Category Archives: Sustainability

Philippines, Sustainability, Travel

Dispatch from the Philippines: We Can Learn a Lot from This Place

We left Cebu yesterday via Supercat (that’s a high-speed catamaran). Crossed the water and traveled along the east side of Leyte Island.

The island is like Hawai‘i, with highlands in the middle. It seemed like there were cinder cones all over its surface. Due to its lack of erosion, Leyte looks relatively younger geologically than O‘ahu.

There was a huge welcoming ceremony. Beauty queens, band, dancers, dignitaries and a police escort. Each of us received an Ormoc City medallion to wear around our necks. Serious stuff.

After dropping off our bags, we went to Visayas State University (VSU). Our delegation met with the President of the University and had a briefing, where it was apparent that there are so many things we have in common. I loved the atmosphere and “can-do” attitude.

Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi set the big picture – the Aloha connection. This relationship is a long-term one of friendship.

Dr. Bruce Matthews, Interim Dean of the UH Hilo College of Ag, delivered UH Hilo Chancellor Donald Straney’s message of wanting to set up a student exchange program, and they are trying to achieve a Memo of Understanding on that before we leave. Their “cut through the red tape” attitude was most impressive to me.

VSU is a high-tech learning and research center that is building on what works locally, and then improving on it. For example, carabao – water buffalo – are utilized throughout the islands. But the university is improving the native carabao line by bringing in stock that grows faster in relation to a given time and food supply.

Also, carabao milk is thick, and not as appetizing as cow milk, but by diluting it by 50 percent with water, you end up with the nutrition equivalent of cow’s milk. Hmmm! We sampled carabao yogurt and it was wonderful. And it grows best on Hilo grass. Hilo grass? That is what survives overgrazing and mowing on the Big Island. And it goes on and on.

Third World? We can learn a lot about sustainability from this place. Mayor Billy sets the right tone for a long lasting and mutually beneficial partnership.

Big Island, Hamakua Coast, Peak Oil, Sustainability

Sustainability in Hamakua

1 Comment

My worlds collided on Saturday, when I led a tour that included a stop to meet Richard and see Hamakua Springs Country Farms.

Along with Hilo historian and anthropologist Judith Kirkendall, I lead van tours around East Hawai‘i. Right now we are doing a series of five tours that focus on agriculture and sustainability – what people are doing right now to be more sustainable, and how we can support them and also be more sustainable ourselves. The tours operate through Lyman Museum.

Our tour this past Saturday was called “The Garden As Provider,” and we focused on Hamakua. First we met at the Lyman Museum and heard a short talk by Sam Robinson about Let’s Grow Hilo. That’s the program she started that has volunteers planting edibles along downtown Hilo streets and in traffic medians.

“Anyone is free to help themselves to the fruit or vegetables once it’s ripe,” she told us, and she invited anyone interested in the project to come help plant and tend. They meet every last Sunday at the East Hawai‘i Cultural Center at 2 p.m.

Then we visited Barbara and Philip Williams, who live just outside Hilo near Pueopaku. Barbara grew up in Kenya, where they lived 50 miles away from the nearest railroad and so had to be self-sufficient. After she and Philip married, they lived on a plantation in East Africa. Now on the Big Island, they still grow and harvest everything they can. They have animals, including goats, and every fruit and vegetable you can imagine. “We retain the habits of being self-sufficient to the present day,” she told us.

From there we headed to Pepe‘ekeo, where Richard met us at Hamakua Springs.

IMG_0537

Richard is such an interesting speaker. He told us the story of how he started in farming (after flunking out of UH and consequently serving in Vietnam, he returned home and helped his father on the family’s chicken farm; then traded chicken manure for banana keiki and started farming bananas). He talked about how they decided to move the farm to Pepe‘ekeo and why (hint: free water; the farm alone has one-third as much water as supports agriculture where 234,000 people live in Leeward O‘ahu). Our tour group was totally engaged.

