Ka`u News Briefs Sept. 27, 2012

TSUNAMI DEBRIS washing up in Ka`u, on the longest uninhabited coast in Hawai`i, may need more help for Hawai`i Wildlife Fund and others to clean it up. The timeline earlier predicted by research scientists for the landing of plastics and other flotsam from Japan’s March 9, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, has been shortened and trash is expected to keep on coming through next Spring.
Several large items – a concrete dock and a floating plastic blue seafood bin, both identified as from Japan - were recently found floating in Hawaiian waters. Such floating debris is a hazard to navigation, potentially destructive to reefs, and potentially carries invasive marine species.
     According to a story in Civil Beat this morning, state Department of Land and Natural Resources chair William Aila, said he plans to ask the 2013 state legislature for $2 million to help with the unknown size of an upcoming cleanup. Another $1 million was approved by congress last year, pushed through by Sen. Dan Inouye. According to Hawai`i News Now, the state has received $10,000 for debris cleanup and the state Department of Transportation has set aside $10 million to help remove any debris that blocks harbors and channels.
     Anyone seeing any items in the water or washed up on shore, suspected of being from Japan, can email and, if possible, send a photo to marinedebris@soesthawaii.edu and disasterdebris@noaa.gov. Also call the DLNR at 808-587-0400. See  marinedebris.noaa.gov/tsunamidebris.

A soccer ball found in tsunami debris from Japan
Photo from NOAA

PLASTICS ARE THE MAIN COMPONENTS of debris carried by currents from the tsunami. Metal and wood having already deteriorated, most of it falling to the bottom of the Pacific. According to scientists studying the great Pacific Garbage Patch and other gyres that collect wastes and circulate them in the major currents of the world’s oceans, plastics create a somewhat toxic soup.
     Surfrider Foundation states that “an estimated 100 million tons of plastic debris have accumulated in two areas of the Pacific Ocean that together are larger than the continental United States. There is so much plastic, that it outnumbers the zooplankton six to one.”
     States Surfrider, “Plastic, like diamonds, are forever. It doesn’t biodegrade and no naturally occurring organisms can break it down. Plastic photo-degrades, which means that sunlight breaks it down into smaller and smaller pieces. Those small pieces drift in the ocean and are mistaken for food by fish and birds. Seabirds are often found dead with innards full of plastic. Sadly, 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year due to ingestion of or entanglement in plastics.”
     Surfrider has launched a Rise Above Plastics campaign, to discourage the use of single-use plastics and encourage everyone to reduce, reuse and recycle. Surfrider recommends: “Use reusable bottles for water and other drinks. Use cloth bags for groceries and other purchases. Recycle the plastic bags and bottles you already have.” See www.surfrider.org.

PLASTICS NOT ONLY ENDANGER WILDLIFE. According to a recent story in Honolulu Weekly, scientists report that for humans “most plastics are made with chemical additives like bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates, known endocrine-disruptors that can lead to obesity, infertility, cancer and other health problems. Micro-plastics also absorb the toxic chemicals from pesticides, flame-retardants and polluted runoff.”

Dr. Marcus Eriksen studies plastics in
the ocean. Photo from 5gyres.org

   Honolulu Weekly quotes Dr. Marcus Eriksen who studies plastic pollution in the oceans: “There’s a chemical body burden that all humans carry, especially women,” Eriksen said. “The Environmental Working Group did a study in which they looked at the umbilical cord blood of 10 newborn babies. On day one, the cord between the baby and the placenta was analyzed, and it showed that the blood found in all 10 babies had 287 synthetic chemicals.”
     “We are walking synthetic chemistry experiments,” Eriksen told Honolulu Weekly. “If you look at the breast milk of the Inuit [people], for example [who eat primary marine mammals],they have some of the highest pollutant loads in their breast milk.” 

     Eriksen recommends that government agency and consumers incentivize Extended Producer Responsibility so that manufacturers and food producers become responsible for the life cycle of their products and packaging, so containers can be recaptured and recycled. Eriksen argues that by promoting EPR, companies will design better, safer and less wasteful products, which could lead to less plastics in the ocean. He points to the styrofoam, other plastics and more debris washing up on shores from the tsunami that happened more than a year ago.  See www.5gyres.org.

