The Gateway Energy Center at Keahole is Hawai`i’s Potemkin Village for energy conservation. It has been outfitted with the latest, spiffiest (and costliest) technologies in the realm of energy efficiency and self-reliance. It has been trumpeted as a model for … Continued
Why did the Natural Energy of Hawai`i Laboratory Authority enter into a contract with HELCO that has proved to be so disadvantageous? The answer, or at least a clue or two, probably lies in minutes of executive sessions the board … Continued
In January of 2005, the Board of Directors of the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai`i interviewed three prospective executive directors recruited by a head-hunting firm. Among them was Ronald Nelson Baird of Sedalia, Colorado, near Denver. Baird was given the … Continued
Like a modern-day Rumpelstiltskin, E. Alan Kennett thinks he has found a way to turn straw into gold – or, what amounts to the same thing these days, convert cane trash into cash. Alone among potential ethanol producers in Hawai`i, … Continued
Why ethanol? In pushing the law requiring gasoline in Hawai`i to contain 10 percent ethanol as of last April, legislators argued this was a step in the direction of energy self-sufficiency. If home-grown crops could be transformed into fuel for … Continued
Astroturf Campaigns: Grass-roots are oh so yesterday. Nowadays, it’s the appearance of being a grass-roots organization that alone seems to count. And so, in the days running up to the November campaign in Hawai`i, voters of the state were informed … Continued
Caren Diamond and Harold Bronstein didn’t like the way the Department of Land and Natural Resources was locating shorelines on Kaua`i’s North Shore. More than four years ago, the two Kaua`i residents challenged the state surveyor’s use, and the department’s … Continued
To some, the state’s proposed lay gill net rule amendments penalize or make criminals of responsible fishermen, infringe on native Hawaiian fishing rights and cultural practices, and lack data supporting the foundational claim that lay gill netting damages marine resources. … Continued
Current regulations allow lay nets to soak for up to four hours, with a requirement that they be checked every two. The minimum mesh size is 2 ¾ inches. Lay nets are not allowed in Hilo Bay, and as well … Continued
No one could have asked for more favorable publicity than what the Gateway Energy Center received when it had its grand opening in October 2004. Newspapers across the state heralded it as the dawn of a new era in environmentally … Continued