Category Archives: Community

Out In The Open: About the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan

February 16, 2009 Richard Ha

On Friday, the Board of the Department of Land and Natural Resources in Honolulu met for an informational briefing on the Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP).

It was an overflow crowd. People were standing in the hallway.

Because there were people from the outer islands that came to testify, the agenda was changed to move the CMP hearing up front. Five people from the Kanaka Council flew in from the Big Island.

The Kanaka Council testified against the CMP, and then also spoke about larger issues. I was very impressed with its presentation, which was clear, respectful and thoughtful. The Council was represented by Kale Gumapac (Alaka‘i), Palikapu Dedman, Jimmy Medeiros, Rocky Jensen and Lenwood Vaspra.

It is very significant that they were able to state their position on the big picture. People hearing them for the first time might write them off as another group of “anti-everything” people. But I have worked with the Kanaka Council on various projects and I think I heard a different message than most. I heard that they are willing to discuss things because they can see the larger picture — and this is very hopeful.

From here, if there is honest give and take, there can be progress. I believe that we can find some workable middle ground.

KAHEA also gave testimony. That is a slick, media-savvy organization that has done some admirable work over the years. KAHEA has people on its staff who had prepared supporting documents, which they handed to the board as their testimony was presented.

My kuleana is sustainability, and I testified in favor of the CMP. I talked about how I volunteered for the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) committee of the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board back when it was formed. If there was going to be a new large telescope on the mountain, I wanted to help make sure that it was done right. I talked about astronomy on Mauna Kea and our Adopt-a-Class project.

I also mentioned that I was there to represent my workers, who work hard trying to make a better future for their children. I mentioned that the astronomy industry could provide good jobs for Hawai‘i’s people. Hardly anyone wants their children to be tomato or banana farm workers.

I said that as a farmer, I worry about our ability to feed Hawai‘i’s people when fertilizer prices again soar out of sight. I said that educating our keiki will help us solve this problem. And the astronomy industry is willing to give us money to help us do this. But at the same time, that we need to make sure that we malama Mauna Kea.

The world has changed. The oil supply will, again, be unable able to keep up with demand, and we will have trouble feeding ourselves. I told the DLNR board that we are vulnerable out here in the middle of the ocean, and that we cannot give up any advantage we may have. Future generations will judge us on how wise we are today.

Chairwoman Thielen asked Dawn Chang of Ku‘iwalu, the consultant who created the CMP for the University of Hawai‘i, if the issues raised by the Kanaka Council are addressed in the CMP, and Dawn replied that some are and others are not. Dawn added that she will follow up on their concerns.

Kale told me that they are going to form an ad hoc committee, as this is going to take up a lot of their time. As long as there is dialog, we will be making progress.

Today, Kale told me they are very upset about the “power grab” bills that are going through the legislature. These were the bills that allow for enforcing the rules in the CMP. He said they have some hard questions for Dawn Chang when they speak again this week.

Hanalei Fergerstrom told me that someone’s lele (altar) on Mauna Kea was just destroyed. I called Stephanie Nagata, interim director of the Office of Mauna Kea Management, who told me that they had noticed the lele and were discussing how to protect it.

I had thought that the bill Kale told me about would enable the Rangers to protect the public safety, as well as such things as this lele. I have to admit that I have not read all the bills. Maybe they can be tweaked so this can work for all concerned.

I told Kale that I am concerned about the timeline for the Thirty-Meter Telescope.

The TMT was the 800-pound gorilla in the room. That project is on a strict timeline, because time is money. They need to make a decision by June 2009. This means that the CMP would have to be completed by April, so that the information can be incorporated into the TMT’s Environmental Impact statement.

The Comprehensive Management Plan can proceed on schedule as long as there isn’t anything in it that would trigger an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). So the CMP cannot be a “building” or “take down” plan, because both of those things trigger an EIS. If an EIS is triggered, the TMT will go away because of time constraints.

So there it is. All out in the open. Let’s see if we can work together on this. The world has changed and we do not have time to fool around.

Community

Will Man Bite Dog?

February 13, 2009 Richard Ha

I have been observing the Kanaka Council slowly evolving over the last several months. Increasingly, they are trying to affect change early in the process.

Tomorrow on O‘ahu there is an informational briefing by the Board of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. I’ll be there and so will the Kanaka Council. We are both going to comment on the Comprehensive Management Plan that’s been developed for Mauna Kea.