HAWAI`I ELECTRIC LIGHT CO, In celebration of Energy Awareness month in October, invites the community to its HELCO Community Energy Fair 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday at the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo.
     Through educational displays, interactive exhibits, and hands-on activities, attendees can learn about electricity generation, power distribution, renewable energy, electrical safety, emergency preparedness, and customer services. The fair also features demonstrations by school robotics programs, electric vehicles, and keiki IDs. Starting at 10 a.m., performances begin with Halau Na Lei Hiwahiwa O Ku`ualoha, Energy in Motion Dance Company, and Waiakea Intermediate School Ukulele Band.
     Attendees who visit each of the exhibits and submit acompleted “energy passport” will receive a free reusable bag. For more information, call 969-0118.

Mako sharks would be further protected with new agreements.

MIGRATORY AND OTHER SHARKS, many of them seen in Hawai`i, are expected to receive more attention, not to eradicate them but to preserve them, following an agreement reached this week by more than 50 countries. 

   Participants under the UN Convention on Migratory Species, adopted a new conservation plan, which aims to catalyze regional initiatives to reduce threats to migratory sharks.              

     Signatory states agreed to involve fishing industry representatives, NGOs, and scientists in implementing the conservation plan. The meeting was held in Germany. Sharks seen in Hawaiian waters to be covered in the conservation plan include basking, whale sharks and mako, along with the occasional great white. 

In addition to being caught intentionally for shark fin soup, the meat of the mako and other uses, many sharks are caught accidentally by fishing nets and hooks. 

A MAILE DAVID coffee hour will be held Sunday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m. at 94-5819 Aouli Place in Disovery Harbour, hosted by Irv and Carol Massey. Area residents are invited to meet David, who is running for County Council to represent Ka`u. For more information, call the Masseys at 929-9001 or Bobby Gomes at 928-8227.

RESIDENTS INTERESTED IN JOINING the newly incorporated Ha`ao Springs & Mountain House Ag Water Co-op are encouraged to attend the meeting tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. The co-op is looking for members to help survey and GPS the proposed water line route, organize a membership outreach meeting at Na`alehu Community Center and begin research and exploration of water use rules. For more information, contact Alison Yahna at beeoracle@hotmail.com.

ARTISTS ARE INVITED TO ENTER Ka`u Chamber of Commerce’s art show and Directory 2013 art contest. Entries are accepted Friday from noon until 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at CU Hawai`i credit union in Na`alehu.
Categories are Graphic, Sculpture, Wood, Photography and Craft, and all pieces must have been completed in the last 12 months. The popular winner will become the cover of The Directory, the annual publication of the Ka`u Chamber of Commerce. The fee is $5 for each artwork. A Keiki Division is new this year for children in grades one through six, one entry per keiki. Keiki categories are Graphics and Photography, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, including frames, if any. The entry fee for Keiki is $1, and these entries are not eligible for the cover of The Directory 2013. Only the first 60 Keiki exhibits will be accepted. Voting takes place all next week at CU Hawai`i.

Ka`u News Briefs Sept. 26, 2012

Land would be cleared of invasive trees, shrubs and plants. Some would be replaced with biofuel crops
to feed `Aina Koa Pono's proposed diesel refinery.  Photo by Julia Neal

`AINA KOA PONO PARTNER CHRIS ELDRIDGE released an opinion piece today to the media headlined `Aina Koa Pono Outlines Benefits to Ka`u. Eldridge is a partner and on the management team of `Aina Koa Pono. He has 20 years of entrepreneurial and start-up experience, founding four companies including America’s Mattress and PortaBox Storage. Eldridge serves on the Board of Kapi`olani Medical Center for Women and Children and is a member of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai`i’s Corporate Council for the Environment, the press release notes.

      Edridge writes that the `Aina Koa Pono refinery, which is planned near Wood Valley Road above Pahala, “will fuel 18 percent of Hawai`i Island’s electricity needs and produce a transportation fuel."
       Eldridge says, “AKP’s biofuels project will bring hundreds of jobs to Hawai`i County, replace imported fossil fuel-based diesel at the Keahole power plant, and add eight million gallons of transportation biodiesel a year. Eldridge contends, “Importantly, it will not impede other renewable energy projects.”

