Sustainability

After the E Malama ‘Aina Sustainability Festival

1 Comment

Richard Ha writes:“Phew, that was a journey,” says Roland Torres, producer of the television program Kama‘aina Backroads.

He’s talking about the E Malama ‘Aina festival, which he helped us organize and publicize. It was this past weekend, at Mo‘oheau Park near the Hilo bayfront, and it turned out terrific.

“It fills my soul with satisfaction,” says Roland, “what we accomplished — creating an open, positive space where any and everyone was able to explore, learn, and gain inspiration for life. The crowds of visitors, the folks manning the booths, the aunties enjoying the nahenahe music, the wonderful array of food (the malasadas ran out, they made more batches, and then they ran out again) made for a joyous day. Even Ke Akua seemed to put a handprint on the event by giving us one of the most beautiful Hilo days you’ll ever experience in November. I didn’t want it to finish.”

It was an important event. The world is changing, and because we live on an isolated island we need to start to do the things necessary to prepare ourselves to be self-sufficient.

 Steve Shropshire and I, co-chairs of the event, wanted to bring like-minded people together, in one place, so the general public could come and see what people are doing to prepare for the future and maybe get some ideas.

People are doing so many interesting things toward increased
sustainability! When things start to get tough we want people to
know they are not alone -– that their fellow citizens are preparing, and the future is hopeful.

Here’s the HQ tent for information and a support center.There were  police in the crowd, the County Fire Departments EMTs on the left. In the bandstand there was a robotics competition going on.

Police tableSam Pulu‘ole and Koran Munafo of the Downtown Improvement Association made sure everything ran smoothly.

And there was live entertainment in the bandstand. Some of
the best Hawaiian entertainers there are donated their time (our thanks to Roland Torres for arranging the entertainment). Performers included Pu’ulena (Puna and Princess Keli’iho’omalu and Kawika Ka’awaloa), Ikaika Marzo, Keoki Kahumoku, Kainani Kahaunaele, Brittni Paiva and Na Palapalai (Ku’ana Torres and
Kehau Tamure).

The Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce, along with the
County of Hawai‘i’s Research & Development R&D department, were the festival’s primary sponsors. Below, volunteers from the Chamber of Commerce. Not shown: Executive Director Judi Steinman and Daniel Krause made sure all the loose ends were tied up.

Chamber volunteers

Here’s June at our Hamakua Springs Country Farms booth.

HSCF

 And there was great food. Our thanks to Sonia Martinez for
organizing the really good food! She also had a Freecycle.com booth.

Freecycle

 We are going to talk with some of the participants after the
fact here and in the coming weeks we will bring you some stories about what you saw there (or missed). Stay tuned to the blog.

 (Have you subscribed to our RSS feed? Click on the link at the bottom of the right hand side of the blog to automatically receive all our new posts.)

Mauna Kea

Meetings re: Draft of Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan

The Mauna Kea Comprehensive Management Plan – review the CMP summary here – is, in my opinion, a strong attempt to malama (take care of) Mauna Kea.

The Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) process was begun by the Office of Mauna Kea Management long before Judge Hara required it be put together. I know, personally, that the individuals who developed it had the best interests of Mauna Kea in mind. This plan was not driven just to accommodate the Thirty-Meter Telescope.

While it’s true that individuals have different ideas as to how Mauna Kea should be taken care of, what we share is that we all want it done properly.

Project Overview

State law defines a “management plan” as a comprehensive plan for carrying out multiple land uses. The Comprehensive Management Plan for Mauna Kea, therefore, is a management plan that will specifically address multiple land uses on those lands managed by the University of Hawai’i (UH) on Mauna Kea.
The CMP will provide a management framework for the Office of Mauna Kea Management (OMKM) to address existing and future activities on these conservation lands, with the goal of protecting Mauna Kea’s significant cultural and natural resources. The CMP will build upon the previous management and master plans to update the management strategies for the range of activities on and uses of Mauna Kea. The CMP will include detailed information about natural and cultural resources, including management recommendations to ensure their protection, by incorporating plans currently being prepared by OMKM consultants. It will also consider how to process and manage existing and potential future uses of and activities on Mauna Kea, such as astronomy, recreational and commercial activities, scientific research, and cultural and religious activities.

The draft Comprehensive Management Plan incorporates suggestions from the general public that were gathered at a series of talk story sessions, community meetings and forums.

