Rob Weltman

Biodiesel

Key conditions for sustainable Biodiesel: Use waste and byproducts or locally grown feedstock that doesn’t displace rain forests Decentralize – small plants using local feedstock and selling locally Biofuel LifeCycle Paper Sierra Club National Biomass Policy Sierra Club National Ethanol Policy Biodiesel Crop Implementation in Hawaii (pdf) Dr. Stephanie Fried Testimony (Lots of info and links) Cruel Oil: How Palm Oil Harms Health, Rainforest and Wildlife (pdf) If we want to save the environment, we … Read more

Panelists Discuss Haleakala Telescope

Panelists Discuss the Clash of Cultures and Land Ownership on Hawaii’s Sacred Peaks (from the Kilakila O Haleakala website) ‘The law of Aloha is in the land.’ Kealoha Pisciotta Respect for Kanaka Maoli Spiritual Practices Panelists explained that from a kanaka maoli perspective, the summit of Haleakala is considered ‘wao akua,’or the realm of the gods. The very lands of Haleakala are seen by many as the kinolau (physical manifestation) of the sacred goddess Pele, a … Read more

Hawaiian Opposition to Telescope

Panelists Discuss the Clash of Cultures and Land Ownership on Hawaii’s Sacred Peaks (from the Kilakila O Haleakala website) ‘The law of Aloha is in the land.’ Kealoha Pisciotta Respect for Kanaka Maoli Spiritual Practices Panelists explained that from a kanaka maoli perspective, the summit of Haleakala is considered ‘wao akua,’or the realm of the gods. The very lands of Haleakala are seen by many as the kinolau (physical manifestation) of the sacred goddess Pele, … Read more

Open Ocean Aquaculture

The Project: Hawaii Ocean Technology’s (HOT) has been granted a Conservation District Use Application for its ahi aquaculture project. They plan to use 247 acres off the north Kohala coast of the island of Hawaii to hold 12 orb-like cages for growing tuna for export outside of Hawai’i. Read why ten eminent scientists recommend against instituting aquaculture fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico The Problems: Fish Farming promotes the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can … Read more

Two Maui streams restored

After years of essentially being drained dry and left for dead, two legendary streams on the Hawaiian island of Maui came back to life this week, thanks to the work of Earthjustice. The streams were diverted over a hundred years ago to irrigate sugar cane and pineapple plantations. Over time sugar and pineapple have faded in the islands, succumbing to cheaper foreign competition. This freed up the water to restore the streams. But the old … Read more

Biofuel Links

Massacres and Paramilitary Land Seizures Behind the Biofuel Revolution Armed groups in Colombia are driving peasants off their land to make way for plantations of palm oil, a biofuel that is being promoted as an environmentally friendly source of energy… U.N.: Not so fast with ethanol, other biofuels Unchecked growth could see new problems offset climate gains, report says. “Unless new policies are enacted to protect threatened lands, secure socially acceptable land use, and steer … Read more

WHERE HAVE HAWAII’S FISH GONE?

By Rene Umberger This article was originally featured in the Sierra Club Newsletter of September 2009 Increasingly snorkelers and divers in Hawaii are asking “Where have all the fish gone?” Reef fish decline can be attributed to several factors, however none weigh so heavily as the losses due to extraction, including collecting reef animals for the home tanks of hobby aquarists. According to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, “Severe overfishing for the aquarium trade … Read more