Senate Majority Caucus

This scanned photo, showing a ship docked at Nawiliwili Harbor, was submitted with testimony in support of Senate Bill 2526.

A bill that aims to reduce cruise ship emissions at a Kaua`i harbor is moving through the state Senate. Senate Bill 2526, introduced by Sen. Gary Hooser (D-Kaua`i, Ni`ihau), addresses health problems and pollution that Niumalu-area residents attribute to cruise ships’ bunker fuel burning near Nawiliwili Harbor.

Rep. James Tokioka (D-Lihue, Koloa) introduced a similar House Bill 2919, but the House committees on Transportation and Tourism and Culture deferred action on the measure, effectively killing the House version for this session.

Environmental groups and many Kaua`i residents had sent written testimony in support of the legislation, asking for a timely solution to what they described as a tangible black residue covering their homes and dangerous fumes around the harbor.

Kaua`i resident Carl Berg testified on Senate Bill 2526. Pictured are Sen. Gordon Trimble, Sen. Gary Hooser, the bill’s introducer, and Sen. Ron Menor, chair of the Senate Energy and Environment committee.

Carl Berg, a resident of Nawiliwili Bay, environmental scientist and former Department of Health employee, said he did not think the DOH’s past tests were accurate because the tests measured only ambient air and did not sample the harbor’s most-polluted areas.

“This is not acceptable. We smell it, we see it, it’s on our windows and we’re getting sick,” he said last Thursday. (more…)

 
Sen. J. Kalani English introduced Senate Bill 2034, which would fund generators to power Maui homes using energy from ocean waves.

Senate Bill 2034 could send Maui waves straight for generators with enough power for 1,600 homes. The bill, introduced on Jan. 16 by Sen. J. Kalani English (D- East and Upcountry Maui, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Kaho`olawe), appropriates $20 million in revenue bonds for the Austrailian-based renewable energy company Oceanlinx to build two wave-powered turbine generators about a half-mile off Pauwela Point on Maui’s north shore.

Generators that look similar to this one would be placed about a half mile from Pauwela Point. Photo courtesy of Oceanlinx.

English, whose district includes Pauwela Point, said he was concerned with the initial idea because he thought the turbines might be intrusive to the coastal view or to the popular surfing area known as Jaws, but soon realized there would be no problem. (more…)

Kaua`i High School senior Briana Bailey testified yesterday opposite DOE Assistant Superintendent Randolph Moore on Senate Bill 2166, which she drafted during the 2007 Secondary Student Conference.

High school seniors are among the writers of Hawai`i’s legislation. During a two-day Secondary Student Conference that occurred in November, student representatives drafted resolutions that were made into bills and introduced in the state legislature this session.

Several high school students from Kalaheo, Kailua and Kaua`i high schools were among those who followed their legislation to hearings yesterday before the Senate’s Education and Energy and Environment committees.

Senate Bill 2274, which appropriates funds for a task force within the Department of Education to conduct an analysis and create a school recycling program, passed the hearing with amendments.  

Kaua`i High School senior Briana Bailey was responsible for drafting Senate Bill 2166, which asks for grants for alternative energy utilities on public school campuses. The state Department of Education and Bailey were the only parties to testify during the hearing, and SB2166 passed with amendments afterward.

“It is the Task Force’s hope that this approach will guide all of us as we collectively determine the preferred long-term future of our state,” Sen. Russell Kokubun said.

Hawai`i has a new map for its future. This afternoon, state officials and legislators launched the Hawai`i 2050 Sustainability Plan, which calls each individual to act in the best interest of the state’s economy, environment, social well-being and culture.

“The informed and responsible person can determine what proucts and services are purchased, what kind of energy is used, how much water is consumed and how the environment is managed,” the plan says.

Charts and tables in the plan are based on more than 10,500 resident responses and give a detailed analysis of Hawai`i’s current conditions. 

The plan names these benchmarks to be completed by 2020:

1. Increase affordable housing opportunities for households up to 140 percent of median income
2. Strengthen public education
3. Reduce reliance on fossil fuels
4. Increase recycling, reuse and waste reduction strategies
5. Develop a more diverse and resilient economy
6. Create a sustainability ethic
7. Increase production and consumption of local foods and products, particulary agriculture
8. Provide access to long-term care and elderly housing
9. Preserve and perpetuate the Kanaka Maoli and island cultrual values

Senate Bill 2833 also passed review by the Senate’s Commerce, Consumer Protection and Affordable Housing Committee this morning. The bill names a number of issues that the Sustainability Plan will deal with, including Hawai`i’s deterioration of public infrastructure, lack of affordable housing, a threatened island ecosystem and vulnerability in a global energy market. The goal of the bill is to establish a council that will implement and evaluate the progress of the 2050 plan.

Sen. Russell Kokubun (D- Waiakea Uka, Kalapana, Volcano, Kahuku) introduced SB2833, which is part of the Senate Majority bill package. Kokubun also chairs the Sustainability Task Force, which includes Sens. Gabbard, Menor, Tokuda and formerly included Sens. Chun Oakland, Hooser and Hemmings.

According to Sierra Club’s Hawai`i Director Jeff Mikulina, an incandescent light bulb produces 130 pounds of greenhouse gas per year, compared with 30 pounds from a fluorescent bulb and 12 pounds from an LED bulb.

The Senate Energy and Environment Committee is considering separate bills to eliminate both incandescent light bulbs and polystyrene containers in the state of Hawai`i. The committee heard testimony yesterday from many concerned parties, including the Sierra Club, Hawai`i Foam Products, Hawaiian Electric Co. and the Department of Health. (more…)

This morning at Waimea Canyon Middle School on Kaua`i’s west side, ambulances rushed 10 students to local hospitals with complaints of nausea and nasal and eye irritation thought to be the result of nearby pesticide use. The school closed shortly and students were treated and released.

This morning’s incident is not isolated. In response to similar past problems with alleged pesticide and herbicide impact on the health of students and staff, Sen. Gary Hooser introduced a bill last week in the State Senate that establishes three different pesticide-free buffer zones around schools. (more…)

By Honolulu Advertiser Staff Writer Christie Wilson

Hawai’i motorists may want to wait until Sunday to fill ‘er up. That’s when an 11-cent-per-gallon tax break on ethanol-blended gasoline will (more…)

By Kauai Garden Isle Newspaper Writer Nathan Eagle

Local gasoline consumers may feel better protected from price gouging knowing the oil industry watchdog in Hawai‘i is now fully funded.

(more…)