Now there will be a series of three meetings, as well as individual talk story sessions, for the general public to provide more input to the final document. At this second round of public meetings, Ku’iwalu intends to present a draft of management recommendations for the CMP for community review.

Upcoming Meetings
Kona Community Meeting (Round 2)
Friday, Nov. 14, 2008 5-8 p.m.
Kealakehe Elementary School
74-5118 Kealakaa Street Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740
Waimea Community Meeting (Round 2)
Monday, Nov. 17, 2008 5 – 8 p.m.

Waimea Civic Center
67-5189 Kamamalu Street Kamuela, Hawai‘i 96743
Hilo Community Meeting (Round 2)
Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Keaukaha Elementary School
240 Desha Avenue Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720

These presentations give the public another opportunity to provide comments on the proposed Comprehensive Management Plan for Mauna Kea.

Television

Richard Ha on PBS Hawai‘i’s “Long Story Short”

I just sat and watched the PBS program Long Story Short, with Leslie Wilcox. The episode featured Richard, and I “live blogged.”

Well, sort of. I didn’t post it as I went. But here’s a delayed live blogging post:

7:30 p.m. They used a lot of Macario’s photos from this blog (with permission, of course). Wow, Macario, great pictures. They really illustrate Richard’s story nicely.

7:32 I know how many stories and thoughts and opinions Richard has, and when Leslie Wilcox asks a question I can see his head spinning. There’s a lot going on in that head. Richard, you’re doing great!

7:34 Wow, it was really matter-of-fact the way he told Leslie they used to make sugar cane rockets – like everybody knows about sugar cane rockets. He just said, “I don’t know if anybody’s any happier that has all kinds of toys,” and I’ll bet he’s right.

7:38 I like everything I’ve ever heard about Richard’s father and wish I’d met him. I hope I can teach my own child the same sorts of important life lessons that Richard got from his Pop.

7:41 It’s funny that he describes his early farming activity as qualifying as “big business” as soon as he had more employees than could fit into his station wagon.

7:47 It’s neat how everything Richard talks about and works on can be traced back to the same subjects: Making sure farmers can farm so there’s enough food in these islands; taking care of the next generation so they can lead sustainable lives here. It all comes down to supporting farmers so we can feed our people.

7:52 I love that Richard’s workers get to come to the farm every Thursday to pick up vegetables for their family for the week. What a useful, practical benefit of employment. Also delicious.

7:53 Leslie Wilcox just asked, What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? and Richard said he cannot imagine. I believe that. In the short time I’ve known Richard, I’ve watched as his interests have evolved and turned corners –without his ever losing focus of what is important. Earlier she talked about Principal Lehua Veincent (of Keaukaha Elementary School) doing everything from the perspective of “what is the pono thing to do right now.” That’s definitely Richard, too. I’ve never met someone so caring and also so ethical, at the same time.

7:57 Nice program. If you missed it, they just announced that it will repeat on the radio on Sunday morning (11/16/08) at 7 a.m. That’s on KUMU 74.7 FM.

The TV program will play again on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 on PBS Hawai‘i.

And I just found a page where you can download Richard’s Long Story Short interview as a podcast. They have other interesting segments there, too, that you might want to explore.

Big Island, Where We Live

Hawaiian Monk Seal

Richard was down at Reed’s Bay recently and saw this Hawaiian monk seal sunning on a rock. See it there, toward the top/middle of the shot?

Richard's monk seal

Some rangers from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, present to make sure the seal wasn’t disturbed, said this particular seal has been hanging around for the past month or so between Richardson’s Beach and Maui’s canoe, which is up the Wailuku River. They think she’s about to give birth.

Richard said there were about 10 people looking at the seal, including Mayor-Elect Billy Kenoi, his wife Takako and their three young children. They had been picnicking across the bay when someone pointed out the seal to them, so they came over to get a better look.

Wikipedia says, of the highly endangered Hawaiian monk seal:

To raise awareness for the species’ plight, the Hawaiian monk seal was  declared Hawaii’s official State Mammal on June 11, 2008 by Lieutenant Governor James Aiona.

It’s estimated that there are only about 1200 Hawaiian monkseals left, and it’s  to spot one sunning on a Big Island beach, which happens from time to time. When it happens, the area is roped off so the seal is left alone. The rest of us just move down the beach a bit until they go.

Here’s another one (or the same one?). I saw this seal at Richardson’s Beach this past March.

