Community, Food Safety Certification, Lowering Electric Rates, Our Story, Water

Master Gardeners Visit Hamakua Springs

Richard Ha writes:

The master gardeners came to visit Hamakua Springs yesterday. I told them their entry fee was that they had to listen to my pitch about the Big Island Community Coalition, through which we advocate for lowest electricity rates in the state.

We all laughed, and then I handed them flyers to post everywhere they can.

The Master Gardeners, solely as volunteers, help staff the University Extension Service. Somone pointed out that when they are not there, the Extension Service office is empty.

It was great to talk with people who grow things and have hands-on experience with insect and disease issues. They peered under leaves and asked lots of questions. Many of them grow tomatoes, so we had a lot in common. We feel a special closeness to them.

Mastergardener

Master Gardeners decided to do their vegetable shopping while on their tour.

My daughter Tracy
explained our Food Safety program, which involves nearly 60 line items for the field operation and 60 more for the packing operation. Everything is documented.

I pointed out that
smaller growers have a very difficult time both farming and maintaining the
detailed paperwork necessary to become Food Safety-certified. The Food Safety program evolved as large retailers pushed the liability down the chain. It is neither good nor bad – It just is.

Someone asked how long we have been at Pepe‘ekeo and why we chose this location, and I explained that we started looking at different possible locations 20 years ago. Plantations were closing down, the market was on O‘ahu – there were many factors in play.

What it came down to were the physical resources. At Pepe‘ekeo, which is located close to a deep water port, there is deep soil, and most of all, there is an abundance of water. Our average annual rainfall here is close to 140 inches per year. More than 1/4 of the volume of water that goes to the Ewa plains on O‘ahu flows downhill through our farm alone. And there is a 150-foot elevation difference in the water flow.

That water was free, and would be free for as long as we could imagine. We made our decision based on free water.

Sustainability

2012 Fertilizer Prices

Richard Ha writes:

Fertilizer prices seem to have stabilized for the year. See the graphs at this Market Watch price page of PotashCorp.com.

Potassium Chloride, which is of special interest to banana farmers, is around $500/ton now. In the summer of 2008 it was nearly $900/ton.

Diammonium phosphate: Now, $500/ton. 2008, $1100/ton.

Sulfur: Now, $200/ton. In 2008, $700/ton.

The low price of natural gas is very helpful. As long as the demand can be met, its price should be relatively stable for the short term.

Lowering Electric Rates

Gail Tverberg on the Link Between Energy Consumption, Employment & Recession

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Richard Ha writes:

In this article called The Close Tie Between Energy Consumption, Employment, and Recession, from OurFiniteWorld.com, Gail Tverberg says that our energy use rises and falls with employment numbers, and also that Gross Domestic Product is related to energy use: The cheaper the energy, the more one uses and conversely, the more expensive the energy, the less people use. It’s all about the cost of the energy.

The Close Tie Between Energy Consumption, Employment, and Recession

by Gail Tverberg

Posted on September 17, 2012 

…Since 1982, the number of people employed in the United States has tended to move in a similar pattern to the amount of energy consumed. When one increases (or decreases), the other tends to increase (or decrease)….

I have written recently about the close long-term relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. We know that economic growth is tied to job creation, so it stands to reason that energy consumption would be tied to job growth1. But I will have to admit that I was surprised by the closeness of the relationship for the period shown.

This close relationship is concerning, because if it holds in the future, it suggests that it will be very difficult to reduce energy consumption without a lot of unemployment. It also would seem to suggest that a shortage of energy supplies (as reflected by high prices) can lead to unemployment….

Gail Tverberg’s former career was as an insurance actuary. Her job was about pricing insurance risk. That’s a relevant set of skills to have as we move into the uncertain future.

Here in Hawai‘i, we are very fortunate: We have a robust set of alternative energy workarounds. But we do need to focus on affordable energy and proven technology to help us dodge the economic downturn bullet.

Read Gail’s whole article here.

Uncategorized

USDA Says This Year’s Corn Crop Not As Bad As Feared

Richard Ha writes:

From www.cnbc.com:

Published: Wednesday, 12 Sep 2012 | 10:49 AM ET
By: Jane Wells
Correspondent
The latest numbers from the USDA firm up the outlook for this year’s corn crop, and the final numbers may not be as bad as some feared.
Despite the worst drought in half a century, the government only slightly reduced total projected production for the year to 10.72 billion bushels. That would be a 13 percent drop from last year and the smallest crop since 2006….
 