Most people know that I will testify in favor of the plan. Most who are familiar with the Kanaka Council would probably assume they will automatically testify against the plan.

Although we do not know what the Kanaka Council will say, I suspect we should be possibly be prepared for a man bites dog story.

Community, Education

The Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network

February 11, 2009 Leslie Lang

Nancy Redfeather was the one at the recent E Malama ‘Aina festival making cornhusk dolls with kids who stopped by her Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network (HISGN) booth. How unexpected, and fun, is that?!

That’s Nancy above in the brown t-shirt

Girls with their cornhusk dolls

The year-and-a-half-old School Garden Network program assists Big Island schools and teachers with everything they need to operate school garden programs. “Resources, curriculum, funding opportunities, volunteers, events, media and professional development,” says Redfeather, who is the School Garden Network’s director. In addition to planning, writing and assisting programs, she visits at least 10 Big Island schools every month.

She talks about how disconnected children have become from their food, from nature and from knowing about ecosystems. “Children today don’t know a great deal about where their food comes from,” she says. “Does it grow on a tree, or a bush, or? They’re spending a lot more time inside than ever before, and eating way more processed foods, and they suffer from obesity and early-onset adult diabetes, things that even 10 to 15 years ago were unheard at the rates we are seeing today.”

With this program, which is at many public, private and charter schools around the island, they learn to grow food and sometimes prepare it. “They are amazed at how good fresh foods taste,” she says. “Especially ones they grow.”

“Moving children into hands-on outdoor classrooms improves their ability to learn in the classroom,” she says, “and assists them in deepening their classroom studies in science, math language arts and social studies. The garden is a living laboratory where curriculum can come to life, and the lessons of life are experienced on every day. These changes in the children can lead to changes in their family, too.”

The School Garden Program, started in 2007, is sponsored by the Kohala Center. “The idea for the program began with the Rocky Mountain Institutes Whole Systems Report for Hawai‘i Island, which was prepared for the Omidyar family on O‘ahu,” she says. “It was one of 12 ideas presented to move agriculture forward on Hawai‘i Island.”

At the E Malama ‘Aina festival, she set up a “Hawai‘i Island School Garden Network Student Farmers Market.” Students came from Pa‘auilo Elementary and Honoka‘a Elementary, and the Hawai‘i Sustainable Education Initiative in Honoka‘a brought a big bus full of teachers, students and some parents.

“They all brought food, value-added products and plants to sell and they sold almost everything,” she says. “The public was very supportive. We also had a craft area where we made ‘corn dolls’ from cornhusks. I grew a lot of corn last summer and had saved all the husks. It was a lot of fun.”

She says it was really a neat event. And she speaks highly of Richard and his having put on the festival in the first place.

“Richard is a cornerstone of our agriculture for the future,” she says, “as he is looking at systems and the future – something not very many people dare to do. I have a lot of respect for his work!”

Community, Television

More on the Pacific Century Fellows’ Big Island Trip

February 6, 2009 Leslie Lang

But first, a program note!

Richard will be featured this Saturday, February 7, 2009, at noon on the PBS show Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie. It’s an episode called Hawaii’s Big Island: A Food Lover’s Paradise.

If you see it, we’d love to hear your comments.

PBS Hawai‘i is also replaying its Long Story Short episode featuring Richard on Sunday (2/8) at 4 p.m. (Richard says it’s too much for me to go on and on about all these television shows — he actually asked me not to — but I thought you might want to know.)

***

“Hawaii will face numerous challenges in the upcoming years. If our island home is to prosper economically, socially and culturally, we need to identify and support the emerging generation of leaders. By nurturing them, we will ensure the future of Hawaii.”  

— Mufi Hannemann, Founder and Chairman, Pacific Century Fellows

The Pacific Century Fellows program, which we wrote about here when the group of up-and-comers visited Hamakua Springs recently, is a leadership program founded by Honolulu mayor Mufi Hannemann after the White House Fellows program he participated in during the 1980s.

From its website:

The objective of the Pacific Century Fellows Program is to develop leaders with a greater awareness and sensitivity to the people and institutions of Hawaii. Based on the White House Fellows Program, the Pacific Century Fellows Program will bring together annually up to 25 of Hawaii’s most promising individuals from all walks of life, fields and professions. They’ll gain a broader view of civic duty through direct contact with senior community, social and government leaders. The program encourages the development of long-term relationships between leaders young and old, united in their commitment to find creative solutions to the challenges facing the state.

