Farmers of America Scholarship Program and to First Hawaiian Bank’s Prime Time Health Fair.

Gabe Lee, executive vice president of American Savings Bank, wrote a letter in the Sou’s defense as their banker noting their loan to the Sous in the “medium six figure range.” He also said the Sous should be congratulated for their innovative work and committed efforts in a difficult industry.”

Star Advertiser (July 19, 2010): Dozens write to support Aloun leaders By Ken Kobayashi
“Two former governors and community leaders have submitted letters to a federal judge in support of two brothers facing sentencing today for employing Thai immigrants under forced labor conditions in 2004 and 2005 at the well-known Aloun Farms.

John Waihee and Ben Cayetano, former Land Board Chairman William Paty, Hawaii Foodbank President Richard Grimm and dozens of others sent letters to U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway on behalf of Alec and Mike Sou, who hope to avoid a prison term. ...

Waihee and Cayetano both said they did not know the facts of the criminal case, but Waihee said the Sou family helped the state by transforming the Ewa sugar fields into diversified farming. The family also has been active in serving the community, Waihee said. He urged Mollway to give Alec Sou probation.

Cayetano and his wife, Vicky, wrote that Alec Sou's rise as an immigrant from Thailand to establish the state's largest and most successful agribusiness is a "remarkable American success story." The Cayetanos said they have known Sou to be a person of "strong character and integrity."

Paty wrote that Mike Sou would not "condone mistreating of his workers in any way."

Grimm said Aloun Farms has been a "major partner" with the food bank in fighting hunger.”

Antya Miller (July 23, 2010): “To imprison productive farmers and community members, people who are actually trying to deal with the unbelievable challenges of being a farmer today, is ridiculous to me. I believe they should make amends for what they’ve been found guilty, but to imprison them?! The state legislature gives lip service to “keeping the country country” and supporting agriculture, but what do they do? ...Farmers must do all of the hard work of farming, working from dawn to dusk and then deal with all the modern challenges of being a business in the most costly city to have a business and in one of the most business-unfriendly states in America. ...We need to help farmers by addressing the issues that make their job so difficult. If we don’t do that, we will never be sustainable or have food security.”

Dr. Kioni Dudley (July 23, 2010) “If a foreign worker claims abuse while here, the statute of limitations on abuse is five years. If the case is not heard for the full five years, they can stay all of that time. If one can make a half million dollars worth of Thai purchasing power each year, there is plenty of incentive to claim abuse. ...

The whole thing seems to have started with a mistake in visas, which were for good for several months only, while the men claimed they thought they were coming for three years. The visas couldn't be changed. Some workers, then, of course, got angry and made accusations. Those accusations made their way to the Feds who got involved because of the international aspects of the case.

The Sous were indicted on August 28, 2009, the day we won our victory over DR Horton's Ho'opili development at the Land Use Commission. Following that indictment, the Federal prosecutor, Susan French, met with them to negotiate the plea bargain. But, as she admitted yesterday in court, she came with an indictment for five additional charges in hand (as a threat), and with non-negotiable language in the plea agreement. Those non-negotiable points are the things the Sous now say they didn't do. At the time of the plea meeting, their lawyers advised them to sign the plea agreement in order to avoid the second set of indictments, which they did.

At the sentencing session on Monday, the lawyers were hesitant to let them drop the plea agreement because they thought the Feds would take that opening to come at them again. If they held onto the plea agreement and could get the judge to change the details in it, they could keep the Feds at bay, and get the plea to list only the charges they admit to. That judge seemed willing to do that when she closed the session.

From the material presented in court, then, it seems that the Sous are not guilty of the outrageous ugly mistreatment of workers they brought from Thailand which has been in the news, and, indeed, the greatest part of the story of inhumane servitude has been concocted.”

The Plea for Agricultural Sustainability

Anthony Aalto: "Let's be clear here, this cause is not about the Alouns. It is about something much bigger. The land will be there long after they, and we, are dead and buried. The same is true of any development that we permit on the site. I have been unable to find any record of any land in the state that has been returned to agriculture once it was developed. If the farm is paved over it will be lost to agriculture forever. The issue here is sustainability: are we serious about it? If so, how do we achieve it if we allow the most productive farmland in the state to be paved over? Can we chew gum and walk at the same time? Can we support TOD for most of the route of the proposed transit corridor, but withhold that support for the last tranche that would turn the Aloun farm into a subdivision?"

Zuri Aki: "No developed land has ever been returned to agriculture simply because of the effort it will take to restore that land back to productivity - and mind you, it will never be nearly as productive as it originally was. This issue is about sustainability, this issue is about the capacity to endure - to live.

Human Trafficking is Serious

Honolulu Advertiser (January 13, 2010) “We’re talking about forced servitude. It’s really pretty serious case,” said Melissa Vincenty, a private attorney representing some of the Thai laborers. ...Some 24 of the Thai workers are still in the Islands and private attorneys Vincenty and Clare Hanusz represent the legal interests of 22 of them.

Human Trafficking (January 15, 2010) “Slave Labor on Hawaii's Second Largest Farm” by Amanda Kloer):

“If you ate produce from Hawaii, especially Asian vegetables and melons, between 2003 and 2005, chances are you were eating fruits and veggies grown by slaves.

That's because the owners of the second-largest fruit and vegetable farm in all of Hawaii, Aloun Farms, enslaved 44 Thai nationals during that time. The workers were all promised lucrative jobs in the U.S., but once they arrived in Hawaii, the promises were broken and the slavery began.

The Aloun Farms case is in many ways a typical human trafficking case. Company president Alec Souphone Sou and his brother Mike Mankone Sou made a deal with Thai labor recruiters to trick workers into taking jobs on the farm. The recruiters charged each of the workers $16,000 to bring them to the U.S. and find them work at Aloun Farms. Once in Hawaii, the workers were told they must pay off this debt before receiving a paycheck. Because of this falsely inflated debt, some workers never saw a penny from their labors at Aloun. They were told they could not leave the compound where they were housed or speak to people outside their group. Several workers were threatened with deportation if they were "disobedient."

Fortunately, Aloun Farms and their scheme were eventually busted and the brothers arrested. This week, they pled guilty to forced labor charges. They would have been sentenced to 15 years in prison each, but they agreed to help authorities find the Thai recruiters they worked with, the ones who deceived 44 Thai workers about the reality of a job on Aloun Farms. Their new sentence, taking the plea bargain into account, is still forthcoming.”

Henry Curtis (July 21, 2010): This reasoning is similar to saying 19th century southern land growing cotton should remain in cotton, and forget that slaves farmed it. Or saying it is a separate issue.”

Paul Achitoff (July 21, 2010): “If it were "clear that this cause is not about the Alouns," then there was no need for an op-ed begging to let the Alouns off with a slap on the wrist for enslaving workers, on the purported ground that the Alouns are agricultural geniuses, and our ability to feed ourselves is dependent on their uncanny skills. If it's not about the Alouns, there was no need to praise how community-minded they are, with their desperately-needed pumpkins. There was no need to argue that if the Alouns actually have to serve time for what they did, Monsanto will come in and plant GMO seed corn (while we're all starving). The Alouns are planting GMO seed corn (and from what I'm told, GMO corn for sale to the public as well) all by themselves. Excuse me, not all by themselves. Their laborers do it, while the Sous make the money. ...

If we're "serious about sustainability," we won't advocate for farming using toxic herbicides, pesticides, genetically engineered crops, or slave labor, poisoning the 'aina we're trying to protect, and poisoning the groundwater underneath it, and growing crops based on what makes the most money rather than what's good for the land or what's good for the people. And we won't prostitute ourselves by publicly begging for the release of people who have made their living that way for decades.”

Ann Freed (July 22, 2010): “This is such a difficult ethical problem, but I am with Henry on this. If the untenable choice is between people and the land, then I must choose the people.”

Choon James (July 23, 2010): “I believe we have certain basic values and premises that we share and should fight for: ...Preserve this rich and fertile farm area. Food sustainability for Hawaii is important considering we are in the middle of an ocean with nearest flight of five hours. (Hawaii has history of famine.) As mentioned, once ag lands are developed, they are gone forever, pretty much. ...Fair and just labor is an important issue. All human beings deserve to be treated fairly and justly. No one is above the law or should be exempted if alleged violations were willfully committed.”

Hannah Miyamoto (July 23, 2010): The Sous plead guilty. That means they are CONVICTED. Dudley can go on claiming they are the next Scottsboro Boys, or Capt. Dreyfuss, but they had legal counsel, plenty of money, an unbiased judge, a right to appeal, and a opportunity to plead not guilty and go to trial. Dudley may think the Sous are being "railroaded" (snark!) into prison; others see Dudley as resorting to slandering innocent victims of fraud and forced labor.

Dave B. (Civil Beat Comment): The defense lawyers read off a long long list of charitable foundations that the Sous supported with time and money: Meals on Wheels, the Hawaii Foodbank, etc. But what no one asked is whether they would have been able to be so generous without an indentured labor force. Alec Sou told the judge yesterday that the 44 workers had been paid $9.42 an hour (less taxes, meals), 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year. If that's true, rough math shows that's about $862,120 a year ¬in wages. The essence of the guilty plea as it stands is that the brothers did not pay the workers. That's a lot of extra money on the books!

Industrial Agriculture & Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Paul Achitoff (July 22, 2010): “The paradigm that assumes we need to use toxic, petroleum-based chemicals, or other methods of industrial agriculture, to "feed the world," or have "food security," was a creation of post-World War II decisions made to benefit chemical companies and other agribusiness corporations, not farmers or consumers. The same is true about the advent of genetic engineering; it exists to benefit the corporations that created it and sell it. There is nothing "secure" about depending on petroleum-based fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides for your food. It's just the opposite: as the price of oil rises to compensate for the reduced supply, the price of these agricultural inputs also rises, and the price of food also rises. The way food is produced is perhaps the most environmentally significant issue on the planet today; it not only affects the quality of food, soil, and water, but also is responsible for a major portion of greenhouse gas production.”

Antya Miller (July 23, 2010): Do we want to go back to being a subsistence culture where we spend the majority of time on pure survival? Even people like the Amish mostly don’t grow organically. Chemicals are not all bad. It’s the overuse of chemicals that is bad. Growing organically in a tropical climate with no winter to kill off the bugs is extremely hard and labor intensive. Again, how many of you have a garden or farm and grow organically? It’s easy to be judgmental when you don’t walk in the shoes of another person.

Choon James (July 23, 2010): GMO is very questionable in various levels. It's not just on the health side but also the economic side. GMO will eventually allow big corporations like Monsanto to become the few food barons of this world. Monopoly is never good. Farming is a sustenance issue. I detest the thought that farmers, poor or rich, may end up HAVING to BUY seeds for each planting. Talking about ultimate control and greed! The poor will become more burdened.

###

The Gospel According to Panos Prevedouros (August 20, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:56:00.001-08:00

by Henry Curtis

Panos on Global Warming (November 23, 2009) “I have been a skeptic of Global Warming since U.S. Vice President Al Gore received the Nobel Prize and evidence of fraudulent statements in his movie and writings were revealed. Then I read "Blue Planet in Green Shackles" by Czech Republic's President Vaclav Klaus whom Al Gore has never agreed to debate. ...Quite likely 2010 will be the year to leave Global Warming behind us and tackle real issues such as the supply of adequate food, water, energy, mobility and health-care for an ever increasing population and an ever improving standard of living on Earth.” http://fixoahu.blogspot.com/search/label/Environment

Blue Planet in Green Shackles: What Is Endangered Vaclav Klaus, president of the Czech Republic: “The largest threat to freedom, democracy, the market economy, and prosperity at the beginning of the 21st century is no longer socialism or Communism. It is, instead, the ambitious, arrogant, unscrupulous ideology of environmentalism. ...the environmental movement has transformed itself into an ideology that seeks to restrict human activities at any cost, and that policies being proposed to address global warming are both economically harmful -- especially to poor nations -- and utterly unjustified by current science.”
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Planet-Green-Shackles-Endangered/dp/1889865095

Panos on National Security (April 7, 2009): “Energy supply from abroad is a vulnerability. ... It is a major political and economic challenge but it is debatable whether it rises to the level of national security.”
Sustainability Q&A http://fixoahu.blogspot.com/search/label/Environment

Panos on Globalization (April 7, 2009): “From the ancient times, trade among tribes was widespread. We now see the modern evolution of it. The globalization of trade is accelerating with more people, companies and countries involved in it every day. It is a natural flow impeded only by artificial protectionist policies. What many people resent is the globalization of culture. This is a less desirable byproduct of a rapidly interconnecting human race. It is up to individual regions to keep traditions of their cultures alive.”
Sustainability Q&A http://fixoahu.blogspot.com/search/label/Environment

Panos on Poverty: “Walter Williams of the Jewish World Review makes a powerful argument that poverty as applicable worldwide is almost absent in the US. He says: ‘Material poverty can be measured relatively or absolutely. An absolute measure would consist of some minimum quantity of goods and services deemed adequate for a baseline level of survival. Achieving that level means that poverty has been eliminated. However, if poverty is defined as, say, the lowest one-fifth of the income distribution, it is impossible to eliminate poverty. Everyone's income could double, triple and quadruple, but there will always be the lowest one-fifth.’”

“The real malaise in the U.S. is poverty of the spirit which leads to many ills in our modern society: Yesterday's material poverty is all but gone. In all too many cases, it has been replaced by a more debilitating kind of poverty — behavioral poverty or poverty of the spirit. This kind of poverty refers to conduct and values that prevent the development of healthy families, work ethic and self-sufficiency. The absence of these values virtually guarantees pathological lifestyles that include: drug and alcohol addiction, crime, violence, incarceration, illegitimacy, single-parent households, dependency and erosion of work ethic. Poverty of the spirit is a direct result of the perverse incentives created by some of our efforts to address material poverty."
http://fixoahu.blogspot.com/search/label/Homelessness

Panos on Rick Hamada: “For nearly three years now and on 40 or so Mondays per year I join political columnist and radio host Richard Hamada ...for a humorous, interesting and if I may say so, insightful, discussion on Honolulu city's issues and challenges relating to traffic and infrastructure, as well as on cost-effective ideas to mitigate these problems.” Hamada

Panos on the Republican Party (April 19, 2010) "I am pleased to announce that on Tax Day 2010 I joined the Republican Party of Hawaii. Why? ...As an engineer and individual I am fiscally conservative, so joining the GOP, the party that promotes transparency and accountability was a natural choice. I identify with the GOPs values of Liberty, Limited Government, Individual Responsibility, Fiscal Accountability, and Equality of Opportunity. ...Tax and Spend does not work. ...We need to bring more business sense to government. Government is supposed to take care of its people like a good business takes care of its employees." http://hawaiipoliticalinfo.org/node/2842

Hawaii Supreme Court reverses ICA on burials (August 2010)

2011-02-14T21:55:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The Oahu Island Burial Council (2006) approved General Growth Properties proposal to move `iwi so that General Growth Properties could build their Ward Village Shops Project.

Paulette Kaleikini challenged the issue before the Oahu Island Burial Council during their September 13, 2006 meeting:

“Kaleikini asked for the location of where the inadvertent burial was found on the property and the reason why there was no additional testing. She feels that there wasn’t a complete survey done and the survey should’ve been completed before any piles were driven into the ground. ...Kaleikini asked how the other seven burials were found....Kaleikini thanked General Growth for making an attempt to redesign but feels that they could do a better job. She thanked the other families who have come forward and shared her relationship to the land. She said that the council should listen to the mana‘o of the ‘ohana first and not the developer because that was the purpose of why this council was established. She said that the kupuna do not have options other than what is decided here today. ...Kaleikini asked why the project would not be able to proceed if the iwi were left in place.”

