We have great news! Rep. Riviere’s Farm to School bill has been assigned a public hearing next week, Wednesday Feb 9th, 10am in House Conference Room 312.
This is our first step toward instilling appreciation for agriculture in the hearts of Hawaii’s youth for generations by perpetuating self-reliance, health and by stimulating our farming investments & growth. E komo mai!
This is our big chance to show strong community support for this bill. Immediately after listening to public testimony, the Agriculture Committee will vote to pass or stop the measure.
So please inform those you know would want to attend the hearing. It would help the bill tremendously if we could fill the room with supporters!
Link to read the full bill:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2011/Bills/HB1475_.HTM
Link to submit testimony:
http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/emailtestimony/
Testimony must be received at least 24 hours before the hearing.
Archive for the ‘Sustainability’ Category
Page 2 of 6
HECO seeks company to supply biodiesel for Campbell plant
Hawaiian Electric Co. is seeking a company to supply locally-produced biodiesel to power its recently completed 110-megawatt generating station in Campbell Industrial Park.The request for proposals state’s HECO’s preference for locally-produced biodiesel, but if it isn’t available in sufficient quantities the utility said it would accept biodiesel produced on the Mainland or a mix of the two.
The contract is for three to seven million gallons of biodiesel a year over a three-year period. The contract will replace a two-year deal with an Iowa-based supplier of biodiesel made from waste animal fat. That contract that expires in July 2012.
The Campbell plant is the largest commercial power plant in the world powered exclusively by biodiesel, according to HECO.
included in the RFP is a request to supply 250,000 additional gallons per year for the 8-megawatt Honolulu International Airport Emergency Power Facility which is projected to be in service in summer of 2012.
HECO seeks company to supply biodiesel for Campbell plant – Hawaii News – Staradvertiser.com
The Dark Side of “the Mainland”: what’s under the courgette’s petticoat « Hawai’i Is My Mainland
by Kaui
The most useful blog in my world is Hawaii Agriculture. They keep up to date, and really cover the field (and sometimes stray into the ocean and forest.) A recent post alerted me to potential perils in the produce section: http://hawaii-agriculture.com/hawaii-agriculture-blog/west-hawaii-today-features-food-sustainability-a-kona-vores-dilemma/ right here in Kona. The issue is produce that isn’t local, being sold as such, sometimes mixed into the same bin with local produce. Talk about a hot topic for local farmers!
But I was just thinking about what to cook for dinner the next day while shopping at my favorite local natural food store, Island Naturals. I like them so much I kind of felt bad about writing this post, but hey, guys, it’s up to you now. I found some gorgeous organic courgettes. No price, no problem, friendly Produce Man was 6 feet away. He dug around and got the tag. $2.99 a lb, the price for not going to the Farmer’s market, but they are deep green and gorgeous, and . . . they’re from MEXICO???
Trying to stay off my soap-box, I said to Produce Man as innocently as I could,”the tag says ‘Mainland,’ but the labels say they’re from Mexico (organic at least).” He stuttered a bit and said something about only having “local” and “mainland” tags, and admitted there was a problem with about four of their products. I couldn’t help saying, “Hawaii’ is my mainland, by the way, but the point is Mexico is a foreign country with different standards for organic.” Continue reading ‘The Dark Side of “the Mainland”: what’s under the courgette’s petticoat « Hawai’i Is My Mainland’
Organic inspection classes set for Hilo
Unique opportunity for those interested, or already involved, in a related careerA unique opportunity is available for organic inspectors or those interested in working in the organic field — including county extension agents, regulatory agency staff, organic processors and industry activists — in order to better understand the organic inspection and certification process.
The county Department of Research and Development has provided a grant to enable the International Organic Inspectors Association (IOIA) and Hawaii Organic Farmers Association (HOFA) to offer “Basic Organic Farm (Crop) Inspector Training,” to be held Jan. 25-29, and “Process and Handling Inspector Training,” to be held Feb. 1-5, in Hilo.
The registration deadline is Sunday, Dec. 12. Continue reading ‘Organic inspection classes set for Hilo’
Food sustainability: a Kona-vore’s dilemma
by Diana Duff
Special To West Hawaii TodayThose of us in attendance at the November Kona Town Meeting on food sustainability were not surprised to see Ken Love as one of the speakers. A vigilant supporter of “buying local” and a long-time champion of growing exotic fruit for local consumption, his low blood pressure was obviously raised as he talked about the charade he finds in some local stores. Sellers anxious to join the “buy local” campaign are sometimes stretching the limits and confusing consumers who really want to eat food grown as close to home as possible.
Ken’s main prop was a box of “Hawaii Ginger” with “Produce of China” in smaller type on the same box. “So, is this local produce?” he asked. A resounding “no” echoed through the Makaeo Events Pavilion.
