Category Archives: Community

Come Wednesday to Support Veto of Bill 256

July 30, 2012 Richard Ha

Richard Ha writes:

Humans are very well-adapted to low levels of hydrogen sulfide. The bacteria that generate hydrogen sulfide live in the human gut. And our volcano generates tons of sulfur dioxide every day. It’s rising electricity rates that are causing real damage to our people.

Here’s an email from those wanting to uphold Mayor Kenoi’s veto of Bill 256. Please come down to the County Council chambers, at the County Building (map of 25 Aupuni St., Hilo here), this Wednesday (August 1, 2012) at 8 a.m. Even if you can only stay for a short time, please come and show your support.

I support these folks that live in the vicinity of the geothermal plant. Here’s their email:

It has been a busy time for all of us in preparation of the final push to up-hold the Mayor’s Veto of Bill 256. This is where we really need your help.

1. For your information: We had a very good meeting and turn-out on Tuesday night at the Leilani Community Center: hamakuasprings.com/2012/07/very-successful-meeting-on-geothermal-facts.

2. The county council meeting to override the mayoral veto is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1, 2012. This is where we need as much help as possible.

You can submit written testimony by e-mail up until the day prior to the meeting (it has to be received by Tuesday noon, July 31). Please submit your email testimony to counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us

To submit written testimony by e-mail, you can also e-mail each council member individually:

Dominic Yagong – dyagong@co.hawaii.hi.us

Donald Ikeda – dikeda@co.hawaii.hi.us

J Yoshimoto – jyoshimoto@co.hawaii.hi.us

Dennis “Fresh” Onishi – donishi@co.hawaii.hi.us

Fred Blas – fblas@co.hawaii.hi.us

Brittany Smart – bsmart@co.hawaii.hi.us

Brenda Ford – bford@co.hawaii.hi.us

Angel Pilago – apilago@co.hawaii.hi.us

Pete Hoffmann – phoffmann@co.hawaii.hi.us

But what we really would like is for as many people as possible to come to the county council meeting in Hilo on August 1, to testify in person and to show our strength in numbers. The council needs to see that we are not just a silent small group, but that there are many of us. It makes a difference, even if you are able to come for an hour.

When you come to the council meeting, you can read the testimony you submitted by email. If you have not emailed the testimony, they ask that you bring 14 copies of it and give it to the clerk that day.

The council meeting starts at 8am. Please be early, so we can have good seats and testify early.

When you come to the council meeting room, check in with us at the VETO SUPPORTERS & LEILANI ESTATES signs – look for signs.

Contents of your testimony – some suggestions:

The Mayor asked that we get employees and nearby residents to come out and support his veto, with the primary emphasis that there are no health issues that exist, and that the plant has been operating safely, hence no reason for a buffer zone. While we hope the veto will not be overridden, there is still a need for publicizing the fact that long time residents are opposed to the bill for these reasons, and the fact that this is an issue which has been unnecessarily politicized.

As for what to say, we are not going to write this out, since everyone’s experience is different, but this would be along the lines of their positions on certain issues such as

1. Where their residence is.

2. How long they have lived there.

3. The fact that they have not had health problems they attribute to the plant, and there is no scientific or medical information which supports the creation of a one mile buffer.

4. That creating a health and safety buffer radius of one mile is unjustified, and creates issues for people who have chosen to live and work in this radius, including concerns about property values.

5. That this bill will create additional cost for the county in many areas.

6. That health studies and monitors can be purchased with Asset Fund money without taking from community benefits, under the code and rules which already existed, before Bill 256 and 257.

7. That until these hearings were held and the manner in which they were held, people did not complain about PGV, and politics and misinformation has created an unwarranted concern.

These are just suggested issues or concerns the vetoed bills raise, and others may have more to say or add.

3. Please, share this information and request for support with all your friends and people in your networks.

See you there!