Charlyn Dote is the Pacific Century Fellows program director. She says the yearlong program (which introduces fellows to state-wide topics such as criminal justice, the military, the economy, education, the environment, public safety and others) is significant because community leaders “take off their official hats and talk candidly with the Fellows,” she says. “They share honestly their challenges as a leader. I think most of the Fellows will ascend to very important decision-making positions, and I think they will hopefully make better decisions and have a better understanding.”

Char told us more about the recent Big Island trip the 2008 Fellows took; the same one during which they visited Hamakua Springs.

They started their trip at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, with speakers such as ‘Imiloa’s Associate Director Ka‘iu Kimura and Hawaiian navigation expert Kalepa Baybayan providing cultural background; Dr. Colin Aspin on the Thirty-Meter Telescope; and Gary Fujihara, the Institute for Astronomy’s science education public outreach person, providing background on the economic and educational roles astronomy plays, and on promoting the STEM program.

Left to right: Colin Aspin; Gary Fujihara; Kalepa Baybayan

Then they headed up to Mauna Kea where they had lunch at Hale Pohaku, at 9000 feet, but couldn’t go up to the summit due to 116 mph winds there. Dr. Saeko Hayashi and Dr. Kumiko Yusuda talked to them about the Subaru telescope, and Ronald Laub spoke about the Keck Observatory.

Left to right: Fellows at Hale Pohaku, which is located at the 9,000 ft. level of Mauna Kea

Dinner that evening, sponsored by the HPM Building Foundation, was at the Hilo Yacht Club. Some of the community members the Fellows met and spoke with there included Bill Takaba, Managing Director of the County of Hawai‘i; University of Hawai‘i at Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng; Barry Taniguchi of KTA Superstores and his son Toby, himself a former Fellow; as well as former Fellow James Takamine, Assistant Vice President of American Savings Bank.

Left to right: Fellow Chris Leonard; HPM Building Supply Chairman of the Board Bobby Fujimoto; Fellow Paul Pollock and Fellow Jason Fujimoto at the Hilo Yacht Club

It was on their second morning here that they visited Hamakua Springs Country Farms. “Richard is such a visionary person,” says Char. “I wanted him to showcase what he’s doing on the farm, and also how he’s using technology and renewable energy to run the farm, and coming up with ideas outside of the box to sustain his agriculture business. He’s a very good example and role model of how a leader faces up to challenges and works with the community.”

Richard was equally enthusiastic about the Fellows. “I was very excited to interact with our future leaders,” he says. “They were all very bright and focused like a laser beam on the important issues. With leaders like them coming up, I’m optimistic for our future.”

Richard, speaking to the Fellows at Hamakua Springs

Jason Fujimoto, Vice President and Director of Corporate Operations at HPM Building Supply, says the Hamakua Springs visit was a highlight. “How large it is, the scale and size,” he says; “the different sustainable infrastructure that Richard is putting in to really make his farm sustainable into the future. People see his produce in the stores, but not the operation and not his involvement with the community.”

Char agrees that it was an important visit. “You read in the papers about how difficult farmers have it in terms of running their business,” she says, “but until you go there and hear it firsthand, you don’t realize how important it is to sustain and support our agriculture in the islands.”

While here they also had a private briefing by Ranger Ruth Levin, and the “inside scoop” by Geophysicist Paul Okubo, up at the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. “They had time to walk around and understand how the vog is affecting the island climate, air, agriculture,” says Char.

Front: Ranger Ruth Levin explaining the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park ecological history and challenges to the environment; left to right in back: Fellows Jan Harada, Paul Pollock, Tim Schools, Amy Hennessey, Jim Lyon

Fellows with Geophysicist Paul Okubo of the U.S. Geological Survey, in the observatory

Some of the Fellows, she says, said being at Volcano was like being on a different planet. “It’s so quiet, and you can hear the birds and see the trees. It was a reminder to them to take time, slow down, and become more aware of their surroundings.”