He told about how he started noticing prices going up (on fertilizer, boxes, all the things they were using on the farm) and how he realized it was due to oil prices and decided to attend Peak Oil conferences to learn what was happening. And how he felt bad and so didn’t tell the others there that he would return to Hawai‘i and wear shorts throughout the winter, and grow his produce throughout the winter; nor how we have geothermal to provide us with energy – which we don’t even fully take advantage of.

He spoke about how he has been positioning themselves for how conditions will be five or 10 years from now, and about the hydroelectric project that is getting going on the farm very shortly, and how since his workers first asked to borrow money for gas to get to work he has started what they call the Family of Farms, working with nearby farmers. And about how they are experimenting with how they can produce protein on the farm by raising tilapia, and giving their workers fish (and produce) every week in lieu of monetary raises they cannot afford to give right now.

There was more, and as editor of this blog for all these years, none of it was new to me, but I, too, listened intently and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was fascinating to hear Richard pull all the pieces he talks about on this blog together into one, interrelated, narrative that tells such a real, on-the-ground story of how things are (and how they are changing). The people on the tour were really interested. We all were. Afterward, I heard people talking about what a great thinker he is, and how much they enjoyed meeting him.

That Richard, he’s all right!

We also went to Hi‘ilani Eco House in Honoka‘a, an amazing house being constructed to be as “green” as it gets. Wow, that’s a fascinating place (they say it should last for 500 years!) and they are very open to groups visiting, if anyone is interested. And we stopped a couple other places as well.

It was a neat day (the upcoming tours are listed here if you’re interested), and Richard’s information really made it so good. We were all wowed. Thanks, Richard!

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

‘Let’s Grow Hilo’ Sprouting Up Downtown

1 Comment

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

IMG_1952

This is the traffic island at Mamo and Keawe Streets.

IMG_0149

Mamo Street, looking toward the Hilo Farmers Market.

IMG_0152

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.

Geothermal, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability

We are at a Pivotal Moment & We Need to Make a Commitment

4 Comments

I spoke at a plenary meeting for federal, state and private enterprise energy experts yesterday at the Honolulu Convention Center. It was put on by the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. I want to share my speech here, too:

Aloha Everyone,

We farm 600 fee simple acres on the Big Island. I am the only person from Hawai‘i to have attended what is now four Peak Oil conferences. I went to the first conference so I could learn about oil, and figure out how to position our farm for the future.

I have an accounting degree. But, as a farmer, I would say our biggest strength is that we are good at adapting to change.

Here are some key observations:

1. The world has been using twice as much oil as it has been finding for more than 20 years. And that trend continues.

2. Economies run on energy. If you take a chainsaw and a gallon of gas, you will cut so many trees. If you take that chainsaw and a half gallon of gas, you will cut less. It’s the same for the world economy. Energy growth is tied to economic growth. If energy is not available in sufficient amounts, the economy cannot keep on growing.

3. “Energy Return on Energy Invested.” It is the net energy that is available for society to use that is important.

In 1930, to get 100 barrels of oil it took the energy of one barrel.

In 1970, to get 30 barrels took one barrel.

Now, it’s 10 or 15-1 and decreasing.

Oil shale and tar sands are in the 5-1 range.

Biofuels is less than 2-1.

But geothermal is at least 10-1, and will last for 500,000 years.

It is estimated that we need 4-1 just to maintain our present society.

The net energy that is available for the use of society is getting gets less and less. In order to stay even, we will need more and more of the low EROI stuff just to stay even. Using geothermal to make electricity costs only half as much as oil.

With the world in recession, the oil price is at $100 per barrel. It seems like we are at the edge of starting down the backside of the oil supply curve. As oil supply starts to decrease, the net energy available decreases too but at an increasing rate.

One may reasonably assume that we are facing permanent recession or worse.

Another way of looking at it is: Net energy minus the energy it takes to get our food equals our lifestyle.

