Imiloa, Mau Piailug & More

July 30, 2010 Richard Ha

Yesterday I had breakfast at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center restaurant with Ka‘iu Kimura, the executive director of ‘Imiloa; Chad Kalepa Babayan, ‘Imiloa’s Navigator in Residence, and Nico Verissimo, ‘Imiloa’s Membership & Fund Development Manager.

We meet periodically to catch up on the goings on at ‘Imiloa. I am always amazed at ‘Imiloa’s progress and evolution. Steadily, inexorably, ‘Imiloa is becoming the focal point where people come together to help the larger community.

Ka‘iu talked about how people from all over the world are interested in knowing how ‘Imiloa joins together modern science with Hawaiian cultural values. She is running out of space to accommodate all the requests to participate. Can someone out there help to fund the expansion?

It was a far-ranging conversation. Kalepa mentioned that Mau Piailug, who passed away recently, was known for helping to train our modern day Hawaiian navigators. But Kalepa says the most important thing Mau stood for was teaching about the oneness of mankind. He was all about taking care of each other. We are all of one race–the human race.

In our conversation yesterday, it hit me that ‘Imiloa is becoming the beacon where that message is broadcast. It is awe-inspiring.

This article Kalepa wrote in yesterday’s Star-Advertiser is a classic. Although everyone knows that Mau played a major role in the resurgence in Hawaiian navigation, few know that he was about much more than that. The article sets the record straight.

You need to read Kalepa’s account–it is inspirational.

Guitar, Hamakua Coast

My Yellow Ginger Lei

July 28, 2010 Richard Ha 2 Comments

Yesterday I took my friend Riley Smith and Nancy Alvord on a tour of our farm. We looked at bananas, and at tomatoes and sweet potatoes and the rushing water that will power our hydroelectric plant. We went to see banana ripening rooms and hydroponically grown cucumbers and sweet corn and other things.

I also took them “off road” to see what the original vegetation here looked like and told them what I hoped to do with it. Nancy commented that the ginger smelled good, and I was so surprised to notice that the yellow ginger flowers were starting to bloom everywhere. Just a week ago there was only a handful of flowers.

Later in the day, I went back to look again at what Nancy noticed. Sure enough, there were ginger blossoms everywhere and it was quite a difference from just one week ago.

It made me remember that “My Yellow Ginger Lei” was the first slack key song I learned from Pop.

Hamakua Coast

The Hamakua Steering Committee

July 26, 2010 Richard Ha 1 Comment

On Saturday I attended the first meeting of the Hamakua Steering Committee.

I am a part of this wonderful group of people, which will spend the next two years translating the desires of the Hamakua community into a plan that will take us through the next 20 years. More on the other members and some of the details about the Hamakua Steering Committee here.

I met everybody for the first time on Saturday, when we spent all day getting to know each other and learning what our role is to be. I could not be happier about working with this diverse group of caring people, each of whom bring special skills to this planning process. We all like and respect each other.

All the steering committee members are grounded in the idea that it is the land that takes care of us, and so we need to take care of the land.

My friend Ka‘iu Kimura explained it to me like this. She said that our kūpuna have a wise saying: “He Aliʻi ka ʻĀina, He Kauā ke Kanaka.” “Our land is the chief, and we the people are kauā to it.” She said she translates this as saying that we are subservient to the land, as it is the land that provides for us.

Every single member of the steering committee understands and lives by this idea. I feel really privileged to be a part of this special group of people.

Everyone was asked to bring some soil from where they came from, and it was mixed together in a bowl. Our hands in the soil is symbolic of our commitment to work together for the benefit of Hamakua.

We all want to do the best for the coming generations.

Peak Oil

Life of a Gas Well

July 23, 2010 Richard Ha

Less than two years ago, people were claiming that the U.S. had 100 years of natural gas available, finally accessed by fracturing the rocks that held it trapped, using high water pressure. “Fracking,” they call it.

Shale gas made a significant impact. We stopped talking about importing natural gas.

So when I attended the Peak Oil Conference in Denver this past October, I took a special interest in a panel that included the CEO of a gas drilling company as well as Arthur Berman, a geologist who has been analyzing many gas wells.

What Berman found was that 70 percent of the production of a well was realized in its first year. The gas company executive was trying to say that the life of a gas well was 22 years, but I had the impression he was being overenthusiastic about how much was left to exploit. I believed Arthur Berman.

Everyone was trying to get into the act by rushing to drill more gas wells, and the number of gas rigs increased so rapidly that the price dropped to nearly $3 per thousand cubic feet. They lost so much money that they had to drastically cut the numbers of gas rigs in operation.

Months went by, and to everyone’s shock there was a drop in production and the price shot up. What happened was just what Arthur Berman had predicted—70 percent of the average gas well had been extracted in the first year. So when they took out so many rigs a year ago, the result was a sudden drop in production volume within the year.

