Community

Update re: this Saturday’s Rat Lungworm Meeting

Jane Whitefield gives us these directions to SPACE, which is hosting the Rat Lungworm meeting mentioned here this Saturday, 1/31/09:

You drive down Hwy. 130 toward Kalapana. When you dead end at the lava, turn left. This is Hwy. 137. Drive toward Kehena and Kalapana Seaview Estates (it’s probably a 10-minute drive and very hilly, but overlooks the ocean – Spectacular!). Turn left into Seaview. Travel up the entrance road until you see the sign on the right that says “SPACE,” with a hand pointing to the left. Follow that to the entrance and parking lot.

She tells us, too, that there is a Yahoo group called Parasites out of Paradise if anyone is interested in learning more.

Community

Informational Meeting about Rat Lungworm Disease, 1/31/09

After running our post about Rat Lungworm, we got this email from blog reader Jane Whitefield:

It is interesting to see how you deal with the rat, slug/snail problem at Hamakua Springs.

We are having a Rat Lungworm Meeting this Saturday, Jan. 31, at noon at SPACE in Kalapana Seaview Estates. We hope to have many well-informed people attending as the purpose of this meeting is informational. Zsolt Halda, who has just been released from the hospital, will be there.

I realize Hamakua is not real close, so we would appreciate any help you can give us “in getting the word out.” This is affecting all our lives.

She said that there’s a “pretty unique Farmers Market at SPACE from 8-11:30,” too.

Community

Rat Lungworm Disease in Puna

Yesterday’s Hawaii Tribune-Herald had a front-page article about people contracting a rare form of meningitis caused by ingesting uncooked snails and slugs that carry a microscopic worm called the rat lungworm.

Symptoms are very severe and have been associated with eating uncooked, organic lettuce that has live slugs or snails on them.

At Hamakua Springs, we have been aware of this disease for many years. We don’t want you to worry about our lettuce!

We long ago implemented control measures. The rat lungworm completes its lifecycle by going from rats to snails and then back again, and it’s important to break that cycle. We do that by using a combination of slug bait and rat traps.

Our hydroponic system of growing actually makes controlling slugs much easier than if we grew our products in soil.

There have been incidents of meningitis caused by rat lungworm on all the major islands, but they seem to be the most concentrated in lower Puna. One woman is still in a coma and some of the severe symptoms are excruciating pain for hours on end.

This is an interesting video about the problem, taken at an informational community meeting in Puna. It shows the slug and snail life cycle and discusses prevention recommendations. Aaron Ueno, of the Hawaii Department of Health, is also shown speaking to the community.

Community, Sustainability

Hawaii Island Master Gardeners

Every Wednesday here at the blog we are featuring someone who was at the E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival, and this week we’re happy to tell you about the Hawai‘i Island Master Gardeners Association (HIMGA).

Master Gardeners are those who take a two-month class, pass an exam, and then do 40 hours of certification. HIGMA is affiliated with the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) of the University of Manoa.

The volunteer group’s mission statement: To extend to the gardening public research-based information about home horticulture and pest management.

“The main point of the Master Gardeners is to work on the phone and in the office at CTAHR,” says HIGMA president Rhea Hubbard. “We speak with the public when they call in and say, ‘What’s this little bug that lives on my corn?; what’s this rust on my plumeria?’ We also give back to the community, work in the schools, run programs at the senior center.”

At the festival, they educated people on how to recognize fruit flies and keep them out of their gardens, including bringing their lures and bait and selling their handmade traps (which are made from 2-liter soda bottles). They also gave away basil and tomato plants, and Master Gardener Janice Crowl was there with her book.

There are 50 or 60 Master Gardeners in HIGMA, who come from as far away as Pa‘auilo and South Point to attend meetings and work at the CTAHR office.

At CTAHR they answer phone calls (call 981-5199 on Tuesday and Friday between 9 a.m. and 12 noon), respond to emails (himga@hawaii.edu – you can attach a photo of your plant or pest!) and look at specimens that people bring in to the office. They are located at the Waiakea Experimental Station at 920 Stainback Highway, one mile past the zoo on N. Kulani Road.

If they cannot readily identify the plant’s problem, they can have it (and also soil) analyzed. “Nothing is more than $10,” says Hubbard.

“Our big thrust is sustainability,” she says. “I was amazed to read in the paper last week that 90 percent of our food here is still imported.”

