The Outdoor Circle Celebrates 100th Anniversary

Lawmakers planting an ohia lehua tree

Being "green" has become popular as of late, but it isn't new to Hawai'i. Today, the House helped The Outdoor Circle celebrate its 100th anniversary. The festivities included planting a native ohia lehua tree at the Capitol and honoring the Circle on the House floor.

Lawmakers and members of The Outdoor Circle with the newly planted ohia lehua

The Outdoor Circle is an organization dedicated to keeping Hawaii clean, green, and beautiful by preserving and protecting the environment. They accomplish this goal by planting trees, fighting poor land use planning, and ensuring that Hawaii remains free of billboards. Throughout their century of work, the organization has planted over a quarter of a million trees and successfully lobbied for the passage of many pieces of legislation designed to preserve the beauty of the islands.

Diane Anderson and Susan Spangler of The Outdoor Circle with Majority Leader Chong

"While other cities are plastered with billboards, Honolulu's streets are green with trees because of a century of work by The Outdoor Circle," said Rep. Chris Lee.

Joel Kurokawa, Bob Loy, Betsy Connors, Rep. Chris Lee, Diane Anderson, Susan Spangler, and Rep. Cindy Evans

"Locals and tourists alike continue to appreciate how green Honolulu has become," said Rep. K. Mark Takai. "The Outdoor Circle has kept Hawaii a beautiful place to both live and visit."

Jordan's Journal - Ka Wai Ola O Wai'anae

Photo courtesy of Ka Wai Ola o Wai'anae. Nanakuli Stream.

On the next Jordan's Journal, Representative Jo Jordan (District 45 - Waianae, Makaha, Makua) welcomes back Pake Salmon, Communication Coordinator for Ka Wai Ola O Wai'anae, who is joined by Richard Medeiros, Nonpoint Source Pollution Task Force Manager for Ka Wai Ola O Wai'anae.

Photo courtesy of Ka Wai Ola o Wai'anae.

Pake and Richard explain Ka Wai Ola O Wai'anae's mission: to stop illegal dumping and nonpoint source pollution along the Waianae coast. They recently received a $300,000 grant from the EPA to help achieve their goal. They also tell us a little about the organization and how we can get involved. Ka Wai Ola O Wai'anae has four task forces: Commercial, Residential - Nanakuli, Residential - Waianae, and Nonpoint Source Pollution. Members of the public are welcome to join the task force of their choice or serve on an advisory committee. 

Photo courtesy of Ka Wai Ola o Wai'anae. Makua Bay

Nonpoint source pollution generally comes from land runoff and precipitation. Rain water picks up contaminants like toxic chemicals, paint, fertilizer, and bacteria, eventually carrying them to streams and the ocean. The results can be devastating. An 8th grade boy received a staff infection in his foot that resulted in a permanent deformity due to nonpoint source pollution in Pokai Bay. 

Photo courtesy of Ka Wai Ola o Wai'anae.

Richard and Pake make it clear that it will take the entire community to put an end to illegal dumping and nonpoint source pollution in Waianae. If you would like to help, the best way to contact Ka Wai Ola O Wai'anae is through their Facebook page, here is a link.

This episode airs on Olelo, Channel 54 on Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:30 p.m.


The show will be rebroadcast on Olelo, Channel 54 on Monday, February 20, 2012 and Monday, February 27, 2012 at 1:00 p.m.

You can also watch the full episode on Rep. Jordan's Vimeo channel here.

Green Radio

It's that time of year when lawmakers are crystalizing new ideas for draft legislation in the upcoming session. How about green radio?

Founded and established in one of the most polluted cities in the world, Jakarta, Indonesia, 89.2 Green Radio is the first Green radio station, with all programming and news on ecology and the environment. Jakarta is reportedly the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide. It faces extreme problems with sanitation, flooding, water contamination, sewage and garbage.

According to this post from the Christian Science Monitor, the station is powered solely by solar panels, and broadcasts up to 10 hours a day.

It is a commercial station, but it refuses advertising from mining and cigarette companies.

The station has been on the air for over a year and seems to be making inroads with greater public awareness on environmental issues. While the city may have a long road ahead in turning awareness into action, station manager Nita Roshita believes they are starting an earth friendly trend.

Tax by the Mile

In a previous post, "Top Ten States Issues", the National Conference of Legislatures mentions several states that are considering replacing the gas tax with a per mile vehicle fee rather than raising taxes to pay for roads and transit. Basically, instead of paying the 51-cents-per-gallon fuel tax you pay at the pump here in Hawaii, you would pay around one cent per mile traveled.

