SusHI

market ideology and system failure: on flawed thinking

Written by Ken
12/10/2008
Doesn’t take a Nobel-winning economist like Joseph Stiglitz to notice the ‘new normal’ in financial policy (via commondreams). What happened to “self-adjusting” markets and minimal government? Fact is, the market-centric view of the world (the market ideology) was not right; it wasn’t working. As former Fed chair Alan Greenspan told Henry Waxman’s congressional hearings this fall, “I have [...] Read more...

systems thinking on dream farms and eco bubbles

Written by Ken
12/10/2008
A key section of my book talks about “closing the loops”, and it turns out this is a crucial insight from systems thinking. To balance development and growth, we gotta close the production cycle by turning ‘waste’ from one activity into resources for another. Productivity is maximized, input is minimized, and little waste is exported into [...] Read more...

Hawaii profs to compete for big grant in sustainability science

Written by Ken
12/09/2008
Next April on Earth Day we’ll learn who’s getting a million bucks for sustainability research at UH Manoa. Yesterday, UH announced the competition among its own faculty for this new 2-year grant with a March 1 proposal deadline. The intent is to promote an interdisciplinary research effort in an area of sustainability research of significant relevance [...] Read more...

activism and brick walls: a pessimist’s view of unsustainability

Written by Ken
12/09/2008
Leave it to Dave Pollard to take the words right out of my mouth with his “Paen to Activists”. Ya gotta be an optimist to be an activist, says Pollard, yet pessimism doesn’t mean do nothing (via HTSTW). We can argue about whether “we’re in a huge vehicle headed at light speed into a brick wall”, [...] Read more...

how far offshore? on Kauai wind power sites

Written by Ken
12/07/2008
Probing a bit deeper (heh) on the nearshore wind power sites, it seems clear there are plenty of spots for turbines just offshore from KIUC’s current generating plant at Port Allen. This image shows the ocean floor near Port Allen is less than 75 feet down for at least a half mile offshore. Fact is, this is [...] Read more...

happiness can’t buy you money: a new twist on eco-nomics

Written by Ken
12/06/2008
You know the inverse of this, and there is a growing body of research showing a fairly weak relationship between money and subjective well-being. Among the key findings is this: it takes an awful lot of income to “buy” the happiness that companionship and community provide for free. Oh, and, didja know that a stable marriage brings [...] Read more...

what’s the plan? Heinberg on steps to sustainable prosperity

Written by Ken
12/06/2008
Kauai is not alone in its quest for a “sustainability plan” nor our reliance on outside experts to piece it together, yet we already know what such a plan must achieve. Now, Richard Heinberg has laid out the 5 key elements in an open “Memo to the President-Elect” (via globalpublicmedia). What’s unsustainable is fossil-fuel dependence, not just [...] Read more...

why Hawaii needs a Gore: on sustainability beyond politics

Written by Ken
12/05/2008
Got some facetime yesterday with JoAnn Yukimura following her unsuccessful run for Kauai Mayor on a sustainability platform, and came away refreshed in my views of our political leadership. Asked if she’d consider “pulling a Gore” by stepping out of politics to spearhead a sustainability advocacy campaign, Yukimura demurely smiled and said it was “an interesting [...] Read more...

RU ready for EVs? power routers coming soon

Written by Ken
12/04/2008
Rex Roy thinks maybe it’s a good thing EVs are yet prolific…because our infrastructure isn’t ready for them (via automobilemag). Now, the EMerge Alliance is forging new standards for sustainable buildings that include power support for charging DC-powered vehicles. Yeah! Lots of industry hitters here, and lets hope a standardized charging system for EVs emerges soon. Roy notes [...] Read more...

2 paths to EV future: switch-and-toss or convert

Written by Ken
12/03/2008
We know EVs are a huge win in emissions reduction and lower driving costs, yet waiting to switch, then tossing your clunker is just one way to make the transition. The other is to convert existing cars to EV. From a sustainability perspective, we gotta consider the footprint of the “tossing” together with the “switching”. Now we [...] Read more...

Hawaii makes five, Oh! Better Place gets a handful for EVs

Written by Ken
12/03/2008
Nothing wrong with being fifth in line, especially when it’s a long term agreement with Better Place to build an electric vehicle infrastructure. Hey, at least we’re the first state. Following earlier deals with Israel, Denmark, Australia, and San Fransicso, BP CEO Shai Agassi announced their “mobile phone” business model for island EVs (via HNLadvertiser). BP envisions [...] Read more...

Simmons sees oil peril and new futures for Hawaii

Written by Ken
12/02/2008
On 7 December 1941, Hawaii lookouts misinterpreted a blip on the radar screen, yet that’s nothing compared to the risks of ignoring signs of peril in our oil markets, says Matt Simmons (via westhawaiitoday Speaking at the Energy Challenge 2008 conference on Hawaii Island last week, Simmons said “I think we are not scaring people enough [...] Read more...

offshore wind energy for Kauai: closer than you think

Written by Ken
12/02/2008
Brad Parsons looks at offshore wind energy potential for Kauai and ends up more than a mile off the Na Pali coast (via alohanalytics). Howzat? Turns out, that’s where the best winds and shallowest seafloor are. Fact is, we could tap Class 6 winds (600-800 W/m2) out there at a depth of less than 40 meters. Parsons [...] Read more...

