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| USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Mike Poland's topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow is What We Don't Know about Hawaiian Volcanoes. Photo from USGS/HVO |
HAWAIIAN ELECTRIC LIGHT CO. IS CONSIDERING ways to handle more solar-generated energy, according to a story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald. President Jay Ignacio told Colin M. Stewart that the utlility’s grid is reaching the limit of how much power it can accept from remote sources that use net-metering systems. Such systems send excess energy to the utility and result in lower electric bills for customers.
According to Ignacio, circuits that generate more electricity than is being used by customers can create increased voltage and damage electronic equipment, including computers and other appliances with sophisticated electronics.
“If there’s more generation than energy being used, the energy needs to go some place. … This is a difficult technical issue, and we’re not aware of another utility in the world that has addressed it,” he said. “There’s no model for us to follow, no resource for us to tap into. We’re really creating new frontiers on this.”
One system being considered involves the utility using appliances connected to the circuit to create more of a load when it encounters an over-voltage. “By transferring the excess energy into something such as a water heater, the system can balance itself out,” the story says. Many of those appliances were not designed for such a purpose, and setting them up to be used in such a way could be problematic, Ignacio told Stewart.
Another concept being explored is a large battery bank that can store excess energy, but that also has drawbacks. “The economics of such a system just may not play out,” Ignacio said.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
KA`U RESIDENTS INTERESTED IN RUNNING for office in this year’s elections can submit papers beginning today. Offices on ballots in Ka`u this year are U.S. Senator, currently held by Brian Schatz; U.S. Representative District 2, currently held by Tulsi Gabbard; Governor, currently held by Neil Abercrombie; Lieutenant Governor, currently held by Shan Tsutsui; State Senator District 3, currently held by Josh Green; State Representatives Districts 3 and 5, currently held by Richard Onishi and Richard Creagan; Office of Hawaiian Affairs Representative; and County Council Member District 6, currently held by Brenda Ford.
Candidates can file nomination papers at two locations on Hawai`i Island: in Hilo at Office of County Clerk, Elections Division, 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 1502, phone 961-8277, hours Monday – Friday 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; in Kona at West Hawai`i Civic Center, Kona Elections Division, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy, Building B, 2nd floor, phone 961-8277, hours Monday – Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 3 p.m. by appointment.
Hawaiian honeycreepers do not have a resistance to mosquito-borne diseases, and avian malaria has devastated many species.
One system being considered involves the utility using appliances connected to the circuit to create more of a load when it encounters an over-voltage. “By transferring the excess energy into something such as a water heater, the system can balance itself out,” the story says. Many of those appliances were not designed for such a purpose, and setting them up to be used in such a way could be problematic, Ignacio told Stewart.
Another concept being explored is a large battery bank that can store excess energy, but that also has drawbacks. “The economics of such a system just may not play out,” Ignacio said.
See hawaiitribune-herald.com.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| Ways to create economic opportunity related the Thirty Meter Telescope for Hawai`i Island residents are being considered. Image from tmt.org |
CREATING A PATH FOR HAWAI`I ISLAND RESIDENTS and students seeking careers in technology and other jobs related to the planned Thirty Meter Telescope is the goal of a proposed workforce pipeline program.
Hawai`i Tribune-Herald reports some ideas are already in the works, such as an engineering program at University of Hawai`i-Hilo, while other ideas presented to the Big Island’s legislative delegation last month include an enhanced technology program at Hawai`i Community College, internships for Hawai`i students and “incentives to attract new astronomy-related industry.”
Tribune-Herald reports TMT spokeswoman Sandra Dawson saying the plan hopes to emulate the creation of Tucson, Arizona’s optics industry that resulted from construction an observatory there.
Comparing Tucson’s situation to Hawai`i Island’s, Dawson said, “Theirs was copper; ours was sugar. When copper started dying, they needed something new. About that time, the National Science Foundation funded a telescope. That telescope is smaller than four of the telescopes we have on Mauna Kea. The people of the town saw an advantage to this. They started bringing experts in optics in, and now they’re the world center for optics. The university and government thought about this as a way to move forward.”
Tribune-Herald reports TMT spokeswoman Sandra Dawson saying the plan hopes to emulate the creation of Tucson, Arizona’s optics industry that resulted from construction an observatory there.
Comparing Tucson’s situation to Hawai`i Island’s, Dawson said, “Theirs was copper; ours was sugar. When copper started dying, they needed something new. About that time, the National Science Foundation funded a telescope. That telescope is smaller than four of the telescopes we have on Mauna Kea. The people of the town saw an advantage to this. They started bringing experts in optics in, and now they’re the world center for optics. The university and government thought about this as a way to move forward.”
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| Ka`u will vote for a new County Council member this year, with Brenda Ford having reached her term limit. |
Jerry Chang, director of university relations at UH-Hilo, said a new engineering program being worked on at the school would develop a labor pool for projects such as TMT. “Instead of hiring people out of state, let’s use our local workforce,” he said.
Other programs being considered are new and enhanced technology programs at Hawai`i Community College, internships for Hawai`i students and incentives to attract new astronomy-related industry.
Instrument development and operational support is another possibility being considered. According to the Tribune-Herald, all contracts for those jobs currently go overseas and cost $30 million to $40 million per year.
Other programs being considered are new and enhanced technology programs at Hawai`i Community College, internships for Hawai`i students and incentives to attract new astronomy-related industry.