Several states, including Oregon, North Carolina, and Idaho, are considering new road revenue systems primarily because of the entrance of more fuel-efficient cars into the marketplace. The basic idea behind the gas tax was that if you use the roads, you should pay for them. So if you drove more, you paid more taxes at the pump. However, with more people driving fuel-efficient cars, the collection of gas tax has been – and will become even more – disproportionate to how often a vehicle uses roads and highways. They're great for the environment, energy efficiency and a number of residents' bank accounts, but not for sustaining state transportation and infrastructure needs. In short, state gas tax hasn't been fair for awhile.

With that known, in 2001, Oregon's Legislature began studying alternatives to the fuel charge. A task force determined that switching to a pay-by-the-mile system would be the most logical and natural replacement. Taxpayers pay for what they use. The VMT would be a fairer tax collection mechanism and would not erode revenue collection due to increases in fuel-efficient cars on the road.

The state recently concluded a pilot program which implemented a vehicle miles traveled tax (VMT). The program used three control groups: drivers who pay VMT tax, drivers who pay state fuel tax, and rush hour drivers who paid more for driving in congestion zones but much less for regular travel. Volunteers drove vehicles installed with simplified GPS devices and odometers to track miles traveled in state. (Device sensors turn off when traveling out of state). At the pump, a mileage reader would scan the vehicle device and charge drivers 1.2 cents per mile used since the last fill up; they did not pay the 24-cents-a-gallon state gas tax.

The Oregon project concluded that a mileage fee:

raises substantial revenue, easy to collect, easy to administer, easy to pay, minimal evasion potential, protects privacy, minimal burden on business, directly connected to highway use, no revenue erosion for fuel efficiency

Would you prefer to pay taxes by the mile than at the pump in Hawaii? Would it work? Let us know what you're thinking.

*Every gallon of gas includes a Federal and State excise tax. In Hawaii, we pay a 4 percent sales tax, county tax and a 0.1 environmental response tax, which totals 51 cpg on gasoline and 71 cpg on diesel when combined with the Federal gas tax (18.4 cpg on gas; 24.4 cpg on diesel). These funds have been the primary source of money for highway projects and other transportation and infrastructure needs.

Farewell to Plastic Bags

The Hawaii County Council has passed a ban on plastic bags starting in 2011. Advertiser story here and SB story here.The Maui County Council passed a similar measure last week. Kauai County is taking steps to replace plastic bags with reusables. And, today, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin criticizes the City and County of Honolulu in this editorial for lagging behind on acknowledging that plastic bags are an environmental and visual blight in our community.

It does appear that the writing is on the wall signaling the demise of the plastic bag for use by groceries and other retailers. And, while this is good news for the environment and for the health of the planet, I did want to pay tribute to one of the most beautiful scenes in filmmaking as we say farewell - the plastic bag scene from American Beauty.

BIG Recycling Event Set for Tomorrow

Looking for somewhere to recycle those old yellow pages?

Bring recyclables to the Kaimuki High School parking lot tomorrow, Oct. 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the 4th Annual Community Clean-up.

Proceeds will support Kaimuki High School, Kapahulu Center and Moiliili Community Center.

Recyclables that will be accepted include:

• scrap metal, pipes, metal appliances
• car parts, bicycles, lawn mowers
• refrigerators, air conditioners
• newspaper, cardboard
• beverage containers
• tires (passenger tires only, limit ‐ 1 load per household)
• shred documents (max. 2 bank boxes)
• cooking oil
• green waste
• car batteries
• useable clothing and household items
• cellular phones & printer cartridges
• telephone books
• one computer per household/car

Can't make it? Call Steve Uyeno (527-5587) or Rene Mansho (306-1876) for info on curbside pick-up.

The effort is supported by Congressman Neil Abercrombie, Councilmember Ann Kobayashi, Sen. Brian Taniguchi, Speaker Calvin Say, Reps. Kirk Caldwell, Scott Nishimoto, Scott Saiki and Della Au Belatti.

Similar recycling events are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 10 at McKinley High School and Saturday, Dec. 1 at Kapolei High School.

Help the environment and the community, and keep Hawaii beautiful!

Using our Natural Resources...

There's an article in the Honolulu Advertiser this morning about Honolulu Seawater Air Conditioning LLC, which is looking to air-condition Downtown Honolulu buildings using cold seawater. Last session, the House passed HB 870 to appropriate special purpose revenue bonds to support the design and construction of a seawater air conditioning district cooling system in downtown Honolulu.

Using sea water (we certainly have lots of it) to cool downtown buildings is an innovative idea and apparently more eco-friendly. Honolulu would join such places as Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; Stockholm, Sweden; and Bora Bora, French Polynesia in using seawater air conditioning in place of perhaps more costly methods.

