Hawaii received a B- for providing clean energy, according to a rating from the Blue Planet Foundation, with public transportation being responsible for most of the fossil fuel emissions in Hawaii, according to Hawaii Public Radio.
“Unfortunately we’re giving the same grade this year, which is a B- overall,” said Jeff Mikulin, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation. He told HPR, “Over the past year, due to stalled renewable energy projects, a strangulation of the solar industry, [and] poor performance of moving our transportation away from fossil fuel, it’s been two steps forward and two steps back.”
Daniel Carroll, the organic farm manager at Kahuku Farms, said sustainability is a political and national issue. “Locally produced food and energy are matters of national security, it’s more important than any threat to this nation. Without sustainable energy, it’s impossible to have sustainable agriculture,” he said.
However, some strides have been made in providing clean energy. According to the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative website, 23.4 percent of Hawaii’s energy came from renewable sources, a record breaking amount. A state mandate is also in effect to make Hawaii run on 100 percent clean energy by 2045, according to HPR.
Les Harper, the BYU-Hawaii sustainability director, said individuals can make a difference and renewable energy has limitations. He said, “This isn’t just a matter of putting up another windmill or more solar panels, it’s taking a look at your own lifestyle and saying, ‘How much energy do I use, what is my carbon footprint, and what can I do to reduce it?’ On campus, we haven’t put up any windmills or created any more energy, but we have made an effort to reduce our consumption.
“We look at the low-hanging fruit. Do you turn off your light at the end of the day? Does your air conditioning run all day and all night? We have to get smarter and reduce the need to ruin beautiful land,” said Harper.
Harper continued, “They just approved an application to put more windmills at Kahuku. That’s a good thing, but I don’t believe our consumption on the island is being reduced. If the island is focused on doing good things for the environment, they are going to have to focus on how to get people to reduce their consumption.
“I like windmills and solar, and I think this island can be energy independent, but I don’t believe we’ll get there by 2045. But, there is still not a battery out there that allows us to use stored solar energy overnight. We’re stuck with daylight and wind power, but there is a missing cog in the wheel that will allow us to have the complete package.”
Amanda Pinter, a junior from Canada studying information systems, said, “I don’t know if having clean energy in all of Hawaii will help the environment as a whole, since Hawaii is so small. If it’s difficult in Hawaii, imagine what it’s like for the rest of the world to have clean energy.”
Mikulin also told HPR, “It’s not just looking at the grade or the snapshot, but also putting out the outlook and opportunities in each of these sectors. How can we improve our grade next year? What are the pieces we need in place to really make the right decisions today so we can have the energy future tomorrow that we are all seeking.”
Writer: Savanna Bachelder