Much Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa,

Petra, Jan & Loren

Community, Geothermal, Peak Oil

Very Successful Meeting on Geothermal Facts

July 25, 2012 Richard Ha 2 Comments

Richard Ha writes:

Approximately 100 people showed up last night at the Leilani Estate Community Center to learn the facts about geothermal energy.

Some of the testimony – from folks who have worked at the geothermal facility, as well as those who live close by – was especially impactful.

I took 10 minutes to talk about a danger we are facing: Rising oil prices. If we have sincere dialogue among all the parties, we can start to see that rising oil prices will threaten our social fabric – and most of all, our spirit of aloha. And maybe we can do something about it. But we don’t have the luxury of time.

Why can’t we, here on the Big Island, have lower electricity rates than O‘ahu? It would lessen pressure on the most vulnerable families, help farmers compete, help businesses create more jobs and prevent the export of our most precious resource – our children.

Mike Kaleikini, Plant Manager of Puna Geothermal Venture, talked about the history of geothermal production, mitigation measures and safety regulations. Mike has a way of explaining complex issues that is easy to understand.

Don Thomas gave a talk about the technical side of the H2S issue, which had a big impact on the audience. Both Mike and Don are very credible, as they have actual, real-life experience and speak about facts that are verifiable.

I would say the crowd was 70 to 30 percent for geothermal. But it isn’t a matter of “us” against “them.” It was the discussion and sharing of information that was most important. At some point, I hope soon, we can come to grips with the larger issues of rising prices, and how we can maximize our resources in a smart and responsible way.

To cap things off, Mayor Billy Kenoi showed up after the mayoral candidate debate in Pahoa concluded. He did a good job of explaining, in a commonsense way, why there is no need for the council bill. It is redundant and adds problems that are unnecessary.

All attending were Councilman Fred Blas as well as Representative Faye Hanohano.

Late last night we received a note from Petra Wiesenbauer, Jan Kama and Loren Avedon, who organized the meeting:

Richard, Mike, and Don,

Mahalo for an outstanding presentation tonite to the residents of Leilani Estates and community members. There were many comments after the meeting that people had a better understanding of how the plant operates and its impact on the community. Whether or not they understand the difference between H₂S and SO₂ is questionable, but at least they feel more comfortable knowing that they are not as much at risk as they thought.

And Petra Wiesenbauer, who lives in and runs a B&B in Leilani Estates, sent along some further comments of her own about the meeting (as well as the photos in this post):

I think it was an extremely good meeting last night. I am so proud of everybody for staying focused and respectful.

Don Thomas was absolutely excellent. It was so good to have him there with all the numbers of emissions, comparisons of different regions and being able to putting things into perspective, i.e., the Volcano blasting out 600 to 1,000 tons of stuff every day. He was able to dismantle some of the myths and clear up rumors and anxieties.

Mike was really, really good, too in making transparent what is going on at the plant and the strict restrictions they are under in regards to their monitoring, their chemicals and general equipment maintenance.

That the Mayor was able to come at the end was an added bonus and gave the whole meeting a great finale.

I talked to Jeff Melrose a little and he said, that they are working on a brochure/informational materials about disaster response/evacuation, safety and other community concerns regarding geothermal development. He is such a great guy as well and so knowledgeable about all the Big Island planning and land dealings. He thought it was the best meeting he has been to in a long time about this whole controversy and he thought it was amazing, that something like that had not been done much earlier.

I give so much credit for the course of the evening to Loren [Avedon], our moderator. He was great and made sure there were no lengthy statements, self indulgence, lamentations and other behaviors from any of the audience that could have been counterproductive to the outcome of the meeting.

The whole meeting came about as a result of this note that had been sent around about the July 19th County Council meeting:

“There was something odd about today’s County Council meeting…all of us testifying at the Pahoa office were in opposition to the legislation, with the exception of three people. Apparently the anti-geothermal group had received word that the bills would be postponed for 30 days.”

Those of us who attended the County Council meeting to override the Mayor veto of Bill 256 were prepared for more than 100 folks picketing the County building, and protesting loudly. But no one showed up.