The Oahu Island Burial Council then approved a “Motion to relocate the previously identified Native Hawaiian burials located within the Ward Village Shops Project area.” Yes (6), No (3), Abstain (1)

Represented by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp (David Kimo Frankel and Moses K. N. Haia III), Paulette Kaleikini requested DLNR for a contested case hearing under HRS 6E. The request was denied. She appealed. The Circuit Court dismissed the case ruling "that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction." The Intermediate Court of Appeals (ICA) rejected the appeal stating the case was moot.

The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that Paulette Kaleikini’s appeal "falls within the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine" and that "the circuit court erred in dismissing Kaleikini 's agency appeal for a lack of subject matter jurisdiction". The case has been remanded back to circuit court.

Chief Justice Moon, joined by Associate Justices Paula Nakayama and James Duffy, wrote the opinion. Associate Justices Mark Recktenwald and Simeon Acoba wrote separate concurring opinions.

Associate Justice Mark Recktenwald wrote in his concurring opinion: “I concur in the result reached by the majority. ...I write separately to emphasize my view that the circuit court erroneously applied Kaniakapupu and therefore erred in dismissing Kaleikini’s petition. ...I believe that it is appropriate to consider this case under the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine in order to clarify the scope of the holding in Kaniakapupu. Accordingly, I concur in the result.”

Joan Conrow writes: “The plan was endorsed by a 6-3 vote of the Oahu Island Burial Council ...Not all Burial Council members are Native Hawaiians or cultural practitioners; some members are appointed to represent development interests. The Court's decision underscores an important point that has been brought up repeatedly by preservationists, and that’s the need for developers to do good archaeological surveys before they design their projects and begin construction.” (www.kauaieclectic.blogspot.com/)

Joan raises a good point. Who is on the Burial Councils? This raises another question. How will this court decision affect other major projects such as Rail?

Chair Mark Kawika McKeague (6/2013) works for Group 70. McKeague voted against the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth

Vice Chair Hinaleimoana K.K.W. Falemei (6/2012), is the Director of Culture at Halau Lokahi Public Charter School and former President of Kulia Na Mamo; B.Ed. Education; B.A., Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Carolyn "Kehau" Kehaunani Cachola Abad, Ph.D. (6/2013) M.A. Anthropology (1992) Ph.D. Anthropology (2000), UH Manoa, Thesis: An Analysis of Hawaiian Oral Traditions: Descriptions and Explanations of the Evolution of Hawaiian Socio-Political Complexity. A spokesperson for Na Kumu o Kamehameha (1997), Director of Kamehameha Publishing (2008), Kamehameha Endowment Legal Division (2010). Abad abstained from the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth

Cy M. Bridges, (6/2011). President of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association; He began the Polynesian Cultural Center`s hula halau in 1980, continuing today as the Center`s Theater Director.

Angela Lemaile Ehia-Quitevis (6/2012), Member DMZ Hawaii Aloha ‘Aina, her partner Kamoa Quitevis, is a Native Hawaiian, Navy veteran and Hawaiian cultural monitor, said he strongly opposes the Stryker unit and harshly criticized the revised EIS. He said he has seen the damage done to cultural sites because of the military presence in the Islands.

Alice U. Greenwood, (6/2011) is a long time resident of Waianae and is noted for her knowledge and expertise in Native Hawaiian culture and history, especially in the repatriation and reinterment of Native Hawaiian burial sites. Testimony in support of her nomination was submitted by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Lualualei Ahupua'a Council. Greenwood voted in favor of the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth

Andrew Keli`ikoa (6/2011) is currently employed as a Senior Construction Inspector with the Honolulu Board of Water Supply and is also a member of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I. Keliikoa voted in favor of the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth.

Shad Kane (6/2012) Retired from the Honolulu Police Department in 2000. He is a member of the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club and former chair of the Makakilo/Kapolei/Honokai Hale Neighborhood Board, the Kapolei Outdoor Circle, the Friends of Honouliuli, Ka Papa O Kakuhihewa and the Makakilo-Kapolei Lions Club. He is also the Ewa Representative on the O'ahu Island Burial Council and a Native Hawaiian Representative on the Native American Advisory Group (NAAG) to the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation in Washington DC.

T. Kehaulani Kruse, (6/2010) Worked for Sheraton Hotels (1960-69); Alu Like (-1979); Nature Conservancy of Hawaii (1979-89).Outrigger Hotels & Resort (1989-94). Kruse voted in favor of the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth

Aaron D. Mahi (06/2013) former longtime director of the Royal Hawaiian Band, and member of the Prince Kuhio Hawaiian Civic Club. Mahi voted in favor of the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth

Jace L. McQuivey (6/2001) is the Vice-President and General Legal Counsel for Hawaii Reserves, Inc., charter board member and officer of the Native Hawaiian Hospitality Association, and member of the Lanihuli Hawaiian Civic Club. McQuivey voted in favor of the Motion to relocate `iwi as desired by General Growth

The Oahu Island Burial Council must sign off on the proposed Rail Project.

Hawai`i Board of Education Candidates Forum (August 24, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:54:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Save Our Schools held a candidate forum for those running for one of the three open seats on the Board of Education.

The Star Advertiser story mentioned the sponsor – Save Our Schools – in paragraph 24 of their story. The story did not mention the moderator Neal Milner. The story said that 40 people turned out. I counted over 90. The paper only included quotes from 7 of the candidates and did not mention by name the other three who were present. No analysis at all. That is why blogs are so necessary.

Each candidate had two minutes to make an opening statement. Then each candidate had two minutes to answer a question they were all given in advance. Then Neal asked 10 questions that were not shown in advance to the candidates, each question was answered by five candidates, on a rotating basis. Starting with candidate one, the first five answered the first question, the next five answered the second question. Then starting with candidate two, candidates two thru six answered one question, then candidates seven thru ten and candidate one answered the next question, And so on. Then questions from the audience were asked.

`Olelo taped the whole event.

The candidates are listed in the order in which they spoke.

MARCIA LINVILLE is a retired librarian who worked for 19 years with the Hawaii State Public Library System. She said “here is where I lose the election” DOE hired 15 financial analysts for $70K each. I would put the million dollars to another use. Her priority “This will not win any votes ... libraries.”

TODD HAIRGROVE received the first audience laugh: “I am disabled but I am not dead yet.” His priorities are infrastructure: leaking roofs, air conditioners that don’t work. “Principals [should have] control over hiring and firing teachers.” He favors an elected board over an appointed board: “An appointed board, very partisan, very quickly.”

Mr. Hairgrove graduated from High School in Texas, is a parking lot attendant, volunteers in audio and sound department at his church, works with children at Word of Life Christian Center, is a member of the Republican Party and his candidacy is endorsed by Hawaii Right-to-Life.

MELANIE BAILEY became active in the schools due to the school furlough fiasco. She appeared to have audience support at the beginning of the forum but appeared to have lost their good will and didn’t appear to know that she had lost it. She is a member of the Aikahi Elementary School Parent-Teacher-Student Association (2003-10). Ms. Bailey has a B.A. in hotel, restaurant and institutional management, with a minor in business, from Penn State University and works as human resources manager at Duke’s Canoe Club Restaurant in Waikiki. Her priorities: “Working with a budget ... fiscally important decisions ... 10 years ... utopia ... $2B/year 170,000 students. The number 1 priority ... the new Superintendent must be a leader. The number one issue is engaging the community.”

She favors on-line testing, efficiencies, line item of our tax dollars, we do not have satisfied customers, we need a weighted school formula and more $ towards principals.

Question: Do you support the decision to close rural schools? “Hard for me to see rural schools on any of our islands ... I drive across the island of Oahu for both work and school.” (She lives in Kailua and works in Waikiki).

Question: What should we do about low performing schools? “When we are talking about low performing schools were talking about communities. Stricter guidelines so students know ... by 12th grade how to behave like a citizen.”

She favors an appointed school board: “I want to be able to point my finger and say that you were responsible for this decision.” She is running for an elected board in case the voters don’t vote for an appointed board in the November elections.

Question: How would you handle bullying and teach tolerance and diversity? “Because we have a very diverse population we’re doing a pretty good job.”

One child in public school.

She shares a campaign brochure with Kathy Bryant-Hunter.

KATHY BRYANT-HUNTER is running for the Board with fellow Kailua resident Melanie Bailey. She has a BA in international economics from Claremont McKenna College in California but left the University of Hawaii one credit shy of a master's degree in urban planning. Ms. Bryant is an activist with Hawaii Education Matters, president of Aikahi Elementary School PTSA, Kailua Neighborhood Board for 10 years, Chair for 5 years, soccer coach, and favors an appointed education board, although when asked if she favors an appointed education board she dodged the question.

She stated she is knowledgeable about economics, planning and public policy. She knows a lot of people.

The new Superintendent needs to have three qualities: “the ability to communicate ... a systems approach, [the department] is the largest business in the State ... ability to build partnerships (community outreach). The number one goal: Race to the Top.” Question: What are you priorities for the budget? “Continue efficiencies, maintain and increase money to classrooms.”

Question: Do you support the decision to close rural schools? “I was surprised that rural schools were chosen first. [We should] consolidate schools that are close together.”

Question: How would you handle bullying and teach tolerance and diversity? “Continue variety of activities which show individual strength which reduces bullying.”

Ms. Bryant-Hunter stressed “Race to the Top” and increasing the number and frequency of student assessments.

The Race to the Top website states that the funding program focuses on four ares:

(1) Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy;

(2) Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction;

(3) Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and

(4) Turning around our lowest-achieving schools. ...

Assessment starts with robust data systems that track student achievement and teacher effectiveness from pre–K through college. Teachers need this data to better target instruction to students. Principals need to know which teachers are producing the biggest gains and which may need more help.” (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/index.html)

PAMELA YOUNG has worked as the head of accounting for the City and County of Honolulu for 18 years. She is a Certified Government Financial Manager, President HGEA Professional and Scientific Unit (7000 members) and Mililani Mauka/Luanani Neighborhood Board (founding member, served past 13 years).

I am an accountant and the board needs a variety of people including an accountant. The new Superintendent needs to be a “CEO, visionary, work well with the Governor, Legislature, Community, Unions”. Priorities: “Increase organization and technology of DOE.” Question: What should be the priorities: We have a “priority list for CIP projects.” Repair and maintenance was just “transferred from DAGS to DOE.” “All school closings are sensitive.”

Rural schools are “small, remote and historical. Discuss all schools [re closing], all cards on the table, even though it’s difficult.” She has no children.

Question: Do you support assessing math and reading only? Kids need to be proficient in the basics. Question: How would you handle bullying and teach tolerance and diversity? “Schools are responsible for having a safe place.”

ROGER KIYOSHI TAKABAYASHI has served as an industrial arts and physical education teacher for 40 years, as president of the HSTA for 6 years, and current serves as a member of the board of directors for the National Education Association. He is currently Student Service Coordinator at Farrington High School.

Biggest Education Issue: "I think one of the main elements right now is the No Child Left Behind [NCLB] law and Hawaii's effort to be in compliance with everything we possibly can right now. And now we've added the Race to the Top to that. We've been stigmatized as having all these failing schools because we couldn't really reach the NCLB goals, but if you think about it, no state in the nation has reached the goals or will reach the goals. I think we need a voice in there to provide reality check: We're here to serve the children of Hawaii. I think in an effort to elevate everything, we have elevated ourselves out of the ballpark. And we need to set realistic standards and realistic goals and communicate those to the public."

The number one issue is the policy and direction of the BOE and the administrative budget. The new Superintendant needs to focus on human resources. DOE has 13,000 teachers, 6,000 administrators and other people. “Race to the Top – federal funds – will dry up in a year or two. No Child Left Behind reauthorization” was supposed to have happened a few years ago and “has not occurred.”

Question: How can we improve the quantity and quality of teachers? “Difficult to recruit because of salary, cost of living. Higher compensation needed.” “Need source of revenue. The GET is $2.7B. Schools $2.4B. DOE has $300M shortfall.” Dedicated General Excise Tax for schools instead of depending on Legislative handouts.

Question: Do you support the decision to close rural schools? “I support the small rural schools. Students from small schools are more nurtured, they feel more free to approach teachers. I support small schools.” Question: Do you support assessing math and reading only? “BOE has established Algebra 2 for the future. Detrimental to graduation.” “I have one child. Punahou K-12.”

How would you handle bullying and teach tolerance and diversity? We have “bully proof program. [bullying] not tolerated, not acceptable.” Question: Do you support teacher qualifications based on performance? We have Model O, was Model A, B, C now Model O. If fully implemented the cost would be quite extensive.

NOELA ANDRES-NANCE had spunk and passion, although she forgot a few questions and needed them repeated, including the first question which Neal emailed to everyone.

Question: What should be the qualities of the new Superintendent? “She is willing to be accountable and articulate a vision.” “We need fiscal accountability ... [this is] most crucial, less bureaucracy, where do we spend the $11,000/student” We need a breakdown. “We need assessment data” “I have two children one in public school one in public charter school. I home schooled my two children for 10 years.”

Question: How would you handle bullying and teach tolerance and diversity? “Zero tolerance for bullying. Not tolerated. Not acceptable.” “According to Newsweek, teaching is the only occupation insulated from accountability.”

According to Newsweek we hire teachers from the lower third of high school graduates while Finland hires from the top 10%.

(The source for her quotes was: Newsweek (March 5, 2010): "Why We Must Fire Bad Teachers: In no other profession are workers so insulated from accountability" by Evan Thomas (Newsweek Editor at Large) and Pat Wingert (Newsweek Washington bureau) with Eve Conant and Sam Register. www.newsweek.com/2010/03/05/why-we-must-fire-bad-teachers.html)

Ms. Andrews-Nance is finishing her bachelor's degree. "You can't separate faith from your profession, your entertainment, that's all in one. So, yes, faith does have a place in government," (www.kitv.com/news/24683287/detail.html) Facebook: “Christian Academy P.T.F. One of our own is running for Board of Education” Youtube: “Noela Nance-First Assembly of God, Red Hill. Noela shares how the worship and the presence of the Spirit of the Lord drew her family to this church seven years ago. She also describes how the church aims to be the hands and the feet of the Lord to each other and the greater body of Christ by practical applications of His love.” (http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=uCcCnAni96g&feature=related)

KIM COCO IWAMOTO is the only incumbent running for re-election to an at large seat.

"My priority has always been and will continue to be students first. That means maximizing educational opportunities for every student. I feel we have the chance to offer educational opportunities that enrich education for every child in Hawaii. From a more technical standpoint, I think we need to continue down path of data collection and data decision-making that we're on now. We should have reliable data that we can base decisions on, so we can see, for example, which of the models for restructuring schools worked and why."

“I went to BOE meetings for 6 months before elected” in 2006.

Question: What should be the qualities of the new Superintendent? The Board had a special workshop. Manager or change agent? The school budget is $2.4B with budget reductions to $1.7B. Set goals collaboratively.

Question: How can we improve the quantity and quality of teachers? Nurses make more than teachers with 20 year experience. We need higher pay. The cost of living is Hawaii is 39% above the national average according to the US Census. Teachers make 1% above the national average.

Question: For every 100 ninth graders, 68 graduate, 40 go to college, 24 survive to the second year and 12 graduate. How can we improve these numbers? “The graduation numbers are 74.9% for the US and 76% for Hawaii. Reach out to every student, a lot of extracurricular activities, make schools more relevant ... increase graduation.”

Question: New public schools get $2M while Charter Schools get nothing. Would you change this? “I support public schools and high performing charter schools. Same rate of struggle and success. Governor/Legislature fund Charter Schools, not BOE.”

Question: Do you support assessing math and reading only? “Tests measure how students do and how teachers are doing. It is a tool, not a tool of judgment but a tool of improvement. We lose the magic of education when we get too focused on standardized tests.”

“I am a foster parent of four children. All four went to public school.” I think everyone should read “Going Against the Grain: When Professionals in Hawaii Choose Public Schools Instead of Private Schools” by Ann Shea Bayer. It’s about Hawai‘i professionals choosing public education for their children in a state that adheres to a commonly held belief that “public schools are failing and private schools are succeeding. Hawai`i has three of the five International Baccalaureate schools in the U.S.