“We want to educate people that you can do it: You can grow food on your patio. You can grow your lettuce; you can grow your tomatoes. Even if you don’t have soil, you can do raised beds. Our overall goal is to help educate the public.”

The next Master Gardener class is in the fall; call the HIGMA office if you’d like to learn more.

Community, Food Security, Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources, Sustainability

Pacific Century Fellows at the Farm

Yesterday, the 10th class of Pacific Century Fellows visited our farm.

Here’s a little about the Pacific Century Fellows:

The objective of the Pacific Century Fellows Program is to develop leaders with a greater awareness and sensitivity to the people and institutions of Hawaii. Based on the White House Fellows Program, the Pacific Century Fellows Program will bring together annually up to 25 of Hawaii’s most promising individuals from all walks of life, fields and professions. They’ll gain a broader view of civic duty through direct contact with senior community, social and government leaders. The program encourages the development of long-term relationships between leaders young and old, united in their commitment to find creative solutions to the challenges facing the state.

The people in this program are our future leaders; our best and brightest. What message did I want to get across? I decided to talk about the most important issue facing our state: that Hawai‘i imports 90 percent of its food. How will we make sure we can feed ourselves?

I told them that this is not rocket science. “If the farmers make money, farmers will farm.”

Modeled after the White House Fellows Program and founded by Mayor Mufi Hannemann, the Fellows are chosen on the basis of a written application and personal interview conducted by a blue-ribbon panel of judges. Individuals who are chosen have shown strong intellectual and leadership abilities in the early and mid-stages of their careers, and who have the potential to make significant contributions to the community in the future.

The Pacific Century Fellows Program will provide participants with direct contact with senior community, social, and government leaders. A goal of the program is to nurture relationships among individuals who are committed to exploring creative and constructive solutions to far-reaching challenges facing the state and nation.

I told them that we at Hamakua Springs Country Farms plan at least five years out for a future that we need to be relevant within. And that the physical layout they were seeing was planned five years ago, and is not really where we are now.

What is that future that we must be relevant within? I told them that this simple formula makes sense for us and applies to everyone in Hawai‘i: Net energy return on energy invested, minus the energy used for food production, gives us our life style.

Say it takes one barrel of oil to extract 15 barrels of oil, and it takes two barrels of oil to produce food for a certain number of people. Then our group would have 13 barrels of oil to do everything else – like run lights, pump water, drive to Kona, go fishing, etc. We would be living better than kings in years past.

But it is getting more and more difficult to extract oil. Say, one barrel now can only extract 10 barrels, and it still takes two barrels to grow our food.  Now we have only eight barrels instead of 13 to do everything else. This is not rocket science either. It is a simple formula to manipulate.

We need to figure out how we can get the best net energy return on energy invested. And we need to figure out how to lessen our dependence on oil to produce our food.

And other things flow from the principles above:

If done correctly, the Thirty Meter Telescope is a good thing. It can help educate our keiki and help future generations cope.

The E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival is meant to show people they are not alone as oil prices rise and times start getting challenging.

I am very supportive of geothermal energy use. This is the best source of renewable energy we have here in Hawai‘i. It is a great gift.

Plug it into our formula above and we end up with a better lifestyle. In fact we have so many sources of renewable energy, we can have a relatively better lifestyle than the U.S. mainland.

The reason we pushed the alternate energy loan program through the last legislature is because “if the farmer makes money, the farmer will farm.”

It’s why we support an extra incentive for farmers to develop alternative energy projects.

It’s also why we support a discount for produce transported on Young Brothers’ barges.

We must not lose our focus. We need closer communities – we need to make more friends and we need to be closer to our families. We need to help each other as we face tougher times ahead.

Hawaiians knew how to do this.  It is called the Aloha Spirit. And it works best when everyone practices it.

I think President Elect Obama, who grew up here in Hawai‘i, carries the influence of the Aloha Spirit with him, and that is what is making this country hopeful.

Peak Oil, Renewable Energy Sources

Why Geothermal is Better Than Biomass

The New York Times just ran an editorial in support of geothermal development for the production of electricity.

…In 2006, a panel led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology surveyed the prospects for electricity production from enhanced geothermal systems. Its conclusions were conservative but very optimistic. The panel suggested that with modest federal support, geothermal power could play a critical role in America’s energy future, adding substantially to the nation’s store of renewable energy and more than making up for coal-burning power plants that would have to be retired….

