Senator English shares energy initiative

Moloka'i Island Times
Monday, January 30, 2006

By Brennan Purtzer

Following Governor Lingle's State of the State address last week, Moloka'i's state senator J. Kalani English had some policy initiatives he wanted to communicate with Friendly Isle residents, as legislative season began.

English has been chair of the energy and environmental affairs committee for the past several years. Now he's putting forward a package aimed at self-sufficiency that he has been working on for a long time.

English has been considering alternative technologies that have matured - not just solar and wind, but bio fuels as well.

He says that with only three gas stations on the island, it would be very easy to make bio-diesel available for Moloka'i vehicles. Today's turbo-diesel cars can reach the same performance levels as piston-engined vehicles, while using about half as much fuel.

But English has another progressive idea to help Moloka'i's environment and economy: carbon trading.

With the opening of the Chicago climate exchange, polluting parts of the world are required to balance their impact by sponsoring Co2 reduction somewhere else, by purchasing "credits."

Sen. English sees Moloka'i as a possible market for these credits, meaning the island would get supported by a polluting nation for simply growing o2 producing plants.

"We could receive compensation from India or somewhere else...It's long term for Moloka'i but it could really become an economic force for the island," said English.

In his other major initiative for this session, English says work will be done to repair the Moloka'i Irrigation System and get it up to standard.

"We're trying to get $12 million to do all the systems in the state," he said. "And Moloka'i is one of the top five."

Original article URL: http://www.molokaitimes.com/articles/613075151.asp

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