Ken advised those present to look for the COOL, or Country of Origin Label, stickers on produce. These can help you choose fruit and vegetables grown in locations that match your buying preferences. If you don’t see the stickers, ask for them.
Research shows that consumers often prefer locally grown produce, but they can be confused if produce is labeled incorrectly or not at all. Shoppers looking for local products are often deceived by misleading signage. Locally grown crops need to be marked clearly and correctly. “Hawaii Grown” stickers could really help. Continue reading ‘Food sustainability: a Kona-vore’s dilemma’
U.S. Forest Service receives $1.6M grant to study hybrid ecosystems in Hawaii
Invasive species are so pervasive in Hawaii’s low-lying areas that the U.S. Forest Service says it’s not cost-effective or practical to eradicate them all. Instead, it’s launching new research into developing “hybrid ecosystems” that will incorporate some nonnative plants but allow native plants to thrive.The service has received a $1.6 million grant from the Defense Department’s strategic environmental research program to study the possibility.
“Invasive species are so prevalent. You’re hand weeding, trying to eliminate them and aren’t able to keep up with them. It feels like you’re fighting a losing battle,” said Susan Cordell, research ecologist with the Forest Service. “Restoring these lowland tropical forests to a historic native state is not financially or physically feasible.”
Hawaii’s low-lying native trees and plants were wiped out by cattle, goats and other nonnative mammals that were set free to graze after the arrival of the first Europeans in the islands in the late 1700s. The animals trampled on ferns and undergrowth, drying the soil and tree roots. Later reforestation efforts resulted in the planting of fast-growing nonnative trees like eucalyptus instead of native trees.
To see intact native ecosystems, you have to climb high into the mountains.
Cordell said the grant will allow researchers to find ways for native species to “coexist” with some nonnative species. Continue reading ‘U.S. Forest Service receives $1.6M grant to study hybrid ecosystems in Hawaii’
VIEWPOINT: Sewage disposal is a serious matter
Maui News staff writer Harry Eagar’s Nov. 15 column expressed unfounded opinions that trivialized a serious community issue. Sewage disposal is no laughing matter. It is a quality of life issue for all who live on Maui, our visitor industry and those voiceless ones who inhabit Maui’s waters.
Concerns about the connection between effluent disposal, water quality and reef decline are shared by scientists and environmental professionals tasked with safeguarding water and natural resources. The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources (hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/pubs/MauiReefDeclines.pdf) identified land-based pollutants as part of the problem causing coal decline. The Environmental Protection Agency ordered Maui County to characterize the pollutants in the effluent and to identify where the effluent goes after injection. The state Department of Health has declared coastal waters near the wells as impaired due to presence of nutrients and other pollutants (hawaii.gov/health/environmental/env-planning/wqm/2006_Integrated_Report/2006_Chapter_IV_Assessment_of_Waters.pdf).
There is substantial evidence that the effluents injected into the groundwater at county treatment plants is reaching the ocean. The presence of effluent indicators in ocean water was found by the University of Hawaii and the U.S. Geological Survey. There is no scientific evidence supporting Eagar’s assertion that coral not only eat sewage, but love it. Continue reading ‘VIEWPOINT: Sewage disposal is a serious matter’
Prince Charles Dishes Organic Dirt in ‘Harmony’ on NBC
The heir to the British throne prunes brambles with a hand sickle and empties buckets of compost in “Harmony,” a documentary on NBC that showcases Prince Charles’s pet environmental causes.
Enlarge This ImageThe film, made by the independent filmmakers Julie Bergman Sender and Stuart Sender, is part of a royal twofer being broadcast on Friday evening at 10 p.m. right after an hourlong interview with the NBC anchor Brian Williams, which Prince Charles gave in August and which focuses more intently on his marriages — and on his son William’s imminent one — than on biodiversity. In what looks like a quid pro prince, NBC agreed to broadcast “Harmony” as part of NBC Universal’s annual Green Week.
As it turned out, the timing of the interview and of the documentary, coming on the heels of the splashy engagement announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton this week, was lucky for NBC.