In this interview with Art Berman, he is not optimistic about the U.S. having a 100-year natural gas supply. Neither am I.

Hamakua Coast

More On Kahua Ahupua‘a

July 21, 2010 Richard Ha 1 Comment

Kahua Ahupua‘a is very interesting. It’s bordered by Alia Stream on one side and Makea Stream on the other. The streams are around 500 feet from each other, and the ridgeline is maybe 100 feet higher than the streams.

June and I plan to build on the ridgeline, where the streams are well within strolling distance. The place I talked about in Monday’s blog post is a short walk down the hill.

Looking mauka on the ridge line of Kahua Ahupua‘a. That’s Mauna Kea in the distance.

Looking makai on the ridgeline of Kahua Ahupua‘a.

Hamakua Coast

Exploring the Ahupua‘a

July 19, 2010 Richard Ha 1 Comment

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time exploring Kahua Ahupua‘a lately. June and I want to build a home at Hamakua Springs Country Farms on this piece of land.

Makea Stream. On the left of this picture and less than 30 feet away there is another stream running parallel.

Makea Stream, the northernmost border of our parcel, is also the northern border of Kahua Ahupua‘a, where two intermittent streams join Makea. The “Y” that is formed as the streams join makes a nice island of tropical foliage. At one point the streams are as near to each other as 20 feet, and then they meander apart about 100 feet. They finally join Makea about 200 feet downstream.

My friend John Cross says that wherever one finds a banyan tree on a stream it marks a water feature. In this case, it’s a small waterfall.

I spent several hours opening up a trail around the edge of the streams with a machete. I started from a place where the banana workers had mowed. The two streams were so close that I could hear them.

I’m thinking I need to plant something that will throw shade on the stream in the distance. There is sugarcane right up to the banks.

I just started cutting my way to the left bank and followed the stream’s edge all the way to where it joined Makea and then went back up the other side. It wasn’t too hard because I followed an old pig trail.

These are individual ohi’a trees in pots.

There was white ginger and ‘uluhe growing throughout, which are doing a good job of suppressing weeds. All the while I was thinking about where I will plant ‘ohi‘a, hapu‘u, kukui, hala and other plants.

Our neighbors used to have the lauhala shop on Kalakaua St., and we have a bunch of hala trees growing wild on our boundary. I’m going to plant the lauhala along the river.

There are some scrub trees that will need to be taken out, but not now. I want to strategically let in some sunlight to establish some ground cover and also bring in some trees. Later, as the ground cover takes hold and the trees can use more light, I will remove limbs to let in some more light.

Mom has been transplanting the ulu keiki as they sprout from our tree.

I threw some fertilizer on the ‘uluhe and the ginger only. Hopefully they do well and help suppress the California grass and other weeds. This is going to be fun.

Geothermal, Renewable Energy Sources

When The Lights Went Out

July 16, 2010 Richard Ha

Things happen.

When the lights went out nearly island-wide a couple weeks ago, people who were in a position to know said that it was due to a recurring problem at Keahole. That’s the site of the big, new, HELCO-owned oil-fired generator.

These windmill pictures below show that all was not perfect in the early days of the windmill, either.

Like everything else, geothermal has also had some production glitches.

Jim Kauahikaua, Hawaii Volcano’s National Park-Scientist in charge, gave a presentation the other day at the Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park’s “After Dark in the Park” program. It was about Hualalai, the third most active volcano on the Big Island.

Someone asked how long the Big Island would be over the hotspot and Jim said maybe 500,000 to a million years.

For the last 150 years, the world has been powering modern society using cheap oil. Within 20 years, the oil-exporting nations will no longer export. They will instead use the oil for their own people.

Last week, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, said they would cease operations in terms of exploring for oil. He wants to save it for future generations, and that sounds like a rational decision. It should not surprise us when other exporting nations do the same.

What should we do?

Geothermal, Hawaiian Role Models

You Can’t Be King If You Can’t Feed The People

July 9, 2010 Richard Ha 1 Comment

Pua Kanahele, the kumu hula and highly respected educator, impresses me. Recently I heard her speak at a “Geothermal in Hawai‘i” symposium, put on by the First Nation’s Futures Program of Kamehameha Schools.

She puts a lot of emphasis on the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, which is about new beginnings, and she talks about how important the environment is.

For example, she emphasizes the ‘ohi‘a tree and how it instigates the hydrologic cycle. The effect is: If we take care of our forests, we will not end up like Easter Island. I can definitely get behind her teachings. She inspired me to start planting ‘ohi‘a on my farm at Pepe‘ekeo.

I have a couple general observations about some others who want to be king, or philosophical leaders.

One cannot be king if one cannot feed the people. I can think of a few would-be “kings” I would vote against because they have no clue about taking care of the people.
“Leaders” who espouse a certain philosophy must not, as a result of that philosophy, cause people to go out and tread water while they stay safely on land, walking around and pointing in the air.