Polish hope? getting to yes on climate change framework

Written by Ken
12/01/2008
With the notorious Paula Dobriansky representing the US and John Kerry leading a Senate delegation, the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change starts its 14th ‘conference of parties’ today in Poland (via triplepundit). Ideally, these crucial negotiations will pave the way between the Bali ‘action plan’ and the Copenhagen agreement next year. Realistically, the planet’s governments now [...] Read more...

greener, sooner, cheaper: on ICEs vs EVs and conversions

Written by Ken
11/30/2008
Stuck with internal combustion engines (ICEs)? Starving for electric vehicles (EVs)? Read these numbers and weep. American drivers spent $280 billion for gas last year, when the equivalent miles in an EV would have cost $66 billion. In 2000 these amounts were $143 and $46 billion, respectively. That’s $1.2 trillion total savings since 2000 if GM [...] Read more...

that sinking feeling: on Hawaii GHGs and sucking up carbon

Written by Ken
11/25/2008
For the first time, we have credible estimates of the ‘carbon sinks’ represented by Hawaii’s forests and ag lands, and the results are fairly depressing. After all, one might have thought that our island mountains were worth gazillions in carbon credits. Fact is, our landcover offsets only 12% of our total emissions. Either we transform these non-urban lands [...] Read more...

what happened on election day? Kauai’s visitor downturn

Written by Ken
11/25/2008
Well into the Fall, Kauai was sailing along at unprecedented rates of growth in the number of visitors flying nonstop to Kauai. Taken as a percentage of 2007 traffic, our 2008 numbers were up by double digits, while the rest of the state was down by an equal amount. As recently as November 3rd, Kauai was [...] Read more...

going green on Maui…despite Hawaii’s recession

Written by Ken
11/24/2008
The last thing we wanna cut back during down-times is the ‘green’ stuff, so it’s great to hear about Maui’s continuing progress on some ‘green’ projects. As Harry Eagar writes, “Not all businesses on Maui are laying off workers, canceling projects and deferring investment” (via mauinews). Some island businesses are “taking risks and looking for opportunities despite [...] Read more...

‘green’ Army not just about camo: on sustainability reporting

Written by Ken
11/24/2008
You might be surprised to discover that the Army’s ‘triple bottom line’ looks better and is more transparent than most big corporations, and their sustainability report is the first from any federal agency to meet GRI guidelines (via soapgroup). More worrisome is net operational impact, no matter how ‘green’ their management, as for example, facility water [...] Read more...

sustainability favors the color blind: on ‘green’ branding

Written by Ken
11/23/2008
Doesn’t matter if your purchasing pattern pegs you as pea green or evergreen…what matters is whether your lifestyle is sustainable. So argues John Rooks, in a marvelous essay on the use of colors in sustainability marketing (via enviroleader). Says Rooks, “green was an obvious color to hang the environmental renaissance on. It was a reclaiming of the [...] Read more...

it’s official: Hawaii’s recession now 2-4 months old

Written by Ken
11/21/2008
Carl Bonham has been closely watching the recent Hawaii economic indicators, and yesterday acknowledged that our recession officially began as early as July (via HNLadvertiser). Using standard methods for defining recessions in terms of large employment declines and unemployment increases, Bonham pegged the “peak” at somewhere in the July-to-September period. Now ya know! And, for those tracking [...] Read more...

community organizing for renewable energy: cheaper is better

Written by Ken
11/20/2008
Pssst…wanna get yer home solar installation for under $3 a watt? Sure, it’s easy enough to imagine a buying club that puts households in the renewable energy game. Bulk purchase discounting, streamlined installation, and all that. Now, 1BOG takes this bottom-up model a big step forward with collective bargaining power for renewable energy products (via triplepundit). Bottom line: [...] Read more...

consultants compound confusion: on Hawaii’s energy options

Written by Ken
11/19/2008
Just because many of the top consulting firms have looked at Hawaii’s energy situation in recent years doesn’t mean we’ve got a clearer picture of our energy vulnerability and renewable options. Why? ‘Truthiness’ in the numbers. A careful reading shows consultants’ estimates of renewables’ potential tend to float around depending on the assumptions made. McKinsey’s recent Greenhouse [...] Read more...

‘disruptive’ social entrepreneurs will shape future markets

Written by Ken
11/17/2008
Let’s stipulate that the path away from business-as-usual begins with disruptive ideas. So, the folks who most need our help these days are not elected officials trying to make policy that supports the transition to sustainability. Instead, it’s the ‘social entrepreneurs‘ trying to make new ventures that respond to emerging ‘green business’ opportunities, says John Elkington. Kauai offers [...] Read more...

when half-fast sounds radical: on Google’s energy plan

Written by Ken
11/16/2008
Try this scenario for 2030: there is no electricity from oil or coal, efficiency measures keep electricity demand flat, half of all cars are electric, conventional vehicles get 45mpg, and plug-ins add only 8% to the electricity load. Plus, for every dollar spent in this energy transition, we get $1.23 back in energy savings. Sounds way radical, [...] Read more...

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