Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 21, 2013

A bright glow emanated from Halema`uma`u crater last night. As part of Volcano Awareness Month, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory presents a free program Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Pahala Plantation House. Photo by John Coney

DURING HIS SECOND INAUGURAL SPEECH, Pres. Barack Obama invoked the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. on this day honoring the civil rights leader. “We , the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.”

Large crowds gathered to hear Martin Luther King, Jr. speak on the Mall
in Washington, D.C. as they did today to listen to Pres. Barack Obama's
second inaugural speech.

      Earlier in his speech, the president referred to a different king: “The patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep safe our founding creed.
      “For more than two hundred years, we have.
      “Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.”
      In the conclusion of his speech, Pres. Obama said, “Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.”

Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono at Pres. Obama's
inauguration today. Photo from Marvin Buenconsejo

HAWAI`I’S SEN. BRIAN SCHATZ said he was glad the president talked about policy issues including climate change, Social Security and building a better economy in his speech. “My favorite line, which I hope will be remembered in the history books, was that ‘while these truths may be self-evident, they are not self-executing.’ The idea is that we are responsible as citizens to make sure that we form that ‘more perfect union,’” Schatz said. 

RICHARD HA, OWNER OF Hamakua Springs Country Farms, discusses on his blog his concerns about the `Aina Koa Pono proposal to grow biomass in Ka`u and produce biofuel at a refinery above Pahala. The biofuel would be sold to Hawaiian Electric Co. and Hawai`i Electric Light Co. and trucked to Keahole Power Plant in Kona. Ha is also a member of Big Island Community Coalition, which wants to make Big Island electric rates the lowest in the state by emphasizing use of local resources.
      Along with economic issues reported in yesterday’s Ka`u News Briefs, “there are also problems with the project itself,” Ha writes. “Fuel has never actually been produced using the process and feedstock that `Aina Koa Pono proposes. AKP does not know what it is going to grow. So far, the feedstock it is testing experimentally is white pine. The Micro Dee technology that AKP wants to use is still experimental.”
      Ha says there is also a risk that this process might use more energy than it generates.

Richard Ha

      “There is an agricultural production risk, as well,” Ha says. He claims that palm oil is the only industrial-scale biofuel that can compete with petroleum oil. “AKP has 12,000 acres, and it says it will produce 18 million gallons of biofuel annually, and another six million gallons of drop-in diesel. So it will produce 24 million gallons using 12,000 acres. That is 2,000 gallons per acre, and that is four times the production of palm oil. More likely they would need at least four times as much land, or 48,000 acres. But where?
      “Consider too that Ka`u Sugar relied on natural rainfall, and it was one of the least productive of the sugar companies. There is a drought right now. And at 22 degrees N latitude, the area has less sun energy than the palm oil producers located on the equator.
      “According to energy expert Robert Hirsch, in his book The Impending World Energy Mess, the best model for biofuel production is a circular one, where processing is done in the center of a field (which does not exceed a radius of 50 miles) consisting of flat land and deep fertile soil with irrigation and lots of sun energy. This situation exists in Central Maui, where Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) is located. It explains exactly why HC&S is the sole surviving Hawai`i sugar plantation.
      “To compete heads up in the world market would require the best possible combination of production factors. These are not them,” Ha concludes.

      See more at hahaha.hamakuasprings.com.

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK waives entrance fees today in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. In conjunction with the park’s Fee Free Day, Kilauea Military Camp invites all park visitors to experience how KMC supports America’s troops by utilizing any of its facilities and services.

HAWAI`I COUNTY COUNCIL committees meet tomorrow, and the full Council meets Wednesday at 9 a.m. at West Hawai`i Civic Center. Ka`u and South Kona residents can participate from Ocean View Community Center’s remote testimony site.
      Agendas for the meetings are available at hawaiicounty.gov.