Instrument development and operational support is another possibility being considered. According to the Tribune-Herald, all contracts for those jobs currently go overseas and cost $30 million to $40 million per year.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
KA`U RESIDENTS INTERESTED IN RUNNING for office in this year’s elections can submit papers beginning today. Offices on ballots in Ka`u this year are U.S. Senator, currently held by Brian Schatz; U.S. Representative District 2, currently held by Tulsi Gabbard; Governor, currently held by Neil Abercrombie; Lieutenant Governor, currently held by Shan Tsutsui; State Senator District 3, currently held by Josh Green; State Representatives Districts 3 and 5, currently held by Richard Onishi and Richard Creagan; Office of Hawaiian Affairs Representative; and County Council Member District 6, currently held by Brenda Ford.
Candidates can file nomination papers at two locations on Hawai`i Island: in Hilo at Office of County Clerk, Elections Division, 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 1502, phone 961-8277, hours Monday – Friday 7:45 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; in Kona at West Hawai`i Civic Center, Kona Elections Division, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy, Building B, 2nd floor, phone 961-8277, hours Monday – Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 3 p.m. by appointment.
A candidate’s manual is available online at hawaii.gov/elections/candidates. The manual contains information on how to become a candidate and the applicable filing fees and nomination signature requirements.
Deadline to file is 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3.
Deadline to file is 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3.
For more information, see hawaii.gov/elections.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
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| `Amakihi Photo from USGS |
`AMAKIHI, A SPECIES OF HAWAIIAN HONEYCREEPER, developed a tolerance for avian malaria in research by U.S. Geological Survey scientists, according to an Associated Press story in Hawai`i Tribune-Herald.
Researchers published a study in the journal EcoHealth saying that birds that live at lower elevations are able to tolerate infections much better than birds from higher elevations. Microbiologist Carter Atkinson and his colleagues captured birds from higher and lower elevations, put some in a control group and exposed others to malaria. After the exposure, birds from lower elevations lost less weight and had a lower mortality rate than birds from higher elevations. Hawaiian honeycreepers do not have a resistance to mosquito-borne diseases, and avian malaria has devastated many species.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES is the topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Mike Poland discusses issues faced by volcanologists studying Hawai`i’s volcanoes today, from the source of magma deep within the Earth to predicting eruptions – or determining when an ongoing eruption will end.
The program is free; $2 donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.
SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
KA`U HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS AND INTERESTED residents can participate in a free one-time macroepigenetics online training course offered by the Food Ingredient and Health Research Institute, the only federally recognized nonprofit entity in the U.S. devoted entirely to food ingredient safety, education and research, starting this Thursday, Feb. 6. Professor Renee Dufault, FIHRI founder and a leading researcher in the toxicology field with a concentration in macroepigentics, leads students through a 10-week interactive online course, with bi-monthly discussions held at Hana Hou Restaurant in Na`alehu.
Coursework investigates “substances in the Standard American Diet that may modulate genes to create conditions for disease” such as type-2 diabetes, autism, ADHD and CVD,” explained Dufault, who lives in Ocean View. “The course has been used successfully in a recent clinical trial to facilitate improvements in diet to significantly reduce risk factors for type-2 diabetes,” she added.
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| Renee Dufault |
The class is limited to 10 participants on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority given to health care providers. Participants who complete the training will receive five continuing education units and a certification of completion.
Dufault is a former Food and Drug Administration public health officer and has her work published in the journal Clinical Epigenetics. She gave the keynote speech at the Clinical Epigenetics Society meeting held in Germany last year and presented her research to the University of Hawai`i at Manoa’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Dufault also worked with Native American communities in Montana focusing on curbing nutrition-related diseases and diabetes-managment using her online macroepigentics nutrition intervention course.
Alika Maunakea, assistant professor in the Epigenomics Research Program of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health, wrote, Dufault “has also been translating these efforts to populations in Hawai`i, where diseases of health disparaties are directly linked to environmental health; a concept that is compatible with traditional Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island views of health and wellness.”
Dufault is a former Food and Drug Administration public health officer and has her work published in the journal Clinical Epigenetics. She gave the keynote speech at the Clinical Epigenetics Society meeting held in Germany last year and presented her research to the University of Hawai`i at Manoa’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. Dufault also worked with Native American communities in Montana focusing on curbing nutrition-related diseases and diabetes-managment using her online macroepigentics nutrition intervention course.
Alika Maunakea, assistant professor in the Epigenomics Research Program of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health, wrote, Dufault “has also been translating these efforts to populations in Hawai`i, where diseases of health disparaties are directly linked to environmental health; a concept that is compatible with traditional Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island views of health and wellness.”
For more information about the class or to apply, contact Dufault at 808-345-6864 or rdufault@foodingredient.info. Visit the course website at foodingredient.info/newepigeneticscourse.html.
To comment on or like this story, go to facebook.com/kaucalendar.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW ABOUT HAWAIIAN VOLCANOES is the topic at After Dark in the Park tomorrow at 7 p.m. at Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park.
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist Mike Poland discusses issues faced by volcanologists studying Hawai`i’s volcanoes today, from the source of magma deep within the Earth to predicting eruptions – or determining when an ongoing eruption will end.
The program is free; $2 donations support park programs. Park entrance fees apply.
SEE FEBRUARY’S ISSUE of The Ka`u Calendar newspaper online at kaucalendar.com.
SEE THE DIRECTORY 2014 ONLINE. For a page-turning version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.swf. For a pdf version, see kaucalendar.com/Directory2014.pdf.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