What can we do? The Big Island will be over the hot spot for 500,000 to a million years. The EROI for geothermal is stable and will stay the same for 500,000 years.

Consumer spending is two-thirds of our economy. Affordable energy is key. Let’s all work together to find the solution that works for the community, the environment and the economy.

Iceland is energy- and food-secure. They became that way by using low-cost hydroelectric and geothermal energy. They use their cheap electricity to make aluminum, and with the hard currency from that, they buy the food that they cannot grow. It can be done, but we must force the change!  

At the early ASPO conferences, EROI used to be “fringe” thought, and now it is mainstream. We need to consider this in our planning!

We are at a pivotal moment in Hawai‘i’s history. Business as usual is no longer safe. Like the ancient leaders who made the decision to send the canoes up from the south, we are about to make decisions that will decide the future for coming generations.

We here in this room will make the commitment.  If not now, when? If not here, where? If not us, who?

We can do this. Not, no can. CAN!

Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability, Water

Hydroelectric Project at Farm is Full Steam Ahead

Somebody asked me the other day about Richard’s hydroelectric project at the farm. I hadn’t even gotten around to asking him about it yet when I saw this Pacific Business News article.

Hydroelectric energy will power Big Island farm

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2011 AT 10:24AM

(Pacific Business News)  Hamakua Springs Country Farms plans to use the streams along the Hamakua Coast to generate electricity as early as next year and has hired a system developer to move the process forward.

The idea has been in the works since last year, and Richard Ha, president of Hamakua Springs, said development of the hydropower system is likely to begin in 2012. The farm has received the proper permits, he said, but the cost and design analysis has not yet begun. He expects the evaluation and building process to take about seven months to a year. Read the rest

Richard told me, “We cannot wait to make our electric bill predictable and stable.”

Biofuel, Food Security, Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability

Kudos to the PUC!

The recent PUC decision denying a HECO/Aina Koa Pono biofuel contract was a landmark decision. Kudos to the PUC for understanding precisely what was at stake. Very impressive!!

See this Big Island Video News story about the decision.

My observations:

  • The process was not transparent, and people had a difficult time understanding the issues.
  • Cellulosic biofuels is not proven technology, so it’s high risk.
  • Filling oil tanks with long term biofuel contracts would block cheaper alternatives, like geothermal, from gaining critical mass.
  • Ratepayers would have financed the risk. And ratepayers are not venture capitalists.
  • Businesses would have seen their electricity rates go higher than they were with electricity generated by oil, making their products even less competitive to mainland competition. And food security would have suffered.
  • Social consequences would have included fewer government services, less charitable giving and more working homeless. It would have put stress on our spirit of aloha.

We can and must do better for our future generations. As Steve Jobs always said, “We need to think different!”

Not, no can, CAN!

Sustainability

Scientists With Heart & Common Sense

The scientists at Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center (PBARC) in Hilo are pursuing their project of “zero waste.” The objective is to utilize all the byproducts of agriculture production in a sensible way.

Their funding had been cut to the bone. But Director Dennis Gonsalves and the scientists there are refusing to give up. They are doing it because they believe in sustainability for Hawai‘i.

This is Marissa Walls, research food technologist at PBARC, and Dennis Gonsalves.

Gonsalves and walls

I wrote previously about their algae-to-oil for waste papaya. They started with a test tube of a specially evolved algae that preferred papaya as its food, and it produced oil.

They started the papaya algae-to-oil trial at a 1-liter scale.

This is a short video clip of the algae on a shaker.

Now they are scaling up the process to a 5-gallon size. I was there to witness the first batch being done. First they took the papaya mixture into a special hood, where filtered air was brought in causing positive air flow out of the front. This prevented unfiltered air to come in from the outside.

1.5 live transf to 5 gal

Just before taking the 5-gallon bucket to the next room, they took a sample of the mixture to test for contamination. If mixture is contaminated by something that grows faster than the algae, they’ll know.

