Month: March 2022

Hawaii’s dependence on foreign oil threatens our economic, social, and cultural wellbeing as oil prices continue to rise and the con- sequences of climate change become more apparent. Imported oil accounts for 90% of Hawaii’s energy needs, Hawaii consumers pay the highest electricity prices in the United States, and over $7 billion a year goes outside Hawaii to meet our energy consumption.
In 2008, the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI) was launched to provide a framework for “[c]lean, locally developed, renewable energy [that] will in the long run boost Hawaii’s economy because the land, the sea, the sun, and the wind are all capable of produc- ing limitless amounts of indigenous energy- forever.” Building on the HCEI, current state law requires that by 2030 seventy percent of Hawai’i’s energy be “clean energy,” coming from a combination of efficiency measures and renewable energy sources. The input of Native Hawaiians, Hawaii’s indigenous people, however, has by in large been minimal in formulating a policy to achieve this transition. Where the voices of Native Hawaiians have been most clearly heard, is at the implementation phase, and in opposition to clean en- ergy initiatives, such as geothermal development on Hawaii Island and big wind energy projects on Lanai and Molokai. The disconnect between the development of energy policy, and the communities most affected by the construction of renewable projects, is unfor- tunate because there is one common goal- for Hawaii to move towards energy independence. Yet the question remains, how can we move towards greater energy self-sufficiency for all of Hawaii’s people, while respecting the rights of the Native Hawaiian communi- ties whose beliefs and lands have been most greatly impacted by large scale development of renewable energy? This paper offers one suggestion, which is to look at the ways in which international climate change mitigation efforts are increasingly incorporating the recommendations of indigenous peoples in order to implement more effective and just solutions.

Northwest tribes are based on a culture of harvest from the sea. Salmon are the center of religious ceremonies, economics, and the physical health of tribes. Northwest tribes additionally depend upon shellfish harvests. Greenhouse gases are an issue for Northwest tribal life for a number of reasons. Rising levels of greenhouse gases lead to ocean acidification which can affect calcium levels in the sea and prevent krill, shrimp, shellfish, abalone and other organisms from properly forming their shells. This is particularly problem- atic for the tribes because populations of these culturally and dietarily important organisms can then decline. As important, some of these organisms are part of the diet of salmon, the most significant of species to Northwest tribes. In this study, we used the Clean Air Cool Planets Green House Gas (GHG) Inventory Calculator (Carbon Calculator) to determine the amount of greenhouse gas produced by Northwest Indian College’s Lummi Campus. Data were taken for two different years, from July 2009 to June 2010 and from July 2010 to June 2011. The GHG calculator takes input data from five major areas: electricity, garbage, air travel, propane gas and travel of supplies, e.g. paper. Our effort to document the NWIC Lummi Campus carbon footprint is part of a larger effort toward greater sustainability including green-buildings, recycling and composting. Our eventual hope is to use the data we gather to help move the college toward becoming an official part of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment. This should help students become more conscious of carbon footprints in a way that will allow them to pass on their knowledge to others, including their families and their tribes.