Community, Lowering Electric Rates

My Audio at Kona Blog Radio

Richard Ha writes:

My friend Dave Ross invited me to be a guest speaker on Kona Blog Radio. The program was recorded at Boston Basil’s in Kailua-Kona on Tuesday, and you can listen to it here:

Listen to internet radio with KBP on Blog Talk Radio

I talked about the Big Island Community Coalition (BICC), the organization recently formed to make the island’s electricity rates the lowest in the state.

The next step: Asking people to attend upcoming PUC hearings.

The PUC is holding these hearings to learn what people think about HELCO’s proposed 4.2 percent rate hike, as well as the proposed Aina Koa Pono biofuels project at Ka‘u. BICC is against both proposals because they would raise our electricity rates, not lower them.

The first PUC hearing is on Monday, October 29, 2012, 6 p.m. at the Hilo High School cafeteria. The next is on Tuesday, October 30 at 6 p.m. at Kealakehe High School.

We need your input so we can work on getting our electricity rates down, instead of just watching them go up.

Bananas

Bananas Foster at Yogurtland

Richard Ha writes:

The Yogurtland folks came by the farm a couple of weeks ago.
Yogurtland’s flavorologist, Scott Shoemaker, was here on the Big Island and one of his goals was to find a special banana flavor to make Bananas Foster frozen yogurt.

After Scott walked through our fields, he made a call to his company headquarters.

He had tasted our bananas at the Farmers Market and been
very impressed. He wanted to see the farm and hear our story.

I told him that a Chiquita engineer had called me several years ago, on his way over to the Philippines, and told me that Chiquita was in the process of developing a high-elevation banana plantation there. His objective was to lengthen the time to harvest, so that more complex tastes could develop. He was attempting to replicate the taste of bananas in Hawai‘i and in Taiwan, which is 22 degrees north of the equator.

Hawai‘i bananas take up to three weeks longer before they are ready for harvest compared to those at the equator.

I told Scott that we are located where the prevailing tradewinds drop lots of rain as they meet the slopes of Mauna Kea. We measure rain in feet instead of inches (11 feet per year) and bananas love that. Also, our soil was formed from volcanic cinder, so the combination of good drainage and water retention is unusual and very good for banana production.

I told him that our farm was first in the world to be certified ECO-OK by the Rainforest Alliance, which is the world’s first and
largest third-party certifier of banana production methods. This program transformed the banana industry, worldwide, by making it comply with stringent pesticide regulations, waste disposal, employee conditions and rules of environmental protection.

Community

Look! It’s The Great Dog You’ve Been Waiting For!

by Leslie Lang

For a change of pace here, Richard says why don’t I tell you all about Cleo.

Cleo needs a good home. She is about 3 years old, and truly one
of the sweetest dogs we’ve ever had (but she needs to go to a home that doesn’t have chickens or cats).

Cleo photoVery good-natured, always happy, good with kids, etc. (Here’s how happy she always is: Her middle name is “Wigglebottom.” But you could change that if you want.) Our friends had her since she was a puppy, and then we took her when they moved
away, so she has had a known, good upbringing. When they had her, she was an inside/outside dog and she is good in the house. With us she’s been an outside dog. She’s spayed, and up to date with shots. She’s a great dog and I’m sad we need to find her another home, but we do.

Cleo’s perfect home:

  • Doesn’t have chickens or cats.
  • Is a ranch, farm, or home with a fenced yard where she can run
    around. (No life on a chain!)
  • Bonus points if there’s another dog or two for her to play
    with. She would love that.

Please comment here or email leslie@leslielang.com if you would like to meet Cleo. She lives near Hilo and would travel to meet someone who is interested. She is very affectionate, smart and friendly and would make some family a wonderful friend.

Big Island, Community, Lowering Electric Rates

PUC: Here’s When You Can Show Up & Make a Difference

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Richard Ha writes:

If we show up in huge numbers at PUC hearings, we can make a difference.

The PUC will hear HELCO’s proposal for a 4.2 percent rate hike, as well as about Aina Koa Pono’s proposed biofuel project, on:

  • Monday, October 29, 2012 at 6 p.m. at the Hilo High School cafeteria, and
  • Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 6 p.m. at the Kealakehe High School cafeteria.

The Big Island Community Coalition opposes both proposals because they would raise, rather than lower, our electricity rates.

The PUC members are caring human beings. But they have to know what the people want. Only two people, I think, showed up at the last PUC hearing in Hilo. We need hundreds!

The Big Island is in trouble. We have one of the highest electricity rates in Hawai‘i – almost 25 percent higher than O‘ahu’s.

High electricity rates are like a giant regressive tax, only worse. As people leave the electric grid to escape its high cost, those who cannot afford to do so pay even more.

The Big Island has a robust supply of alternatives to oil. We need to mobilize and make meaningful change.

The world has been using twice as much oil as it’s been finding for 20 to 30 years now, and this trend continues.

