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Ka Leo The Voice > Features

Making sustainability work for Hawai‘i

By Andrea DeCosta
Staff Writer
Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, March 1, 2011 23:03

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Adecade of increasing gasoline and consumer goods prices are

reminders that Hawai‘i's residents need to remain focused on
sustainable efforts to manage our natural resources.
Tony Kuh, director for Renewable Energy & Island Sustainability,
points to how the entire UH system can grow with these efforts.
Students within the UH system are encouraged to participate in
internships with local businesses and organizations.
"We are never going to be completely free from fossil fuels," said
Kuh. "However, Hawai‘i can significantly reduce the dependence on
fossil fuels as early as the year 2030 with a focus on clean energy,
energy efficiency, and more use of natural and renewable energy."
REIS was established in 2009 with proceeds from a Sustainable
Earth Day contest and has since received additional funding for its
approach using an education-business partnership model. The
program seeks to grow a local employee base including future Ask Liz and Sam
engineers, scientists and policymakers within a matrix that promotes
sustainability through alternative energy sources. DOYLE MOELLER / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I Email:
Renewable Energy & Island Sustainability, established
Crude is up $0.53 during the last reporting period, according to the in 2009 through a H Manoa grant, seeks to make Subject:
latest Energy Information Administration report. Hawai‘i drivers pay scientifi c, economic and social changes to end
more at the pump than the national average of $3.19 per gallon – dependency and fossil fuels.
ranging from $3.49 per gallon for regular to $3.99 for premium. Name:

"Transitioning to the use of renewable energy is one of the key ways we can balance energy demands and Question:
environmental needs. Through our use of solar, wind, geothermal, ocean thermal and wave energy, we can greatly
reduce our dependence on fossil fuels," Sen. Mike Gabbard said. "This will helps us address climate change. This
helps us decrease greenhouse gases, air and water pollution, and our risk of major oil spills."
Recognizing the importance of incorporating sustainable practices into governance, the Hawai‘i state legislature in
2005 passed Act 8, the Hawai‘i State Sustainability Plan. From this plan, a task Force developed, and two years of
research and community outreach followed.
Task Force outreach included feedback from more than 10,500 participants in focus groups and online surveys, in
addition to industry experts. The culmination is a set of nine priority actions and periodic measurable benchmarks
targeted at achieving the five goals established in the Plan.
Prior to his position as Chair for the Senate Energy and Environment Committee, Gabbard worked to integrate these All fields are required.
practices into the Hawai‘i master plan as a member of the Plan's Task Force from 2007-08. The Task Force submitted submit
their completed plan to the legislature in 2008, which responded by directing the UH Public Policy Center to review and
comment prior to the final Task Force report.

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"That report was submitted to the Legislature in January 2010. Last session, SB 2532 was introduced to incorporate
the definitions, guiding principles, and goals of the Hawai'i 2050 sustainability task force report into the state planning
act. This bill did not pass," said Gabbard. "This session SB 283 has been introduced to do the same thing as SB
2532. SB 283 is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Water, Land and Housing Committee."
Employing what Plan chair Russell Kokubun referred to as the "triple bottom-line," the Plan's philosophical goals are
founded upon finding balance between community, environmental, and economic needs. The 2020 benchmark ranks
housing and education as priorities, followed by a reduction in food and energy importation by increasing the amount
of food grown and consumed locally.
Kokubun, as newly appointed chair for the Department of Agriculture, has charged his staff with enhancing Hawai‘i's
agricultural output to respond to the need to kick the dependency on imported products. Reducing Hawai‘i's import
needs by bolstering what once was a thriving agricultural economy has both its supporters and detractors.
Republicans like Senator Sam Slom are decrying the benefits of earlier legislative mandates on the use of ethanol-
blended fuels, calling these measures "baloney."
Slom submitted a bill this session to repeal the existing statute on the grounds that the statute hasn't lived up to
promises made early on. According to Slom, the ethanol mandate has not saved consumers any money and instead
has lead to unintended consequences - mainly higher overall consumer prices.
For their part, Democrats have focused their legislative efforts at the Plan's intermediary goals through the expansion
of affordable housing using a multitude of tax incentive measures. Responding to the need to reduce imported fuel,
Senator Carol Fukunaga presented a measure that would create a bio-fuel facility that may well provide the economic,
agricultural and technological incentives Hawai‘i consumers demand.
"Hawai‘i numbers crunch":
Hawai‘i imports approximately 90% of its food products
Population in Hawai‘i increased 6.9% since July 2000
Cost of living ranges from 30% to 60% above the national average
Ranked 10th in the nation for most expensive cost of living
Per capita personal income below national average
"Hawaii 2020 Benchmarks":
Increased affordable housing by 140%
Enhanced public education
Expanded recycling and reuse programs
Increased economic diversity
Increased locally grown produce
"Hawaii Family of 4 Factoid"
In 2006 a Hawai‘i family of four hoping to rent a housing unit would need a combined income of $111,695, or 55%
more than the national average of income of $72,000.

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