Left to right: Fellows Chris Leonard, Amy Hennessey and Jan Harada in the Thurston Lava Tube

I asked Char what she thought the Fellows learned from this Big Island trip. She replied, “I think it was that the economy and the people are very diverse and interesting, and in many ways the community there is home-grown and rural. There are a lot of exciting things that are going on in terms of technology, environment, agriculture, and a lot of challenges.”

When I asked the same question of Big Island Fellow Chris Leonard, President and General Manager of New West Broadcasting Corporation, he told me what one of the other Fellows told him. “She said it’s one of the nice things in this program – that you get the opportunity to see that there are people like Richard, and Barry Taniguchi [of KTA Superstores], who have the passion and desire to make things better.

“Having the opportunity to interact with these people gives us some hope there is light at the end of the tunnel. That there are people aside from ourselves that really want to make things better.”

Big Island, Community, Hamakua Coast, Hawaiian Role Models, Sustainability

Brudda Skibs

February 3, 2009 Leslie Lang 1 Comment

It’s not often you run across someone who is, as Richard describes Brudda Skibs, “completely selfless.”

Richard told me that when they conceived of the idea of the E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival, Brudda Skibs was the first person he thought of. He’s glad Skibs was a part of the festival.

Richard described Brudda Skibs to me by saying he is known for organizing people in the community – mostly young people – to malama the ‘aina. To take care of the land.

“His reputation is spreading,” Richard said, “and other islands are trying to copy his template.”

That’s Skibs kneeling in the center, wearing the black long-sleeved t-shirt.

It’s hard for some people to wrap their heads around what Skibs (real name: Keith Nehls) does. Every Monday he and his volunteer crew clean up the park at Hakalau. Every Wednesday, they work at Honoli‘i Park. Every Friday, they’re at Honomu.

“We do it free,” he says. “With our heart.”

Watch this video, and you’ll understand about his heart. It’s an important speech and I wish every kid in Hawai‘i would watch it.

And read this article about their reclamation of Honoli‘i Park. Here’s an excerpt:

Honoli’i is one of the best surf spots on the Hilo side, hands down, and for years the surrounding park area was overgrown, full of rubbish, and unattended.

No More.

In November 2003 Keith “Skibs” Nehls and 150 other people started a movement that dwindled down to maybe 5 people within five months. His undying spirit carried him through.

Never Give Up echoed in his ears, words that his Grandfather taught him.

Uncle Skibs gives plenty credit to the teachings of his Grandfather, which instilled in him a strong faith in Akua(God) and a dedication to taking care of the aina(land)….

Dramatic Changes have taken place at Honoli’i, the aina glows from the loving touch of its caretakers.

In the beginning, everybody thought that the land was county land, and no one asked; they just started cleaning it.

Turns out it was Kamehameha School lands, and they were thinking of selling it because they saw no way they were going to be able to take care of it.

When they saw what was going on, they approached Uncle Skibs and offered him a lease on the land, 1 acre, for a dollar a year!

See what a little faith does!

Just look at what they’ve accomplished at Honoli‘i. This video shows the same areas in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, and my jaw fell open to see the land go from abandoned to absolutely beautiful. I had to replay it a couple times to see it again.

At Honomu, they are working on cleaning up the old sugar mill. “It’s privately owned by a doctor,” says Skibs. “He got in touch with us and said he was looking for someone to come take care of this place. He said he wants to give back. He wants to hand it over to an entity” where part of the building can be a community center and part of the land down near the ocean can be a park. They’re clearing the top part of the property right now. “We’re showing him we’re real,” he says.

They’re real. Skibs and his crew have been doing this for five years now, and he’s formed a non-profit organization, Basic Image, which last year brought in $46,000 in cash – $40,000 of that from the Hawaii Tourism Authority – and almost $300,000 in in-kind donations.

Kids come help on the weekends, he says, from Hilo High, Kamehameha Schools, Ha‘aheo School, Punana Leo and others. “We give them a tour, talk to them,” he says. “We tell them we built this park and put on events, and you gotta bring your parents, teach others, because when we die, you’ve gotta take over. This is for everybody. It’s not yours. You’re not going to get one special park; you’re doing it to teach our culture. You’re giving back.”

Every year he puts on surf contests at Honoli‘i and Pohoiki. “It’s for the kids, but parents or guardians have to be there,” he says. “Schools help us. They tell the kids: If you come and help us, we’ll put on this free contest because you’ve giving back. The parents come so they know what’s going on.”

