Legislature should put self-sufficiency back on priority list
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Apr 22, 2013 StarAdvertiser
By Neil Hannahs, Sylvia Yuen, Peter Adler, Chipper Wichman, & Ed Kenney

"Is Water the New Oil?" reads a recent national business magazine headline. In Hawaii, we understand our expensive dependency on imported food and oil. Imagine if we were also dependent on expensive sources for water.

The time to act is now. Legislators have the opportunity in this session to make self-reliance a priority by providing long-term, dedicated funding for clean energy, food security and watershed protection.

As we recover from the recession, we must reverse the effects of importing products and services that we can produce here, namely food and energy. The $12 billion brought into Hawaii via the visitor industry is nearly matched by almost $10 billion we send away to pay for imported food and fuel.

The Legislature responded to this situation in 2010 by passing Act 73 and assessing a barrel tax on imported oil to invest in long-term strategies to "become self-sufficient in our energy and food needs and to protect the health and function of our environment." Unfortunately, almost 60 percent of the barrel tax funds have been diverted to the state's general fund.

This Legislature can ensure the original intent of Act 73 and direct more of the barrel tax revenue to clean energy initiatives that keep Hawaii on track to reach our aggressive goal of 70 percent clean energy by 2030. In addition, properly directed barrel tax revenue would help to preserve agricultural lands, repair irrigation systems, lower the costs of farming and raise both the supply of and demand for local food.

The value of fresh water is unquestioned — it is necessary to sustain life. There are no substitutes. We are facing the possibility of substantial freshwater shortfalls and drought in the near future because of the loss of our watershed forests. Forests are the source of our fresh water supply, acting like a sponge to capture rain and cloud moisture, delivering it efficiently to aquifers and streams for our use.

But half of Hawaii's forests are already gone and the other half is in danger. Invasive plants and animals are the major threats, and only 10 percent of our forests are protected and managed. Invasive species programs are working at 60 percent funding compared to pre-2008 levels.

Our legislators can substantially advance protection for our greatest natural resource by supporting the administration's goal to double the acres of watershed forest protected in the next decade, requiring approximately $11 million per year. The Department of Land and Natural Resource's Rain Follows the Forest watershed protection plan includes fencing core forest areas and long-term invasive species control, including removing destructive weeds and animals, and planting native species.

Water users already pay for the loss of native forests, and those costs are high. On Hawaii island's east side alone, invasive plants have reduced estimated groundwater recharge by 85 million gallons a day. When one considers that a desalination plant that produces a mere 5 million gallons per day costs $40 million to construct and more than $5.4 million per year to operate, the superior economic value of protecting our forests is readily apparent.

We are all stakeholders in Hawaii's future. Our sources of food, energy and fresh water supply affect us all and affect the long-term health of our islands.
We, the members of the Hawaii Green Growth Initiative, support sustainable funding mechanisms to increase Hawaii's self-sufficiency and advance our goals for a secure future for our energy, food and fresh water needs. We urge you to do the same.

Neil Hannahs, Director, Kamehameha Schoolsʻ Land Assets Division
Sylvia Yuen, Special Assistant to President for Food Security, University of Hawaiʻi
Peter Adler, Accord 3.0
Chipper Wichman, CEO, National Tropical Botanical Garden
Ed Kenney, Chef & Owner, Town Restaurant
They are all members of the Hawaiʻi Green Growth Initiative (HGG)

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The New Big Five
Local food, energy, water, habitat, jobs: They’re all connected, so support these crucial bills.

BY MIKE HAMNETT AND SHELBY FLOYD | APR 3, 2013
with Josh Atwood, Piia Aarma & Audrey Newman

The state Legislature has a rare opportunity this session to make a significant difference in achieving a sustainable future for Hawaii. Bills under consideration call for long-term, dedicated funding for watershed protection and invasive species management and for clean energy and food security.
Forests catch rain

To ensure a continuing fresh water supply, the administration’s goal is to double the acres of watershed forest protected in the next decade, requiring approximately $11 million per year. SB 1166 will provide long-term, dedicated funding to protect the areas that provide our fresh water. It would create about 150 local green jobs in fencing critical habitats, planting native species and removing invasive species (the primary threat to our forest watersheds), data management, education, public outreach and more.

We simply cannot survive without water. The University of Hawaii’s Rainfall Atlas indicates that rainfall has been declining for the past 100 years in Hawaii; climate change may result in even less rainfall.

But we are already in peril–more than half of Hawaii’s forests are already lost.

We must invest to keep our forested watersheds healthy so they can continue to capture rain and cloud moisture and deliver it efficiently to aquifers and surface sources for our use. Waiting will only increase the cost and the likelihood of damage that we cannot reverse. The superior economic rationale is to protect our forests now.
Food and energy security

In addition to water, we need food and energy to survive. SB 17 restores the Hawaii Legislature’s original intent, stated in 2010 with Act 73, to use the barrel tax to “become self-sufficient in our energy and food needs and to protect the health and function of our environment.” Instead, almost 60 percent of the barrel tax funds have been diverted to the general fund to address major budget shortfalls.

There is strong public support for returning to the Legislature’s original intent: A recent OmniTrack survey shows that 78 percent of Hawaii residents agree that the barrel tax funds should be used for improving energy and food self-sufficiency.

By returning to the barrel tax’s original purpose, the Agricultural Development and Food Security special fund can make progress in preserving agricultural lands, repairing irrigation systems, lowering the costs of farming, and raising both the supply and demand of local food. This will help Hawaii move toward greater food self-reliance and reach the Department of Agriculture’s goal of an agricultural renaissance in Hawaii.

In addition, the redirected funds will fully support the State Energy Office in its mandate to deploy clean energy programs and execute effective policies. This will ensure that Hawaii transforms its energy and economic future to reach its aggressive goal of 70 percent clean energy use by 2030.
Start making sense

The Legislature had the vision and good sense in 2010 to use the barrel tax as an innovative and sustainable funding mechanism for the expansion of green job opportunities in clean energy, food security and environmental response (a small portion is used for responding to oil spills).

The administration has the good sense to prioritize preserving our water supply through watershed forest protection and to support reliable funding to increase our self-sufficiency in energy and food.

Now it’s up to us to let our legislators know that we believe we can have a sustainable and resilient Hawaii by urging their support for these measures.
Mike Hamnett, of HI Energy Policy Forum, and Shelby Floyd, of Slow Food Hawaii, are joined by fellow members of the Hawaii Green Growth Initiative (HGG), including:
Josh Atwood, Hawaii Invasive Species Council
Piia Aarma, Pineapple Tweed PR & Marketing
Audrey Newman, HGG

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