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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Now Is the Time to Tell Government What You Want

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

I Aloha Molokai News Release

From now until Oct. 9, Hawaii residents have a unique chance to tell the federal government what kind of energy projects we want on our islands. This is the Hawaii Clean Energy Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, or PEIS. In plain English, this means the feds are writing guidelines based on input from all of us. The more questions we ask, the more comments we make, the more our state will have to plan ahead, protect our resources and scenery, and pick projects we might be able to afford.

This is our chance to discuss the potential impact of giant wind turbines on the island’s west end.…

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The Food and Wine Festival

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

The Food and Wine Festival

Community Contributed

By Dillon DeCoite

Editor’s note: The second annual Hawaii Food and Wine Festival took place Sept. 6 to 9, with Molokai’s L&R Farms’ Lynn and Russell DeCoite participated. The DeCoite’s son, Dillon, a middle school student at Aka`ula School, wrote a story about his parents’ success in the Aka`ula monthly newsletter, reprinted here.

The Food and Wine Festival, in Kaanapali, Maui is located on the golf course. Twelve farmers and 12 chefs partner up to cook produce raised by island farmers. My mom and dad partnered with two chefs from the Westin Kaanapali Hotel. The dish they made was wild boar bacon with Molokai sweet potato gnocchi.…

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Japanese Tsunami Debris Arrives on Molokai

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

Japanese Tsunami Debris Arrives on Molokai

Kaunakakai resident Dane Christopher and his dogs Pua, Chance and Tonka were going on their daily walk on the beach along Kaunakakai pier last week when they found something unusual: a giant, barnacle-crusted light bulb. The end of the fully-intact bulb was marked “500 W.” The rest of the markings were in Japanese.

While finding objects from Japan on Hawaii’s shores is nothing new, Hawaii residents have been reporting an influx of debris that officials believe to be from the tsunami in Japan in March 2011.

“It’s kind of ironic that a lightbulb could make it from all that devastation,” said Christopher.…

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Plugging Into the Sun

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Plugging Into the Sun

Molokai residents receive mixed news about installing solar

Around Hawaii, residents and business owners are eager to utilize the sun’s energy to reduce their electricity bills and help malama the environment. Molokai is at the forefront of that movement, with many residents waiting to install photovoltaic (PV) panels on their roofs. Current technology, however, limits the amount of renewable energy that can be fed into the island-wide electricity grid while maintaining reliability of electric service, according to Maui Electric Company (MECO).

A recent change in the statewide criteria used to determine how much renewable energy can be incorporated into grid may bring good news for some residents.…

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Biodiesel: A Viable Option

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Biodiesel: A Viable Option

Molokai farmers explore renewable energy alternatives

Kukui nuts have long been used by Hawaiians for food and medicinal purposes, but it may soon be also used for fuel –specifically, biodiesel fuel. Wayde Lee, who created the Molokai Sustainable Farming Project (MSFP) last year, has been exploring biodiesel initiatives that he said may lead to economic stability and energy security for Molokai farmers. Recently, they’ve been working with Maui-based company Pacific Biodiesel (PBD) to discuss the possibility of eventually developing a crushing and processing plant on-island that would produce biodiesel fuel for Molokai from crops farmed on Molokai.

According to Wescott Lee, Wayde’s brother and MSFP’s project facilitator, over 2.5 million gallons of diesel are imported to Molokai every year, most of which goes towards powering the Maui Electric Company Molokai electric plant.…

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Beyond Big Wind

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012

Scope of clean energy initiatives broadens

When the Wind Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) scoping meeting was conducted in February of last year, many Molokai residents stood outside of the Mitchell Pauole Center waving signs that protested the state’s proposed Big Wind and undersea cable initiatives. From the comments that were made then, the panel, made up of both state and federal officials, returned to the drawing board and drafted instead the Hawaii Clean Energy PEIS, which promises to analyze not only wind energy, but a broader range of renewable energy initiatives and technologies, according to the initiative’s website. The goal is to meet 70 percent of Hawaii’s energy needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2030.…

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Fruit of the Land

Wednesday, September 19th, 2012

Fruit of the Land

New Molokai Fruit Stand markets local produce

A few months ago, Kalamaula Homesteader and third generation farmer Gene Ross Davis found himself in a predicament. His tomato crops had yielded too many tomatoes for on-island consumption, but not enough to ship off-island. In order for it to be profitable for him to ship his tomatoes for sale off-island, he would need enough to fill an entire palate of 25-pound boxes –nearly 500 pounds total of tomatoes. With the help of his wife Rosie, Davis found another way to market his produce –he opened a fruit and vegetable stand on his property last week.…

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Sust`ainable Molokai Named Finalist in National Program

Friday, September 14th, 2012

Sust`ainable Molokai News Release

Local nonprofit Sust`ainable Molokai has been selected as the only finalist from Hawaii in the Tom’s of Maine “50 States for Good” program. That means it now has a chance to win up to $50,000 in support of a community project that will engage student and community volunteers to plant 5,000 trees to heal our aina (land) and recharge our single source aquifer.

Through a online public vote at Facebook.com/TomsofMaine now through October 9, local residents can help bring the funding to Molokai with the click of a mouse.

The “50 States for Good” program seeks to uncover local nonprofit groups that address urgent community needs and engage volunteers to get the work done.…

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West Molokai Association Opposes Big Wind/Undersea Cable Project

Thursday, September 13th, 2012

West Molokai Association News Release

The Board of Directors of the West Molokai Association (WMA), representing the owners of 811 West Molokai properties, has unanimously declared its “resolute opposition” to the proposed Big Wind industrial wind project and Hawaii Inter-Island undersea cable, and stated it will take whatever steps necessary to halt the project.

The project would cover 17 square miles of Molokai with industrial wind turbines 47 stories tall. It is being planned by HECO, Molokai Ranch, Pattern Energy and Bio-Logical Capital, and is backed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie.

Noting that the project would “dramatically alter and irreversibly change West Molokai’s rural character and pastoral environment,” the Board’s resolution added that it would also result in increased electrical costs for Hawaiian residents, already among the highest in the United States.…

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Baking for the Masses

Wednesday, September 12th, 2012

Baking for the Masses

By 6 a.m. on most weekdays, Valerie Dudoit Temahaga already has her booth set up along Ala Malama Ave. in Kaunakakai and the smell of fresh-baked goods is wafting down the street for early-morning workers who come from as far as Molokai’s east end. Since the temporary closure of Kanemitsu Bakery’s operation earlier this year, many Molokai residents have turned to Temahaga’s pastries as a source for their baked goods.

“When the bakery closed, people asked me to bake and sell here,” said Temahaga, who started baking over 30 years ago. “I never expected it to get this big though. It was really exciting for us when people started buying from our back doors [at Lanikeha] like they did at hot bread lane.”…

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