10-07-2012, 12:19 PM
GOT THIS EMAIL AND THOUGHT I WOULD PASS IT ALONG.
Just in case you weren't aware of recent developments with geothermal, I thought I'd send this reminder about an opportunity to have a say in what happens to our home on the Big Island.
Under the guise of a "clean energy project" the Department of Energy is preparing an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on, among other things, Big Island geothermal development. The initial public comment period on what should be included in this study expires this Tuesday (October 9th). Assuring that the appropriate health and environmental studies are included may be the biggest roadblock to potentially massive industrialization of lower Puna .
In recent months nearly 20 Geothermal corporations have leased 50 acre parcels all over lower Puna, from HPP to Opihikao in anticipation of a green light from the federal and local government to expand drilling and development of geothermal energy. They are encouraged by a largely uninformed and silent local community. Few people seem to be aware of the risks associated with drilling on the side of an active volcano. A small sample of the these risks include:
1)Increased seismic activity. Drilling and high-pressure pumping are proven to change and destabilize underground pressure masses. There is virtually no understanding of what kinds of seismic events may be triggered by displaced gasses and reinjection of fluids (both water and chemical). Doing it on the side of an active volcano makes it even more of a mystery. These corporations simply lease the land with limited liability so they can walk away at the first sign of trouble. What about all the families in the area that can't?
2)Health affects of increased air pollution. Unleashing volcanic gasses along with the release of caustic artificial chemicals like Pentane (highly toxic) used in the drilling operation. While the trade winds usually spare Lower Puna from the majority of Kilauea's Vog, planned expansion of Geothermal sites could put all of east Hawaii in the path of a new toxic plume source. While the industry claims they can self regulate, we must demand independently monitored air sampling stations throughout the community. The ongoing results from these air "sniffers" should be published online for public review.
3)Chemical poisoning of local and county groundwater. There seems to be little concern for water pollution caused by re-injection of contaminated water laced with highly toxic, caustic chemicals, not all of which have been disclosed. This contamination has already been demonstrated in similar hydraulic fracturing operations on the mainland. This is your primary opportunity to demand that the PEIS assure that the Big Island's enormous fresh water reserve will not be contaminated due to loose geothermal regulations. The US has an abysmal track record for allowing industry to pollute fresh water sources. It is our responsibility to protect our resources.
4)Constant high decibel noise pollution. This is already a primary issue for those close to current geothermal sites causing much suffering along with reported disturbance to wildlife.
If you haven't already weighed in to protect Puna's future quality of life along with protecting the time, energy and love you've already invested here, please take a moment from your day to let them know that you have a voice, and that you will hold them accountable for undermining and potentially poisoning your environment. Please make your comments constructive and urgent. I think of them as troubled and misguided children that are about the burn the house down. They need loving guidance.
• Email to hawaiicleanenergypeis@ee.doe.gov
• Electronic comments via the PEIS Web site at http:/www.hawaiicleanenergypeis.com
• Facsimile (fax) to (808) 541–2253. Attention: Hawai’i Clean Energy PEIS.
• U.S. mail to Jim Spaeth, U.S. Department of Energy, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., P.O. Box 50247, Honolulu, HI 96850–0247.
For those that are really motivated, perhaps the most powerful thing we can do is contact the local and national media to put the spotlight on what is ultimately a shady money grab at the expense of the local population and environment. This is as story as old as time, documented in history books and movies like China Town and Erin Brokovich. If you think it can't happen here, you haven't been paying attention.
Some background as I understand it:
In a nutshell, Geothermal is not even economically viable. This recent push for geothermal development is an attempt to bring in Billions of Federal dollars to fund an inter-island electrical cable that would further support HELCO's monopolistic hold on Hawaii's energy grid.
HECO and HELCO (effectively the same) would like to sell the concept of geothermal to us as means of lowering our electricity bills but when questioned why current geothermal production hasn't yet achieved this, they blame maintenance costs for electrical lines. Considering that the majority of the federal funds would go to laying an under-ocean inter-island electrical cable, a technology that is notoriously prone to costly maintenance issues, it is hard to imagine that their story will change in the future.
As an aside, it has been estimated that with less than 80% of the Fed money on the table for this project, a solar array could be installed on every household in the state, thus providing a decentralized and much more secure source of energy for Hawaii. That apparently makes too much sense for policy makers to handle or they just don't have enough vision to see how they'll make money from it.
More info is available here: http://punapono.com/index.php/hilo-eis-meeting
If we succumb to fear or choose to put our heads in the sand, they will have won. Fortunately there is a strong legacy of environmental and health protections in this country that suggests that we have an excellent chance at making this project too cumbersome and politically troublesome for them to pursue.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and please forward it your friends and neighbors.
