Thursday, January 31, 2008

Should Hawaii Subsidize Solar?

According to this New York Times article on the rise of the solar power industry in California, the City of Berkeley will pay for the upfront installation costs for residential solar power panel installs and recoup the costs over 20 years with higher prop taxes. Count me in! Except we don't have a plan like that here in Hawaii? Should we? Makes a lot of sense. Here's how it would work. The state takes out a bond issue to cover the cost of solar installs. It contracts with Sun Edison to do residential installs and uses the bond proceeds (interests are actually quite low now, folks) to put panels on thousands of Hawaii rooftops. In the end, consumers benefit because they are able to reduce power bills using clean technology and not have to take a massive upfront hit. The state benefits by gaining energy independence, alleviating pressure on the power grid, and -- equally important -- building a critical mass of solar power companies that would make the industry more sustainable and scalable here. Such a plan would essentially mirror ways that large retailers and building owners are financing solar panel installs. How about it?

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Medical Checklists in Hawaii?

The brilliant writer (and surgeon) Atul Gawande has a killer op-ed in the NYT on medical checklists as they are used in ICUs. Simple checklists that force doctors and nurses to go make sure they follow a list of best practices while performing key ICU procedures dramatically reduced the rate of infections and fatalities. These programs cost almost nothing -- basically the paper they are printed on. Gawande stimates the total cost of a nationwide rollout would be less than $10 million. To my knowledge, no hospital in Hawaii has adopted these checklists. What's more, the federal government is shutting them down. The checklists, if properly implimented, could save Hawaii tens of millions of dollars per year in medical costs and also probably save dozens of lives. It's gotta happen, folks.

Tide Power on Maui -- Finally

According to this article, an Aussie outfit is looking to finally bring a commerical tidal power installation to the islands, on Maui. This is a huge energy resource that Hawaii really needs to tap.

Saturday, January 26, 2008

Ahi No More No Ka Oi? No Worries. Lotta Fish Left

As if the spiking price of Hawaii's favorite piscine weren't enough -- fueled by diminishing stocks and overfishing of the bluefin tuna -- now a New York Times piece finds unsafe quantities of mercury in samples taken from high-end sushi joints around the Big Apple. No reason to believe Hawaii's ahi is any different. Sustainablog brings us a post that points out a fish selector chart from the good folks at Environmental Defense that highlights the better, more eco-friendly and healthier fish in the sea. I also want to point out this commendable program on Maui that has Valley Isle restaurants supporting sustainable fish selection. Not that this is perfect -- they all serve ahi -- but its a start.

EcoGeek, one of my favorite eco-blogs, writes about a German company called SkySails, a retrofit of a giant sail that can be applied to ships over 80-feet in length and theoretically can reduce fuel consumption anywhere from 10% to 30%. Considering how fuel costs are forcing Matson and other shipping lines serving Hawaii to raise prices that are being passed on to consumers, creating a state tax credit for something like this might be an interesting way to entice adoption and, if it works, save Hawaii consumers money while improving the environment. Nice, eh?

For A Better Hawaii

A quick intro. I am starting this blog because I live in Hawaii and feel very passionate about the place. I also think there are many, many things we can do to make life in Hawaii better for all of us, through reducing our energy consumption, improving our agriculture practices, and generally doing things more efficiently -- and better. I regularly see things happening elsewhere and ask myself, "Now why can't we do that here?". So I am going to try to post those things that I think will work in Hawaii here -- usually gleaned from other blogs or news articles - in hopes that enough people in the 50th State read my musings to possibly make a difference and, ultimately, make a better Hawaii.