Want to help? He says he’s always there around 9 or 9:30 in the morning. Or email him at skibs7@mac.com.

“Everyone has one talent that’s their gift,” he says. “You don’t have to come down to clean up. You give whatever. What you like do? What are you good at? I like you come and do what you like do.”

“We’re all here to do one job. We’re not looking at money or fame; we’re looking at changing this place to the way it used to be.”

Richard says that what Brudda Skibs is doing is “a manifestation of ‘aloha spirit.'”

“This is what is going to keep us together as a society when push comes to shove,” he says. “We need to feel a part of our community, make more friends and stay close to our family.”

“What we’re doing is real,” says Skibs. “We could change this island. We’re doing it already. That’s our job right now – the future of our children.”

Community

Update re: this Saturday’s Rat Lungworm Meeting

January 27, 2009 Leslie Lang

Jane Whitefield gives us these directions to SPACE, which is hosting the Rat Lungworm meeting mentioned here this Saturday, 1/31/09:

You drive down Hwy. 130 toward Kalapana. When you dead end at the lava, turn left. This is Hwy. 137. Drive toward Kehena and Kalapana Seaview Estates (it’s probably a 10-minute drive and very hilly, but overlooks the ocean – Spectacular!). Turn left into Seaview. Travel up the entrance road until you see the sign on the right that says “SPACE,” with a hand pointing to the left. Follow that to the entrance and parking lot.

She tells us, too, that there is a Yahoo group called Parasites out of Paradise if anyone is interested in learning more.

Community

Informational Meeting about Rat Lungworm Disease, 1/31/09

January 26, 2009 Leslie Lang

After running our post about Rat Lungworm, we got this email from blog reader Jane Whitefield:

It is interesting to see how you deal with the rat, slug/snail problem at Hamakua Springs.

We are having a Rat Lungworm Meeting this Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon at SPACE in Kalapana Seaview Estates. We hope to have many well-informed people attending as the purpose of this meeting is informational. Zsolt Halda, who has just been released from the hospital, will be there.

I realize Hamakua is not real close, so we would appreciate any help you can give us “in getting the word out.” This is affecting all our lives.

She said that there’s a “pretty unique Farmers Market at SPACE from 8-11:30,” too.

Community

Rat Lungworm Disease in Puna

January 23, 2009 Richard Ha

Yesterday’s Hawaii Tribune-Herald had a front-page article about people contracting a rare form of meningitis caused by ingesting uncooked snails and slugs that carry a microscopic worm called the rat lungworm.

Symptoms are very severe and have been associated with eating uncooked, organic lettuce that has live slugs or snails on them.

At Hamakua Springs, we have been aware of this disease for many years. We don’t want you to worry about our lettuce!

We long ago implemented control measures. The rat lungworm completes its lifecycle by going from rats to snails and then back again, and it’s important to break that cycle. We do that by using a combination of slug bait and rat traps.

Our hydroponic system of growing actually makes controlling slugs much easier than if we grew our products in soil.

There have been incidents of meningitis caused by rat lungworm on all the major islands, but they seem to be the most concentrated in lower Puna. One woman is still in a coma and some of the severe symptoms are excruciating pain for hours on end.

This is an interesting video about the problem, taken at an informational community meeting in Puna. It shows the slug and snail life cycle and discusses prevention recommendations. Aaron Ueno, of the Hawaii Department of Health, is also shown speaking to the community.

Community, Sustainability

Hawaii Island Master Gardeners

January 21, 2009 Richard Ha

Every Wednesday here at the blog we are featuring someone who was at the E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival, and this week we’re happy to tell you about the Hawai‘i Island Master Gardeners Association (HIMGA).

Master Gardeners are those who take a two-month class, pass an exam, and then do 40 hours of certification. HIGMA is affiliated with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) of the University of Manoa.

The volunteer group’s mission statement: To extend to the gardening public research-based information about home horticulture and pest management.

“The main point of the Master Gardeners is to work on the phone and in the office at CTAHR,” says HIGMA president Rhea Hubbard. “We speak with the public when they call in and say, ‘What’s this little bug that lives on my corn?; what’s this rust on my plumeria?’ We also give back to the community, work in the schools, run programs at the senior center.”