Question: How would you handle bullying and teach tolerance and diversity? “We need to look closer at tolerance and respect. The data is very sad. So many students report being bullied and harassed.”

Question: Do you support teacher qualifications based on performance? The Board has been discussing this. 40 years of studies. It works for mechanical tasks; for cognitive and creative tasks the opposite is true. Professional development and feedback works better.” Support greater funding for arts: “art is a tool to reach out and integrate into other areas.”

MALCOLM KIRKPATRICK is a self employed math tutor who was with the US Navy and who ran for office in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and is “0/6”. He would “abolish the Teacher Standards Board. Allow principals to determine teacher credential requirements. Offer credit by exam for all courses. Mandate that schools must hire parents, on personal service contracts, to provide for their children's education, if the parents apply for the contract. Make payment contingent on performance on commercially available standardized tests.”

“I have no children. I would home school if I did. In Hawaii, juvenile arrests fall when school is not in session. Juvenile hospitalizations for human-induced trauma fall when school is not in session.” (http://harriettubmanagenda.blogspot.com/)

“I am not here to preserve the system.” “All governments make more promises than they can keep. We’re going to have to break some of them.” “I encourage parents to home school.” “What works is an empirical question that only experience can answer.” We need many small schools to test different ideas.

Kirkpatrick campaign literature: "Civic 101 Quiz ... What role did anti-Catholic bigotry play in the formation of the U.S. (or Hawaii) State school system."

ROBERTA PHILLIPS MAYOR was very professional.

Question: What should be the qualities of the new Superintendent? “Real business of education occurs in every school room, inspire students, emphasis on classes. Most pressing issue: increase public confidence in schools. On-line feedback system.” Inspire staff, support education goals in classrooms.

Question: How can we improve the quantity and quality of teachers? Teacher quality is number 1. Caring, nurturing, paid appropriately, continual development of teachers,” that is, teachers should continue to study to learn the latest about their fields and to develop personally.

Question: For every 100 ninth graders, 68 graduate, 40 go to college, 24 survive to the second year and 12 graduate. How can we improve these numbers? Supports school use of assessment data and teacher collaborative, link classes to real world experiences. We need sequential assessments, self-assessment for schools, development strategies for principals.

Ms. Mayor was a classroom teacher at Waipahu High School, principal at Waipahu Intermediate School and Waianae High School, and as a district and state level administrator in both Hawaii and California. She graduated from McKinley High School, and earning Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Degrees from the University of Hawaii. She served as Interim Superintendent, Oakland Unified School District (2008-09), and as the Hawaii DOE Educational Director, represented the DOE with print/television media & at Legislative hearings, 1987-1992. (http://robertamayor.com/)

Beyond Sustainability: Blue vs. Green (September 17, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:53:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The World Congress on Zero Emissions was held at the Hawai`i Convention Center from September 13-17, 2010. The purpose of the gathering was to bring together a group of international people involved in dreaming about a transformative world where businesses conduct themselves in a way that benefits all people, rather than seeking to maximize profits and then, through guilt, giving some of it to those at the bottom of the rung.

The conference brought together a number of exciting and dynamic speakers.

Anders Nyquist is a world re-known pioneer of sustainable communities who built an eco-community in the 1960s in northern Sweden.

Tomoyo Nonaka was the first female CEO of a major Japanese corporation. She led Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. from 2005-07, brought its profits out of the red into the black, introduced new sustainable products, and was ousted for being too “naive,” “feminine” and to “Gaia” oriented.

Lyonpo Thakur Singh Powdyel, the Bhutan Minister of Education, spoke about how his country implemented the Gross National Happiness (GNH) metric. During his last trip to Hawai`i 22 years ago, he had presented these ideas to skeptics at the East-West Center. Today he sees a lot of similarities between Gross National Happiness and the Aloha spirit.

The conference has a focus on Hawai`i. There were a lot of Hawaiian singers. All of the food came from Hawai`i. The Master of Ceremonies was Professor M. Puakea Nogelmeier, a professor of Hawaiian language, traditional dance, chant and literature, at the Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai`i at Manoa. There were three separate panels on Kanaka Maoli issues.

On the fourth day of the conference the keynote speaker and conference organizer Gunter Pauli addressed three separate groups of students: 100 third-fifth grade students, 350 middle school sixth to eight grade students and 350 high school students. At those presentations one could truly see the magnitude of the challenge facing us. All of the student groups went first to a display room which contained sustainability booths and a number of new electric vehicles from around the world. Then they went into the Lili`u Theater.

The elementary and middle school students had enormous excitement and were engaged. The high school students had less energy, many were less engaged, and 4 of the 20 students from Nanakuli High School sat in the back of the room and sought to disrupt the meeting.

Gunter suggested that the worst thing that one could do was the learn everything in school and to question nothing. He asked the students to step back and to wonder about the connections, interaction, and previous steps in systems.

In a very engaging style, he interacted with the elementary school students and talked about coffee and how it wakes up mom and dad, but how practically the total weight of the coffee is in the waste product. Throwing coffee grounds on plants kill beneficial worms. Disposing of the grounds in landfills create methane, a potent greenhouse gas. But using the grounds and very little sunshine one can grow Shitake mushrooms, which are very healthy to eat and which are traditionally very expensive. To do this you need both a dad and mom mushroom, something the Chinese learned some 700 years ago.

The conference focused on zero waste and zero emissions, which does not mean what it initially sounds like, but rather man mimicking nature. In nature all byproducts are used in other systems. Only man has created waste streams that are unusable by any other system. This must change.

In the blue economy every waste stream and every emission from one system is an input into another system. There are zero emissions in the traditional sense in that no emission or waste is disposed of in some garbage dump but rather is needed in some other value added process.

The blue economy is about sustaining financial, environmental, social and cultural flows. Any process which provides value to one sector while harming another sector is not blue.

The blue economy shifts the focus from decreasing inputs to increasing revenue produced, to finding more revenue streams. A growing financial pie has sufficient financial flows to benefit all.

This contrasts with the green economy where the idea of sustainability is all about minimizing pollution, minimizing energy inputs through energy efficiency, and supporting green jobs. The green economy is about the environment and shrinking the input pie.

The solution is to think positive, look way outside of the box, and to walk the talk especially on short-range implementation. The goal is to get people into the uncomfortable zone and to dream of new ways of looking at things.

Thus the name tags at the conference did not pigeon-hole people by identifying the group they represented or their country, but gave only their name. The meetings did not start or end on time. The rooms that we meet in were changed at the last moment. Break-out sessions were re-organized and restructured. All panel discussions were held sequentially rather than occurring at the same time but in different rooms.

Professor Gunter Pauli, the keynote speaker, is an optimist with powerful aura and mana. The focus was on walking the talk – short term action now – in which multiple cash flows are generated that benefit business, social and environmental interests.

Brazil has the first power plant where the total CO2 waste emissions are fed into an algae pond to produce algal biodiesel.

Gunter Pauli recognizes that there are intense conflicts around the world. His approach is to shift the conflict from a bi-polar push-pull conflict to a more complex system, adding a third and perhaps a fourth party, and then seeking a solution that benefits all of them.

Expanding Conflict: Faced with competition from cheap Thai rice, Brazil banks were considering foreclosing on landowners growing rice in southern Brazil. The conflict was bipolar: bankers vs. land owners. The banks would receive the land, but are not land managers, and would not be able to prevent the landless from moving in and occupying the land. The solution was to bring the landless into the conflict though their organization the Movimente sem Terra (MST). The conflict became three-way.

Southern Brazil water is very alkaline and thus rice farms produce algae which must be removed as waste product from the paddies. It turns out that the waster algae was Spirulina which can be used as food, its lipids can be converted in biodiesel, and its cell walls are esters which can be converted into cosmetics. The landowners now have functioning farms. The landless now have jobs and food. The bankers are now investing in successful businesses. And some of the profit is being fed into the local university which is producing a number of young Ph.D.’s and which has become a hotbed of algae research.

Blue economy conversation sounds like business people saying similar things to those expressed by deep green environmentalists.

"The form of capitalism that has dominated world societies is entirely disconnected from peoples’ real needs. Some two billion people struggle to get by on less than two dollars a day, lacking access to food, water, health, and energy, the most basic requirements for survival. Over 25% of the world’s youth are unemployed. Yet one billion of us are overnourished ...The prevailing economic model predicates that scarcity is the major limitation. Industry searches for ever higher agricultural yields and manufactory outputs, demanding that the Earth and human labor produce more. We must re-evaluate this notion and begin to more fully utilize what the Earth and labor produce, rather than demanding more materials and more output. It is time to end the insatiable quest for ever lower costs that drives business towards economies of scale through megamergers and acquisitions financed by billion dollar loans. It is time to adopt broad-based innovative strategies that generate multiple revenues and greater cash flows while creating more jobs. It is time for a Blue Economy."

Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives (ZERI) was founded by Gunter Pauli in 1994 in response to the alarming pressure humanity is putting on the environment. The ZERI production and consumption model makes sustainable development possible by understanding and working in concert with natural systems. It shifts the concept of industry as a linear process—where waste is an expected by-product—to a concept of a system in which all by-products are used to stimulate further production.

I asked Gunter about the rebound effect. In 1865 Lord Jevons analyzed the development of a more efficient coal-powered steam engine. This development triggered a sequence: the coal input per unit of output decreased, the finished product became cheaper, demand for the product rose, and the amount of coal used increase. Thus some argue that efficiency is great from an microeconomic profit-oriented financial point of view but does not solve, and in fact worsens, the macroeconomic energy crisis.

Gunter responded that economic systems are not linear. That there are many different interactions in any system and that 2+2 might equal 7 today and 19 tomorrow. This argument reminded me of my graduate courses in economics where professors used to say, if you change this and hold everything else constant, how does the output change. Of course, you can’t hold a dynamic system constant where everything is in a state of flux.

The panel on Kuleana Living and Land was facilitated by Konia Freitas (Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies) with speakers Carlos Andrade (Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies), Katrina-Ann Kapāʻanaokalāokeola Oliveira (Assistant Professor and the Interim Director of Hawaiian language at Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa), D. Kapua Sproat (Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law), and Camille Kalama (Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation )

The panel on Indigenous Hawaiian Contributions Toward Achieving Zero Emissions was organized and facilitated by Konia Freitas (Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies) with speakers Eric Enos (Founder and Program Director, Ka`ala Farm, Inc), Kukui Maunakea-Forth (co-founder of MAʻO Organic Farms in Waiʻanae), Paul Reppun (Reppun Farm), and William Aila (Waianae’s Harbor Master).

The Role of Governance in Managing Hawaii’s Natural Resources was organized by Ibrahim Aoudé (Chair, Ethnic Studies Department), facilitated by Hokulani K. Aikau (assistant professor of indigenous politics in Political Science at UH Manoa), with speakers Neil J. Kaho`okele Hannahs (Kamehameha School), Kaulana H.R. Park (Chairman, Hawaiian Homes Commission), Kevin Chang (OHA Land Manager), and LeeAnn Crabbe (Vice President of The Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust).

The Conference was sponsored by Enterprise Honolulu: the O`ahu Economic Development Board.

In 2003 Enterprise Honolulu published a series of reports called the Economic Development Series (EDS).

“A Key characteristic of a healthy economy is that it exports more than it imports. This is especially important for an island economy with no land-based contiguous markets. These goods arrive each day in containers at Sand Island and at the airport via cargo planes from global suppliers in other parts of the world.

We pay for all of these overseas shipments ... with the money available to us.

Imagine if we had to pay for all these products with hard cash, and that no cash was coming into the state. How long would it take before we had no money left in the islands?

In order to pay for the things we import, we need a flow of exports to keep refilling our coffers. And the flow of payments for the goods and services we import should be at least balanced by the flow of goods and services we export. If payments for imports exceed payments for exports, we have a ‘trade deficit’. Just like a negative balance in your checking account impacts your household, if a trade deficit continues too long, a region’s quality of life begins a downward slide.

So how are we doing? According to the State’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, not do well:

Imports (goods and services) $14.954 billion

Exports (goods and services) $ 2.194 billion

Deficit (goods and services) -$12.760 billion

This massive deficit could bankrupt us in no time. Fortunately, tourism overshadows Hawaii’s export business and greatly reduces the trade deficit:

Deficit (goods and services) -$12.760 billion

Tourism (goods and services) $10.033 billion

Net Deficit (goods and services) -$2.727 billion

Federal expenditures of over $9 billion per year also keeps us from hitting bottom.

However, the fragility of the tourism industry combined with the dependence upon the federal government makes our whole economy fragile. To overcome these challenges, Hawaii must design new strategies which will result in sustainable prosperity for our state.”

“Key strategies to overcome the deficit and protect us from volatility of the tourism industry and dependence on the federal government include economic diversification to achieve: ... Export Enhancement - Increasing the volume of goods and services we sell outside Hawaii. ... Import Substitution - Replacing goods and services bought outside the region.”

# # #

The Benefits of Being Politically Connected (September 29, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:52:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

In 1991, Lydia Hemmings was convicted of five class C felonies: one count of second-degree theft and four counts of second-degree forgery.

In July, 2010, Lydia Hemmings, wife of State Senator Fred Hemmings, pled guilty to reduced charges of third-degree theft in a plea agreement. She had been accused of stealing from Blueprint for Change when she was its executive director.

Hawaii Attorney General Mark Bennett said: "Lydia Hemmings has prior felony convictions other than this case. An independent grand jury found probable cause to believe she committed these crimes. She signed a plea agreement that said, 'I plead guilty because I'm guilty.' She told the judge she was guilty." (Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser)

For her plea she got a $4,500 fine, 150 hours of community service, and one year probation.

Hemmings says his wife is innocent. So apparently was Senator Galen Fox, who committed and admitted to a sex crime on an interstate airplane, and had his name removed from the sex offender registry.

The Governor sheltered Representative Galen Fox's sex crime for a year before his act became public. During this time he voted on legislation dealing with crime.

Hawaii News (Inmates' insight on study: Is Justice system unfair to Native Hawaiians?, September 30, 2010) reported: "I was a drug addict," said Charmaine Heanu. ..."I sold ice. I was actually looking for a hit and saw this person who gave me drugs to sell it to another person, who was (an undercover) cop," said Heanu, who was sentenced to 10 years.

Lydia Hemmings current job decription varies:

According to West Hawaii Today, Lydia Hemmings serves as the Administrator of the Clinical Standards Office in the Department of Human Services (DHS) Med-Quest Division.

According to Civil Beat (re salaries of state workers) Lydia Hemmings is the Health Coverage Management Branch Administrator making $104,004.00 per year.

Charmaine Heanu is serving time with the State, while repeat offender Lydia Hemmings is lucratively employed by the State.

Is this justice or politics?

Henry Curtis

ililani.media@gmail.com

Greening the Military (October 1, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

At several conferences held this year in Hawai`i the military has detailed its plan to convert from fossil fuel to renewable and alternative energy. The military is teaming up with commercial airlines and with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to research and develop alternative fuels.

A navy jet fighter powered by biofuels was designated the Green Hornet. The current nuclear and biofuel powered fleet will be called the Great Green Fleet. Naval armadas will be called Green Strike Groups.

Petroleum is currently used in commercial aviation, commercial marine transport, ground transport, and in Florida and Hawai`i for electricity generation. The federal government accounts for less than 2% of petroleum consumption in the U.S. Virtually all of the federal government’s purchase of petroleum is for the military (92%).

The U.S. military in Hawai`i uses about 128 million gallons of petroleum per year. The fuel is of three principal types: JP8 jet fuel (79 million gallons), F76 marine fuel (42 million gallons) and JP5 jet fuel (7 million gallons).

Electricity can be produced from numerous sources including solar, wind and wave. Airplanes and large ships must be powered by petroleum or biofuel. Thus if one wanted to use biofuels, it makes sense to save it for aircraft and ships.

But Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) has proposed using biofuels for electricity generation. HECO is willing to pay a premium, and state regulators have approved paying the premium although the price is confidential. The military will not pay a premium for biofuels.

Navy Times (October 16, 2009): Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said that the navy currently uses nuclear power and biofuels for 17% of its energy needs, and this should increase to 50% by 2020.

Sarah Bittleman from Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsak's office stated that Hawaii’s growing conditions are similar to the Gulf States and therefore Hawai`i is considered part of the Southeast.

The USDA Biofuels Strategic Production Report (June 23, 2010) believes that biofuel crops grown in the Southeast and Hawaii will be soybean, sugar cane, biomass sorghum, perennial grasses, and woody biomass. The Report states that “Hawaii, Florida, Georgia and Texas are the largest consumers of petroleum in the region.”

To handle all the new biofuel crops grown in the U.S. the Report states that private entities will have to finance and build 527 biorefineries, at a cost of $168 billion.

In June 2010 the military published a request for information (RFI): “The Government seeks to identify responsible potential sources and obtain information regarding possible suppliers of bio-derived alternative fuel for aviation purposes, and potentially for marine diesel, for delivery to various locations in the state of Hawaii.” The goal of the RFI is to identify ways the Hawai`i military can replace ¼ of its fuel with Hawai`i grown and produced biofuels.

The Navy favors fuels that can be used without modifying equipment currently in use. To them, the source of the biofuels is irrelevant.

At recent Hawai`i energy, agriculture and biofuel conferences, many speakers spoke of the challenges facing Hawai`i. We do not know what type of fuel will be grown, where it will be grown, by whom, converted to biofuel using what process, where the biorefineries will be located, and how the locally grown and produced biofuel will compete against cheap imports.

In Hawai`i we do not know where the labor and water will come from, and how to offset the rising cost of fertilizer.

Hamakua farmer Richard Ha has done the math and suggests that the price that bioenergy crops would go for to make reasonably priced biofuel is 7 cents per pound. Food crops would sell for far more and thus be more profitable that bioenergy crops. If somehow there were a switch in the relative value of bioenergy versus food crops, then the issue of “food versus fuel” would pop up.

Hawaii Island cattle rancher Alan Gottlieb suggested that land be leased to HECO, and that they hire their own labor to make themselves some biofuel.

The State of Biofuels

The prices are secret, the military and the State don’t agree, everybody wants to move forward, and no one knows what crop, what conversion process, and how it’s all going to be done.

# # #

Henry Curtis can be contacted at ililani.media@gmail.com

The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System (September 29, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:49:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) has just released a report that points out that Native Hawaiians make up 24% of the state's general population but 39% of those incarcerated by the state criminal justice system.

This can be read two different ways.

* Native Hawaiians are NO more likely to commit crimes, but are more likely to be imprisoned. (TRUE)

* Native Hawaiians are more likely to commit crimes and therefore more likely to be arrested. (FALSE)

All societies that have ever existed have used drugs.

Since the U.S. drug wars started a few decades ago, the majority of those arrested and imprisoned are low-level non-violent illegal drug users and people of color.

The economic elite have chosen to imprison those who are economically challenged: American Indians, Blacks and Native Hawaiians.

Anyone who has studied history knows that organized crime started in this country during prohibition.

Our drug laws are now a billion dollar industry consisting of public and private law enforcement and public and private prisons. The private prisons make higher profit by turning lower level offenders into higher level offenders.

We are creating the problem that we say we oppose. What a system!

The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System was compiled through research by the Washington, D.C.-based Justice Policy Institute (JPI), and experts at the University of Hawai‘i and Georgetown University.

The State Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 27 HD1 (2009): “The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is requested to contract with a nationally respected and objective consulting firm to conduct a study of disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in Hawaii's criminal justice system; and ...the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is requested to submit, not later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010, the consultant's findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, for reducing disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in Hawaii's criminal justice system”

The following was sent out by Kat Brady

Aloha Justice Advocates!

Native Hawaiians Over-Represented in Hawai'i's Criminal Justice System

Groundbreaking research shows that Native Hawaiians are more likely to be incarcerated than other racial or ethnic groups in Hawai'i

· Executive Summary

· Full Report

· Fact Sheets

· OHA Press Release

Here are the links to the news coverage of the press conference:

KITV

KHON

KGMB

Here’s the press release from the Justice Policy Institute:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

September 29, 2010

NATIVE HAWAIIANS OVER-REPRESENTED IN HAWAI'I'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

HONOLULU, HAWAI'I - The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) released a new report today, The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System, which examines the impact of the criminal justice system on Native Hawaiians. While detailing how Native Hawaiians are disproportionately impacted at various stages of Hawai'i's criminal justice system, the report also includes first-hand accounts of Native Hawaiian concerns with the criminal justice system and how it affects their families and their culture. Native Hawaiians are the indigenous, native people of Hawai'i. Findings from the report show that the criminal justice system incarcerates Native Hawaiians at a disproportionate rate.

"This crucial research shows the need to address the unfair treatment of Native Hawaiians in our state's criminal justice system," said Clyde Nâmu'o, OHA's chief executive officer. "Native Hawaiians make up almost 40 percent of the populations in Hawai'i's prisons and jails. We are more likely to be sent to prison, and for longer periods of time, than nearly every other racial or ethnic community in Hawai'i. OHA strongly supports a fair justice system and this study sets the course for change."

Additional key findings in the report include:

· Of the people serving a prison term in Hawai'i, approximately 50 percent are housed in facilities on the mainland. Of this population, about 41 percent are Native Hawaiian, the most highly-represented group. While incarcerated out of state, these people are further disconnected from their communities, families and culturally appropriate services for re-entry.

· Native Hawaiians do not use drugs at drastically different rates from people of other races or ethnicities, but Native Hawaiians go to prison for drug offenses more often than people of other races or ethnicities.

· Once released from prison, Native Hawaiians experience barriers that prevent them from participating in certain jobs, obtaining a drivers license, voting, continuing education, obtaining housing and keeping a family together.

· Without a sufficient number of culturally appropriate services, Native Hawaiians are not given the best chance at achieving success upon re-entry into the community.
"In 2009 the OHA Board submitted Concurrent Resolutions to the 25th Legislature noting that a study would be helpful in determining the extent, nature and impact of perceived disparities. The Senate urged with the House of Representatives concurring in HCR27, HD1, that OHA should contract a nationally respected and objective consulting firm to conduct a study of disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in Hawai'i's criminal justice system. That study is now complete." said OHA Chairperson Apoliona.

The resulting report provides a number of recommendations to reduce the unfair impact of the justice system on Native Hawaiians, including:

· Reform the criminal justice system in Hawai'i to embrace the cultural values of Native Hawaiians. Changing the justice system so it is in line with culturally significant norms and values will help preserve a historic culture and strengthen the Hawaiian community and its identity.

· Develop a targeted plan to reduce racial disparities. One immediate proposal by OHA is the establishment of a task force that will review the findings and recommendations of the report, and formulate policies and procedures to eliminate the disparate treatment of Native Hawaiians in the criminal justice system. Members of the task force will include OHA, government agencies, legislators, prosecutors, public defenders, the state attorney general, the judiciary, public safety and probation officials, the police, a former prisoner and treatment providers.

· Concentrate efforts to reduce the punitive nature of the criminal justice system and fund community-based alternatives to incarceration. Investing in alternatives to incarceration and the investment of funds into re-entry and preventative programs will aid in addressing the disproportionate impact on Native Hawaiians.

· Reduce collateral consequences associated with criminal justice involvement. The current system deprives pa'ahao of full integration into the community. Barriers to education, housing, employment and parental rights only serve to increase the likelihood of future re-imprisonment which would further destabilize families and communities.

The Disparate Treatment of Native Hawaiians in the Criminal Justice System was written at the request of the Hawai'i state legislature following the approval of House Concurrent Resolution 27, and was compiled through research by the Washington, D.C.-based Justice Policy Institute (JPI), and experts at the University of Hawai'i and Georgetown University.

Is There a Future for Hawai`i Agriculture? (September 21, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The 2010 State Agricultural Conference was, at its heart, an agricultural conference. Thus the section on bioenergy was not focused on creating an alternative way of producing energy but rather biofuels were seen as alternative agricultural products.

The conference was held at the Ihilani Resort and Spa, Ko 'Olina, Oahu (September 23-24, 2010).

Ironically, on Thursday morning, as the state agriculture conference was just getting under way, the Hawai`i Land Use Commission gave unconditional approval to Castle & Cooke to remove 575 acres of prime agricultural land from productive use for the purpose of urbanization. Castle & Cooke is also seeking massive taxpayer subsidy to build a wind farm on Lana`i to power O`ahu to increase the State's energy self-sufficiency.

Sustainable Agriculture

Timothy LaSalle, Ph. D. was the Keynote Speaker and he was dynamic.

He has a B.S. in Science from Cal Poly; M.S. degree in Populations Genetics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and a Ph.D. in depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute.

LaSalle’s doctoral work was in depth psychology which focused on resistant to change, specifically the reasons why human economic and cultural systems—including non-organic agriculture—are so resistant to change. He noted that “Only about 20 percent of us are confident enough in ourselves to ‘risk’ our established identities on making a significant change, even when we know it is the right thing to do.”

LaSalle was a full professor at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), where he taught chemical-based dairy science classes for a dozen years. He then served as the CEO (2007-10) of the Rodale Institute. The Rodale Institute was established in 1947 as an organic alternative. The Institute studies the links between healthy soil, healthy food and healthy people. LaSalle now serves as the Founder and Director of NewEra Agriculture

Timothy LaSalle said: “As humans we get caught in our own paradigms. We get caught in a political view, we get caught in a religious view, we get caught but more importantly, in a world view. And our culture and education bring us up in this world view. And one of the things western education has done and this has gone global, it has come to Cartesian Reductionist, and not to use those kinds of words, but into a physical mindset that, let’s look at one little thing and find an answer and that will fix it.

What I learned early on though that in those paradigms there were constricted and value would be put in and if it disagreed it would be thrown out and that’s typically the case. We do that in our own thinking.

We come to a place where we say I ah I do not understand, I do not agree and we discard it. In essence and search for answers we have to begin to open frameworks, and that’s where I had to challenge my own self, and this is a hard head. ...

Paradigms work against innovation.”

The Dreamer

Perhaps the most controversial presenter was Kyle Datta. Some loved his rosy optimistic dream of the near-term future, while others felt it was very unrealistic.

Kyle Datta is a managing director of Ulupono Initiative and has a varied past having worked for Booz Allen, the Rocky Mountain Institute, and being CEO of the U.S. Biodiesel Group. The other managing director of the Ulupono Initiative is Robin Campaniano (the former President and CEO of Farmers Insurance Hawaii, previously known as AIG).

Pierre and Pam Omidyar are the founders and are sole sponsors of the Ulupono Initiative, a Hawai‘i based, Hawai‘i-led and Hawai‘i-focused social investment organization.

The Ulupono Initiative has made several investments in Hawai‘i

* Hawai`i BioEnergy LLC (Kamehameha Schools, Grove Farm Company, Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Khosla Ventures, and Finistere Ventures)

* MA‘O Organic Farms (Waianae)

* Kohala Center's Hawai‘i Island School Gardens Network

* Sopogy (concentrated solar power), and Kanu Hawai‘i

The Ulupono Initiative has assumed management of Kapalua Farms, a 158-acre organic farm and agricultural research facility in West Maui.

The State Department of Agriculture and the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) believe that we produce about 15% of our food, while 85% are imports. Kyle Datta suggested that we grow a much higher percentage of fruits and vegetables locally than most people think.

Datta believes that the percentage of locally grown fruits and vegetables should only include those crops that are grown commercially in Hawai`i. “We have a statistic that we provide about 15% of our food. But our society has changed its diet ...We choose to eat food that don't grow here and that skews the statistics. ...Our farmers provide actually about 1/5 of our food [that is commercially grown here].”

Datta is an optimist: “Agriculture in Hawaii has undergone a long, dark and difficult night, a steady decline that was accelerated by the spike in oil commodity price in 2008. We sit at the end of the supply chain and we must compete in the global marketplace ...Thanks to our natural resources, our ingenuity, and the wisdom of our heritage, we believe that Hawaii's agricultural sector is poised for a rebirth. We have an agricultural sector that collectively provides a half billion dollars to this economy. It’s one of the most important sectors in the State and yet we don't understand the value that we ourselves really provide.”

This analysis is a slight stretch of the facts. The financial value of our state economy is $60B/year while the agricultural sector is $0.5B/year (less that 1%). The two largest sectors of agriculture are seeds for export and flowers. The food sector is therefore quite small relative to the state economy. The small size of the agricultural sector shows up in DBEDT’s number of civilians in the work force in 2009. There were 641,000 workers in the State of which just 6,100 were in agriculture.

Datta is a dreamer: “What would happen if all the parts of the agricultural community worked together, the big farmers, the small farmers, the chemical farmers, the organic farmers, the ranchers, the dairies, the hog farmers, the poultry farmers, the environmentalists, the conservationists, the federal state and local governments, the retailers, the distributors, the processors, what would happen if we all started working together.”

The stretching of facts to build a can-do dream can be seen on the Ulupono Initiative website: "Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) is fundamentally shifting its business model from making money by selling more fossil based kilowatt-hours to making money by conserving energy and selling more renewable power. ...On the Big Island, the company produces renewable energy from wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and ocean energy to supply 31 percent of the county’s power needs."

In reality, HECO, MECO and HELCO use oil to generate 99.7% of their electricity. They rely on others for renewable energy.

Other dreamers who were present included Sarah Bittleman, Senior Advisor to the USDA Secretary and Dr. Paul Zorner, President and CEO, Hawaii BioEnergy.

Sarah Bittleman: "U.S. agriculture runs a $30B trade surplus."

Dr. Paul Zorner: We can and must change. “The current state of Hawaii’s energy and food security is not great. We import ...90% of our energy, 80% of our food, for a total export from our economy of at least $10 billion per year. It’s a remarkable drag on our economic health and it’s not, it’s not sustainable.” Dr. Zorner has great hope for the future role of agriculture in Hawai`i.

The Cynic

Alan H. Gottlieb, a dynamic speaker who is also a self-described cynic, started out as an optimist 30 years ago. Alan Gottlieb graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa; is a founder of the Paniolo Hall of Fame; serves on the Board of the Hawaii Beef Industry Council; is currently the President of the Statewide Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council; is a member of the Hawaii State Board of Agriculture (2004-); serves as Treasurer for Ponoholo Ranch Limited, a Big-Island cattle ranch, the 20th largest cow/calf ranch in the United States; and manages subsidiary Second City Property Management, which operates agricultural water systems in West Oahu on over 8,000 acres for a number of diversified farmers.

Following Datta’s rosy dream, Gottlieb said: “Okay, let's get back to reality now.”

“One of the things that were obviously going to have to do to achieve this vision is to sell the public. That might be of all the things were going to talk about that might be the hardest thing to do; selling the public on this vision. Well maybe the hardest thing would be to get us all to work together in this system. ...The other real tough thing is the politics of this thing, because politics runs everything we do every day.”

There are major issues that must be resolved, including land, water, food and fuel, energy and labor.

Another pessimist who spoke is Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar (HC&S) General Manager Chris Benjamin: “I come out looking like Debbie Downer ...I depress you." "There are a lot of challenges here that I think everybody recognizes: selecting the right conversion technology, developing the right end products, for the right customers, dealing with the environmental issues, permitting issues, as I said before, effluent disposal, off-take agreements, again with the right set of customers, cost, the economic feasibility, financing, those things you all know about."

One issue raised by several individuals and speakers concerned the proposal by Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) to pay a premium for locally grown bioenergy crops. State regulators have recently okayed HECO’s paying a premium for local energy. The resulting energy surcharge will be passed on to all ratepayers including ranches and farms already getting squeezed against cheap imports.