Growing gap

In the last 10 years, the price of oil has quadrupled. Something significant has changed: This has never before happened in the 150 years comprising our “Age of Oil.”

Oil price quadrupled

In China, they use two barrels of oil/person/year, and even when oil costs $100/barrel, their economy continues to grow. Here in the U.S., we use 23 barrels of oil/person/year, and at $100 oil, our economy is sputtering. It is reasonable to assume that the price of oil will continue to rise as it continues to be influenced by China’s demand.

Who here is most vulnerable to rising electricity costs?

  • Senior citizens on fixed income, for one, who sometimes have to make choices between food, medicine and electricity. We cannot leave our kupuna – our moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas – out there to fend for themselves. These are the ones who sacrificed so we could have a better life.
  • Single moms are also very vulnerable. I talked to a person who has several kids she hopes to send to college. She told me the threat of rising electricity prices weighs on her every day.

According to this week’s Hawaii Tribune-Herald, 3,000 of the 10,000 folks in Hawai‘i who receive federal aid to help pay their electric bill are on the Big Island. We have less than 15 percent of the state’s population, yet more than 30 percent of Hawai‘i’s residents who receive federal assistance to pay their electricity bill are on the Big island.

Join the Big Island Community Coalition to receive an occasional email telling you how you can help bring down the cost of Big Island electricity.

Lowering Electric Rates

Pohoiki: Taking Our Community Coalition Into The Community

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Richard Ha writes: 

Ramp

Pohoiki Boat Ramp
There was a Ho‘olaule‘a yesterday, sponsored by the Kealoha Trust, at Pohoiki Beach Park.

Richard Ha, Kuulei Kealoha Cooper, Faye Hanohano, Noelani Kalipi

Richard Ha; Ku’ulei Kealoha Cooper, administrator of the Kealoha Trust which sponsored the Ho‘olaule‘a; Representative Faye Hanohano; Noelani Kalipi,  her husband Gaylen, and their two

small children, as well as Kapono Pa and me, manned a booth for the Big Island Community Coalition (BICC) and signed up new members.

Noe Kalipi, Richard Ha, Kapono Pa

Noe Kalipi is involved with BICC for the sake of her children.
Screen shot 2012-09-03 at 9.29.05 AM
Signing up Leah Gouker.

The BICC’s mission is to lower electricity rates on the Big
Island so that they are the lowest in the state.

Sign

I got involved with the BICC for the same reason I got involved in Ku‘oko‘a: We need to align the needs of the people with the needs
of the utility. The world is changing and we must adapt.

Sign1

This is the same reason I got involved with the Thirty Meter Telescope; it helps our community transition. And it’s also why I now support the Hawaii Island Beacon Community, which is involved in making the health care system more efficient, and therefore more affordable.

Did you see the front page headline in yesterday’s Hawaii Tribune-Herald?

Poor Hit Hardest by Rate Hikes

Should a proposed electricity rate increase of 4.2 percent in 2013 be approved by the state’s Public Utilities Commission, Big Island low-income families will be among those hardest hit by higher power bills. 

Last year, almost a third of all Hawaii families that sought federal assistance with paying their electricity bills were located on Hawaii Island. 

“For many of our families, the money covers one or two bill payments, and that’s it. Then they’re in trouble,” said [Kayla Rosenfeld, spokeswoman for the Department of Human Services]….. “I get concerned every time I see that HELCO is getting a rate increase because it has a tremendous impact on these families. Their bills are already high now…. And for the elderly, some have to make a choice each month, between buying food or paying for medicine or paying their electric bill.”  Read the rest

The bottom line re: all my involvement is that agriculture
is a hard business. I am unable to raise my workers’ pay, and they are coming under increasing pressure from the economy.

Everything I do starts with the objective of helping my farm workers. And helping our workers helps everyone in the community, as well.

Community, Lowering Electric Rates

‘Your Words Become Your Actions’

Richard Ha writes:

Our Big Island Community Coalition — whose goal is “to make Big Island electricity rates the lowest in the state by emphasizing the use of local resources” — seems to be really making people think in a new way. It’s the right goal at the right time.

Someone who has been reading about our efforts said they make him think of these words of Gandhi’s, which are pretty profound. If these words were a roadmap, we’d be at the “thoughts/words” intersection, and coming up on “actions.”

Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.

                  – Mahatma Gandhi

This is a goal we are setting, and which we plan to meet, solely because it’s the right thing to do. The Big Island Community Coalition doesn’t have a budget, and in fact, we don’t need a budget. This is not about slick P.R. This isn’t P.R. at all. Not having a budget means we are just getting out there and talking to real people.

Join us at www.bigislandcommunitycoalition.com if you’d like to be on our mailing list.