Going green, growing green, green collar jobs, renewable energy, food self-sufficiency, energy efficiency, sustainability. Sound familiar? Unless you’ve been shipwrecked after your three-hour tour on the USS Minnow, you’ve heard these words on radio and TV. You’ve read about them
Going green, growing green, green collar jobs, renewable energy, food self-sufficiency, energy efficiency, sustainability. Sound familiar?
Unless you’ve been shipwrecked after your three-hour tour on the USS Minnow, you’ve heard these words on radio and TV. You’ve read about them in magazines, newspapers and books. You’ve heard them from the lips of eco-celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Pierce Brosnan and Jack Johnson. And you’ve most recently felt the hope and aspiration from our very own President Barack Obama’s “New Energy for America” and Gov. Linda Lingle’s “Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative” and State of the State Address.
But are these just buzz words we throw around because they’re the “it” topics? Or do we realize the depth of our dangerous dependency on external sources for the majority of our food and energy needs? Are we really committed to a better future with cleaner energy sources, more energy efficient buildings and more energy efficient practices in our homes and businesses that help create a new economy and new jobs and a better environment? Or do we “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die?”
Do we see our current energy crisis as an insurmountable challenge? As a nation and as the Aloha State, we have always risen to great challenges, and our dependence on foreign oil and foods is one of the greatest we have ever faced. At this point, we don’t need to tell you anymore how it threatens our national security and our planet. You’ve heard the statistics: nearly 50 million barrels of crude oil valued around $7 billion bleeds annually to foreign countries and we import about 85 percent of our food.
It shouldn’t be a surprise anymore. At press time, the price of a barrel of oil was near $41 and fell to as low as $33/barrel recently, just six months since it hit an all-time high above $147 a barrel last July. Can we be complacent and relax during this lull to our pocketbooks? A‘ole. It’s inevitable our energy costs will soar again and if we do nothing, our food self-sufficiency will be no stronger and billions of our dollars will bleed out of our state again.
The time for action is now.
Things are happening, and everyone is key in successfully building a healthy and strong energy and food future. You and I as Joe and Jill Citizen on Kaua‘i each have a responsibility to envision a future where we are less reliant on foreign energy and external food sources. So, here’s a primer on a few ways to learn what you can do.
The county Office of Economic Development is identifying a consultant to develop a county energy sustainability plan to effectively address our electricity and transportation fuel needs. Proposed by former Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura and current Councilman Jay Furfaro, and funded by the Kaua‘i County Council, the plan will identify opportunities and threats, incentives for energy efficiency and conservation, and focus on the development of renewable and alternative power and fuel resources within the county. For more info and to find out how you can support this process, contact the OED at 241-4946. Also, contact your local legislators to express your support.
In a historic memorandum of understanding between the Governor’s Office, DBEDT and the US Department of Energy, the Hawai‘i Clean Energy Initiative was born. It’s to decrease energy demand and accelerate use of renewable, indigenous energy resources in the state in residential, building, industrial, utility and transportation end-use sectors to meet 70 percent of Hawai‘i’s energy demand by 2030. Learn more at the Feb. 10 event and check out hawaii.gov/dbedt/info/energy/hcei.
KIUC offers an “Energy Wise Commercial Energy Efficiency Program” to commercial customers of all rate classes financial incentives for installing energy efficient equipment. A KIUC commercial energy services representative will perform an energy assessment on your business, deliver a report to you that identifies energy-saving measures, help you manage any installation of the equipment options you select from this report, and perform a verification visit to insure that specified equipment is installed and operating properly. Once verified, an incentive payment is issued to you. Contact Paul Daniels at 246-8275 or pdaniels@kiuc.coop.
KIUC also offers residential programs. An Energy Efficiency program is designed to assists residential customers in the management of their electric consumption. This can be either renewable or strategic conservation based. A Member Advantage program is a non-energy based program that does not attempt to influence or manage your consumption, but may provide information or incentives in an effort to promote the adoption of energy saving, electrical safety or power quality equipment or concepts. Contact Ray Mierta at 246-8284 or rmierta@kiuc.coop.
EVENT: The public is invited to attend a free community forum that will outline the state’s new framework for energy solutions in Hawai`i. “The Hawai`i Clean Energy Initiative and What It Means for Kaua`i” event will take place on Tuesday, February 10th from 6:30-8:30pm in the auditorium of Lihu`e Missionary Church. For more info, call KPAA at 808.632.2005.
Business as usual is not an option anymore. As our new administration under President Obama put it, “Achieving (our energy and food security goals) will not be easy. It will require a sustained and shared effort by our government, our businesses, and our (communities). With clarity of direction and leadership, there is no question that we possess the insight, resources, courage and the determination to build a new economy that is powered by clean and secure energy.”
Gov. Lingle echoed those same sentiments for the food industry. She said in her recent state of the state address, “Increasing our food self-sufficiency will contribute to the state’s economic recovery by keeping more of our money here at home. If we replace just 10 percent of the food we currently import, it would create more than $300 million in economic activity, generate $6 million in taxes, and create 2,300 new jobs.”
To do this, we must all work together collaboratively and hold ourselves accountable individually. “Collaboration doesn’t mean we will see all issues the same way,” said Lingle, “it means that for the sake of Hawaii’s future, we must acknowledge our predicament and find an acceptable way to move ourselves forward.”
So, what’s the buzz all about? Taking action now.
For more information, visit www.kedb.com
• Mattie Yoshioka is president and CEO of the Kaua‘i Economic Development Board and can be reached at myoshioka@kedb.com