100_2557

100_2558

Current Affairs

President-Elect Obama

Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States. His message of inclusiveness is inspirational. And besides, he has a
solid, local boy bodysurfing form. We all know that he knows what he is doing.

As I write this on Tuesday night, John McCain is giving his
generous concession speech on TV. This feels like a historic moment!

The other big deal these last couple days is that our tomato
production has finally started to increase again.

We’ve done what we have to do to position ourselves for a future of lessening energy supplies and discretionary income. We need to be lean and mean and we’re getting there.

Not just our farm but our whole country needs to adjust and be prepared for a challenging future. But somehow the future looks, and feels, so much more hopeful than it did last week.

Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability

Hydroelectric Decision

3 Comments

We have a big decision to make: Should we, or should we not,
continue with our plans to build a hydroelectric plant?

There are changes in the air with the recent energy agreement signed between the State of Hawai‘i, the group of companies under HEI and the consumer advocate.

All activity under Schedule Q, which allows electricity to be sold back to the utility company, has been suspended until the incentive program, or feed-in tariffs, for the power company’s buying back of renewable energy is defined and in place. The PUC has directed that the utilities develop the feed-in tariffs by July.

Under “net energy metering” in the current arrangement, any excess energy we generate would go to the utility for free. That is very risky for us, as our plan calls for us to use that money from selling back electricity to help make our loan payments.

How sure can I be that the agreement will go through? How certain can I be that the July deadline will not be extended?

Can I afford to make loan payments on a million dollar loan without an agreement in hand?

If I wait, the funding may run out.

I just laid off 20 people; can I gamble?

On the other hand, if I go ahead and then everything falls in place, maybe I won’t have to sell off parcels of land. If it becomes necessary to sell our land a parcel at a time, sooner or later it will be our irreversible journey out of agriculture.

What to do?

Company News

Good Plant News

1 Comment

I wrote about how we’ve run into some trouble in the plant houses, but today Dr. Scot Nelson told us it’s not a serious problem.

Three of the samples he took tested negative for virus and only one tested positive. He showed me how the positive sample showed dead tissue over the vein of the leaves. The ones that tested negative did not have that feature.

We went into the field to see how many plants are exhibiting that symptom, and it was very few–  maybe less than one percent. Furthermore, Dr. Nelson told us the virus was more likely to have spread by aphids than by mechanical transmission.

This is huge – less than one percent of our plants affected, and the problem not spread by tools or by touch.

Tomorrow is our visit from Pete Bunn, who is an independent consultant on plant nutrition. I wonder what he will say about the
thousands of plant we thought were virus-infected. We have our suspicions, as well as a tentative plan of action, but we’ll wait to hear Pete’s conclusions.

It’s a reminder that farming is more involved than we sometimes think.

Hydroponics

Challenging Assumptions

Because of the challenges we are currently facing at the farm, I’ve gone back to being involved at the most basic levels of our farm operations. Last week I walked each of our 135 plant houses and looked at every single plant.

The other day I wrote here that we are taking out all the virus-infected plants. But I have learned, through years of experience, that one must always challenge assumptions. So I asked Dr. Scot Nelson, a plant pathologist from the UH Hawai‘i at Manoa’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, if he would come evaluate our virus problem.

The first thing he said was that the samples I’d submitted the other day tested negative for virus. I could not believe it. Everywhere I looked in the tomato houses I observed it. How could there be no virus?

I showed Scot what I thought were virus-infected plants and he took four samples, each slightly different in its stage of infection. Besides taking samples of what I thought were virus-infected plants, Scot took apart the growing media of an infected plant and evaluated the roots, which looked perfectly healthy. They were all white except that there were no roots where water sits in the bags holding the plants in the media.

He surmised that the roots were waterlogged and lacking oxygen, so the roots could not survive. I made a note to cut a drain hole in the bags.

Because of the lack of roots, he also left open the possibility that it might be a nutritional deficiency, caused by the roots’ inability to take up nutrients. He suggested we do a tissue analysis to check on the plants’ nutritional status. If the levels are low, he told me, we might have to compensate by spraying some fertilizer on the leaves.

I filed all this away.

This afternoon Scot called me. The three youngest samples tested negative for virus. But the oldest sample tested positive. Scot had told me that sometimes viruses cannot be detected in the youngest leaves that exhibit symptoms. So it appears we do indeed have a virus; just one that is difficult to detect in young tissue.