Kilauea's plumbing system is the topic at tomorrow's After Dark
in the Park program. Photo from USGS/HVO

A BELOW-THE-SCENES LOOK at Kilauea Volcano’s plumbing system is the topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Michael Poland presents a picture of what Kilauea’s subsurface might look like based on observations from eruptions, earthquake patterns, ground deformation, chemical changes and geologic studies. The program at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park begins at 7 p.m. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply. 

THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY of Kilauea Volcano’s East Rift Eruption is the topic at Pahala Plantation House Wednesday evening. Tim Orr, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist, reviews highlights from the past 30 years and talks about recent developments on Kilauea’s East Rift Zone. He also shows photos and videos of the ongoing eruption. During its first three years, spectacular lava fountains spewed episodically from Pu`u `O`o vent. Since then, nearly continuous lava effusion has built a vast plain of pahoehoe lava that stretches from the volcano’s rift zone to the sea. Although the eruption has been relatively quiet during the past year, with mostly steady, but unusually weak, activity, it has produced some dramatic lava flows in past years.
      The program, which is part of Volcano Awareness Month, begins at 6:30 p.m. Call 928-9811 for more information.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

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Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 20, 2013

The economics of `Aina Koa Pono's plan to grow biomass and refine biofuel in Ka`u are topics of a recent entry by Richard Ha on his blog hahaha.hamakuasprings.com.

“HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC CO. is damaging its credibility immensely by pushing” the `Aina Koa Pono proposal to grow biomass to produce 16 million gallons of biofuel per year that would be sold to HECO and Hawaiian Electric Light Company, says Richard Ha on his blog. Ha is owner Hamakua Springs Country Farms and a member of Big Island Community Coalition, which wants to make Big Island electric rates the lowest in the state by emphasizing use of local resources.
      Ha discusses the economics of project. He says, “HECO is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on public relations to convince us that it is trying to lower people’s rates – when, in secret, it appears to be doing exactly the opposite.”

Richard Ha

      Ha questions the conclusion that the average Hawai`i ratepayer’s electricity bill would increase by only about $1 per month. According to Ha, HECO is seeking approval to pay `Aina Koa Pono $200 per barrel of biofuel and would pass on any extra cost, beyond what oil actually costs at the time, to its ratepayers on the Big Island and O`ahu.
      “HECO has kept that $200 per barrel price secret – they are still keeping it secret – but the Big Island Community Coalition folks figured out the price and how the ‘$1 per month rate increase’ was determined,” Ha says. “Using the Energy Information Agency’s Annual Energy Outlook (AEO-2012), one can see that HECO is using the highest price scenario, which projects an oil price close to $180/barrel in 2015. In the AKP discussion, it was said that the price of oil would exceed the actual price projected at the end of the period.
      “We can see that the line hits $200 per barrel in 2035. Since they assume that oil will be $180 in 2015, they can therefore say that the difference (between the actual and projected price) would be very small, Hence, an increase of only perhaps $1 per month for the average ratepayer. However, it follows that if the actual price of oil is much lower than $180 per barrel, ratepayers will be paying the difference between that amount and $200. What if the actual cost of oil in 2015 is $120/barrel? That would cause rates to go up much more than $1 per month –especially for high-power users.”

      Ha also says that `Aina Koa Pono’s proposed process is “extremely energy-intensive and expensive. It would make electricity to make microwaves to vaporize the cellulose to get the liquid and then take the pyrolysis oil, refine it to make it burnable, and then haul it down to Keahole in tanker trucks to make steam. Why should the ratepayer pay for all that?”
      Ha contends that making cellulosic biofuels “are not yet a cost-effective technology.” He reports that in 2010, cellulosic biofuel companies on the mainland needed to buy their feedstock for $45 per ton. But because farmers were earning $100 per ton for hay, the biofuel firms received a $45 per ton subsidy. “I asked how much AKP expected to pay for feedstock, and the AECOM Technology Corporation consultant said between $55 and $65/ton,” Ha said. “The problem there is that Hawai`i farmers have been earning $200/ton for hay for 10 years now.”
      Ha said, “It’s also important to consider that locking ourselves into a 20-year contract now would preclude lower cost alternatives. Geothermal, for example, is the equivalent of oil at $57 per barrel. Ocean thermal has the possibility of being significantly lower in price than $200 per barrel oil. LNG is on the radar, and so is biomass gasification. Who knows what else would come up in 20 years?”