Over the last few weeks, we have seen at least five companies offering plans to turn biomass produced on the Hamakua Coast into energy.

Many Hamakua Coast residents are very skeptical because of the large amounts of land that would have to be dedicated to making this energy. Many are very much against trading off ag lands for energy crops.

The Peak Oil conference I attended in Houston a year ago October, where I was the only person from Hawai‘i, was the most depressing – and yet most important – conference I have ever attended. We learned that the world’s oil supply is decreasing faster than our ability to produce more oil and that we need to find alternative ways, and fast.

I did not have the heart to tell people there how so very lucky we are in Hawai‘i to have an abundance of natural resources. I attended the conference dressed in shorts and would continue to wear shorts back in Hawai‘i all winter long. While most of the 500 people attending would go through a cold winter when crops would not grow, we in Hawai‘i would continue to grow crops all through our warm winter.

I know that many of those 500 people were worrying about just what limited renewable sources of energy they had at their disposal. In contrast, I didn’t have the heart to tell anybody that we have such an abundance of richness in Hawai‘i that some people here feel that we can discard geothermal as a renewable energy alternative.

That was a couple years ago, but since then the world has changed. We must use our resources wisely.

Geothermal has a very small footprint. While biomass plants would require thousands of acres, a geothermal plant would need less than 100 acres for an equivalent production of energy.

Let’s take a new look at geothermal!

Sustainability, Water

The Waters of Kane: Sustainability and the Dept. of Water Supply

Did you know that the County of Hawai‘i’s Department of Water Supply (DWS) uses more electricity than anyone else on the island? It’s expensive to move water around to where it’s needed. The Department’s electricity bill for last year alone was $20 million.

So it’s especially fitting that the DWS participated at the recent E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival.

Department of water supply

It was Board Chairman Tommy Goya of the county’s Board of Water Supply (the department’s policy-making entity) who wanted to be sure they were at the festival, according to DWS Public Information and Education Officer Kanani Aton.

(Richard says Tommy Goya’s “behind the scenes” advice, while Richard was helping to coordinate the festival, was invaluable, too.

“I would call Tommy and ask: ‘What you think, Tommy?’ I had never been involved in that kind of event before,” says Richard. “And he would say, ‘Meet me at Starbucks.’ He would give alternative
scenarios, how things were done before and what might be appropriate now. This helped a lot.”)

“Tommy wanted to do it big,” says Kanani. “He really wanted to make an impact at this sustainability festival because of the message the festival was sending. And because the need for water is a part of sustainability, and to help attitudes toward water deepen and become more appreciative.”

Indeed, the DWS made a splash with their huge booth, where their displays were powered by the solar power guys also exhibiting at the festival.

The DWS folks even brought their own water buffalo. “That’s our big, potable water tank,” says Kanani (though don’t you wish it had been a real water buffalo?) “We brought our water and served it right there at the festival.”

Another highlight – one of their workers had taken a donated fish tank, and working with the building maintenance crew he created a model “water cycle and water system.”

“They created a cover for the tank, and pumped water up from below the rocks, up into the sky so to speak,” Kanani explains. “By putting dry ice in the top to look like clouds, it was raining over the land, the rocks. Then, after he created the simple model of a water cycle, he overlaid an example of a water system, how you have this pump that pulls water up from the aquifer and eventually to the house.”

She says that kids loved seeing that. “They love the dry ice making the clouds,” she says. “They understand that when they turn on the faucet, they’re actually calling water to come down the hill. Whenever you turn on a faucet to wash Daddy’s car, you’re actually telling a pump far away to eventually turn on.”

It’s a way to teach children not to take water for granted, or think it is limitless. Other kids’ activities included a ball toss, a fishing pole game. They gave away coloring books, balloon art, pens and stickers.

The DWS displayed its energy management activities, engineering capital improvement projects, water use and development plan.

“We also showed how we’re changing out all the mechanical water meters to be automatic meters that send out electronic signals,” says Kanani.

The DWS has recently adopted as its new motto Ka Wai A Kane, which, she explains, is a Hawaiian chant from the days of antiquity.

“It’s a chant about the waters, the fresh water, of the Hawaiian god Kane,” she says. “All the different manifestations of fresh water, whether it be the cloud banks that gather on the sea, the high ridges, the valleys, the flowing streams, even the water below the Earth.”

“Those ancient words,” she says, “speak about what our water engineers and hydrologists and operations engineers do today – look at the water and how to harness it effectively.”

