Friday, January 28, 2011

 

Who wants to make the small sacrifice?


By Henry Curtis

The House Committees on Energy and Environmental Protection (EEP) and Economic Revitalization & Business (ERB) met on January 27, 2010. It was decided to limit presentations to just one representative from each of two entities  (DBEDT and HECO) in order to allow the Representatives adequate time to ask questions about the Interisland Cable project.

The DBEDT representative, Josh Strickler, Esq., P.E., stated:

"We have a lot of projects in the pipe line right now, but they all face issues in there own way, from biomass on the Big Island, to hydro on Kauai, waste-to-energy on Oahu, there's, there's always, you know, you have to learn that, or sort of accept that, everybody's going to have to be part of this. I keep hammering this point home. Everything we have done to to date, from geothermal, to wind, to waste energy has just gotten us to 10%, and we are a quater of the way along. We have a lot of work ahead of us to get to the 40% goal, 40% is going to include everybody.  I can't think of a community out there there that isn't going to be impacted in some way, either solar panels on roofs, or geothermal, or waste to energy, or biomass, or something across the State that's, it's, every project has its issues and so, I have to echo Robbie's point of having the community accept these changes and making the sacrifices is the hardest part."

Henry Curtis
ililani.media@gmail.com

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Comments:

We (the community members) only have to "make sacrifices" to go green when the government puts energy in the hands of big corporations who loot us.

Going green as an individual is not only painless -- it saves you money. I'm making a 10% return on the PV I put on my roof. My solar hot water cut my electric usage by 40%.

But I was lucky enough to have the resources to install these and reap the economic benefits.

Those who aren't already in good financial shape are stuck paying exorbitant utility bills to subsidize Castle and Cooke raking in a quarter of a billion dollars a year. That money should be going to the ratepayers.

Rather than take over 25% of Lana'i for a privately owned wind farm, the same rate increase needed to pay for the undersea cable could put a quiet vertical axis wind turbines or solar on everyone's roof and then THEY would be the ones saving money as their USAGE decreased (even tho the rate per kwh might have gone up).

State of Hawaii (especially under Lingle) gave all the benefits to companies like Castle and Cooke and stuck the rate-payers with all the "sacrifices" e.g. paying the bills (like for the undersea cable)

Green for PEOPLE has benefits. GREEN-WASHING is what requires we pay through the nose.
 


The sacrifices on the Big Island mean having dioxins produced by HuHonua's biomass plant! This is a PUBLIC health risk that, incredibly, is not within the State Department of Health's authority. Mr. Strickler, you are woefully uninformed.
 


I turn on my hot water heater for 15 minutes, then turn if off - I have 2 days of hot showers. My electric bill is down to $32 a month!
 

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