3. taking sample

Here is Dr. Gonsalves transferring the first of the 5-gallon batch. Note that the bucket is a plain plastic bucket. They got it from Home Depot.

Taking to grow room

Because they don’t have funding for a lab, they are using a space under the stairwell of the PBARC building. The algae functions in the dark, so they have black plastic taped to the stairwell to maintain the dark.

Under stairs

There the mixture will be constantly stirred. Instead of a shaker, the 5-gallon bucket mixture is agitated by what looks like a paint mixer.

Dr. Gonsalves tells me that they are getting batches of new evolved algae as they go along, and after a bunch of tweaking by these smart scientists, they have got the oil yield up to 35 percent. After the 5-gallon scale, they will go to 50-gallon and then to 1000 gallons. The mixing, sterilizing and dewatering procedures will change as appropriate for each scale.

I can very easily relate to that. It’s exactly what we did when we scaled up our farm from one acre to 600 acres. These are common sense scientists. I could not be more impressed.

One of the scientists is now looking into the nutritional content of the leftover algae cake. I can’t wait to see if it can be used for fish food. Just imagine, farm waste to oil and then the leftover for fish food. Sounds like common sense to me.

Dr. Gonsalves’ objective is to have real numbers and actual oil for evaluation within a year.

This project is impressive because it focuses on value to society as its end result. Many times, money as an end result goal takes us in a direction we don’t want to go. This project’s focus, and its methods, are simple and practical.

We farmers characterize it as common sense. Nowadays, that is high praise.

Hawaiian Role Models, Sustainability, Travel

Learning From The Past & Moving Forward

My impressions regarding the arrival of the seven vaka:

  • The canoes: They looked like ancient canoes, but were equipped with the most modern equipment.

Vaka

7 vakas at Palekai

TJ Glauthier, me, Patrick Kahawaiola’a, Ramsay Taum and Rick Blangiardi. All are Ku‘oko‘a members, except for Patrick, who is President of the Keaukaha Community Association

  • The people: They have kept the old values, and we respect and admire that.

Welcome ceremony

  • The future: It is uncertain, but our values must be clear: What’s important is taking care of the land, the people and future generations.

PatTalking story with Uncle Patrick Kahawaiola’a

Royal orderThe Royal Order of Kamehameha

Kalepa Kalepa Baybayan, left, is Navigator-in-Residence at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center

With Nainoa

Me with Nainoa Thompson (right

  • The lesson: We were there to participate and to, ourselves, become grounded.

PageantryPageantry!

Kaiu
Ka‘iu Kimura (at left) is executive director of ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center

DieterDieter Paulmann (left) poses with some members of the 1976 Hokule‘a crew

Geothermal, Peak Oil, Sustainability

A Quandary At HELCO

2 Comments

HELCO issued a Request For Information re: geothermal energy this week.

Although in my opinion Hawaiians are overwhelmingly in favor of geothermal, I am finding, as I ask around, that people are conflicted about HELCO’s intentions.

Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), the parent company that owns Hawaii Electric Light Company (the Big Island’s HELCO) and the Maui Electric Company (MECO), readily acknowledges that it has a duty to protect the interest of its stockholders.

And when the interests of the stockholders and the interests of the people are in conflict, HECO’s loyalty lies with the stockholders.

That is at the heart of the problems they are having on Moloka‘i and Lana‘i. And it’s at the heart of the problems they deal with when facing the unprecedented future of rising oil prices.

Passing the cost and risk of Peak Oil, as a result of decoupling, straight through to the rate payers – the public – is not comforting to the people.

We need a new model here, one that lines up the needs of the people with the needs of the utility. We need a new model that transforms the utility into an economic driver, rather than an economic impediment. A new model that focuses on a better life for future generations.

People are very uncomfortable with the prospect of handing over, to future generations, a diminished life compared to what they had. We must do better.

There are a thousand reasons why no can. We need to find the one reason why CAN!