The email back and forth resulted in someone asking me to post their testimony on my blog, which I did. Then on the 22^nd, this note was sent around:

“We would actually love to take you up on your offer to come here and give a talk to interested residents here in Leilani. It would be a good way to also promote the petition http://www.change.org/petitions/hawaii-county-council-petition, and therefore it would be great to do it as soon as possible. We were wondering if you had time on Tuesday at around 6:30pm. If not any other day that is convenient for you just let us know?”

By the next day, I had confirmed that Don Thomas, Wally Ishibashi and Mike Kaleikini would attend. All this happened really quickly.

With only two days notice, 100 people showed up, standing room only. I was amazed.

• Here is a recent Civil Beat article, titled “Arguments Against Geothermal Are ‘Absurdly Elitest,’ Says Scientist.

• You can still sign the Hawaii County Council petition here, which asks:

We humbly ask you to sign our petition before July 30th, 2012 asking the County Council of Hawaii to honor the Mayor’s veto of Bill 256, Draft 2. The bill would allow the County to create a one-mile safety buffer zone around the Puna Geothermal Power Plant. [Read more at the link]

Community, Tomatoes

A Tomato By Any Other Name (Including a Hawaiian One)

June 1, 2012 Richard Ha 1 Comment

We recently shared some tomatoes with the charter school Ke Kula O Nawahiokalaniopu‘u, sometimes known as Nawahi.

Ke Kula ‘O Nāwahīokalaniʻōpuʻu is designed for families, teachers and staff who have chosen to speak Hawaiian as the first and main language of the home, and also those who are in the process of establishing Hawaiian as the dominant language of the home. The goal is to develop, enhance and maintain the Hawaiian language through education in the home and school. The purpose of academics and global learning i.e., foreign languages such as English and Japanese, is to develop skills to be applied in the revitalization of the Hawaiian speaking community through economic interaction with the outside world.

Afterward, I got this nice note from Jenea Respicio at the school:

Aloha e Richard,

Attached please find some pictures from the distribution of the delicious tomatoes that were so kindly donated by your company today.

We had the cases of tomatoes stored in the school’s walk-in refrigerator and had all of the students, faculty, and staff members meet outside of the lumi `aina (cafeteria) before being dismissed at the end of the day. Everyone expressed their gratitude and as you can see from the photos the kids just could not wait to get eat some of the fresh tomatoes!

Several parents also made sure to come up to me and express their gratitude and asked me why did the kids received such a generous gift. This was my response to both the school and parents who approached me:

“Hamakua Springs is a locally owned and operated family business. The proprietor of Hamakua Springs, Richard Ha, believes in his community and its people and feels that due to the strenuous economic times he just wanted to share the fresh tomatoes with the `ohana of Nawahi to enjoy; as we all know that with a stiff economy most families, unfortunately, are not able to purchase as much fresh vegetables as they would want, and Hamakua Springs just wanted to say mahalo to the local community for their support over the years with a token of fresh tomatoes.”

I hope that my response to the school and parents was satisfactory and if I was incorrect in any aspect I apologize as I was “shooting from the hip” when I was approached.

Nawahi will be sending you a leka (letter) but I wanted to send these pictures on my part. Again, mahalo nui for all that you do for our community.

Mahalo,
Jenea Respicio

Community, Geothermal, Peak Oil

County Council Geothermal Meeting in Pahoa

April 25, 2012 Richard Ha 1 Comment

Last night the County Council held a meeting in Pahoa regarding geothermal, and hundreds of people attended.

The Pele Defense Fund was scheduled to speak for an hour, but they had at least an hour and a half’s worth of material.

Read about it at the Big Island Chronicle: Puna News – Dispatch of a County Council Geothermal Meeting in Pahoa.

While island-wide these days there is a great deal of support for geothermal, most of the testimony from these people in Pahoa, near the Puna Geothermal Venture plant, was against geothermal for religious and safety reasons.