One very loud Hawaiian voice says: “If I cannot be Hawaiian in Hawai‘i, where can I be Hawaiian?” It’s a good question and one that should concern all of us.

But if, for that person, the solution is to be against any form of geothermal energy, then the effect on the Hawaiian people is that their lights are turned off and they have less money to take care of their families. In other words, they end up out in the ocean and treading water.

I do not hear this loud voice providing a viable alternative. All I hear is “Me, me, me.”

Contrast that with Pua Kanahele’s point of view, which seems to be to take care of everyone by taking care of the environment. (It’s more complex than that; I’m simplifying.)

I have not heard a word from her about being against geothermal. She says there are many gods, and does not elevate Pele to being the main god. What she emphasizes are actions that take care of all of us.

She deserves the respect she gets.

The reason I am holding the Sierra Club’s feet to the fire is that I want them to realize that although, individually, they are not against Hawaiians, their non-action results in an anti-Hawaiian result.

They cannot play it both ways. And I am hoping they get it when we have the geothermal debate. They do not realize that as caring as they can be for “Hawaiians,” the results of some of their actions are actually anti-Hawaiian.

I feel, too, that some high-level Hawaiian educators have not thought the issues through deeply enough. The more they force people to tread water, the more irrelevant they become.

This is my simple point of view.

Education

The Importance of a College Education to Today’s 4th Graders

July 7, 2010 Richard Ha

Yesterday’s Star-Advertiser headline was College Education Grows More Crucial.

Roughly two out of three jobs in Hawai‘i will require some college education by 2018, according to a new study by the Georgetown University Center on Education. It’s one of the highest projected rates – the 10th highest in the nation – and it applies to kids who are now in the fourth grade.

Right this moment, we on the Big Island have a golden opportunity. We have Hawaii Community College, which has open enrollment. All you have to do is show up willing to study and you can get a good education building, making, growing and sustaining things. These are important skills that will be especially important in a world of a declining oil supply.

And we have the Thirty Meter Telescope, which has committed to providing an annual keiki education fund of $1 million – from the construction period through the life of the telescope, which adds up to approximately $58 million in all. The indirect benefits of locating the best telescope in the world here on the Big Island will have a positive impact on our young people. Fewer will have to leave home to find good jobs.

And if we maximize cheap geothermal usage in the face of rising oil prices, we will be able to raise the standard of living for all of us.

This is especially important for Native Hawaiian kids. Hawaiians occupy the lowest rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, and we know that education is the great equalizer. Let’s do the right thing for all of us.

Let’s not look down on the ground at the mud; let’s look forward, toward the horizon. There, the future is very bright indeed.

Geothermal

I Bet Geothermal Energy Will Last Longer Than Fossil Fuel Oil

July 5, 2010 Richard Ha

It took 5.5 million years for the Big Island to replace Kaua‘i over the “hot spot” (see below). It is probably reasonable to assume that the hotspot presently beneath Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Lo‘ihi will last for a little bit.

I’ll bet geothermal energy will last longer than fossil fuel oil.

Certainly, this island isn’t going to move so fast that we are in danger of losing all the heat and energy tomorrow.

The ancient Hawaiians were wise; they knew how all this worked.

From the United States Geological Service’s page Hotspots: This Dynamic Earth:

According to Wilson’s hotspot theory, the volcanoes of the Hawaiian chain should get progressively older and become more eroded the farther they travel beyond the hotspot. The oldest volcanic rocks on Kauai, the northwesternmost inhabited Hawaiian island, are about 5.5 million years old and are deeply eroded. By comparison, on the “Big Island” of Hawaii — southeasternmost in the chain and presumably still positioned over the hotspot — the oldest exposed rocks are less than 0.7 million years old and new volcanic rock is continually being formed.

The possibility that the Hawaiian Islands become younger to the southeast was suspected by the ancient Hawaiians, long before any scientific studies were done. During their voyages, sea-faring Hawaiians noticed the differences in erosion, soil formation, and vegetation and recognized that the islands to the northwest (Niihau and Kauai) were older than those to the southeast (Maui and Hawaii). This idea was handed down from generation to generation in the legends of Pele, the fiery Goddess of Volcanoes. Pele originally lived on Kauai. When her older sister Namakaokahai, the Goddess of the Sea, attacked her, Pele fled to the Island of Oahu. When she was forced by Namakaokahai to flee again, Pele moved southeast to Maui and finally to Hawaii, where she now lives in the Halemaumau Crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano. The mythical flight of Pele from Kauai to Hawaii, which alludes to the eternal struggle between the growth of volcanic islands from eruptions and their later erosion by ocean waves, is consistent with geologic evidence obtained centuries later that clearly shows the islands becoming younger from northwest to southeast.