The Decline of Rural Agriculture

Sarah Bittleman, Senior Advisor to the USDA Secretary described the state of affairs in rural agricultural America: “If you live in rural America today, you are likely to make $11,000 less than your urban counterpart, you are more likely, unfortunately, to be a high school dropout, than your urban counterpart, you are half again as likely to be a college graduate, and America, rural America is losing its population, 57% of rural counties, lost population between 2000 and 2008, compared to 18% of urban counties. If we are losing population and we have an aging population, of the folks who are left, and we have less education, what we need is more opportunity to convince folks to tell their children to stay in rural America. ...Today rural America account for about 1/6 of the population but account for 45% of those who served in our armed forces.”

As Donna Wong noted, agricultural employment is undergoing a long and steep decline. Historically almost half of U.S. workers were farmers in 1900. In Hawai`i, one out of every three workers in 1940 worked directly for sugar and pineapple companies.

Today only 2% of Hawaii workers and 2% of U.S. workers are employed in the agricultural field.

The average age of a U.S. farmer is 58 while the average age of a Hawai`i farmer is 60. Farmers have stressed education for their children, who increasing are going into other fields of employment.

Our current farming system has created a labor crisis: according to Charlie Reppun, 80% of all U.S. agricultural workers are foreign born. American born workers consider farmers beneath them.

Biofuel versus Agriculture

Sarah Bittleman, Senior Advisor to the USDA Secretary: “Rural America, farmers and ranchers, you are playing and will play an even greater -- as we develop the paths forward -- key role in energy security for the nation.”

There is tension between the Hawai`i farming and bioenergy communities. This tension erupted two years ago when DBEDT encouraged the bioenergy to go after Hamakua land. The BLNR held a meeting where the existing leases were not invited. BLNR wanted to break the existing agricultural leases and to give half the land to bioenergy interests as a “win-win” solution. Alan Gottlieb “suggested” it might be a “win-win” since the ranchers and farmers would not lose all of their land.

Gottlieb believes that this push-pull is still around. “I have some real concerns about when energy and agriculture are going to come to blows. We’re going to need both, but when push comes to shove the politicians roll their eyes, they see hey, we've got this energy mandate, and let's get rid of all this food and let's put in it energy.”

The State Legislature (Senators Hee, Kokubun, Takamine and Representative Mark Nakashima) held a hearing on this issue in Hilo and molded legislation to change the way the State will handle future bioenergy projects.

Senator Kokubun: “The emphasis on clean energy, particularly by the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative I think also creates overzealousness, let's put this that way, I think, it's not necessarily a bad thing but, we need to be very careful in our approach to ensure that agriculture meaning food production agriculture is not lost in the discussion about alternative energy agriculture. ...

There was an issue that occurred a couple of years ago where there was a desire to do biofuel production on the Big Island and the process didn't involve necessarily contacting those existing lessees that held some of those lands, those were State lands, and what it produced was some animosity some contention between the energy producers as well as the existing agricultural users so the Legislature felt that we wanted to at least we wanted to bring this to the forefront, make this an issue that was not ignored that was not just swept under the rug because otherwise this contention, this confrontation, this adversarial type relationship would just continue.

Given the leadership of Senator Clayton Hee in the Senate we were able to put together a bill that very simply asked that any time any bioenergy development is being proposed on State land that a public hearing be held on the island on which that was being proposed.” The Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto of the public hearing bill.

Climate Change

Timothy LaSalle: “Tropicana Orange Juice, when it said we got to figure out what our carbon footprint is, they assumed it would be refrigeration or packaging or transport -- and when they did the analysis it was farm nitrogen fertilizer -- it was number one by far.

The soils capacity to hold carbon is so large, and it wants it, we should be paid to do it. ...Here we have, as far as ranchers, the opportunity to actual to fix the global problem.

Christine Jones of Australia said that if we increase all of Australia 1% in soil carbon that would mitigate all we emit.”

The scientist he referred to is Christine Jones, founder of Australian Soil Carbon Accreditation: "Soil organic carbon is the largest reservoir in interaction with the atmosphere." (United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation) – Vegetation 650 gigatons, atmosphere 750 gigatons, soil 1500 gigatons. ...Only soils can sequester significant amounts of atmospheric Carbon in the next 30 years. Every other solution will take 30 years to start shifting meaningful volumes."

Energy Diversification

Dr. Makena Coffman is an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii at Manoa and is a Research Fellow with the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO).

The talk by Dr. Makena Coffman was more animated than her traditional presentations. She told me that it was because she didn’t have a power point presentation. In addition, Dr. Coffman showed a greater range of knowledge than her past talks. She readily admits that her models are still focused on the utility scale and centralized generation while recognizing that small-scale decentralized systems must be incorporated into the next generation of models.

“In its peak in the mid 70s, biomass accounted for roughly 12% of Hawaii's electricity energy production. But this figure began to decline pretty rapidly with the closure of the plantations, and oil really filled its void, so there was increasing concern that we were getting yet more dependent on oil, and in this period of time we were up to about 95% dependent on oil as our main energy source, and so with this concern in 1992 a coal plant was opened on the island of O`ahu as a means of electricity diversification.

So today Hawai`i roughly meets about 14% of its electric needs with coal burning and less than 2% for biomass...

So our switch to coal I emphasize this because I think it provides a really important lesson that we really need to thing about all of the consequences of both with our energy policy and our agricultural policy before we take action. In the fear of oil dependence we really accepted a much dirtier outcome.”

The Future

There Is No Alternative (TINA) is a common way of picturing the future. There is only one path forward, our path, according to advocates of various paths forward. But that microscopic approach masks the real debate.

Dr. Makena Coffman: “Hawai`i now has the most stringent [Renewable Portfolio Standards] RPS in the nation. But there is a great debate about what's the most effective and appropriate mix and scale of different renewable energy technologies.”

Designing future scenarios should incorporate lessons learned from the past. There was a concerted effort to create a Hawai`i ethanol industry in the past 20 years. “Previous studies has really underestimated or ignored two key factors, the first was labor costs and the second was the relatively low price of imported ethanol sources” even with federal tariffs adding to the cost of imports.

Agricultural Land: Does Size Matter?

Abbey Seth Mayer, Director of the State Office of Planning said: “What lands have roads that would support ag operations, what has water, infrastructure, irrigation ditches and pipelines, and what actually has water that's permitted, some of them don't, some of them are purely about the soil and the chemical composition of the soil. Okay, so then we have baseline, we have the broadest selection so statewide we have our biggest group, everything that is in all of the land that is in one of those five [soil rating] systems and from there we start subtracting out. ... We removed land that has already been subdivided to less than 15 acres because once you divide land up that small we knows it's going to be hard to find viable larger scale agricultural operations on those.”

Which Biofuel Crop?

There were advocates at the conference who favor saltwater algae (Cellena), woody biomass (John Ray, SunFuels), grasses (John C Cross, Edmund C. Olson Trust), as well as other fuels.

Audience members expressed concern that most bioenergy crops are also invasives.

John C Cross: “So when it comes to growing a biomass crop for fuel I want a crop that's not going to fight for its existence against the elements and my wallet. I can't tell you what crop that will work except to say I'm pretty sure it's going to be a grass type of crop. In my slides I chose guinea grass as an example of what could be a successful biomass fuel source. ...When it comes to guinea grass, it's a weed, it's something I spent 25 years of my life trying to kill.”

The Next Generation

The Conference also had speakers who are organizing the youth.

As long as 98% of Americans are not farmers, politicians will be focused on satisfying the majority at the expense of the farmers. One solution is to excite young people about farming.

Nancy Redfeather is the Program Director for the Kohala Center’s Hawai’i Island School Garden Network. Building on a successful model developed in Waimea, the network works with student gardens at the majority of public, private and charter schools on Hawai`i Island. With assistance from the Ulupono Initiative, the Network has expanded to the other counties with coordinators on each island.

Paul Kalani Kaawa Flores Jr., the lead coordinator of MA'O's college internship program, spoke about the Waianae Organic Farm. The Farm works closely with Leeward Community College. Students work at the farm and get scholarships for education to attend LCC.

Journalism

The seven press passes issued for the conference reflect the changing nature of journalism: Martha Cheng (Honolulu Weekly), Philip Blackburn (Think Tech Hawaii) Michael Levine (Civil Beat blog), Dave Koga (Honolulu Star Advertiser), Beth-Ann Kozlovich (Hawaii Public Radio’s Town Square), Michael Saiz (Hawaii Health Guide) and myself, Henry Curtis (Ililani Media). In addition to writing for Disappeared News, I was the only videographer there. The videos will appear on `Olelo and on my video web site.

Attendees

Dr. William Wallace Moekahi Steiner (Dean, UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management)

Sandra Lee Kunimoto (Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture since 2003)

Chris Tindal (Director for Operational Energy, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy Office)

Eileen O’Hara (Pacific Biodiesel LLC)

Diane Ley (USDA Farm Service Agency, formerly with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture and the Hawai`i County Government)

Tim O’Connell (USDA Rural Development)

Richard Ha (Hamakua Springs Country Farms)

Vincent Mina (organic farmer and founder of the Maui Aloha 'Äina Association)

Hector Valenzuela (College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) Department of Horticulture)

Debbie Ward (Sierra Club; Quality Control Officer at Hawaii Organic Farmers Association)

Monty Richards (Big Island's Kahua Ranch)

To contact the author:
Henry Curtis
808-927-0709
ililani.media@gmail.com

Timothy LaSalle, Ph. D. was the Keynote Speaker at the Hawai`i State Agricultural Conference held at the Ihilani Resort and Spa, Ko 'Olina, Oahu (September 23-24, 2010).

LaSalle served as the Rodale Institute CEO (2007-10) and is the Founder and Director of NewEra Agriculture

Video: Beyond Sustainable Agriculture

Holistic Agriculture (September 21, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The World Congress on Zero Emissions was an unusual conference in that it was sponsored by a business entity – Enterprise Honolulu – but gave a platform to those who are and have worked against major business interests.

The 30 member Enterprise Honolulu Board of Directors is chaired by Robbie Alm (HECO), and includes Kirk Belsby (Kamehameha Schools), Blenn Fujumoto (Central Pacific Bank), James Ajello (HECO), Alan Arizumi (First Hawaiian Bank), Dennis Francis (President & Publisher, Honolulu Star Advertiser), Kitty Lagereta (Communications-Pacific), Colbert Matsumoto (Island Insurance Company), Susan Matsushima (Alluvion), Jeffrey Overton (Group 70), Patrick Sullivan (Oceanit), Keith Yoshida (Mid Pacific Petroleum), and Bruce Coppa.

Enterprise Honolulu is financed by prominent entities including: Ameron Hawaii; Carlsmith Ball; Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties; D. R. Horton - Schuler Division; Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel; and the University of Hawaii Systems.

Enterprise Honolulu sponsored the World Congress on Zero Emissions held at the Hawai`i Convention Center, from September 13-17, 2010.

The Congress featured a dozen Native Hawaiian panelists.

Panelists included those who are fighting for the return of water diverted by the sugar and pineapple plantations on both O`ahu and Mau`i.

The focus on sustainable agriculture was not just limited to Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians).

Grant McCargo is a fourth generation real estate developer who prefers to build and own, rather than building quickly and cheaply and flipping the property to someone else before the construction is complete. His new company -- Bio-Logical Capital – is seeking to be a master planner for a sustainable agricultural project within Hawai`i. He said he does not need capitalization. He can commit $B if they can find the right property and develop the right relationships.

A company run by Grant McCargo is the master planner for a new multi-billion dollar University of California campus.

Chad Adams, the Bio-Logical Capital Vice President for Sustainable Development, did not sound like the typical capitalist: “The fisheries of these islands are largely dead, as a direct result of the plantation economy, and the soils clogging the reef systems.

In the past century, 1/3 of all soil on the planet has gone from the land into the oceans. There is a natural cycle where soil goes into ocean, it feeds nutrients, not nearly at that kind of rate. Another thought, nearly half of the soil that's on the planet right now, 46.4%, is a massive decline in productivity because of being on this liquid NPK [Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium]. Remember the meth. This is a meth head type situation, it needs more and more and more in order to keep producing and it’s becoming weaker and weaker and weaker.”

Mr. Adams discussed beef steak from a holistic perspective. The average steak from a cow is produced using over 14 gallons of oil. But in addition, if you look at the best producing corn fields in the Midwest, it takes “roughly 241 pounds of soil that's lost to make the corn to feed that cow per steak that is on your plate.”

Many assume that heavily industrialized agriculture is the answer. But according to Mr. Adams, industrialized agriculture accounts for only 30% of all the food that people eat around the world.

This occurs mostly in the industrialized west where there is lower density of people. In the crowded areas of Less Developed Countries, sustainable agriculture is used.

Often there are studies that show how productive industrialized agriculture is. But these studies are point to point and are published and financed by industrial agricultural interests.

Mr. Adams noted: Take a modern industrial rice production systems and measure it head to head against a, let’s go with southeastern Asian traditional cultural system for producing rice. Who makes more rice? I guarantee you it’s the industrial system. ...However, what about the ducks, and their eggs, and the talapia, and the bok choy, and the arugula, and the nutrient rich water that is being used in the next system. ...The industrial system is giving as a result, an unhealthy crop, that's polluting the land, eroding the soil, using tremendous amounts of energy, with none of those other benefits.”

William `Aila Sr. serves as a Kupuna Agricultural Consultant for Ma`o Farms. He focused his presentation on the Big Picture, looking beyond narrow studies that analyzed situations by imposing artificial boundaries on what is examined.

“The social capital that we're talking about at Ma`o [Farms], when you, when you think of it in terms of government, there's no value for social capital, they that don't assign x amount of dollars per every kid you save from going to jail, there, there's no computation to do that, there should be, we should have somebody working on that right now. How much does it cost to keep a kid out of jail versus how much does it cost to keep an adult in jail, or the property damage, or the vandalism. Because when you include those total costs then a system that keeps kids involved a system, that teaches kids that we have a reciprocal relationship with the `aina, and with the ocean, and with our parents, and with our extended family and with the community, is a system which has less of those additional costs.”

Paul Reppun, a Waiahole farmer, talked about how water is a major limiting factor in restoring ahupua`a to productivity. He noted that water is a major limiting factor worldwide.

According to Paul Reppun, in the great water fight fought on O`ahu, the Waiahole Ditch fight – the old sugar and pineapple plantations sought to maintain water flows to central O`ahu by creating large centralized diversified agriculture farms in central O`ahu. They leased the land to farmers under the condition that the farmer would testify in favor of the urbanization of the land when the landowner wanted to urbanize it. In addition, the farmer would have to pay a substantial financial penalty if they opposed the urbanization.

As Paul Reppun stated: “They wanted big corporate type farms, industrial agriculture, what to us is big ... the Sou Brothers have 3000 acres, that's immense, ...they have 150 workers, whoa, lots of jobs right?, 150 workers most of them from Mexico, they brought them in, not to provide jobs for our people, but to increase our population, and increase the load on infrastructure, because they work for cheap, or [from] Thailand.”

Neil Hannahs, Director of the Land Assets Division for Kamehameha Schools, spoke on the Governance Panel.

He stated: “I think 15 years ago, this was set up to be the squirming panel, because you had a beautiful panel of grassroots people before us, and there would have been all these institutional guys up here trying to explain themselves in the face of all this mana`o and rich, rich sense of values coming from the grassroots. We could have sold tickets and filled the house back then ...

But the beauty of it is, I think were far more aligned these days. It’s not perfect but there’s a tremendous sense of alignment and there’s a story there about governance, and the importance of and the value of sustainable self determination in how we came to be aligned at least for, from Kamehameha’s stand point.

I think others had a less tortuous path to this ephifany. ...At that time Kamehameha’s a bit of a poster child ... we were sideways with Paul [Reppun] and the whole Waiahole gang, the Hou’s [Calvin] and so forth because of Waiahole Ditch. ... And I think of others who came on panels before Kapua [Sproat] who kicked our expensive attorneys ʻōkoles all the way across town and back.”