      He states that, with `Aina Koa Pono on board, “Hawai`i’s reputation as a renewable energy incubator will be enhanced by the cutting-edge technology AKP has licensed. The microwave catalytic depolymerization (Micro Dee) takes biomass (in the case of the Ka`u facility, locally grown feedstock) and accelerates the natural process of converting it to oil to just over an hour.”

A Micro Dee unit in North Wilkesboro, NC is the prototype
for `Aina Koa Pono's equipment to be used at its proposed
refinery in Ka`u. Photo from biofuels-solutions.com

      Eldridge promises that “the technology is safe and is not new—it’s been used in herbal extractions and pharmaceuticals for years. Using higher temperatures and a catalyst, it produces a biofuel. The 900-ton-a-day operation will be modular—each microwave handling 33 tons. Once the first unit is tested and accepted, it will be set it up at Ka`u so it can run in place and give the community the opportunity to see its operation.”
      Eldridge writes that “the acreage AKP has leased for crop production will enhance the island’s agriculture industry. A first step will be to clear invasive species and use them as feedstock.”
      He makes a promise that “building `Aina Koa Pono’s project will employ 400 and increase badly needed construction jobs by 13 percent on Hawai‘i Island. These jobs have been cut in half to 3,000 since 2007, economist Leroy Laney, PhD reported in August for First Hawaiian Bank.
      “When the facility is operational, there will be 200 permanent jobs, positively impacting Hawai`i Island’s 8.8 percent unemployment rate, which in May was 2.5 points higher than the state’s average (6.3 percent).

      “AKP will generate nearly $200 million in general excise and payroll taxes over 22 years, compared to $2.2 million if the same fuel is imported,” Eldridge writes. He says the economy will be further helped: “Dollars paid for services and salaries will re-circulate— buying groceries and school supplies instead of being sent to foreign oil producers. Once operating, AKP will contribute $250,000 a year to Hawai`i Island in community benefits focused on education and the environment. An immediate contribution will help fund preservation of books at the Pahala library.
      “Other renewable energy projects won’t be affected by AKP, which will replace imported fossil fuel at Hawai`i Electric Light Company’s Keahole power plant. It is fact, not opinion, that liquid fuel will be needed at Keahole for many years to come," states Edlridge. 

      Eldridge reports that “estimates are that additional geothermal power would take seven to 10 years to develop, as HELCO gears up to issue a request for proposals, probably next year.
      “In the meantime, AKP will supply virtually 100 percent of Keahole’s needs with 16 million gallons of biodiesel a year. Should the utility no longer need it at Keahole, it can transport the fuel to another plant, including on O`ahu or use it for transportation.

Meyer Camp Road, between Pahala and Wood Valley, is where `Aina Koa
Pono plans to build their more than ten-acre biofuel refinery.
Photo by Julia Neal 

      “The private investors who will put up approximately $450 million for the project assume the risk—not the utility.
      “The eight million gallons of biofuel produced annually will be distributed by Mansfield Oil Company, with preference to Hawai`i. If sold here it would represent 16 percent of Hawai`i’s transportation diesel demand based on the 2011 data of the Federal Highway Administration,” Eldridge predicts, saying, “Mansfield is an industry leader in fuel handling and distribution and will handle all the fuel logistics from the Ka`u facility.”
      Eldridge defends the proposed rate hikes that HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono are proposing to the Public Utilities Commission. “Yes, there is a cost— electric bills will be higher for a while—a dollar or less for a typical monthly 500 to 600 KWH user. That would change as the price of fossil climbs beyond the biodiesel. We cannot say how long that will be; we can say that since 2009 oil has trended upward, from about $40 to more than $116 a barrel. With worldwide demand growing and supplies at risk, it is likely that trend will continue.”
      He defends HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono fixing the diesel price from the proposed refinery for 20 years: “AKP’s 20-year fixed-price contract with HELCO makes the cost of energy more stable and predictable. Sudden increases in oil prices will have less budgetary and economic impacts on business and government.”
      Eldridge invites the public to “investigate www.ainakoapono.com to learn more about `Aina Koa Pono. Contact us through the site if you have questions, which we will try our best to answer. We believe AKP is a win/win/win for Hawai`i — jobs, sustainability and community benefits.”
      The contract between HELCO and `Aina Koa Pono, along with other related documents and public testimony, is available online at puc.hawaii.gov/dockets. Docket number is 2012-0185.

