Congresswoman Hirono Outlines Hawaii’s
Path to Sustainability
How can we help make Hawaii’s economy stronger? By helping to make Hawaii less dependent on the mainland for energy and food. We’ll create local companies and local jobs and keep more of our money in Hawaii. To continue the progress we’ve made, we need federal policies that will help us to get there. This spring, Congresswoman Hirono hosted a series of roundtables with leaders and stakeholders in the energy and agriculture fields across Hawaii.
“Hawaii may be dependent on imports for food and energy, but we are not a dependent people,” said Congresswoman Hirono. “I recently met with agriculture and clean energy leaders across our state who want to see a future where the dollars we spend on energy and food stay in Hawaii. They see the value in creating local jobs to produce that energy and food. That’s why we have to accelerate our progress to make Hawaii more sustainable. Doing so will help families across our state and our country while also helping to protect our precious natural resources and beautiful natural places.”
For a complete look at Congresswoman Hirono’s sustainability plan, please click here.
This agenda is based on what she heard was needed to help move Hawaii forward. While this plan is a good start, it’s a living document. Please send your ideas on how we can build Hawaii’s sustainable future to sustainablehawaii@mail.house.gov.
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Helping Hawaii Become More Energy Independent
1. End Subsidies to Oil Companies and Grow Hawaii’s Clean Energy Industry: Last year the five biggest oil companies in the U.S. received $4 billion from taxpayers, despite making over $137 billion in profits. Sixty billion of those dollars were simply held in reserve by these companies—not creating jobs, not supporting investments, and not helping our economy. Instead, Congresswoman Hirono’s plan calls for these funds to support investments in research, development, and deployment of renewables and for other clean energy technologies. She would extend tax incentives and maintain federal support for research, development, and deployment of clean energy across Hawaii.
2. Help Our Families Manage Prices at the Pump During our Clean Energy Transition: To help stem extreme price per barrel of oil increases, Congresswoman Hirono’s plan supports a limited and targeted release of oil by President Obama from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In addition, speculators shouldn’t be able to keep driving up costs by nearly $25 per barrel simply to make big profits for themselves. That’s why Congresswoman Hirono supported the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform law, which requires new rules to curb speculation. Her plan also calls on the agencies in charge of these rules to receive the resources they need to quickly implement and enforce rules protecting consumers. In addition, her plan includes reviving and expanding tax benefits to encourage the use of public transportation as well as biking and other alternatives for commuting.
3. Train for Jobs of Tomorrow: Hawaii’s clean energy workforce has been growing, and is poised to grow another 12 percent this year. Congresswoman Hirono’s plan calls for continued investments in workforce development, such as the grant program under which Hawaii’s community colleges recently won $24.6 million. She also introduced H.R. 288, the Renewable Energy Applied Partnerships Act which would support partnerships in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.
4. Help Families and Businesses Reduce Costs and Increase Energy Efficiency: One critical way to reduce our reliance on imported petroleum is to increase energy efficiency. The good news is that we are making significant progress—Hawaii’s a leader in upgrading the energy efficiency of our workplaces and other buildings. We need to continue this momentum and provide the tools that will give Hawaii’s families and businesses the ability to monitor their energy use and learn how to reduce it. That’s why Congresswoman Hirono supported tax incentives like the Energy Star Rebate program and the Residential Energy Property Credit. Her plan supports legislation to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings and green schools and to help small businesses finance energy efficiency upgrades.
“In Hawaii, we know what the future looks like a lot sooner than the rest of the country,” said Warren Bollmeier, president of the Hawaii Renewable Energy Alliance. “The path our nation needs to take is one where we level the playing field for clean energy. A plan like this that looks to the future and helps invest in a wide range of clean energy options is how we’ll make Hawaii energy self-sustainable.
“People in Hawaii know that we can’t remain dependent on imported oil for our energy needs. Pacific Biodiesel has shown that homegrown renewable energy companies can be sustainable—and grow and create jobs here in Hawaii. Congresswoman Hirono’s plan is about laying the groundwork for a sustainable economy that supports these types of businesses, engages all stakeholders, and helps to keep us focused on continuing the progress we’ve made together,” said Kelly King, vice president of Pacific Biodiesel.
“Making more energy in Hawaii keeps more dollars in Hawaii. The same is true when it comes to our food,” said Congresswoman Hirono. “Our agriculture sustainability plan will help boost our local food production to help us build a stronger Hawaii that is less dependent on the mainland.”
For a complete look at Congresswoman Hirono’s sustainability plan, please click here.
Helping Grow Hawaii-Made Food
1. Meeting Basic Needs for Hawaii’s Agriculture Sector: The different crops, year-round growing season, hospitable climate for pests, and a lack of adequate agricultural water delivery systems mean that Hawaii’s agriculture industry has unique needs compared with the mainland. To address these issues, Congresswoman Hirono’s plan calls for helping deliver water to farms and ranches; continuing investments for Hawaii-specific research on crops, diseases, and pests; and assisting Hawaii’s farmers and ranchers with Hawaii-specific problems, such as the high cost of fertilizer.
2. Producing More of the Food We Eat in Hawaii: The key issue for Hawaii farmers is finding a market for what they produce that covers their costs of production and returns a reasonable profit. To help, Congresswoman Hirono’s plan calls for educating consumers about the benefits of buying local; helping farmers sell their products more directly to consumers; grow more farmers; and help create partnerships between farmers and institutions, such as schools, to help small farmers have access to larger markets.
3. Supporting Our Agricultural Exports: While sugar and pineapple have declined in Hawaii, we still have a very important sugar company on Maui on 34,000 acres that provides some 800 jobs. In addition, Hawaii’s coffee, macadamia nut, papaya, cattle, and seed industries bring in dollars from outside the state. To support Hawaii’s exports, Congresswoman Hirono’s plan advocates for continuation of the U.S. sugar program, continuation of crop insurance and disaster assistance programs that have helped the macadamia nut and coffee industries deal with periodic losses, as well as increased agricultural research on new crops.
4. New Opportunities in Agriculture: Agritourism and the Hawaii Brand: Given the strength of the Hawaii brand as well as Hawaii’s repeat visitor business, agritourism is emerging as another way to preserve and promote agriculture in the islands. Congresswoman Hirono’s plan supports efforts to bring more visitors to the islands to visit these new attractions as well as calls for promotion assistance to help businesses like farms and ranches market to potential visitors.
“This won’t be an easy task and we don’t expect this to happen overnight, and we know that energy and agriculture sustainability aren’t the whole story,” said Congresswoman Hirono. “We need to continue to address issues like clean water for our families, and promoting ways to protect the quality of life we treasure. This will all take a lot of laulima – cooperation. It’s heartening to see so many people come together to share their ideas with us as we developed this plan. We also see this as just the beginning. This plan is a living document and we welcome more feedback. That’s the only way we’re going to move Hawaii forward – with all of us working together to do so.”