I’m writing all this down because it illustrates the truth that one needs to check, double check and question assumptions in order to be a plant doctor. One can never assume anything.

There’s a lot more to being a farmer nowadays than just sticking a plant in the ground and waiting.

Later this week, nutritional consultant Pete Bunn is flying in from O‘ahu for the day, and we’ll see what else we learn.

Company News, Peak Oil

Full Hands at the Farm

1 Comment

We have known that beef, egg and hog producers are in
trouble, largely due to increases in feed and transportation costs.

And now, vegetable crop producers are in trouble as well. For vegetable farmers, it’s mostly about fertilizer and supply costs.

At the farm, we have not been immune to the fertilizer, chemical, packing, cooling and transportation cost escalations, which are all related to the spike in oil prices earlier this year.

Unfortunately we have recently had to lay off some of our employees. And in these tough economic times, that is something we just did not want to do.

We were doing okay at the farm until two things hit us at once. During the summer we started to see a production slow down, and we were slow to react. When you look at something every day, it’s easy to miss changes. But the plants just weren’t doing well.

Then, at the same time, we discovered a virus outbreak. All of a sudden, we had our hands full.

We have been removing all the virus-infected plants, which numbered in the thousands. I feel we have the problem under control now, but there are bald spots in our production houses. It will take us a couple months to work our way out of this.

More serious was a general weakness in plant growth during the summer. A month ago, we tried different fertilizer and water programs and today, it’s looking a lot better. We are still fine tuning.

As a result of this, I have resigned from almost all the boards I belong to. It doesn’t feel appropriate to be concentrating my efforts elsewhere when I am having to lay off my own workers.

We are hopeful all will be back to normal in about two months.  However, something like this makes one stop to think about the future. Such as, where do June and I want to be in 10 years. It’s an interesting question to ponder.

Renewable Energy Sources

State Moves Toward Locally Produced Renewable Energy

1 Comment

Richard Ha writes:

There’s been an important announcement in the newspapers about a series of renewable energy commitments by the State of Hawai‘i and the various Hawaiian Electric Companies.

Energy Agreement Among the State of Hawaii, Division of Consumer Advocacy of the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs, and Hawaiian Electric Companies

Summary of Key Agreements
Signatories: The Governor of the State of Hawaii; the State of Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; the State of Hawaii Consumer Advocate; and the Hawaiian Electric companies.

All parties believe that the future of Hawaii requires that we move decisively and irreversibly away from imported fossil fuel for electricity and transportation and towards locally produced renewable energy and an ethic of energy efficiency.

As we move from central-station, oil-based power to a much more renewable, distributed and intermittent-powered system, we recognize the need to assure that Hawaii preserves a stable electric grid and minimizes disruption to service quality and reliability. In addition, we recognize the need for a financially sound electric utility.

Finally, we commit to a system of regulation that will transform our major utility from a traditional sales-based company to an energy-services provider that retains its obligation to serve the public with reliable energy, strives to source and integrate greener and lower-cost generation, and moves us to a more independent future.

These are some fundamental changes in direction. Hawaiian Electric agrees that the move to biofuels is not meant to preclude renewables. The utilities will move away from the least efficient oil-firing plants to renewables. Up until that statement, many felt the utilities were only concerned about their investment in oil-fired plants.

There is an understanding about the utilities changing their focus from sales to service and a forward-looking direction.

Hawaiian Electric will finance solar water heater installations.

There will be a rate cap for those least able to afford electricity. This is an effort to protect the most defenseless among us.

Regarding transportation, the parties agreed to aggressively pursue alternate fuel vehicles. Fossil fuel transportation is clearly not the answer.

Re: Net Energy Metering, there will be no cap on the number; it just cannot exceed 15 percent of the peak circuit demand. Also, excess energy will be sold back to the grid at retail rates. This is a strong incentive for people to pursue alternate energy systems.

On the strength of the above statement, I am committing to go ahead with a hydro-electric project. Net Metering with these conditions will help with food security, because it will help farmers make/save money. And, if the farmer makes money, the farmer will farm.

There are other provisions, as well, but these are the ones that stand out in my mind. The overall effect will be to encourage small energy production. I think having a lot of small producers gives a certain security in case “the boat does not come.”

Also, the money circulates in our own economy; not to mention that jobs will be created as these projects get going.

It’s a major shift in the right direction – away from fossil fuels.