Under the Sun
Let the sun shine down
on our economic gloomIVO Martinac loves coming to Hawaii, not so much for the surf as for the sun. But he isn't interested in getting a tan. The sustainable energy expert from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, sees the islands as the ideal location for research of solar energy technology and he is mystified by the lack of enthusiasm for such enterprise here.
Hawaii, Martinac says, "should be at the forefront for sustainable energy because you have so many resources right here. It is puzzling why it is not." Martinac was probably being tactful, hinting, but not declaring outright, that an absence of political will may be part of the problem.
As Hawaii casts about for ways to expand its economic base beyond tourism, it appears that a strategy for renewable energy ventures may be taking hold. For years, state researchers have been working on a variety of energy fronts, including wind, solar, ocean and geothermal. Last week, the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism suggested that Hawaii could become a hydrogen-based economy, lessening dependence on fossil fuels and providing relief from its accompanying pollutants. Even if it is a far-off advancement, the discussion represents a shift, slight as it may be, toward meshing economic and environmental goals.
This election year also has seen a pivot in politicians' perspectives of environmental issues. For the first time, the leading candidates for governor participated in a debate, sponsored by the Sierra Club, that focused solely on the environment. Maybe the race for governor is so tight that neither Republican Linda Lingle nor Democrat Mazie Hirono can afford to pass on any group. Or maybe both have recognized that along with education and the economy, the other "E" has an equally important place on any political agenda.
If so, it's about time.
The link between the state's tourism economy and its environment is obvious. People come to Hawaii because of its natural beauty, but the human pressure on the islands is taxing. Every flush of a toilet in a hotel room, every dollop of sunscreen transferred from skin to sea, every boot through a stream or all-terrain tire across a hillside causes damage to the environment. Yet we keep trying to lure more and more tourists to bring more and more money to Hawaii while we do little to neutralize their stresses on our surroundings.
We need their dollars. We have little else to sustain the growing demand for revenue to pay for schools, roads, sewer lines, which is why our government leaders have been searching frantically for ways to supplement tourism.
The key is to find industries that conform with and enhance Hawaii's environmental assets -- our climate, sunlight, our oceans. Research and development of renewable energy should be a major economic factor in Hawaii, but it hasn't been.
The Sierra Club sponsored the forum in part to give its members and conservation advocates help in determining who they would vote for since the candidate that the group endorsed, Ed Case, was eliminated in the primary. The Sierra Club along with the Hawaii Coalition of Conservation Voters this week gave Hirono their support, citing as their reasons her promises to increase funding for natural resource protection from the hotel room tax -- a logical approach to help maintain state parks since tourists are their primary users -- and her plan for a bond program to fund and retrofit state buildings to use solar energy.
Political pundits may believe the endorsement won't carry a lot of weight with the majority of voters who are more worried about the economy. Maybe they're right, but maybe not. Some will grasp that economic and environmental interests are not at odds and if voters can see this clearly, politicians may not be far behind them.
Cynthia Oi has been on the staff of the Star-Bulletin for 25 years.
She can be reached at: coi@starbulletin.com.