AN INVITATION TO THE KA`U DISTRICT GYM and Shelter groundbreaking was issued by the State of Hawai`i Department of Education and the County of Hawai`i today. It says the Ka`u District Gym and Shelter will be a 43,000-square-foot structure with three basketball and volleyball courts, a kitchen, offices, locker rooms, storage space for disaster relief organizations and meeting spaces. “The facility will provide a safe haven for Ka`u residents in the case of a natural disaster or compromised air quality,” says a flyer for the event. The project is funded by the state of Hawai`i and will be cooperatively managed by the County Department of Parks and Recreation for both school and public use. For more information and to RSVP, call the Office of Mayor Billy Kenoi in Hilo at 961-8211 or email tigionson@hawaii.gov.us. 

HAZEL BECK, of Hawai`i Small Business Development Center, teaches how to write a business plan tomorrow from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Registration begins at 9 a.m.

RESIDENTS INTERESTED IN JOINING the newly incorporated Ha`ao Springs & Mountain House Ag Water Co-op are encouraged to attend the meeting tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. The co-op is looking for members to help survey and GPS the proposed water line route, organize a membership outreach meeting at Na`alehu Community Center and begin research and exploration of water use rules. For more information, contact Alison Yahna at beeoracle@hotmail.com.

ARTISTS ARE INVITED TO ENTER Ka`u Chamber of Commerce’s art show and Directory 2013 art contest. Entries are accepted Friday from noon until 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at CU Hawai`i credit union in Na`alehu. 

      Categories are Graphic, Sculpture, Wood, Photography and Craft, and all pieces must have been completed in the last 12 months. The fee is $5 for each artwork.
      A Keiki Division is for children in grades one through six, one entry per keiki. Keiki categories are Graphics and Photography, no larger than 8.5 by 11 inches, including frames, if any. The entry fee is $1, and these entries are not eligible for the cover of The Directory 2013. Only the first 60 Keiki exhibits will be accepted.

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 Sept. 25, 2012

Groundbreaking for the Ka`u Gym & Shelter in Pahala is set for Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. The public is invited.

THE PUBLIC IS INVITED to the groundbreaking for the new Ka`u disaster shelter & gymnasium at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3. In attendance will be Gov. Neil Abercrombie, Sen. Gil Kahele, Rep. Bob Herkes, Mayor Billy Kenoi, Councilmember Brittany Smart, county Department of Parks & Recreation chief Bob Fitzgerald and Public Works chief Warren Lee. Also onsite will be contractor Summit Construction, Inc. President Jack Parker, Project Superintendent Kenneth Petrisko, Project Manager Melvin Inouye and Project Engineer Rex Tajiri. Also attending is Aaron Fujii, of design and engineering company Mitsunaga & Associates. Superintendent of Schools for Ka`u, Kea`au and Pahoa, Mary Correa, also plans to attend, along with representatives of Ka`u High & Elementary School.
      Invited are children on break, teachers, parents and the general public, who will also be able to use the new gym and recreational center. Light refreshments will be served. The regional shelter will be available to all citizens during disasters. Some of the rooms are expected to have air-cleaning systems to shelter sensitive people during bad air days. The facility will include a gymnasium that will allow multiple active playing courts, workout rooms, locker rooms weight room, offices, certified kitchen and the ability to turn the facility into and events venue with a stage. The contract to build the complex is more than $17 million.

Lincoln Ashida

LINCOLN ASHIDA AND MITCH ROTH debated at University of Hawai`i over the weekend as they campaign toward their runoff to become the next Prosecuting Attorney in the Nov. 6 election. According to a Nancy Cook Lauer story in the West Hawai`i Today, Roth focused on his approach of working with communities to prevent crimes and round up the few people who commit the majority of offenses. The story quotes Roth saying, “Think smarter, not just tougher,” and leave prisons open for serious offenders. 

      Ashida also talked about tracking down the 20 percent of offenders who commit 80 percent of crimes, the West Hawai`i Today story reports. “We’re not just talking about programs that reduce crimes in our neighborhoods,” said Ashida. “It’s about arresting those responsible and putting them in prison. It’s about community protection.”