It also seemed like a fortuitous case of sustainable royal marketing — the prince indulges the kind of media curiosity he despises in exchange for the chance to expound, uninterrupted, for an hour on primetime television. (Royalty has many privileges, but one curse is that interviewers rarely ask about the topics royals most want to discuss; Hollywood celebrities like Brad Pitt have less breeding but a lot more clout.) Continue reading ‘Prince Charles Dishes Organic Dirt in ‘Harmony’ on NBC’
Statements about Pacific Biodiesel were untrue
Mahalo for coverage of the palm oil importation (The Maui News, Nov. 11) that seems to remain an issue despite all the talk about development of local, sustainable biofuel crops. Some corrections to the article are in order.The inaccuracies are not The Maui News’ fault, assuming Hawaiian Electric Co.’s Pete Rosegg was quoted correctly. Pete stated that Pacific Biodiesel “withdrew their supply to (Maui Electric Co.),” which is absolutely not true. It’s unfortunate that the corporate communications director did not check his facts as he would have found out that Pacific Biodiesel continues to supply the contracted amount of fuel to MECO and even extended our contract from the last time it ended.
He also said he was waiting for Pacific Biodiesel to “respond to questions about their proposal.” We have answered all their questions and have been waiting for weeks for them to reply to us with a meeting date to discuss our concerns about their fuel spec, which is not an existing ASTM fuel specification.
Saying something is true and being quoted in the newspaper does not make it so, and stating you want to purchase biodiesel when you have requested fuel with different specifications implies the opposite. Continue reading ‘Statements about Pacific Biodiesel were untrue’
Website will accept applications to supply renewable energy to HECO
A website is being launched for a new program that allows Hawaii residents and businesses to apply to sell their renewable energy to the electric utility.Hawaiian Electric Co. said today the website will accept applications of those who want to participate in the program, known as a feed-in tariff, which offers pre-established rates and standardized contract terms to independent energy providers.
Hawaiian Electric Executive Vice President Robbie Alm says the program will help the state break its dependence on imported oil through both large and small renewable energy sources.
The website will start accepting applications for Oahu projects at noon Wednesday. Applications for projects on the Big Island and Maui will be accepted beginning Nov. 24.
Secrecy surrounds ranch’s sale of 3,509 acres to biofuel pioneer
Michael Saalfeld, a German industrialist and biofuel pioneer, has purchased the North Kohala acreage Parker Ranch quietly sold in August, according to government records.One of Saalfeld’s many companies, Kukuipahu Makai, paid $49.3 million for 35 parcels comprising 3,509 acres, according to Hawaii County tax records.
The state’s business registry lists Saalfeld and his wife, Jeannette, as the company’s only members.
Located on both sides of Akoni Pule Highway, the contiguous parcels extend from Mahukona Beach Park north nearly to Puakea Bay Ranch. They range in size from less than an acre to a 1,681-acre parcel.
Tremendous secrecy has surrounded both the sale and Saalfeld, who owns other large tracts of land and Big Island companies.
Rather than offering its property on the open market, Parker Ranch in August 2009 sent a “confidential information memorandum” to a small group of prospective buyers. Each recipient “will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement,” according to the document from then-CEO William “Bill” Maris. He was let go last month after less than a year in that position.
In August, Parker Ranch issued a one-page letter to employees, retirees and ohana confirming the sale of roughly 3 percent of its 128,000-acre holdings. Continue reading ‘Secrecy surrounds ranch’s sale of 3,509 acres to biofuel pioneer’
Corals love sewage!
This the a bit different from the Off Deadline column in today’s print edition. The editors took out the joke about vitamin C, and I’ve put it back in.Psst! Wanna know a secret? The environmentalists don’t want you to hear this, but corals eat sewage. Really. They love the stuff. The Maui Wastewater Working Group held 13 meetings to convict treated sewage put down injection wells of killing reefs. It’s too bad they didn’t take a field trip to the Central Laboratory at the Kihei Wastewater Treatment Plant to see some effluent in action. Such visits are discouraged by the health monitors, but my wife does the testing and I’ve watched her. There are several tests, but the relevant one for injection wells puts a sample of treated wastewater – the PC name for sewage – through a centrifuge, which deposits whatever sewage is left on circles of glistening white filter paper. Filter is the key word here. Corals (and marine worms and lots of other reef critters) are filter feeders. The Kihei and Lahaina plants make R1 effluent, the good stuff, while Kahului makes R2, not as clean. Usually, when the plant is functioning well (which is most of the time), on most of the discs I cannot tell any difference between the clean and the sampled filter paper. On a few, there may be the faintest brown tinge. It takes a magnifying glass to tell sometimes. Continue reading ‘Corals love sewage!’
Emotions run deep over buoys
PAIA – To help remedy tension between Hana fishermen and outsiders who want to fish at a buoy put out by the Hana community, proposals involving fishing restrictions and adding additional buoys surfaced Saturday at a meeting held to address the user conflicts around the fish-aggregating devices, which outsiders have reported led to threats against them.At the meeting, Hana fishermen asked that fishing at buoys the community deploys be only for them, saying they just want “peace” in waters they have fished in for generations. They said their catches are about far more than just making money; they feed the Hana community.
