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Email testimony to: WTLTestimony@Capitol.hawaii.gov Aloha Chairs Hee, Fukunaga
and
Gabbard. HB2421 needs
major work. Let’s work on a revised bill for the 2011 State Legislature. Please hold HB 2421. Mahalo HB
2421 sounds great, but the devil is in the details, and the
details are not pretty. * FRAMING: The bill sounds great:
tax oil
fund clean energy. However, coal and palm oil biodiesel are far worse
in terms
of greenhouse gas emissions and Asian palm oil biodiesel practices are
causing
cultural genocide and ecosystem destruction.
In addition, state law does not define clean energy.
Proponents of
HB2421 argue that we should have the oil tax this year and we can add
coal next
year. But this bill is a newer version of a bill from last year and the
same
proponents argued the same thing last year. They simply do not want to
tax
coal. (20% of Oahu’s electricity is from coal; HC&S (Puunene, Maui)
burns
60,000 tons of coal and 100,000 tons of bagasse per year to make
electricity;
Gay & Robinson wanted to use coal to make “clean” ethanol). * LOCAL SOLUTIONS: The way to
reduce our
dependence on fossil fuel is to build solar and wind farms on each
island and to
also build solar and wind systems on commercial, residential, and
government
rooftops. HB 2421 instead promotes the first phase of a
multi-billion-dollar
inter-island cable that will not be ready for use for 5-10 years. This
diverts
money away from building renewable energy alternatives now and instead
focuses
on costly infrastructure. Moloka`i and Lana`i residents object to
41-story wind
towers on their islands to power O`ahu. * TAXES: Would raise taxes during
a
recession. Working class people who live in Kapolei and work Downtown
or in Waikiki
and people who live in Hilo and work in Kona would be impacted the most. * WATER: The money raised would
finance
agricultural projects with no mention of constitutionally protected
Hawaiian
water rights. * BIG BROTHER: The bill supports
planning
for "Smart Grid" infrastructure improvements where your local utility
can monitor moment-by-moment energy use for each ratepayer. With
computers the
utility would be able to determine when different appliances are turned
on and
when you are not home. * HU HONUA: The money raised
would finance
planning for the Hu Honua, a Hilo biofuel facility, which should not be
built. |
....... |
SOURCES:
Clean Ethanol: Under state law (HRS
269-91) "Renewable
energy" means ...Biofuel [from any source made in any way]. Contrast
with hydrogen which must be produced from
renewable
energy sources. Palm Oil: Cultural and
environmental
destruction re palm oil was reported by the Wall Street Journal. Article Big Brother: |