Mitch Roth

      According to the story, Roth put forth that “a community-oriented prosecution plan that closes down drug houses, prevents driving under the influence through education and employs devices such as ignition interlock systems and GPS ankle bracelets is the best approach.”
      West Hawai`i Today reports Roth saying, “It’s all of our responsibilities. You can reduce the amount of burglaries through community programs,” pointing to his Ocean View and Puna programs. “If your only tool is a hammer, all your problems are nails. We just can’t look and say the only thing we’re going to do as prosecutor is prosecute cases,” said Roth. According to the story, Ashida called for more prison space, pointing to the planned reopening of Kulani Correctional Facility between Hilo and Volcano. He said more prison space could protect the community by getting dangerous criminals off the street. See more at www.westhawaiitoday.com.

Ken Nishiyama Atha

HAWAI`I’S WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY enforcement capacity could come back to federally compliant levels with a new agreement between Gov. Neil Abercrombie and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration regional administrator Ken Nishiyama Atha. The agreement outlines how OSHA and the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Hawai`i Occupational Safety and Health Division will collaborate to meet safety and health goals and enforce safe and healthful working conditions for Hawai`i’s workers.
      The governor said that the HIOSH enforcement capacity was diminished when former Gov. Linda Lingle’s administration eliminated 32 of 51 HIOSH positions during the 2009 Reduction-in-Force process. In fiscal year 2009, HIOSH completed only 426 inspections, or 51 percent of its goal of 835 inspections.
      “We reached out proactively to OSHA to identify a solution toward restoring these important enforcement positions, and the progress we have made since 2010 was reassuring to our federal counterparts and demonstrated that Hawai`i is serious about workplace health and safety,” Abercrombie said. “Since I took office, my administration has achieved the minimum staffing required by OSHA.”
OSHA regional administrator Atha signed the agreement on behalf of federal OSHA.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie

      Highlights of the agreement include:
* Supplementary financial support for HIOSH;
* Additional mandatory training opportunities, including bringing more training programs to Hawai`i and providing priority placement for HIOSH staff;
* Assistance from OSHA in developing a training plan for the HIOSH staff – including supervisory development;
* Additional mentoring opportunities for HIOSH staff from more experienced federal inspectors;
* OSHA assistance to develop compliance assistance programs.
      Half of the 32 positions eliminated by the 2009 RIF were benchmarked positions that contributed to meeting necessary OSHA staffing requirements. OSHA requires the state to have 22 specific positions in compliance and consultation.
      Only 12 of the 22 benchmarked positions were authorized in the state’s Executive Budget, and only 10 of the 12 positions were filled. The Department of Labor and Industrial Relations oversees HIOSH. Its director, Dwight Takamine, has been working with federal officials since to ensure that the state meets federal standards.
       “Let’s not forget that safety is also good economics,” Abercrombie said. “When injuries and deaths are prevented, workers compensation costs and additional training costs for new employees go down for employers.”
      Hawai`i is one of 27 states and territories currently operating state worker safety plans. Most states, including Hawai`i, provide free onsite consultation to help employers identify and correct workplace hazards.

HAZEL BECK, of Hawai`i Small Business Development Center, teaches how to write a business plan Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Na`alehu Community Center. Pre-registration is recommended. Contact Jackie Muller at 327-3680 or jacqueline.muller@hisbdc.org.

THE NEWLY INCORPORATED Ha`ao Springs & Mountain House Ag Water Co-op meets Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Wai`ohinu Park. The co-op is looking for members to help survey and GPS the proposed water line route, organize a membership outreach meeting at Na`alehu Community Center and begin research and exploration of water use rules. Contact Alison Yahna at beeoracle@hotmail.com for more information. 

THE 2ND ANNUAL KA`U PLANTATION DAYS event is coming up on Saturday, Oct. 6 on the grounds of and inside Pahala Plantation House. The celebration of what organizers call “what we had and what we have” begins with a parade of pa`u riders and cane trucks down Pikake Street at 9 a.m. Photos and memorabilia are on display until 3 p.m., along with booths featuring ethnic food. There will also be music and dance. For more information, contact Lynn Hamilton at 928-0303 or lynnbybay@aol.com.

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.