“We just like one place we can have peace, that’s all,” said Hana resident Robert Malaiakini,who teared up when speaking to the crowd of at least 100 people at the Paia Community Center.
He said Hana has just 20 boats that go out to fish in the area. The fishermen not only catch fish for profit but give fish to others in their community.
Malaiakini also got emotional during the meeting before his presentation.
One fisherman had asked what he should have done when, he said, someone followed him while on the water, yelling and warning him not to go out to the Hana buoy.
While some in the crowd muttered, “Go home!” Malaiakini said out loud, “You like someone go (into your) house and take your valuables? That’s the same thing.” Continue reading ‘Emotions run deep over buoys’
Green Power’s High Cost Scuttles Projects – NYTimes.com
Matt McInnis for The New York TimesMichael Polsky’s wind farm company was doing so well in 2008 that banks were happy to lend millions for his effort to light up America with clean electricity.
Enlarge This ImageBut two years later, Mr. Polsky has a product he is hard-pressed to sell.
His company, Invenergy, had a contract to sell power to a utility in Virginia, but state regulators rejected the deal, citing the recession and the lower prices of natural gas and other fossil fuels.
“The ratepayers of Virginia must be protected from costs for renewable energy that are unreasonably high,” the regulators said. Wind power would have increased the monthly bill of a typical residential customer by 0.2 percent.
Even as many politicians, environmentalists and consumers want renewable energy and reduced dependence on fossil fuels, a growing number of projects are being canceled or delayed because governments are unwilling to add even small amounts to consumers’ electricity bills.
Deals to buy renewable power have been scuttled or slowed in states including Florida, Idaho and Kentucky as well as Virginia. By the end of the third quarter, year-to-date installations of new wind power dropped 72 percent from 2009 levels, according to the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group. Continue reading ‘Green Power’s High Cost Scuttles Projects – NYTimes.com’
Kauai festival celebrates isle food
GARDEN ISLAND RANGE & FOOD FESTIVAL
» Place: Kilohana Pavilion, Kilohana Plantation, 3-2087 Kaumualii Highway, Lihue, Kauai» Date: Next Sunday
» Time: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
» Cost: $35 per person; $17.50 for children ages 6 through 12; free for kids age 5 and under. Tickets are available online and at 22*North, Larry’s Music Center in Kapaa, the Ukulele Shop in Koloa, Wrangler’s Steakhouse in Waimea, Scotty’s Music in Kalaheo, Hanalei Music’s Strings & Things in Hanalei, and Kawamura Farm and Deli & Bread Connection in Lihue.
» Phone: 338-0111
» E-mail: barbara@kauaikai.org
» Website: www.kauaifoodfestival.com
For once, Olivia Wu was at a loss for words. In 2005 the staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle’s Food and Wine section was on deadline for a story about eating locally grown food. Needing a catchy word to describe supporters of the movement, she sought ideas from Jessica Prentice, a respected professional chef, cooking teacher and author in the Bay Area who had been her primary interview for the piece.
Prentice coined the term “locavore,” based on the Latin words “locus,” meaning “place,” and “vorare,” “to devour.” Foodies embraced the term, and in 2007 the New Oxford English Dictionary chose it as its Word of the Year. Continue reading ‘Kauai festival celebrates isle food’
Habitat Completes First ‘Off-The-Grid’ Home
Habitat Completes First ‘Off-The-Grid’ HomeMolokai Habitat for Humanity News Release
With the help from Hawaii’s leading residential solar company, RevoluSun, Molokai Habitat for Humanity is pleased to announce the dedication and blessing of its 19th completed home for the Kaai `Ohana. This will be Hawaii Habitat’s first “off-grid” home on Hawaiian Home Lands, as well as the first home built by Molokai Habitat with a renewable energy system.
“We are so excited because this is the first home for Habitat for Humanity nationally that is off-the-grid,” said Emillia Noordhoek, Resource Development Director for Molokai Habitat. “Molokai has the highest cost of living in the state and we are one of the most isolated islands. We wanted to build a home that would be affordable for the family and be best for our ‘aina.”
The journey to this projects completion was one of sweat, love, commitment, and of course, genuine hard work. The high cost to install the house’s electrical infrastructure – quoted by MECO at $30,000 – led to the opportunity of using renewable energy.
It was then that Molokai Habitat realized this was the opportunity they needed to build a simple, decent, and affordable home which included its own renewable energy. How can housing be affordable to the homeowner if the hidden cost of utilities is $300-$500 per month? The blessing and answer to this question came through Oahu’s Solar Contractor RevoluSun.
RevoluSun generously donated their time and labor for the design and installation of the solar system. Continue reading ‘Habitat Completes First ‘Off-The-Grid’ Home’
