Musings: Suspicions

So what really happened out at Polihale last weekend? Though The Garden Island published the account of a woman whose brother was reportedly there, both the police and prosecutor say actual victims and witnesses have been extremely reticent to speak up. Police say this leads them to suspect there's more to the story than has been revealed, such as perhaps the victims weren't entirely blameless, or were engaged in illegal activity themselves.

Though the sister told the paper that cops did not show until 5 a.m., Police Chief Darryl Perry said “we arrived about 20 minutes or so after the call was received because it was in a remote location and checks did not reveal anything to the extent that was reported.”

He said an eight-second video clip had been turned in, but it didn't show much.

The episode got me thinking about Polihale, which I understand to be a leina — a jumping off place for souls. But like so many other sacred spots, it's now been overrun by casual  tourists and yahoos with no respect for the place. Sad.

Also sad was seeing all the folks wearing different-colored tee-shirts to separate themselves from others at yesterday's County Council meeting on the pesticide-GMO bill. It passed on first reading — kudos to the Council for not chickening out — and is headed for a marathon public hearing on July 31. 

Maybe people could wear purple to that session as a reminder that even though we hold different views on this issue, we're all living on this little island together. This debate is going to continue for quite some time, and it would be nice if it didn't completely rip the community apart. Because isn't it ultimately about what's best for Kauai? By which I mean her, Mama Aina.

Given some of the Facebook chatter, it seems the meeting was a wake-up call for anti-GMO activists, who were surprised at the strength and intensity of opposition to the bill. It's so easy, when caught up in the Facebook/KKCR echo chamber, to believe that everyone else thinks the way you do. Though the testimony was tedious at times, new information did come to light and everybody got a chance to see that passions run deep on both sides of the issue.

One of my favorite moments was when Councilman Ross Kagawa said he still had faith that some of the state and federal officials “are not corrupt, like those who care about the seals and shearwaters.” Little does he know that the suspicions extend to those folks, too.

Speaking of which, upon checking my Anahola post office box, I found a full color brochure and form letter from Eric Knutzen touting the supposed benefits of leasing Hawaiian Homelands to harvest albezia trees for a woodchip-burning power plant in Koloa. The mailer had lots of pretty pictures, as promotional literature typically does, but failed to address concerns raised by beneficiaries — concerns that no doubt will be raised again at tonight's meeting at Kapaa Elementary School.

The website it refers people to is similarly short on substance. But then, Eric, who runs KCC's Ho`ouluwehi Sustainable Living Institute, has proved evasive and slippery in discussing his Green Energy Team project. After stringing me along for a month when I was working on an article for Honolulu Weekly, he ultimately refused to answer some pretty basic questions:

Some of the concerns raised by Anahola community include possible contamination of the bay due to mud from the cleared lands. What is the scenario for clearing and replanting, and how will you prevent erosion? Will you be chipping on site, or transporting logs? What other improvements are planned, in terms of roads and water lines, and what is the dollar value of these improvements? Do you anticipate the need for irrigation, and if so, where will the water come from? Are you anticipating the acreage (aside from the 267 acres for lots) will be planted or cleared when the lease term ends?

Please explain your feed stock scenario. How many acres total are needed to supply the facility on an ongoing basis? I understand you have an agreement with Hawaiian Mahogany -- how many acres does that include, and how long will that supply the facility? I saw a reference to 2,500 acres of short-rotation biomass -- how long does it take to grow the feedstock you need?

If you don't get the lease with DHHL in Anahola, do you have a back up plan for acreage elsewhere? Have you approached Grove Farm?

What is happening with the 1,037 acres at Kalepa you leased?  Some of the tenants up there have complained that Green Energy initially promised to pay for the improvement and upkeep of roads, but now GE is proposing that those costs be shared. Is this correct?

How did Green Energy get the federal loan guarantee? Does it essentially ensure that the two main partners -- GBC and Green Energy -- won't be left with any financial liabilities if the project fails? Is the project eligible for or receiving any state or federal tax incentives for biofuel projects?

What byproduct, if any, will be generated from burning the feedstock at the plant, and what will be done with this product?

If this project is so fantabulous, why the lack of transparency? After all, it plans to sell power to KIUC at an undisclosed price that we ratepayers will pay, and it's benefitting from a $73 million federal loan guarantee.

Eric also keeps repeating the fiction that this plant will “lower energy prices.” I asked KIUC's Jim Kelly about that claim and got this reply:

Burning wood and not oil will certainly stabilize bills and reduce the whipsawing effect of oil prices. But if the price of oil – which we’re still going to have to buy – is $200 a barrel in 2015 then everyone’s bill is not going to go down.

Eric also likes to claim the project is "carbon neutral," in reference to the amount of fuel oil that KIUC can save. But he has not yet explained how the fuel used by trucking and chipping factors in to the project's overall carbon footprint.

I understand that some are supporting the albezia-clearing as a way to get homesteaders off the waiting list and onto the land, which is laudable. But the overall project looks and smells suspiciously like a boondoggle.