These panels looked at a whole new (or old) way of looking at agriculture, and integrating it into the larger economy. This discussion was sponsored by Enterprise Honolulu, which is seeking to guide this new approach forward.

Henry Curtis is a web blogger and community televsion producer/director. He can be contacted at ililani.media@gmail.com

Who's Zooming Who (October 6, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:44:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

HECO has received funds via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, also known as ARRA, the Stimulus, or the Recovery Act, which became effective in February of that year.

There is a windfarm at Kaheawa, Maui, mauka of Ma`alaea Harbor. A second phase was proposed in 2006. MECO filed its proposed Power Purchase Agreement for Kaheawa Wind Partners II (KWP II) with the PUC on Oct. 4, 2010.

MECO has known about the project for 4 years, is familiar with the Stimulus Bill, and is aware, as documented in the their own filing, that the turbines were built by 2008.

The deadline for the public to intervene is Oct. 24, 2010. The PUC usually takes at least a few weeks to decide on intervention. The earliest reasonable date for a decision on intervention would be Nov. 15, 2010.

In the filing with the PUC, MECO wrote: “KWPII has informed MECO that a decision and order from the Commission by November 30, 2010 is required if KWPII is to qualify for the [Stimulus Bill] federal grant.”

Thus state regulators are being asked to ram through the approvals and to deny any reasonable motions to intervene.

Is this the new utility or the old utility?

Pele's Dilemma: The Future of Geothemal in Hawai`i (October 6, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:43:00.001-08:00

By Henry Curtis

The Hawai`i State Legislature created the pro-geothermal Hawai`i Geothermal Working Group in 2010 to review the geothermal expansion on Hawai`i Island. The Geothermal Working Group has invited Mililani Trask to its fourth meeting to discuss why geothermal is so successful in New Zealand. The meeting will be held at the Hawai`i County Building, Puna Conference Room #1501, from 1-4 pm on Monday October 11, 2010.

Mililani Trask told me: “I am concerned because some of these uses, like solar, have a huge footprint and provide intermittent energy. Geothermal has a small footprint and produces firm power.”

James "Mitch" Ewan, Hawaii Natural Energy Institute Program Manager, largely concurs: “Geothermal is the most effective, efficient, and fairly inexpensive to produce. Photovoltaic is the most expensive to develop; wind is the least expensive. If energy is used to produce hydrogen, the outlook is especially promising."

Tiffany Edwards Hunt: "I’m thinking geothermal too. Just need to find the balance between safety and innovation. I think the unrest in Puna is mostly due to anxiety that the geothermal can sometimes sound like a jet plane. PGV needs to be very proactive in assuring geothermal’s safety… and its emergency plans."

Davianna Pōmaikaʻʻi McGregor: "The interplay of many dynamic primal natural elements in Puna make it one of the most sacred areas in all of Hawai`i. ...Pelehonuamea practitioners believe that the waters of the Puna district are sacred to Kane and that the steam generated by the heart of Pelehonuamea is sacred to her."

Lack of Environmental Review

During the 1970s-1990s, Hawai`i had spent $17 million over 15 years laying the groundwork for geothermal to generate half of the State’s electricity needs and to transmit it to Maui and Oahu via an undersea cable. No state or federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was ever completed on the inter-island cable. In June 1991 Federal Judge David Ezra ruled that all federal agencies were prohibited from assisting the State in developing geothermal until a federal Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was completed. The project died.

The Hawai`i fight over geothermal was one of the two longest and most intense energy fights in Hawai`i. The other being the Kamoku-Pukele (Wa`ahila Ridge) 138kV Transmission Line fight on O`ahu (1971-2001). While Kamoku-Pukele pitted everyone against the utility, geothermal had and has divided the community.

Some people trace geothermal in Hawai`i to King David Kalakaua, who met with Thomas Edison in 1881 and discussed the possibility of harnessing geothermal to power the State. While Iolani Palace has electricity before the White House, there were no geothermal-to-electricity plants operating anywhere in the world in the 1800s, nor had the concept been proven to work.

The State Legislature

During the 2010 State Legislative Session, Senator Russell Kokubun introduced Senate Concurrent Resolution (SCR) 99 “requesting the establishment of a working group to analyze the potential development of geothermal energy as the primary energy source to meet the baseload demand for electricity on the Big Island.” The resolution passes both houses of the legislature with only Republican Senators opposing it.”

The Working Group is to file two Reports to the Legislature: an Interim Report (January 2011) and a Final Report (January 2012).

SCR 99: “WHEREAS, geothermal energy is a more reliable source of energy than solar or wind energy, because when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, the heat from the volcano continues to produce a steady flow of power; and ...

WHEREAS, the United States Environmental Protection Agency asserts that greenhouse gases threaten public health and science overwhelmingly shows greenhouse gas concentrations are at unprecedented levels due to human activity; and

WHEREAS, there is irrefutable evidence that global warming is real and occurring at an alarming rate, with rising sea levels and stronger and more frequent storms; and ...

WHEREAS, previous geothermal development has raised sensitive issues regarding the impacts on native Hawaiian cultural and spiritual practices; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii needs a sustainable energy market that strikes a balance between economic, community, and environmental priorities; and ...

WHEREAS, as a proven source of reliable firm capacity, geothermal energy has great potential to be the primary source of energy to meet the Big Island's baseload demand, generating the amount of power required to meet minimum electricity demands based on reasonable expectations of customer requirements; now, therefore ...

The County of Hawaii is requested to establish, convene, and facilitate a working group to analyze the potential development of geothermal energy as the primary energy source to meet the baseload demand for electricity on the Big Island; and ...that the working group consist of eleven members with the Mayor of Hawaii County designating the chairperson.

Members of the Geothermal Working Group

Richard Ha, president of Hamakua Springs Country Farms., co-chair. “We absolutely must get into geothermal. Pau. End of story.” Richard Ha believes geothermal, not biofuels, provides the solution to Hawai`i’s energy crisis. “Geothermal could provide enough power for the entire state somewhere down the road and it would definitely help stabilize our economy.” Ha adds “Geothermal is a gift ...It is proven technology, it is cheap, and if we use it wisely, it will protect all of us from rising oil prices.” Ha supports an underwater cable to carry geothermal-generated electricity to other islands. Ha served on the Hawai`i County Mayor’s Energy Advisory Commission while Harry Kim was Mayor.

Wally Ishibashi, Big Island Labor Alliance, ILWU business agent, co-chair. “When it comes to geothermal, we’ve heard a thousand reasons why ‘no can’ ...What we need now is to find out how we can, and to move geothermal forward together.”

Carlito Caliboso, Chair of the Hawai`i Public Utility Commission. As chair of the regulating agency for utility regulatory actions, Caliboso does not take positions on issues outside of the regulatory process.

Patrick Kahawaiola’a, President of the Keaukaha Community Association and the cultural representative. Patrick Kahawaiola`a is director of Aupuni O Hawai i (Kingdom of Hawai i), an organization that which is made up of homesteaders, applicants and their families. He calls the commercial leasing of Home Lands illegal. In October 2005 he was one of five Native Hawaiians who “filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that OHA is illegally spending its trust fund monies on all Hawaiians, not just those with 50 percent Hawaiian blood or more.”

Ted Peck, the State Energy Administrator in DBEDT. Peck recognizes that mistakes were made in the 1980s and is believed to be somewhat supportive of geothermal today.

Jay Ignacio, President of HELCO. Jay Ignacio submitted written testimony for SCR 99:

“HELCO supports geothermal technologies that provide the grid services that are equivalent to conventional resources such as dispatchability, load following, inertia, frequency and voltage regulation. Because of our high penetration of variable or intermittent renewable generation, it is essential that future generating units provide these types of services.

For the majority of its operation, PGV has provided firm, reliable geothermal power to the Big Island electrical grid. PGV has had issues, past and present, with maintaining its geothermal resource and is currently taking steps to resolve this issue. HELCO is negotiating to increase PGV's PPA by 8 MW.

PGV has stated its plans to increase geothermal capacity on the Big Island by developing the resource in the Kona area. An increase in geothermal capacity in this area versus the Puna area would be helpful to HELCO as the electrical demand is larger on the Kona side of the Big Island than in the Puna district. Geothermal Production on the Kona side would also reduce transmission losses and the need for new cross island transmission lines. However, we believe that a lengthy geothermal subzone designation process would be required before any exploration can take place in Kona. In addition, cultural issues will have to be addressed.”

Nelson Ho, is Chair of the Executive Committee of the Moku Loa Group (Hawaii Island) Sierra Club was appointed by the Senate President. Nelson Ho: “State needs to better regulate hydrogen sulfide emissions and tighten the amounts residents are exposed to. Also, the heavier than air nature of this toxic gas can create major hazards for people, activities and facilities downslope. ...How many energy eggs do we want to cram into one small geographical area with high volcanic risks? ...Its location in rainforests and sensitive upslope ecosystems really constrain its development.”

Robert Lindsey, Hawaii Island OHA trustee. Robert Lindsey has a long history regarding geothermal. He wrote a special to the New York Times on June 5, 1982. “In Hawaiian mythology, Pele was the goddess of volcanoes who wandered from island to island randomly creating firebreathing mountains. Here in Volcano these days, it sometimes seems that Pele has come out of her resting place in a local crater and has set the town on fire oratorically. This hamlet of a few thousand people on the edge of Volcanoes National Park is in an uproar over a proposal by one of the biggest landowners in Hawaii to divert hot steam and superheated water from deep within the geologically active earth here. It would be used to generate electricity that would help keep the lights blazing on Waikiki Beach, almost 200 miles to the north of here on the island of Oahu.” http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/05/us/geothermal-plan-shakes-hawaii-hamlet.html

Jacqui Hoover, Executive Director of the Hawai`i Leeward Planning Conference (HLPC) is the West Side Representative, appointed by the Hawai`i County Mayor. Hoover supports geothermal and an underwater cable to carry geothermal-generated electricity to other islands. Jacqui Hoover, formerly with the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA) in Kailua-Kona, and was Chair of the Hawai`i County Mayor’s Energy Advisory Commission while Harry Kim was Mayor.

Barry Mizuno, Hawaii Island Economic Development Board (HIEDB). Barry Mizuno is PGV's former general manager and financial manager, and now a consultant for the company

DLNR seat- vacant

Rene Siracusa is not a member of the Geothermal Working Group. She told me that her personal view is that “there is some opposition to the Working Group, but most people don't even know it exists. The composition of the WG itself is stacked in favor of increased production and new sites. There is only one environmentalist and one native Hawaiian. The state promotes it because they get royalties."

Geothermal Resources

The Earth's core has a temperature upwards of 9,000°F. Heat radiating upwards has occurred since the Earth was formed and will continue to do so for the next few billion years. Thus geothermal energy is a form of renewable energy.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study: "The Future of Impact of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) on the United States in the 21st Century (2006) found that the heat within the first 10km of the earth is 130,000 times the current annual consumption of primary energy in the United States. Drill bits today can dig down three times further, to 30 km.

The heat is produced 24/7. Thus geothermal is a continuous (baseload) energy source. The only other renewable baseload energy source available in Hawai`i is Ocean Thermal.

In addition to decreasing the need for imported fossil fuel, some forms of renewable energy are able to counter-balance short-term solar and wind fluctuations.

Maui energy consultant Carl Freedman told me: "I'm not so sure geothermal is a very good resource to provide grid stability for wind generation unless there have been some technological developments in the last few years that I don't know about (which is very possible). Geothermal is baseload that likes to run flat out all of the time to keep the well flows constant. Cycling geothermal is hard on well integrity due to thermal cycling stresses. It used to be that geothermal had to run all of the time and could not back off for daily cycling. I don't know if more recent technologies allow more cycling but, if not, wind and geothermal are not the most compatible resources. They both run at night when system demand is lowest and both require other additional supply resource to supply operational reserve."

Many people have told me that geothermal plants are not good at altering their output to match fluctuations in wind and solar energy. Geothermal can have two separate production streams: proving electricity when the utility can use it, and producing hydrogen when the utility cannot use the electricity. However, the utility will only sign a contract with an energy provider if it forbids third party sales and this may include hydrogen production.

Geothermal Recreation

Ahalanui Park (Puna, Hawai`i County) has a lifeguard station for its geothermal pool. One can bathe in the geothermal water while watching ocean waves breaking at the makai end of the pool.

Geothermal has been known and used by people around the world for at least 10,000 years in many places including areas currently called Russia, Iceland, Hungary, New Zealand, United States, and Italy. National Parks such as Yellowstone have sprung up around geysers which draw millions of visitors. Hot Springs, Arkansas are named for the spring-fed geothermal baths. Bathers swim in Reykjavik’s blue geothermal lagoon. There are hot spring spas near Mount Fuji. Naples, Italy has fumaroles (steam discharges).

The Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative

Governor Lingle, Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), DBEDT, and the Consumer Advocate signed an Energy Agreement in October 2008 which has become the cornerstone of the Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative.

The Energy Agreement states: "The parties agree to analyze the expansion of the undersea cable system to the Island of Hawaii and to assess the potential of the expanded undersea cable to facilitate the development of additional renewable energy resources on the Island of Hawaii. The intent of this effort is to identify the ability to utilize ...geothermal ...resources to meet the electricity needs of the ratepayers of the Hawaiian Electric Companies. "

Blue Planet immediately endorsed the Energy Agreement. “The Blue Planet Foundation today praised both Hawaiian Electric Company and the State of Hawai'i for their revolutionary agreement regarding Hawai`i's energy future. ...The Blue Planet Foundation billed the agreement as a revolution in how Hawai'i will generate and use energy in the future. "This is more than a step in the right direction, this is a leap," said Henk Rogers, Founder of the Blue Planet Foundation. ..."Today's agreement represents transformative change," said Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation.

Blue Planet Foundation founder Henk Rogers: We have all the geothermal you could possible need. There is enough of it on the big island to feed all of Hawaii. Native resistant (sic) to tapping into Pele is what prevents us from building a cable and connecting that to O'ahu. That is kind of crazy right? It is kind of crazy.”

Mark Niesse (AP) reported: “There's a way to do it with minimal impact. The cable is the least of the environmental concerns," said Jeff Mikulina, executive director for the Blue Planet Foundation, whose mission is to make Hawaii energy independent. 'If we have private investors who are interested in doing this, then by all means let's do it.'"

Kona Geothermal Energy

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory states that “Hualalai is the third youngest and third-most historically active volcano on the Island of Hawai`i. Six different vents erupted lava between the late 1700s and 1801, two of which generated lava flows that poured into the sea on the west coast of the island. The Keahole Airport, located only 11 km north of Kailua-Kona, is built atop the larger flow.

Though Hualalai is not nearly as active as Mauna Loa or Kilauea, our recent geologic mapping of the volcano shows that 80 percent of Hualalai's surface has been covered by lava flows in the past 5,000 years. In the past few decades, when most of the resorts, homes, and commercial buildings were built on the flanks of Hualalai, earthquake activity beneath the volcano has been low. In 1929, however, an intense swarm of earthquakes lasting more than a month was most likely caused by magma rising to near the surface. For these reasons, Hualalai is considered a potentially dangerous volcano that is likely to erupt again in the next 100 years.”

Ormat, the parent company of Puna Geothermal Ventures, has begun exploring Hualalei for geothermal energy potential. The west side of the island has rising energy demand and having a local renewable energy source would cut down on transmission line losses.

Maui Geothermal Energy

The last lava flow on Maui occurred 200 years ago in the southwest rift zone of Haleakala. Last year Ormat won a U.S. Department of Energy grant to pursue geothermal on Maui.

Maui energy consultant Carl Freedman told me "From years ago, I remember some doubts expressed by geologists about the likelihood of a productive geothermal aquifer on Maui. Heat probably ...hot water/steam less likely. But, of course, who knows until they drill to look. This would possibly not be a popular resource with the nearby resort community on Maui (if they are paying any attention). Sulphides smell bad in very low concentrations and geothermal plants seem to release sulphides sometimes."

