SusHI | Sustainability in Hawai`i

Kaya coming to Kauai: the renewable energy messenger

Ken — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:47:48 +0000

Guess Kauai’s in for a bout of ‘Mo’ messianics, as Maurice Kaya leads the presenters at KEDB’s upcoming Renewable Energy Conference. Kaya (’Mo’ to friends) recently played his new theme of energy independence at a Hawaii Island gathering sponsored by Kohala Center and others. Says Kaya, “the crisis is here and it’s going to be a long [...]

are we responsible for China’s export-related emissions?

Ken — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:47:02 +0000

Speaking of imported carbon, which is one of the factors McKinsey didn’t consider in Hawaii, it bears noting that our islands were be rated far less green if we accounted for all the carbon dioxide emitted during production of all the goods we import. The inverse is true for China. Just because the developed world moved [...]

cool tool for solar energy: geo data on Hawaii sun power

Ken — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 20:30:48 +0000

Having just spent time on Kauai sustainability issues with UH Architecture’s new Dean, Clark Llewellyn, it’s great to find his faculty hard at work on sustainability solutions. In this case, determining in advance with greater precision how much solar energy one might expect to capture on rooftops in Honolulu (via urbanenergy). Stephen Meder and Olivier Pennetier have [...]

another day, another ebike rider: on cycling benefits

Ken — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 00:20:54 +0000

Good buddy Jack just called with news his ebike (just like mine) arrived today. Yeah! We’re gonna get many more islanders switching to bikes, despite the 4-wheelers running us down (which is, thankfully, still a rarity). Makes no sense to resist cycling because of jerks on the road. Aside from the benefits to your wallet, how about [...]

stimulus with a green tinge: cash for clunkers

Ken — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:43:56 +0000

Say Uncle Sam offered you $3500 for your clunker just to get your fumes off the road. Would that be a good deal for America? Face it, half the car pollution comes from a tiny fraction of clunking spewers. And, wot’s a ton of carbon dioxide worth these days? Wudja believe an economist came up with this [...]

farther, faster GHG reduction: McKinsey on Hawaii prospects

Ken — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 01:20:01 +0000

Getting back below 18 megatons of GHG (Hawaii’s 1990 level) won’t be easy, even with all the easy-sounding initiatives Mckinsey pinpointed for Hawaii’s emissions reduction Task Force in early June (via EnvironmentHawaii). Especially since Mckinsey’s ‘biggie’ (biofuel from sugarcane) ran into a buzz saw with the Task Force. Why? Sugar is thirsty. Nor is it obvious [...]

integrated systems approach to sustainability initiatives

Ken — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 23:35:15 +0000

San Francisco is not alone in using systems thinking to forge city initiatives in multiple, interconnected spheres of sustainability, yet let’s start there. Mayor Gavin Newsom just announced and updated over a dozen such initiatives, and made a point of noting the challenges to “synergistically” connect them within the complexity of city governance (via triplepundit). Of [...]

highway funding hits tipping point: let’s pull a 180

Ken — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:01:38 +0000

When I suggested to our Lihue town plan committee that we shouldn’t assume traffic is gonna keep growing, and that “auto dependence” (not “pedestrian friendliness”) was our biggest challenge, I got some blank stares. Then, the assurances kicked in: “We see no sign of people giving up their cars!” Committee members seemed relieved to have disposed [...]

Hawaii’s GHG task force less a force due to neglected tasks

Ken — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:23:28 +0000

We know Hawaii’s new Task Force for greenhouse gas emissions reduction is busily at work, if only because DBEDT says they are. Still, it’s thoroughly frustrating trying to track their progress, given dead links and serious time-lags in posting to the DBEDT site. Imagine my surprise, for example, on learning that McKinsey (of abatement fame) had completed [...]

dude, get yer carbon goggles! on footprinting in second life

Ken — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:27:28 +0000

Wanna “learn about real-world emissions, get a feel for the relative carbon cost of a kettle or car, without reading a spreadsheet?” Try Carbon Goggles, a new project from Jim Purbrick, inside Second Life (via beyondthebeyond). Now we’re talking! You can tap or tag real world carbon footprint data to the virtual counterparts of objects like a [...]