How exactly does the system work? From the Advertiser:

The proposed system would draw seawater from a 63-inch-diameter pipe tunneled under the reef off the Kaka'ako peninsula, then along the ocean floor to a point about 2,200 feet offshore. At that point, water 1,600 feet deep is about 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

The cold seawater would then be run through a heat-exchanger to chill fresh water that would be piped into individual building air-conditioning systems. Warmed seawater resulting from the process would be pumped back into the ocean.

Honolulu Seawater estimates that the system can shave at least 14 percent from a typical office building electricity bill based on oil prices of $70 a barrel. Oil prices this year have ranged roughly from $50 to $80 per barrel, with an average of almost $70.

The company also said using the reusable resource from the ocean would eliminate the need for 174,000 barrels of fuel oil necessary to make electricity for air-conditioning.

Photo courtesy of the Advertiser.

Free Trees!

Mark Hanson, president of the nonprofit Hawaiian Reforestation Program in Pahoa, chose the State Capitol as a site to give away over 800 seedlings of kukui, kamani and milo trees this morning. Representatives and staffers turned out to hear Hanson speak and to receive small bundles of green seedlings.

One of the Legislature's biggest accomplishments this session was the passage of House Bill 226, which aims to curb statewide greenhouse gas emissions to below 1990 levels by the year 2020.

Wearing a t-shirt that read "You Can Stop Global Warming," Hanson spoke about the importance of planting trees to ward off the harmful effects carbon dioxide over-production.

Hanson, who is from the Big Island, gave away 5,000 oak trees and 110 cherry trees during Earth week on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

Our assistant communications director picked up a young kukui tree (right).

Bill to Create 'Aha Moku Councils goes before Governor

Rep. Mele Carroll (District 13 - Kahoolawe, Molokini, Lanai, Molokai, Keanae, Wailua, Nahiku, Hana) announced that the legislature has passed SB 1853, establishing an ‘aha kiole advisory committee to advise the legislature in creating an ‘Aha Moku Council Commission to assist in the formation of regional 'aha moku councils. These councils shall give advisory assistance to the Department of Land and Natural Resources on all matters regarding the management of the State's natural resources. The bill is awaiting the Governor's signature.

The purpose of this Act is to create a system of best practices based on the indigenous resource management practices of moku (regional) boundaries, acknowledging the natural contours of land, the specific resources located within those areas, and the methodology necessary to sustain resources and the community.

The ‘aha moku council system will foster understanding and practical use of knowledge, including native Hawaiian methodology and expertise, to assure responsible stewardship and awareness of the interconnectedness of the clouds, forests, valleys, land, streams, fishponds, and sea. The council system will include the use of community expertise and establish programs and projects to improve communication, education, provide training on stewardship issues throughout the region (moku), and increase education. This measure also appropriates funds for the advisory committee to carry out its duties.

Rep. Carroll serves as the chair of the legislature's Hawaiian Caucus, and is Vice Chair of the Committee on Energy and Environmental Protection.

Photo courtesy of gohawaii.about.com.

Keep Our Hawaii Litter-Free!

By Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu
Vice Speaker
District 41 - Waipahu, Village Park, Waikele

The 2006 Hawaii State Legislature passed HB 1955 which was signed into law as Act 158 by Governor Lingle. It increases the mandatory fines for littering violations, including littering from a motor vehicle, littering in public, and criminal littering. You can help in alleviating the waste in our neighborhoods and landfills in the following ways:

#1 - RECYCLE & REDEEM BOTTLES & CANS
FOR MORE INFORMATION

Kunia Park & Ride, 94-640 Kupuohi Street
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Redemption Center information, call 586-4226, or check link www.hi5deposit.com
Recycling information, call 692-5410, or check link: http://envhonolulu.org/solid_waste

Waipahu Redemption Center (Next to Times Supermarket)
Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Waipahu Town Center, 94-050 Farrington Highway
Hours: Monday & Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

#2 - REPORT ILLEGAL DUMPING

FOR MORE INFORMATION

EMERGENCY SITUATIONS -- Hazardous Waste Dumping and Spills (chemicals, hazardous waste):
Call to have the Fire and/or Police Department contain the area - 911
Abandoned Vehicles: City and County of Honolulu Motor Vehicle Control Section - 733-2530

ILLEGAL DUMPING – You witnessed illegal dumping and have information (i.e. license number, vehicle description, name of suspected violator:

State Attorney General's Investigation Division, 586-1240

Solid Waste Dumping on City and County Property (streets, parks):

City and County of Honolulu's Environmental Services Department, 692-5656

Solid Waste Dumping (household waste, appliances, construction debris): Department of Health Solid and Hazardous Waste Branch, 586-4226

Let's work together to keep our community clean!