“Water is our most precious resource,” she says, “and the Department of Water Supply really has its eye on the ball when it comes to water. We need to reach out to each and every person who uses water and create a strong relationship of stewardship.”

History, Mauna Kea, Science, Television

Passing the Torch

I just watched the KGMB9-TV special Hokulea – Passing The Torch.

It was about the Micronesian master navigator Mau Piailug “passing the torch” to five new navigators.

From Wikipedia:

Born on the island of Satawal in the Caroline Islands, Mau received his knowledge of navigation from an early age, taught first by his grandfather. When he was around 18, through training of a master navigator, he went through sacred ceremony called Pwo.

Through this he became “Paliuw” by a master navigator, through the Weriyeng School of Navigation. Weriyeng School of Navigation, which began on Pollap Island a long, long time ago, is only one of two schools of navigation left in Micronesia.

He is best known for his work with the Hawaii-based Polynesian Voyaging Society, navigating the double-hulled canoe Hokule‘a from Hawaii to Tahiti on its maiden voyage in 1976, and training and mentoring Native Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson, who would later become a master navigator in his own right.

On March 18, 2007 Piailug presided over the first Pwo ceremony for navigators on Satawal in 56 years. At the event five native Hawaiians and eleven others were inducted into Pwo as master navigators. The Polynesian Voyaging Society presented Piailug a canoe, the Alingano Maisu, as a gift for his key role in reviving traditional wayfinding navigation in Hawaii.

Alingano Maisu was built in Kawaihae, Hawaii under the non- profit organization, Nā Kalai Waʻa Moku O Hawaiʻi. The commitment to build this “gift” for Mau was made by Clay Bertelmann, Captain of Makali‘i and Hokule‘a. Maisu was given to Mau on behalf of all the voyaging families and organizations that are now actively continuing to sail and practice the traditions taught by Mau Piailug.

Hundreds of years before the Spaniards and English entered the Pacific, Polynesian navigators were moving back and forth around the ocean, and to and from Hawai‘i, without instruments. Five hundred years ago, Polynesians were the greatest navigators in the world.

In the 1897 introduction that Queen Lili‘uokalani wrote for the Hawaiian creation chant the Kumulipo (she wrote it while she was under house arrest), she noted that Hawaiians were astronomers.

We need to again elevate Hawaiian wayfinding navigator/astronomers to the highest level of respect, similar to how we feel today about astronauts.

In doing that, we will lift our keiki’s aspirations. They will take pride in who they are and they will see that anything is possible.

One way to do this is to continue practicing the sacred science of astronomy on our sacred mountain, Mauna Kea.

If the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for Mauna Kea does not pass, it will likely mean the end of astronomy on Mauna Kea in the near future. Without the CMP, the Thirty-Meter Telescope will be built in Chile, and when the current lease for the rest of the telescopes is up, they will shut down and so will the astronomy program at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

We need to support the Comprehensive Management Plan and the Thirty-Meter Telescope for what they can do for our people. For our keiki.

We need to pass the torch.

Sustainability

Sustainability: “Eco-Conscious” Bamboo Products

When Daniel Krause was on a surf trip to Bali, he only had one towel with him, and though he didn’t wash it for almost three weeks (no laundromat handy) it stayed odorless. “I even used it as a pillow,” he says.

It wasn’t just any old towel – it was one his girlfriend had gotten him that was made of bamboo pulp. Bamboo products are sometimes compared to silk and cashmere, he says, or the softest of all cottons. Krause and his girlfriend Janie Vea, both of Hilo, were so impressed with the bamboo products they are now selling them under the brand name “Eco-Conscious.”

Bamboo clothes

They set up a booth at the E Malama ‘Aina festival recently, and also appeared at a craft fair. Since then they have gotten lots of repeat customers.

“We thought the number one seller would be t-shirts,” says Daniel, “but a lot of people are buying the towels.”

From the Eco-Conscious website:

Antibacterial/ Antimicrobial. Bamboo possesses a property called “Kun,” a natural antifungal & antibacterial agent that prevents bacteria from cultivating, making the fabric odor-free. According to research done by the Japan Textile Inspection Association, tests on bamboo fiber have shown that these properties described above will remain unaffected even after 50 launderings.

Hypo-Allergenic. With the property of the bamboo kun & its naturally soft and smooth fiber properties that are non-irritating to the skin, it’s ideal for people with skin sensitivities or  other allergies and dermatitis.