Clearly, these issues need to be addressed.

I gave a short testimony in my role as a farmer. I talked about how I am the only person from Hawai‘i to have attended four Peak Oil conferences – because my farm costs were going up, due to the rising price of oil, and I wanted to learn as much as I could to help my farm adapt.

What I’ve learned has been very disturbing. I knew that I needed to transform my farm. But the burden of knowing that the world has been using twice as much oil as it had been finding for the last 20-30 years, and that this was going to continue, became my kuleana. I needed to inform people and also do something about it.

People might not have noticed, but in 2000 the oil price was $25 per barrel, and then it doubled to $50, and by the end of 2011 it was at $100/barrel. This means that the price of oil has doubled every 5.5 years.

If that continues, a family whose electric bill is $300 today can expect that in 5.5 years it will be close to $600/month. And when 11 years has gone by, it might approach $1,200/month.

Our families are struggling today; they will not be able to handle that added burden. They need relief now. We don’t have much time.

I pointed out that geothermal is estimated to cost 10 cents/kWh (according to a 2005 GeotherEx report), compared to electricity generated from oil, which costs more than 20 cents/kWh.

I said that I asked Jim Kauahikaua, Scientist-in-Charge at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, “How long will the Big Island be over the hot spot?” He replied, “500,000 to a million years.”

I said that we can expect electricity generated from oil, now at 20 cents/kWh, to double to 40 cents in 5.5 years and then to 80 cents/ kWh in 11 years – while geothermal would stay at 10 cents/kWh.

I told them what I asked Carl Bonham, head of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization. As oil prices rise, I asked, and if we were to use geothermal as our primary base power, would Hawaii then become more competitive with the rest of the world? He said yes.

My next question to him is close to my heart, because of the effect on the “rubbah slippah folks.”

“Is it fair to say that our standard of living would rise, relative to the rest of the world?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

Community, Schools, Tomatoes

Pahoa Elementary: Tomatoes All Around

April 16, 2012 Leslie Lang 1 Comment

Richard told me they took tomatoes down to Pahoa today, and gave some to every kid in the elementary school there.

There was an unexpected spike in production, he said, and he wanted to give them to the kids and their families.

“We’ve done that over the years,” he said. “We just kind of made our way down the coast to the elementary schools. Kalani‘ana‘ole, Ha‘aheo, Hilo Union, Kapi‘olani, Waiakea Elementary, Kea‘au Elementary, ending up in Hawaiian Beaches at Keonepoko. So the next one was Pahoa Elementary.”

The farm first started handing out tomatoes and bananas at Keaukaha Elementary, back when the Thirty Meter Telescope adopt-a-class project was new and there were a lot of extras one season.

Over the years, he said, he’s been floored by the response. “There are so many people, I have no idea who they are, who come up and tell me they were so happy to receive the tomatoes.”

“We decided elementary kids because it’s a prize they can take home to their parents,” he said. “I feel pretty good being able to do it.”

Community, Music, Where We Live

Merrie Monarch: Cultural Traditions

April 4, 2012 Leslie Lang 1 Comment

I’m not a hula person, but my daughter is and this year is the first year she’s dancing in the annual Merrie Monarch hula festival. If you live in Hawai‘i, you know that’s a big deal here. It’s a hula competition held every spring in Hilo, and it’s one that people come to from around the world.

My daughter, who’s 8, is dancing with her hālau on the Hō‘ike (Exhibition) night, and this is the first time I’m experiencing firsthand what all goes into preparing for the Merrie Monarch.

We’ve been working on her costume, which started with each parent and child going into the forest and cutting down a hau tree. Wow! Pretty intense, but so interesting!

(This blog talks a lot about sustainability, and if you don’t live here that might sound unsustainable to you. Please note that hau trees grow like weeds. I don’t think you could wipe out the hau even if you tried.)

I have since learned how to strip the bark, clean it, and separate the layers, so we can braid it into cordage that we’re using in her costume.