      Ha points to remarks by Council of Revenue members Paul Brewbaker and Carl Bonham, “who have said, very emphatically and for awhile now, that low energy cost is critical. We should listen to them,” he says.
      Ha says that, when the International Monetary Fund team modeled different oil supply scenarios and did a presentation at the Association for the Study of Peak Oil conference recently, they could not model a constant $200 per barrel of oil. “Those would be uncharted waters; and ones, by the way, that would devastate Hawai`i’s tourist industry. Why should we start paying $200 per barrel for oil in 2015 if we don’t have to?” Ha asks.
      “The amount of risk involved in the AKP biofuels proposal is just far too great,” Ha says. In the investment world, reward is generally commensurate with risk. Except for protection from $200 per barrel oil in later years, the AKP project would provide little reward for all the risk we ratepayers would assume.”
      Ha concludes, “This is a very, very bad deal for consumers. Big Island electricity rates have been 25 percent higher than O`ahu’s for as long as anyone can remember. This probably adds to the reason why the Big Island has the lowest median family income in the state, as well as the social ills that go with it. We need lower rates, not higher rates!”
      See more at hahaha.hamakuasprings.com.

Rep. Richard Onishi

IN THE 2013 STATE LEGISLATURE, Ka`u’s Rep. Richard Onishi is co-sponsoring a bill that proposes an amendment to Article XI of the state Constitution to include game animals on state lands as resources to be managed and conserved by the state. The section to be added states, “The state shall manage and control for the perpetuity of future generations, game animals, including sheep, deer, pigs, and wild cattle presently located throughout all state lands. The management of game animals shall be subject to guidelines established by the Legislature, including cooperative resource management strategies which shall ensure the public’s sustained use and enjoyment of game animals as a protected state resource.” 

HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK waives entrance fees tomorrow in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. In conjunction with the park’s Fee Free Day, Kilauea Military Camp invites all park visitors to experience how KMC supports America’s troops by utilizing any of its facilities and services. For more information about KMC, call 967-8371.

ON TUESDAY, After Dark in the Park offers a below-the-scenes look at Kilauea Volcano’s plumbing system. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Michael Poland presents a picture of what Kilauea’s subsurface might look like based on observations from eruptions, earthquake patterns, ground deformation, chemical changes and geologic studies. The program at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park begins at 7 p.m. $2 donations support park programs, and park entrance fees apply.

From 1984, this photo from USGS/HVO shows one of 44 high lava fountains
that built the Pu`u O`o cone.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY brings a program to Pahala Plantation House Wednesday evening, when geologist Tim Orr presents photos and videos reviewing highlights and recent developments of Kilauea Volcano’s ongoing 30-year-long east rift zone eruption. The program, part of Volcano Awareness Month, begins at 6:30 p.m. Depending on turnout, more HVO programs could be scheduled in the future. Call 928-9811 for more information. 

IN SPORTS, KA`U’S BASKETBALL TEAMS are busy this week. Boys travel to Pahoa tomorrow and St. Joseph’s Wednesday before their meeting with Waiakea at home on Friday.
      Girls play at Waiakea on Tuesday and home on Thursday, when they meet Hilo.

      Girls soccer has BIIF Division II games this week, with Round 1 on Tuesday, semi-finals on Thursday and finals on Saturday at Kealakehe.

      BIIF Division II games for boys soccer take place next week.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.

Ka`u News Briefs Jan. 19, 2013

Lava flows that inundated Kalapana in 1990 are part of Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Tim Orr's presentation at Pahala Plantation House Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Photo from USGS/HVO

HAWAI`I GAS, THE ONLY government-franchised, full-service gas company that manufactures and distributes gas in the state, expects to be prepared to receive a first container of liquified natural gas in about 60 days, “in sufficient time to provide emergency back-up service prior to the April 30 closure of the Tesoro refinery,” according to a statement from the company. Currently, Hawai`i Gas makes synthetic natural gas from a byproduct at Tesoro’s refinery.