Thermal Regulating. Due to its wicking qualities, it draws away sweat & moisture away from the skin, keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Quick Absorption. The micro–holes on bamboo cloth allows quick absorption & evaporates sweat rapidly. Bamboo fiber is four times more absorbent than cotton.

Breathable. The porous qualities of bamboo fiber account for its breatheabilit,y making it ideal for hot weather or exercise.

Provides UV protection. Bamboo naturally provides added protection against the sun’s harmful UV rays. It blocks 91 percent of UVA & 98 percent of UVB.

100% Biodegradable. Unlike synthetic fibers, which incorporate petroleum additives, bamboo clothing is safe for municipal disposal programs, whether by landfill or incineration.

Some other products claim to be antibacterial and antimicrobial, Daniel explains, but that’s because chemicals are added. “Bamboo holds its natural features,” he says. “It doesn’t take any pesticides or fertilizer to grow it. And it’s really sustainable, because it matures in three to four years, compared to other softwoods that take 20 years to grow.”

He and Janie are selling their products online, for now, at their website. Products include bamboo clothing and bamboo household products. “Bed, bath and clothing,” he characterizes the collection.

“Our main goal? Since the brand is called Eco-Conscious, we want people to listen to their ‘eco-conscience,’” he says. “Our goal is to kind of plant an eco-conscience seed in people, where you walk by a piece of trash on the ground and you think twice about it. Not only toward our products, but to really sustain the island.

“We’re so dependent here,” he says. “We import so many goods. We want this to be a better community and to be a leader for the other islands and the mainland. To show that it can work.

“We can do well in spite of being at such a disadvantage. I find a lot of people are trying to help out.”

Richard is one of the many who experienced the Eco-Conscious products at the recent E Malama ‘Aina sustainability festival. “The bamboo fiber products were so unbelievably soft,” he says. “It was striking. I can see why their sales are up.

“I was happy to see them at the festival.“

Education, Mauna Kea, Peak Oil

Connecting the Dots

By now, most of us know that the supply of oil is not endless.

• Oil provided the energy to build this incredibly complex society.
• And oil supplied the energy to grow our food.

Now it’s like an inverted pyramid – only a few farmers are needed to feed all the people.

As oil supplies decline though, we will have to use more human brainpower to maintain our lifestyle. We need the pyramid to flip right side up again, and have as its base more farmers and other smart people who can build and fix things.

Local craftsman, and those who can avoid the oil input costs, will be in demand. There was an article in the Honolulu Advertiser last week about Joe Pacific Shoe Company. Its business is growing by leaps and bounds, because in a world of declining oil supplies, those who can build and fix things are increasingly in demand.

Our community colleges are a locus of education that will be more and more appreciated. Whatever we can do now for keiki education will help future generations survive out here in the middle of the ocean.

The TMT subcommittee of the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board, on which I serve, is now working on developing a non-profit entity to capture funds, from the astronomy community and others, that will be used to educate Big Island students. It will be broad-based rather than just science-based. We want it to be relevant to the changing world.

And we are striving to make sure that the committee members who decide where the funds go are people who are looking out for the greater good – as well as being people with a special awareness of the host Hawaiian culture and that we all live out here together in the middle of the ocean.

It is very encouraging that a school like Keaukaha Elementary here in Hilo, a school that was underperforming for as long as most people can remember, could turn itself around and become a role model of exceptional performance. This proves that we can do this for all K through 6th grades. And also that we need to connect the dots for the kids in 7th through 12th grades, to help them get into the community colleges and the university. If kids believe they can, then they will.

The Thirty-Meter Telescope is a powerful force that can help us to connect the dots for these students. For eight or nine years, as the telescope is being built, there will be 300-plus construction and other jobs. After that there will be approximately 140 steady jobs, mostly support-type work that will be performed by local folks. These jobs will be steady – not affected by recessions, etc.

And the Thirty Meter folks are also committed to helping develop the workforce they need when “first light” takes place. Although there will be astronomy-type jobs for those who are so inclined, most of the jobs are other types of work.

I’ve been talking about these being changing times for quite awhile now, and I think most people see it by now. I think times will get harder than they are now, but it’s clear to me what we have to do to “connect the dots.” Much of it is about education, so that we are preparing our children and their children for a different type of future.

The TMT is one avenue that can substantially move us forward toward these goals. If we do it correctly, the whole island could become an educational role model, not just Keaukaha Elementary School.