Similarly, we have gathered lau hala – the leaves of the hala tree – and trimmed and cleaned them. When I mentioned that I got a box-type stripper – it lets you strip hala leaves to an even width so you can weave them or use them to make hula implements, for instance, as below – Richard said it makes him think of his grandmother’s house where there were always rolls (kūka‘a) of prepped lau hala.

It was always the same in this house where I live, too, which was my grandmother’s home and her mother’s before her, and where there used to be hula and weaving and more.

Somehow that managed to skip a couple generations, but I love that once again, this house is sometimes filled with hula and ‘oli (chanting), and that rolls of lau hala and skeins of handmade hau cordage and handmade hula implements, like this ‘ulī‘ulī we made, again fill our home.

Big Island, Community, Eating Locally, Sustainability, Taro/Poi

‘Let’s Grow Hilo’ Sprouting Up Downtown

February 3, 2012 Richard Ha 1 Comment

Hilo’s street scape is changing. More native plants, such as kalo, are sprouting up along the roadways downtown.

This is the traffic island at Mamo and Keawe Streets.

Mamo Street, looking toward the Hilo Farmers Market.

This past weekend I saw a group of folks planting more kalo and other native plants on Front Street. It’s part of “Let’s Grow Hilo.”

From Big Island Weekly:

…In Hilo, the Natural Farming Hawaii group has planted taro, bananas and other edibles such as papaya trees in median strips and other areas that were previously wasted ground. In partnership with the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, the group has only just begun to beautify Hilo with edible landscaping. Their first area is located at the intersection of Mamo, Keawe and Kilauea streets, near the Hilo Farmers Market. Their use of natural farming methods and local materials such as coconut husk mulch from the farmers market are helping to create verdant gardens in the middle of city streets.

Sam Robinson, Coordinator of the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association’s “Let’s Grow Hilo” project explained the decision that prompted the launching of edible landscaping: “It started as a guerrilla movement. I just started planting things around town. It’s a project I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager because I love to garden and grow my own food. When I first started planting in Hilo, I got permission from some of the business owners where I was doing plantings, but basically I just started doing it….” Read the rest.

Also from that article:

“We’ll be developing a walking map as we add more garden areas so people will know where they can go to pick their own free fruit and vegetables. Our ultimate goal is to give all residents the knowledge and the means to change their diets for the better by providing recipes and education for healthy meals and snacks.”

I really like this. It is unusual but very appropriate.

Community, Geothermal, Peak Oil

Peak Oil: Preaching to the Laupahoehoe Choir

January 27, 2012 Richard Ha

Last night, I spoke at the Laupahoehoe Community Association meeting and shared the perspective I have gained from watching the world oil supply subject evolve over a short five years.

I related how I have attended four Peak Oil conferences, most recently as Hawai‘i County’s representative. The first thing I learned was that the world has been using twice as much oil as it has been finding for 20 to 30 years – a trend that continues.

Five years ago, oil prices were supply driven. When supply was restricted, oil prices rose, and when oil supply resumed, prices fell.

Last year, that correlation fundamentally changed. We now have a demand problem. And the demand is coming from the new economies: China, India and others.

That’s why, during this recession, we still have $100 per barrel oil. Unlike during the last 150 years, supply cannot seem to keep up with demand. If you are a subscriber to Nature magazine, or don’t mind becoming one, you can read a good article about that here.

Oil’s tipping point has passed

The economic pain of a flattening supply will trump the environment as a reason to curb the use of fossil fuels, say James Murray and David King.

…There is less fossil-fuel production available to us than many people believe. From 2005 onwards, conventional crude-oil production has not risen to match increasing demand. We argue that the oil market has tipped into a new state, similar to a phase transition in physics: production is now ‘inelastic’, unable to respond to rising demand, and this is leading to wild price swings…. Read the rest here

World oil supply is naturally declining at approximately five percent, meaning we need to find the equivalent of a Saudi Arabia every two to three years. Clearly we have not been doing that, nor is it likely we will do that.