At the festival, they educated people on how to recognize fruit flies and keep them out of their gardens, including bringing their lures and bait and selling their handmade traps (which are made from 2-liter soda bottles). They also gave away basil and tomato plants, and Master Gardener Janice Crowl was there with her book.

There are 50 or 60 Master Gardeners in HIGMA, who come from as far away as Pa‘auilo and South Point to attend meetings and work at the CTAHR office.

At CTAHR they answer phone calls (call 981-5199 on Tuesday and Friday between 9 a.m. and 12 noon), respond to emails (himga@hawaii.edu – you can attach a photo of your plant or pest!) and look at specimens that people bring in to the office. They are located at the Waiakea Experimental Station at 920 Stainback Highway, one mile past the zoo on N. Kulani Road.

If they cannot readily identify the plant’s problem, they can have it (and also soil) analyzed. “Nothing is more than $10,” says Hubbard.

“Our big thrust is sustainability,” she says. “I was amazed to read in the paper last week that 90 percent of our food here is still imported.”

“We want to educate people that you can do it: You can grow food on your patio. You can grow your lettuce; you can grow your tomatoes. Even if you don’t have soil, you can do raised beds. Our overall goal is to help educate the public.”

The next Master Gardener class is in the fall; call the HIGMA office if you’d like to learn more.

Community, Food Security, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability

Pacific Century Fellows at the Farm

January 19, 2009 Richard Ha

Yesterday, the 10th class of Pacific Century Fellows visited our farm.

Here’s a little about the Pacific Century Fellows:

The people in this program are our future leaders; our best and brightest. What message did I want to get across? I decided to talk about the most important issue facing our state: that Hawai‘i imports 90 percent of its food. How will we make sure we can feed ourselves?

I told them that this is not rocket science. “If the farmers make money, farmers will farm.”

Modeled after the White House Fellows Program and founded by Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the Fellows are chosen on the basis of a written application and personal interview conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of judges. Individuals who are chosen have shown strong intellectual and leadership abilities in the early and mid-stages of their careers, and who have the potential to make significant contributions to the community in the future.

The Pacific Century Fellows Program will provide participants with direct contact with senior community, social, and government leaders. A goal of the program is to nurture relationships among individuals who are committed to exploring creative and constructive solutions to far-reaching challenges facing the state and nation.

I told them that we at Hamakua Springs Country Farms plan at least five years out for a future that we need to be relevant within. And that the physical layout they were seeing was planned five years ago, and is not really where we are now.

What is that future that we must be relevant within? I told them that this simple formula makes sense for us and applies to everyone in Hawai‘i: Net energy return on energy invested, minus the energy used for food production, gives us our life style.

Say it takes one barrel of oil to extract 15 barrels of oil, and it takes two barrels of oil to produce food for a certain number of people. Then our group would have 13 barrels of oil to do everything else – like run lights, pump water, drive to Kona, go fishing, etc. We would be living better than kings in years past.

But it is getting more and more difficult to extract oil. Say, one barrel now can only extract 10 barrels, and it still takes two barrels to grow our food. Now we have only eight barrels instead of 13 to do everything else. This is not rocket science either. It is a simple formula to manipulate.

We need to figure out how we can get the best net energy return on energy invested. And we need to figure out how to lessen our dependence on oil to produce our food.

And other things flow from the principles above:

If done correctly, the Thirty Meter Telescope is a good thing. It can help educate our keiki and help future generations cope.

The E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival is meant to show people they are not alone as oil prices rise and times start getting challenging.

I am very supportive of geothermal energy use. This is the best source of renewable energy we have here in Hawai‘i. It is a great gift.

Plug it into our formula above and we end up with a better lifestyle. In fact we have so many sources of renewable energy, we can have a relatively better lifestyle than the U.S. mainland.

The reason we pushed the alternate energy loan program through the last legislature is because “if the farmer makes money, the farmer will farm.”

It’s why we support an extra incentive for farmers to develop alternative energy projects.

It’s also why we support a discount for produce transported on Young Brothers’ barges.

We must not lose our focus. We need closer communities – we need to make more friends and we need to be closer to our families. We need to help each other as we face tougher times ahead.

Hawaiians knew how to do this. It is called the Aloha Spirit. And it works best when everyone practices it.

I think President Elect Obama, who grew up here in Hawai‘i, carries the influence of the Aloha Spirit with him, and that is what is making this country hopeful.