• Future not so optimistic • On distributed power systems • Perpetuate Hawaiian culture • State eroding teacher quality? Future not so optimistic While I agree with the premise put forward by Gordon Oswald in a letter to the editor
• Future not so optimistic
• On distributed power systems
• Perpetuate Hawaiian culture
• State eroding teacher quality?
Future not so optimistic
While I agree with the premise put forward by Gordon Oswald in a letter to the editor (“There’s no corporate conspiracy,” Letters, Jan. 30) that there is likely no grand conspiracy in the economic mess we now face, I wish the future outcome were as optimistic as he expresses.
Unfortunately there are a couple of flies in the ointment. First, never in history have the great financial minds conjured up such an outlandish scenario as today. The various fabricated and highly leveraged financial instruments, created and sold worldwide in the last 10 years, reached a record 681 trillion dollars in Q3 2007, about 10 times the gross world product. When a mortgage goes south it reverberates through the world’s economy at roughly a ratio of 100 to 1. The result: $100 billion in losses, so far, at numerous greedy financial institutions, unsuspecting retirement funds, and other unlucky buyers. Unfortunately the fun has only begun.
Second, the energy problems we now face are immense and unprecedented. I left a fairly thick package with the County Council members in February 1999. While it was fairly detailed, the net was that supply constraints in the next 10 years would push the price of oil over $75 by 2010. At the time the price was $9.30. Turns out I was too optimistic. The price exceeded $100 earlier this month and is at $92 as I write this, an increase of almost 1,000 percent. More than 30 countries have had severe energy problems and associated social unrest in the past year. In the past week, South Africa shut down its coal, gold and diamond mines due to lack of electrical power, ironically supplied by coal. In the last two weeks, the following statements:
• CEO of GM: “There is no doubt demand for oil is outpacing supply at a rapid pace, and has been for some time now,” Mr. Wagoner said. “As a business necessity and an obligation to society we need to develop alternate sources of propulsion.”
• CEO of Shell, Van de Veer: “Shell estimates that after 2015 supplies of easy-to-access oil and gas will no longer keep up with demand.”
As a result, society has no choice but to add other sources of energy.
• CEO of Total: “The upward pressure will be maintained because there is too limited production capacity worldwide to deal with the increase in consumption, notably in emerging countries,” Yves-Louis Darricarrere said in an interview.
The County Council did not want to hear what I had to say in 1999, and they were not alone. I realize no one wants to hear this now, but if we do not plan and act quickly we will face horrific challenges in the future. We are not only more reliant on oil than most areas, we are at the very end of the supply line. It is time to stop denying and do something.
Bill Cowern
Koloa
On distributed power systems
I read with interest Virginia Beck’s recent letter regarding distributed power systems (“Be open to ideas,” Letters, Jan. 31).
Unfortunately there are a number of problems with the approach suggested.
First, for wind turbines to work well, they need to be mounted 30 feet higher (or more) than any interfering structure, hill or tree in a 300-foot radius. This per the Skystream 3.7 (that has been featured in this paper so prominently) manufacturer’s Web site. Turbines can also cause vibration damage if directly mounted on a house.
But worse, the cost of individual turbines is on the order of 10 times the cost of industrial scale turbines on a unit of electricity generated basis. A $20,000 wind turbine that only shaves your electricity bill by $150 a month or less is an expensive statement rather than a smart green investment unless wind speeds are very high and constant.
This is why we need KIUC to spearhead efforts to put up five to 10 world-scale turbines rather than wait for a developer to do so. Especially since the savings associated with cheap wind versus expensive oil could accrue to the rate payers rather than go to an independent power producer.
This is the reason the details of the wood gasification power plant’s power agreement remain a secret hidden from the members of our Co-op. Let’s continue last year’s progress by rejecting the KIUC board incumbents and replacing them with more responsive members.
David Camp
Anahola</>
Perpetuate Hawaiian culture
We stayed at the Coco Palms in 1972 and it was one of those places that stays in your memory. We returned to Kaua‘i in September 2007 for the first time and were so saddened to see the condition it is in. We understood that it was going to be condos, but that fell through. We purchased the history book that was available. My thought was to call Oprah since she loves Hawai‘i and is such a supporter of education. I thought it would make a great place to perpetuate the Hawaiian culture. Nice to see that may happen. We would certainly be thrilled. (I wouldn’t have had the guts to call Oprah). Good luck in your endeavor
Gary and Toni Posey
Federal Way, Wash.
State eroding teacher quality?
Don’t you just love it? Our state Department of Education hired a consulting firm, at taxpayer’s expense, and found out that 22 percent (2,900) of Hawai‘i’s public school teachers were underqualified to teach their subjects (“DOE says 22 percent of Hawai‘i teachers underqualified,” A1, Jan. 25). And this was after reviewing the original count of 6,200 (48 percent).
Could it possibly be that this particular situation (only one of many) is a result of Hawai‘i’s belief, over a period of 40 to 50 years, that a one-party system of government is best for its people? Think about it.
Joe Stoddard
Wailua Homesteads