Hawai`i Gas CEO Jeff Kissel

      The company recently received a decision from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that could allow importation of LNG. “Now that the FERC is releasing jurisdiction for this phase of the operation to the state, Hawai`i Gas will complete the process of obtaining the appropriate state and local permits,” said CEO Jeff Kissel.
      Hawai`i Gas is already in compliance with most of the necessary state and federal statutes required for the safe transport and use of LNG, Kissel said. It must also seek approval from Hawai`i’s Public Utilities Commission.
      In anticipation of receiving the required approvals, Hawai`i Gas has secured two LNG shipping containers and equipment necessary to vaporize LNG. The company plans to use up to 20 containers in a continuous cycle of transport of LNG from the mainland.
      According to Hawai`i Gas, LNG at current prices is about 25 percent less expensive than feedstock used to produce synthetic natural gas distributed to its customers.
      A story in Civil Beat reported, “The ruling could potentially ease the way for larger imports of LNG to Hawai`i that could replace a portion of oil used for electricity generation, ground transportation and shipping fuel. It’s part of a three-phased plan by Hawai`i Gas that would eventually lead to large-scale distribution, storage and regasification facilities in Hawai`i.”
      The Sierra Club tried to block approval, arguing that Hawai`i Gas should not be able to break its plans for LNG into three phases. “The group argued that full environmental reviews needed to be conducted for the entire project, including an evaluation of environmental impacts of increased drilling on the mainland that could result from imports of LNG to Hawai`i,” according to Civil Beat.

Sen. Josh Green

IN THE 2013 STATE LEGISLATURE, Ka`u’s state Sen. Josh Green is co-sponsor of a bill establishing a gun buy-back program. The bill appropriates $100,000 to county police departments to initiate the program. I think it’s a good approach nationally,” Green told Hawai`i Tribune-Herald’s Tom Callis. “My personal focus will be on the mental health aspect.”
      The bill lists incidents of gun violence in Hawai`i. “On May 23, 2011, a middle school student in Pearl City shot a loaded gun on campus before the start of the school day, injuring one student. On June 3, 2011, one woman was killed and two were injured in a random shooting spree that began at a busy intersection on Kapiolani Boulevard in Honolulu. On January 2, 2013, two officers were shot and injured by an unknown assailant when investigating noise complaints in Hilo. In all, firearms were used in 19 percent of Hawai`i murders in 2011.”
      The bill also says only 10 percent of the $201,179 worth of firearms stolen in Hawai`i in 2011 have been recovered.
      According to the bill, gun buy-back programs “decrease the availability of guns in the community by providing cash incentives to gun possessors to forfeit their firearms. Although it is difficult to estimate how many lives are saved when individuals voluntarily forfeit their guns for cash, fewer guns provide fewer avenues for gun violence.”

      See hawaiitribuneherald.com.

Rep. Denny Coffman

PREVENTION AND TREATMENT of coffee berry borer infestations is the goal of a bill co-sponsored by Ka`u’s state Rep. Denny Coffman. The bill appropriates up to $500,000 during each of two fiscal years from the agricultural development and food security special fund to the Department of Agriculture for the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center to research and develop methods to prevent and treat infestations. 

      The bill also provides a grant-in-aid of $330,00 during each of two fiscal years from the agricultural development and food security special fund for the coffee berry borer task force for control of the coffee berry borer and mitigation of damage. University of Hawai`i would control the funds.
      The bill explains that methods to combat the coffee berry borer are used effectively in other coffee-growing regions of the world. “However, farmers in Hawai`i need to be educated about these methods and how to effectively apply them. In addition, the costs of the required supplies and labor to implement these methods can be financially prohibitive for smaller coffee farms in the state.
      “Because of Hawai`i’s unique terrain and the preponderance of small-sized farms with an aging population of farmers, the existing labor-intensive methods of combating the coffee berry borer are more challenging to implement in Hawai`i than in other regions of the world. For that reason, research is needed to develop new methods appropriate for Hawai`i’s coffee farms, including those that could reduce the cost of labor necessary to control the coffee berry borer.
      “It is essential to take immediate action to develop methods to combat the coffee berry borer and to mitigate the future impacts to other coffee-producing regions in the state.”