Last year Maui eco-reporter and advocate Rob Parsons "heard that new or prospective owners of the Hana Ranch and Hotel were incorporating a geothermal component into their business plan. I responded that I thought it very unusual for the owners to look to make their money off this uncertain, unproven source, and for the entire island of Maui to look to receive the bulk of their electrical energy from the most remote end of the island. But then again, I suppose tourism and ranching in Hana is equally uncertain, in both the short and long term. The other geothermal hotspot is the rift zone in Kanaio and Kahikinui, marked by the string of cinder cones stretching down to La Perouse Bay and Keoneoio. The land ownership is Hawaiian Homelands, and Ulupalakua ranch, which recently announced putting nearly 12,000 acres into permanent conservation easement. They also are producing a 20MW wind project in the Kanaio area. Geothermal was discussed for this area many, many years ago."

Hawaii ‘s First Geothermal Venture (1961-1991)

Geothermal research started on the Big Island in 1961 when the Hawaii Thermal Power Co. drilled four privately wells in Kilauea's east rift zone. The State and the National Science Foundation continued to research geothermal possibilities for Hawaii. The Hawaii Geothermal Project Well-A (HGP-A) was constructed in 1975-76 and a 3 MW geothermal generator produced electricity from 1981-89.

In 1983 the State Legislature passed Act 296: "Beginning in 1983, the board of land and natural resources shall conduct a county-by-county assessment of areas with geothermal potential for the purpose of designating geothermal resource subzones. This assessment shall be revised or updated at the discretion of the board, but at least once each five years beginning in 1988."

The Hawaii Deep Water Cable Project (1982-90) was a formal state effort designed to bring power from the Big Island to O`ahu.

Ceded Land Transfers & Cultural Impacts

Campbell Estate received state approval for geothermal development on conservation district land on the mauka border of Wao Kele in 1982. The State of Hawai`i exchanged approximately 27,800 acres of public "ceded" lands, “including the Wao Kele 'O Puna Natural Area Reserve and other Puna lands on the Island of Hawai`i, for approximately 25,800 acres of land owned by the Estate of James Campbell in 1985.

Wao Kele O Puna is habitat for many native species including the ‘ohi‘a, häpu‘u fern, ‘ie‘ie vine, hala, köpiko, ‘io (Hawaiian hawk), ope‘ape‘a (Hawaiian bat), ‘apapane and ‘amakihi honeycreepers. Wao Kele O Puna is also used for cultural access and gathering.

Hawaiian Electric Company ran a TV ad in the early 1980s filmed near Halemaumau Crater that that ended with a giant electric plug being jammed into a giant receptacle planted on the ground.

The Pele Defense Fund (PDF) led community and native Hawaiian opposition to geothermal project. This group was founded by followers of the traditional Hawaiian religious practices, particularly worship of Pele, the volcano goddess.

Lawsuits opposing geothermal were filed by the Pele Defense Fund, the Wao Kele O Puna Rainforest, Greenpeace USA, Big Island Rainforest Action Group, Blue Ocean Preservation Society, Citizens for Responsible Energy Development with Aloha Aina, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace Hawaii, Kapoho Community Association, O’ahu Rainforest Action Group, Pahoa Business Association, Rainforest Action Network, and the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (now known as EarthJustice) provided the attorneys.

The Hawai`i Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that although the Pele Defense Fund could not contest the transfer of public ceded lands, it could litigate the extent to which Hawaiians retained rights customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes in Wao Kele ‘o Puna. The high court issued a landmark final decision in 2002 which acknowledged that the State Constitution protected Hawaiian cultural rights including traditional access, gathering and hunting.

Gina M. Watumull wrote in the University of Hawai`i Law Review (Summer, 1994):

In the 1992 case of Pele Defense Fund v. Paty, the Hawaii Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision which broadly held that native Hawaiian rights protected by article XII, section 7 of the Hawaii Constitution "may extend beyond the ahupua'a in which a native Hawaiian resides where such rights have been customarily and traditionally exercised in this manner." This controversial decision abolished over 100 years of Hawaii Supreme Court precedent which restricted native tenant gathering rights to the ahupua'a of residency. The ahupua'a residency requirement had been judicially imposed since at least 1858 in Oni v. Meek, and reaffirmed as recently as 1982 in the case of Kalipi v. Hawaiian Trust Co.. Further, the Oni and Kalipi decisions were predicated upon the Kuleana Act of 1850 and its modern day successor, Hawaii Revised Statutes section 7-1. Both sources likewise limit the practice of customary and traditional rights to tenants residing within the ahupua'a in which they seek to exercise the rights.

OHA subsequently acquired Wao Kele o Puna rainforest in 2006, and agreed to manage the forest in partnership with the surrounding communities, ensuring that the land will be permanently preserved from development.

Davianna Pomaika'i McGregor told me that "the Pele Defense Fund remains committed to oppose geothermal energy development. It is a desecration of our Akua Pele."

A Kanaka Maoli told me something that was echoed by many other Native Hawaiians: “I'm neutral on this one and feel that the people of these areas where geothermal energy exists should be the ones to give their mana`o. I heard two views from a man from Big Island. He said his first feeling was that geothermal energy was not pono because it takes of the essence of Tutu Pele, like her life force, the blood from her veins. Then he said after these years with geothermal energy and the benefits it has produced for the people, he said perhaps the way to look at it is to say that Tutu Pele allows us to suckle from her breasts and be nurtured by her. Both images are powerful, but it really depends on what the `aina wants and what the people want.”

Environmental Impacts

There are three types of geothermal plants operating it the world.

Historically the first geothermal plants used dry and sometimes slightly warm steam to drive a turbine. The world’s first geothermal-to-electricity plant which was built in Larderello, Italy and the Northern California Geysers are Dry-Steam Cycle plants. Today dry steam plants are a small minority of all geothermal plants in the world.

Most geothermal power plants use geothermal water under great pressure. When the pressure is released some of the water flashes to a boil and the resulting steam powers a turbine.

The third type has two separate piping systems, one for the geothermal water and one for a working fluid. The pipes are connected via a heat exchanger. In this way only the working fluid, and not the corrosive mineral rich geothermal water, comes in contact with the turbine.

Open cycle plants release the waste-steam into the air while closed cycle plants return the waste-steam into the ground.

The Hawai`i geothermal facility was an open cycle facility built close to residential communities. There were numerous planned and unplanned air emissions. And in 1991 there was a 31-hour well blowout. According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there were 19 gas releases between 1991 and 1996 and the plant was a significant source of hydrogen sulfide released into the environment.

Ormat Technologies, Inc., an Israeli-owned Nevada-based company, acquired Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) in 2004. The plant operates today as a closed system where the exhaust is piped deep into the Earth.

Since the facility pipes the waste-stream into the ground, the amount of harmful air emissions is greatly reduced. Offsetting this are three significant issues. Geothermal facilities are built in unstable lava areas. The Hawai`i Department of Health does not have a great track record in dealing with toxic emissions. The Board of Land and Natural Resources issue permits with conditions which they do not track or enforce.

The major environmental impacts are related to air emissions and how a geothermal plant gets rid of its waste steam. The chief byproducts of geothermal wells are carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S), with the latter distinguished by its "rotten egg" smell.

Geothermal water, especially high-temperature water, often contains high concentrations of contaminates including boron (B), arsenic (As), lithium (Li), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), mercury (Hg), and sometimes ammonia (NH3).

Mike Purvis stated: “The PGV uses substantially different methods than in 1981 ...they were simply pumping thermal fluids into open lakes. This was wafting toxic fumes asunder, but now the system is a closed loop. ...It does bother me, however, when the community has to raise hell to get a “green resource” non-toxic.”

Rene Siracusa: “PGV has come a long way since they first began in Puna - they had a very slow learning curve and the residents suffered considerably. But this doesn't mean that what they have learned will all be applicable to a new site, as each site has its own geology. Murphy's Law has not been repealed. The state never took responsibility for the damage they did to the Wao Kele O Puna rainforest, which is rife with strawberry guava and melastomes. The WG will probably not impose/recommend stricter rules and guidelines than the previous CDUA (which was violated constantly and consistently anyway, with no enforcement). Many cultural practitioners oppose drilling into Pele - and others don't see it as a problem providing the proper protocols are followed - but there is no guarantee they will be.”

Geothermal in the U.S. West

Siting of geothermal plants in the U.S. have run into opposition. Medicine Lake is located in the Modoc National Forest, in northeastern California, about 35 miles south of the Oregon border. For 10,000 years the lake is a sacred place used for healing and spiritual communion for 10,000 years. The case is pending before the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A group of property owners, recreation users, environmentalists, and Native Americans (including the Pit River tribe) are concerned about the industrialization of a forest environment, use of untested drilling techniques, uncontrolled releases from deep wells, risk of contaminating the aquifer. The project is supported by some Indian groups (pro jobs) and some environmental groups (pro renewable energy).

The year a Bureau of Land Management lease sale was postponed due to opposition about and questions about building the geothermal power plant in the picturesque and narrow Chalk Creek Valley, Colorado.

The New York Times (Phil Taylor, January 21, 2010) has reported on opposition to geothermal plants in Nevada (safety record and visual impacts), and Oregon (proximity to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, potential impacts to area groundwater).

Asia

Proposed geothermal facilities in the Philippines: Mount Apo (Mindanao), Mt Canlaon (Negros Occidental, Western Visayas) have run into opposition from the Catholic church, indigenous peoples, local environment groups

Japan has thousands of onsen (hot springs) that were traditionally used for bathing and are now tourist destinations. Geothermal developers insist that power plants can co-exist with onsen, but some onsen are concerned with the potential decrease in hot geothermal water.

The Bedugul Geothermal Project in Bali, Indonesia, has been put on hold due to opposition.
New Zealand’s Geothermal Experience

New Zealand is located on the Pacific’s "Ring of Fire." where the earth is always in a state of upheaval.

The Taupo Volcanic Zone (30 miles wide and 150 miles long) in the central North Island, New Zealand, is home to most of New Zealand’s active volcanoes and geothermal plants. New Zealand’s first geothermal plant was built in Wairakei.

Tikitere ("Hell's Gate") on South Island, New Zealand, has steaming lakes, fumaroles (steam discharges), mud pools, a mud volcano and the largest hot waterfall in the Southern Hemisphere and the only Maori-owned geothermal plant.

Aotearoa (New Zealand) pioneered the use of geothermal water to power a turbine. New Zealand. Maori have opposed a number of geothermal facilities. Locals blame geothermal for subsidence problems in Taupo. Mililani Trask is working with proponents of geothermal in New Zealand and will be discussing it on Monday.

The PhD Thesis by Nin Tomas details the Ngawha Geothermal Hearings – Waitangi Tribunal (1992-1993).

On the question of “ownership” and “rangatiratanga” (chieftainship), the Tribunal was of the opinion that Nga Hapu o Ngawha had once owned the entire Ngawha land resource above and below ground. However, the sale of the Block by Heta Te Haara in 1894 had completely extinguished “any right of management and control or rangatiratanga over the surface components of the geothermal system or the sub-surface components under the alienated land in the block.”

Nin Tomas, LLB, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Auckland, Law School, is tangata whenua, being a member of the Tai Tokerau confederation of iwi and a graduate of Auckland University, and a founding member of Te Tai Haruru (Māori academic staff). She is part of the vanguard of change in NZ law teaching, consciously using and developing indigenous and Māori concepts in her ordinary teaching.

The Future of Geothermal Exploration in Hawai`i

`Olelo No`eau: "I ka wa ma mua, ka wa ma hope" (To move forward it is necessary to know where one comes from)

Davianna Pōmaikaʻʻi McGregor wrote “Nā Kuaʻāina: Living Hawaiian Culture” (2007)

In 1983 the Pele practitioners formed an organization they called the Pele Defense Fund. In 1985 they adopted a statement of the inherited beliefs that led them to oppose geothermal energy.

Pele Perspectives

1. Pele is the heart, the life of the Hawaiian religious beliefs and practices today.

2. Pele has always been and is today central and indispensable to Hawaiian traditional religious beliefs and practices.

3. Nowhere in the geographic Pacific except Hawai`i is there a recognized volcano-nature God but Pele.

4. Pele is the akua, and `aumakua of Hawaiians today. Her blood-relationship continue as shared traditions, genealogy and aloha for particular `aina and places in Hawai`i. Pele is kupuna and “tutu” to many Native Hawaiians.

5. Pele is the inspiration, strength and focus for those who are established in practices and performances on ancestral tradition and religion.

6. Pele influences daily spiritual and physical life activities, making it essential that Pele exist in pure form and environment.

7. Pele’s person, her body-spirit, her power-mana, her very existence are the lands of Hawai`i. This `aina is her, which she replenishes, nourishes, and protects. She is seen in special-alternate body forms, along with those of her sisters and brothers, their kino lau: the native fern, the native shrub, of the blossoms of the native trees.

8. Pele is a living God. She is tangible. She has a home on Hawai`i. She has been seen by many living in Hawai`i. She causes earth quakes, tidal waves and lands to sink or surface from the ocean.

9. Pele is the magma, the heat, the vapor, the steam, and the cosmic creation which occur in volcanic eruptions. She is seen in the lava, images of her standing erect, dancing, and extending her arms with her hair flowing into the steam and clouds.

10. We know geothermal development will adversely affect and personally injure the sacred body of the God Pele, and that she will retaliate. We fear for the loss of our God, for the loss of the spirits of our ancestors, for the loss of the lives of our children, and for the loss of our places in Hawai`i.

11. We believe that geothermal development will unduly burden those who are the family of Pele, her guardians, her worshippers.

12. Geothermal development would impair those who depend on salient images of Pele, her viability, and her forests which are connections to the deity.

13. Geothermal development would impinge upon the continuation of all essential ritual practices and therefore also impacts the ability of training young persons in traditional religious beliefs and practices, and the ability to convey them to future generations.

14. Geothermal development will take Pele and diminish and finally delete her creative force, causing spiritual-religious, cultural, psychological and sociological injury and damage to the people who worship and live with Pele.

Henry Curtis can be contacted at:
ililani.media@gmail.com

The High Cost of Cheap Phones (October 7, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Sandwich Isles Communications Inc. was created in 1995 to provide rural telephone service for Native Hawaiians living on Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) property.

Honolulu Advertiser staff writer Rick Daysog wrote on June 16, 2009 that the federal government pays Sandwich Isles about $13,000 per customer for providing phone service and that Sandwich Isles made an offer of $400 million to purchase the bankrupt Hawaiian Telcom Inc.

The cost of phone via inter-island cable is far greater than offering each lessee two cell phones for free each with unlimited minutes.

Sandwich Isles filed an application with the FCC to tap a money fund to finance lease payments for an inter-island phone cable owned by Paniolo Cable Company.

As reported by the Kona Blog, the National Exchange Carrier Association commented on the application:

“Paniolo Cable Company (owner of the leased cable) is now owned in its entirety by Blue Ivory, LLC. Blue Ivory, which is held by the children of Albert S.N. Hee, President of Sandwich Isles, in three private trusts ...In addition, NECA is concerned that the Paniolo cable was constructed by Sandwich Isles’ sister company ClearCom.

While NECA fully supports the provision of advanced services in rural areas, it could not support Sandwich Isles’ decision to lease, in its entirety, a cable transportation network to serve its regulated customer base. This decision was based on the fact that the lease was made at an extraordinarily high cost relative to the number of subscribers, which appears inconsistent with the Commission’s longstanding “Used and Useful” standard, especially given the availability of more reasonable alternatives.”

Last week the Federal Communications Commission ruled that Sandwich Isles can tap the fund for half of the lease costs.

Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

Tall Tales (October 8, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:39:00.002-08:00

By Henry Curtis

Honolulu Advertiser (January 24, 2010) reported: “Regency Waikiki Beach Resort and Spa General Manager David Lewin said his company ...doesn't support the tower next to the Moana for two reasons. "It does not meet the design requirements of the special district. The height and setback are in direct violation, especially the height," he said.”

Kyo-ya has just inked a deal with Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) and Better Place (the electric vehicle infrastructure company). A grand total of seven electric vehicles will be imported into the State. Five will be owned by HECO (but presumably paid for by the ratepayers) and two will be owned by the hotel and used as shuttles.

Better Place will build their first electric charging station at Kyo-ya Waikiki. As a result of a Public Utilities Commission ruling issued a few days ago, HECO will be able to sell electricity for the vehicles at below market rates.

Pacific International Center for High Technology Research (PICHTR) is the parent entity for various government-industry partnerships including the Hawaii Renewable Energy Development Venture (HREDV). HREDV has awarded Better Place $500,000 of taxpayer-financed Federal Stimulus Funds to finance this act of greenwashing.

Henry Curtis call be reached at
ililani.media@gmail.com

Rail Tales: Mapping the Landscape of the Proposed Rail System (October 9, 2010)

2011-02-14T21:39:00.000-08:00

By Henry Curtis

I have attended several conferences this summer where speakers intentionally avoid discussing rail. So I reviewed the 1000+ pages of comments submitted in response to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

Project proponents include the American Planning Association Hawai`i Chapter, University of Hawai`i System, Windward Ahupua`a Alliance, Sierra Club O`ahu Group, D R Horton: Schuler Division and Castle & Cooke.

Federal agencies raised numerous concerns. These agencies included the General Services Administration, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Army, the Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the Department of the Interior. In addition, Federal Judges based in Hawai`i and the U.S. Marshall for Hawai`i raised security issues.

State agencies also raised significant issues. Those staking out concerns include the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the Hawai`i Community Development Authority, the DBEDT Office of Planning, the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture and the University of Hawai`i at Manoa Environmental Center. On the other hand, the Hawai`i Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) supports the project.

Kamehameha Schools offered extensive suggestions and favors building an at-grade rail system. Life of the Land believes that if rail is ever built, it should be at-grade wherever possible.

Several organizations pointed out major shortcomings in the proposed rail project. Issues were raised by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Honolulu, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Hawai`i’s Thousand Friends, Historic Hawai`i Foundation, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Kaka`ako Business and Landowners Association, the Outdoor Circle, Hawai`i Independent Democrats, the League of Women Voters-Honolulu and Life of the Land.

Groups that support the project include the Democratic Party.

Groups which have no stated position include Hawai`i Audubon Society, Blue Planet Foundation, KAHEA and Voter Owned Hawai`i.

Federal Agencies

United States General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, PJKK Federal Building:
“The United States General Services Administration is the owner of record of the Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building and Courthouse located at 300 Ala Moana Boulevard (“PJKK Building”). We have never received any notice from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Transportation Services Rapid Transit Division (DOT) about this project. As such, we were surprised to learn that the proposed project entails the construction and operation of an elevated transit system along a narrow street directly abutting the PJKK Building on Halekauila Street. ...We hereby request an immediate meeting with DOT ...We would caution DOT not to proceed on the basis that any property necessary for this project (including air rights) along Halekauila can be obtained through the eminent domain process since this process is not available against the United States. We trust that DOT will immediately correct its notice procedure”

Federal Judges (Chief Justice Helen Gillmor, Judge Susan Oki Mollway, Judge J. Michael Seabright, Judge Samuel P. King, Judge Alan C Kay, Magistrate Judge Barry M. Kurren, Magistrate Judge Leslie E. Kobayashi, Magistrate Judge Kevin S.C. Chang)
“Neither the U.S. Marshall nor any other federal court security representative was previously consulted or even contacted regarding a proposed transit line running along Halekauila Street adjacent to the Federal Courthouse. The City’s security committee also acknowledged that none of its security specialists who participated in preparing its analysis was familiar with security standards for Federal Courthouses.”

Chief Judge Helen Gillmor, U.S. District Court: District of Hawai`i
“I write on behalf of the Judges of the United States District Court to strongly voice our opposition to the proposed route of the Honolulu Rail Transit System on Halekauila Street immediately adjacent to the Federal Court Building. ...the guideway structure will be 45 feet above street level and will pass within a mere 45 feet of the Federal Courthouse building. Our Court building is 4 stories high, so the guideway structure will be at the same level as the windows of three Judges’ chambers. ...The city’s security analysis concludes that ‘the possibility of an assault from the viaduct to the Courthouse is deemed to be most improbable for many reasons;’ yet the analysis fails to effectively address our concerns. ...The proposed rail transit system on Halekauila Street would expose the Federal Courthouse to a much greater risk, similar to the train bombings which occurred in Madrid.”

U.S. Marshall for the District of Hawai`i: “I concur with the above assessment of the Judges of this District”

Department of the Navy: “We are concerned that the City and County of Honolulu (CCH) has conducted assessments of Navy properties and evaluated said properties for National Registry eligibility without Navy input. ...We maintain that Navy's National Registry for Historic Places (NRHP) eligibility determinations remain valid and that CCH may not revise these determinations on Navy's behalf.”

Department of the Army, US Army Engineering District, Honolulu: “Based on our review, we found that a number of our agency’s previous comments and concerns relating to the identification/delineation of waters of the United States, project impact assessment, the 404(b)(1) alternatives analysis, and proposed compensatory mitigation were not adequately addressed or incorporated into the DEIS. In the absence of this key information, we are unable to provide meaningful comments on the subject draft document as it relates to our statutory responsibilities. Moreover, these data and assessment deficiencies could adversely affect the timeliness and streamlining of our Department of the Army (DA) permit decision.”

U.S. Department of the Interior: National Park Service: “A 30-40 foot tall elevated guideline transit system along Kamehameha Highway could cause significant negative impacts to the Pearl Harbor NHL [National Historic Landmark District] view shed.”

United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA): “While the EPA supports the goal of providing transportation choices to the communities of Oahu, we have some concerns relating to wetlands, water quality, environmental justice, and noise impacts. ... while we believe that most of the alternatives eliminated prior to the DEIS are documented sufficiently, we have remaining questions about why light rail or bus rapid transit in an exclusive right-of-way were not considered reasonable alternatives in the DEIS. ...While we believe that the DEIS appropriately identified EJ [environmental justice] areas, we have concerns about the proposed relocation of residents of the Banana Patch community, which is identified in the DEIS as an EJ area of concern.”

State Agencies

Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR): “The State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) disagrees with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) that this project will have “no adverse effect” of known and potentially unknown historic properties, potential burial sites, cultural landscapes and traditional cultural properties.”

Hawai`i Department of Transportation (DOT): “The Project will generate significant impacts to DOT airports, highways and harbor facilities. The fixed guideway rail system should be viewed as part of a comprehensive, multi- and inter- modal transportation system.”

Hawai`i Community Development Authority: “The issue of “elevated” or “at-grade” track for Kakaako and Kalaeloa Districts does not appear to be fully explored. This issue needs to be analyzed in depth and (at a minimum) the Kakaako and Kalaeloa communities need to be engaged.”

DBEDT Office of Planning: “Preservation of important agricultural lands is a priority for the State and counties. The DEIS ...concludes that the effects would not be significant. These lands are currently in agricultural use and represent a significant percentage of prime agricultural lands on Oahu. Please discuss how the loss of these lands can be justified, how other lands of equal importance on Oahu can be protected, and the impact to the specific farm operations and whether they will be able to relocate.”

Hawai`i Department of Education: “The discussion of transit oriented development, which goes hand-in-hand with the development of the transit system, does not acknowledge that increased residential density in urban areas such as Waipahu could generate demand for additional public service space such as parks and school sites that cannot be met in areas already so urbanized.”

Hawai`i Department of Agriculture: “The Project sit has many attributes that would likely qualify it as candidate important Agricultural Lands, pursuant to Chapter 205, Hawai`i Revised Statutes. The loss of these highly productive agricultural lands and any relocation of the affected farming operations northward make it critical that the agricultural lands, north on the H-1 Freeway and along Kunia Road, designated as “Agricultural Land Preservation” in the Ewa Development Plan and Central Oahu Sustainable Communities Plan remain in agriculture. The DEIS states that the project will displace less than one-tenth of one percent of the 70,000 acres of agricultural land in cultivation on Oahu. ...The DEIS for the Hoopili development through which the Project right-of-way passes through, identified four farming operations that are leased or licensed to occupy agricultural lands in the vicinity of the Project ... Aloun Farms ...Fat Law’s Farm ... Sugarland Farms ...Syngenta Seeds ... The four farms had ---4.4% of Oahu revenue from sales of all crops ...[and] about 3.9% of all farm workers on Oahu.”

University of Hawai`i Environmental Center: “We feel that the DEIS does not adequately capture the full range of costs and benefits associated with the proposed project. It appears to focus too narrowly on transportation elements rather than the full range of social, environmental, and economic benefits and costs associated with the proposed project.”

Hawai`i Department of Hawaiian Homelands: “DHHL is supportive of the proposed phasing of the HHCTC project to start construction between Kapolei and Waipahu.”

Proponents

American Planning Association Hawai`i Chapter: “APA Hawai`i Chapter has been a consistent supported of the Honolulu Fixed Guideway project due to the potential it holds for both improving transportation mobility and access among the population, and due to the effect it can have on a more compact and sustainable form of development for the communities and the neighborhoods along the corridor.”

University of Hawai`i System: “The University of Hawai`i continues to support the Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project.”

Windward Ahupua`a Alliance: “Wish it were different but accept current design ...what's being proposed by the City is better than nothing at all given our dependency on fossil fuels and their negative impacts on our environment.”

Sierra Club O`ahu Group: “The Sierra Club O`ahu Group supports the Fixed Guideway (rail) alternative. The Fixed Guideway alternative provides what O`ahu needs most: an alternative to the automobile. ...The O`ahu Group believes that any transit plan will succeed only if it is coordinated with other policies that vigorously promote transit ridership and transform land use patterns.”

D R Horton: Schuler Division: “We are the developers of the master planned Ho`opili project in West Kapolei, and have been and continue to be a strong supporter of this project. ...The proposed project will increase the infrastructure capacity ...to support the planned growth in the West Oahu region.”

Castle & Cooke: “This project is critical”

Kamehameha Schools

“KS supports a rail transit system on Oahu as a long-term transportation solution. ...We have also retained consultants to provide us with an independent review of specific aspects of the Project. The review of the thousands of pages of highly technical material of the DEIS has taken time, and we appreciate your efforts in providing an extension of time for responses. It has made a meaningful difference in the quality of our review. For the review, we have found many positive aspects to the DEIS and the proposed system. We have also identified, which is understandable in a document of this complexity, some items we believe require additional study and work. ...

The elevated system will cause visual blight and additional details on visual and aesthetic impacts for evaluation by viewer groups would allow a more complete analysis. ...An at-grade or multi-modal transit system in the urban core is an alternative worth evaluating to determine whether it is a less expensive and quicker to construct than an elevated system. ...Because the issue of whether the rail system should run on an elevated line instead of at-grade was never squarely raised during the alternatives analysis process, KS did not previously have the opportunity to comment on the relative merits of an at-grade versus elevated system. It does not appear that the at-grade alternatives were adequately studied before being eliminated from consideration in the DEIS.”

Organizations with Serious Concerns

AIA Honolulu: “We must act now to change the current all-elevated, electrified ("hot") rail technology as planned by the City Administration to light rail technology. If we begin construction of the project using the current planned technology (heavy rail), we will be locked into a future our citizens of Hawai`i cannot afford. ... AIA is pro-rail and believes light rail is the right rail for Honolulu.”

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation: “The City has failed to provide adequately information on the risks of encountering ancient Hawaiian burial remains (iwi kupuna) in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement despite the clear requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, HRS Chapter 343, HRS Chapter 6E and the Hawai`i Constitution Art. XII § 7.”

Hawai`i’s Thousand Friends: “The DEIS does not provide a full and open analysis of the short and long-term direct, indirect and cumulative social and environmental impacts from the various aspects of the fixed guideway system. ...What are the direct, indirect and cumulative impacts of all of the above increased population on the rail system and traffic congestion within Kapolei.”

“Elevated fixed rail routes will negatively impact the established landscape of Honolulu and significant view planes makai to mauka …The rail line will be ugly and block views with concrete rail beds 30-feet wide supported by pillars that are 35-40 feet high and six feet in diameter spaced at 150 feet intervals.”

Historic Hawai`i Foundation: “The proposed Honolulu Transit Corridor project will have a dramatic impact on the landscape of the island of O`ahu; this includes not only the direct impact to specific parcels, but primarily the visual effect on the landscape and historic resources. HHF is concerned that the Draft EIS does not accurately take into account these larger impacts, but rather focuses on those adverse effects caused by the direct taking of land. ...It is vital that direct, indirect and cumulative impacts to districts, bridges, view planes, and individual structures as a result of the presence of the guideway and rail stations are acknowledged and properly identified as adverse impacts.”

Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Washington DC: “It is unclear to us how the FTA has proceeded to this point without ongoing consultation with all consulting parties.

Kaka`ako Business and Landowners Association: “The Honolulu High-Capacity Transit Corridor Project (HHCTCP), the accompanying construction, and the Transit Oriented Developmet (TOD) will have a detrimental impact on the small businesses and small property owners in Kaka`ako.”

The Outdoor Circle: “The system’s alignment will result in the removal of more than 800 street trees. About one-half to two-thirds of those trees will be transported to unspecified “appropriate areas,” but that leaves a possible deficit of more than 300 trees with no mitigation to the environment for the tree removals.” “degrading our island's visual environment with an overhead system significantly decrease Honolulu's visual appeal as a place to live.”

Hawai`i Independent Democrats believe that an “all-elevated Oahu rail project could bankrupt the City.”
League of Women Voters-Honolulu “has an established position opposing rail on Oahu.”

Life of the Land: If the rail project is built, the rail line should be at grade where ever possible. Transportation and land use issues are intertwined. Building new highways and/or rail will impact population growth rates and increase pressure to urbanize additional prime agricultural land. These holistic issues must be addressed in the EIS. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has published the “Forty Most Asked Questions” about the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): “Section 1502.14 requires the EIS to examine all reasonable alternatives to the proposal. In determining the scope of alternatives to be considered, the emphasis is on what is "reasonable" rather than on whether the proponent or applicant likes or is itself capable of carrying out a particular alternative. Reasonable alternatives include those that are practical or feasible from the technical and economic standpoint and using common sense, rather than simply desirable from the standpoint of the applicant. ...Alternatives that are outside the scope of what Congress has approved or funded must still be evaluated in the EIS if they are reasonable.”

Individuals

Adrienne LaFrance, writing for Civil Beat (Oct 5, 2010), interviewed two people running for City Council.

Richard Turbin: “I have some reservations in the sense that I don’t think the best technology is being used. We should be using state-of-the-art light rail.”

Sesnita Moepono: “I am concerned that if there is not enough money to fund the project then the County will have to raise real property taxes” ... I am supportive of a rail-transit project that won't bankrupt our county.”

Some individuals stated their personal, not organizational, opinions to me:

Kory Payne: “My personal opinion is 'wish it were different but accept current design'.”

Linda Paul: “Personally, I'm in favor of rapid transit if it runs along a straight track down the existing freeways that: services the airport; services Leeward Community College, points in between downtown and that college and all the way out to the court house area near Ko`olina; and services Punahou, the University at Manoa and all the way out to Hawaii Kai. Service from that straight track to Waikiki and the Ward Center area needs to be a low tech, street car kind of service.”

Makaala Kaaumoana: “I support a ground based rail system that provides airport service.”

Marti Townsend: “I want a better more functional and flexible and comprehensive bus system.”

Marjorie Ziegler: “I support public mass transit”

Alan Murakami: “I oppose rail”

# # #

Contact Henry Curtis at
ililani.media@gmail.com