To make matters worse, oil-exporting countries are forced to use more of the oil resource in their own countries or the people will revolt. Sooner or later, oil-exporting countries will keep all its oil for its own people. All the signs indicate that we have much less time than we think.

I told the folks that most of us, except the native Hawaiians, were immigrants. We all dream of a better future for our children and grandchildren, and rising oil prices are a threat to that dream.

We are very lucky, though, to have an indigenous alternative – Geothermal. Generating electricity from geothermal costs approximately 10 cents per kilowatt hour, while generating electricity from oil (at $100 per barrel) costs more than 20 cents per kilowatt hour. Geothermal-generated electricity prices will be stable for generations, while oil prices will keep on rising.

I was preaching to the choir. They wanted to know what could be done. I told them to contact their legislators and that I would make sure to keep in contact with their organization.

Community, Government

Women as ‘Economic Growth Strategy’ & East Hawaii’s Business Woman of the Year

January 25, 2012 Leslie Lang

Richard and June had a table at the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce’s Athena luncheon yesterday, for the presentation of East Hawai‘i’s Business Woman of the Year, and they invited me to join them. It was a good lunch at ‘Imiloa, and a nice event.

Before the Athena award was presented, Connie Lau, President/CEO of HEI, gave a talk about empowering women that I found really interesting.

She discussed U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s High-Level Policy Dialogue on Women and the Economy at a recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

(Clinton) articulated important steps in a path toward the Participation Age—where every individual has the opportunity to be a contributing and valued member of the global marketplace—including strategies to remove barriers that have prevented women from being full participants in the economy and unlock their potential as drivers of economic growth.

Clinton said that unlocking the potential of women in the work force, where women are underutilized or are bumping their heads on glass ceiling after glass ceiling, would add 9 percent to our GDP, 13 percent to the Euro Zone’s, and 16 percent to China’s.

At a time when the U.S. is struggling to have a 2.5 to 3 percent GDP, seeing it bump up to 12 percent would mean we would even surpass China (currently at 8.5 percent), Lau pointed out.

It’s all about “women as an economic growth strategy.” Wow, what a sentence. Another interesting concept: “Empowering women is not only the right thing to do, it’s an economic imperative.”

From here:

If we address the barriers to women’s economic participation, we can fundamentally transform our economies.

The World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report shows that where the gender gap is closest to being closed in a range of areas—including access to education, health survivability, economic participation, and political participation—countries and economies are more competitive and prosperous.[ix]
Reduction in barriers to female labor force participation would increase the size of America’s GDP by 9 percent, the Euro Zone’s by 13 percent, and Japan’s by 16 percent.[x]
Narrowing the gender gap could lead to a 14 percent rise in per capita incomes by the year 2020 in several APEC economies, including China, Russia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Korea.[xi]
Globally, women will control $15 trillion in spending by the year 2014. And by 2028, women will be responsible for about two-thirds of consumer spending worldwide.[xii]
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields on their farms by 20 to 30 percent. This increase could raise total agricultural output in developing countries by 2.5 to 4 percent and reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent, or up to 150 million people.[xiii]
Women disproportionately spend more of their earned income on food, healthcare, home improvement, and schooling, which has a multiplier effect in local communities.[xiv]
Research shows a correlation between the number of women on boards and higher corporate profits. One analysis found that companies with more women board directors outperform those with the least by 66 percent in terms of return on invested capital, by 53 percent in terms of return on equity, and 42 percent in terms of return on sales.[xv] Another study indicates that one-third of executives reported increased profits as a result of investments in employing women in emerging markets.[xvi]

I found the data and topic really interesting. There’s lots more, and you can go here to read the rest.

And how about East Hawai‘i’s Business Woman of the Year, you ask? Congratulations to Charlene Masuhara, a counselor and Key Club Adviser at Hilo High School.