Hawaiian sovereignty flag and signs at Kawa's main entrance came down
Thursday, the same day they were put up. Photo by Geneveve Fyvie

A MEETING TO UPDATE THE PUBLIC about Kawa and how the county is planning to move forward is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 30 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Mayor Billy Kenoi’s executive assistant Karen Tashima, who is currently heading the Kawa project, said that the main goal is to have the community say they want to work together with the county to manage the property. Tashima said that concerned individuals have called to ask about the direction of the project. “There is a story going around that the county is making Kawa into a park, but that’s not what we are going to do,” Tashima said. She added that various kupuna expressed that they don’t want Kawa to become another beach park. In an effort to support the community’s desires and address concerns raised by members of the public, the talk-story meeting is open to all. The individuals who expressed concerns directly to the county about Kawa were contacted and encouraged to attend, said Tashima. 

      Currently, the public is allowed to access the beach at Kawa on foot from Hwy 11 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., seven days a week. However, as visitors are guests on county property, they are asked to follow a few basic rules: no camping, no alcohol and no littering or polluting. In the interest of sanitation, the county is providing the use of two portable lua at the main entrance. Tashima said, “There is a 24-hour police patrol,” to ensure that all visitors comply.
      To inform the public about the natural resources present at Kawa, representatives of the Department of Land and Natural Resources will give a short presentation and answer questions. Tashima noted that Kawa has “one of the largest estuaries in the state and is home to a lot of native birds.”
      Tashima said that some fishermen and kupuna have expressed difficulty in having to walk or carry equipment between the highway and the beach and that “eventually there may be the possibility of moving the gate further down the leveled road to allow easier access. However, it will be limited.”
      Regarding handmade signs posted outside the main entrance to Kawa along Hwy 11, Tashima said that police had called the county to notify them about the signs, and when police returned after 6 p.m. to check on the situation, the signs had already been removed.

VOLCANO ART CENTER presents Dances of Universal Peace tomorrow from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at its Ni`aulani Campus in Volcano Village. Facilitated by vocalist and musician Lila Flood, the Dances of Universal Peace are a spiritual practice incorporating folk dance-like steps and sacred mantras that draw from all the major spiritual and religious traditions. No experience necessary; everyone is welcome. Free; donations accepted. For more, call 985-9109 or 967-8222.

Kimberly Dark facilitates a conflict resolution
workshop next Saturday.

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY brings a program to Pahala Plantation House Wednesday evening. Geologist Tim Orr’s program is entitled The 30th Anniversary of Kilauea’s East Rift Zone Eruption and includes photos and videos. The program, which is part of Volcano Awareness Month, begins at 6:30 p.m. Depending on turnout, more HVO programs could be scheduled in the future.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION: Reframing Problems to Generate Solutions is the title of the first community workshop for 2013 sponsored by the nonprofit Ku`ikahi Mediation Center. Kimberly Dark will facilitate the session next Saturday, Jan. 26 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hawai`i Community College in Building 388, Room 103. “This half-day workshop focuses on understanding and practicing the skill of reframing contentious, position-based statements into neutral language that helps everyone think more clearly and develop possible solutions,” says a statement from the organization. Ka`u residents are invited to sign up and learn skills that can be used at home as well as in the workplace, schools, associations, meetings and more. 

       Tuition is $50. To register, contact Ku`ikahi Mediation Center executive director Julie Mitchell at 935-7844 x 116 or julie@hawaiimediation.org.

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.

ALSO SEE KAUCALENDAR.COM AND FACEBOOK.COM/KAUCALENDAR.