With much aloha
Just in case you weren't aware of recent developments with geothermal, I thought I'd send this reminder about an opportunity to have a say in what happens to our home on the Big Island.
Under the guise of a "clean energy project" the Department of Energy is preparing an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on, among other things, Big Island geothermal development. The initial public comment period on what should be included in this study expires this Tuesday (October 9th). Assuring that the appropriate health and environmental studies are included may be the biggest roadblock to potentially massive industrialization of lower Puna .
In recent months nearly 20 Geothermal corporations have leased 50 acre parcels all over lower Puna, from HPP to Opihikao in anticipation of a green light from the federal and local government to expand drilling and development of geothermal energy. They are encouraged by a largely uninformed and silent local community. Few people seem to be aware of the risks associated with drilling on the side of an active volcano. A small sample of the these risks include:
1)Increased seismic activity. Drilling and high-pressure pumping are proven to change and destabilize underground pressure masses. There is virtually no understanding of what kinds of seismic events may be triggered by displaced gasses and reinjection of fluids (both water and chemical). Doing it on the side of an active volcano makes it even more of a mystery. These corporations simply lease the land with limited liability so they can walk away at the first sign of trouble. What about all the families in the area that can't?
2)Health affects of increased air pollution. Unleashing volcanic gasses along with the release of caustic artificial chemicals like Pentane (highly toxic) used in the drilling operation. While the trade winds usually spare Lower Puna from the majority of Kilauea's Vog, planned expansion of Geothermal sites could put all of east Hawaii in the path of a new toxic plume source. While the industry claims they can self regulate, we must demand independently monitored air sampling stations throughout the community. The ongoing results from these air "sniffers" should be published online for public review.
3)Chemical poisoning of local and county groundwater. There seems to be little concern for water pollution caused by re-injection of contaminated water laced with highly toxic, caustic chemicals, not all of which have been disclosed. This contamination has already been demonstrated in similar hydraulic fracturing operations on the mainland. This is your primary opportunity to demand that the PEIS assure that the Big Island's enormous fresh water reserve will not be contaminated due to loose geothermal regulations. The US has an abysmal track record for allowing industry to pollute fresh water sources. It is our responsibility to protect our resources.
4)Constant high decibel noise pollution. This is already a primary issue for those close to current geothermal sites causing much suffering along with reported disturbance to wildlife.
If you haven't already weighed in to protect Puna's future quality of life along with protecting the time, energy and love you've already invested here, please take a moment from your day to let them know that you have a voice, and that you will hold them accountable for undermining and potentially poisoning your environment. Please make your comments constructive and urgent. I think of them as troubled and misguided children that are about the burn the house down. They need loving guidance.
• Email to hawaiicleanenergypeis@ee.doe.gov
• Electronic comments via the PEIS Web site at http:/www.hawaiicleanenergypeis.com
• Facsimile (fax) to (808) 541–2253. Attention: Hawai’i Clean Energy PEIS.
• U.S. mail to Jim Spaeth, U.S. Department of Energy, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., P.O. Box 50247, Honolulu, HI 96850–0247.
For those that are really motivated, perhaps the most powerful thing we can do is contact the local and national media to put the spotlight on what is ultimately a shady money grab at the expense of the local population and environment. This is as story as old as time, documented in history books and movies like China Town and Erin Brokovich. If you think it can't happen here, you haven't been paying attention.
Some background as I understand it:
In a nutshell, Geothermal is not even economically viable. This recent push for geothermal development is an attempt to bring in Billions of Federal dollars to fund an inter-island electrical cable that would further support HELCO's monopolistic hold on Hawaii's energy grid.
HECO and HELCO (effectively the same) would like to sell the concept of geothermal to us as means of lowering our electricity bills but when questioned why current geothermal production hasn't yet achieved this, they blame maintenance costs for electrical lines. Considering that the majority of the federal funds would go to laying an under-ocean inter-island electrical cable, a technology that is notoriously prone to costly maintenance issues, it is hard to imagine that their story will change in the future.
As an aside, it has been estimated that with less than 80% of the Fed money on the table for this project, a solar array could be installed on every household in the state, thus providing a decentralized and much more secure source of energy for Hawaii. That apparently makes too much sense for policy makers to handle or they just don't have enough vision to see how they'll make money from it.
More info is available here: http://punapono.com/index.php/hilo-eis-meeting
If we succumb to fear or choose to put our heads in the sand, they will have won. Fortunately there is a strong legacy of environmental and health protections in this country that suggests that we have an excellent chance at making this project too cumbersome and politically troublesome for them to pursue.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and please forward it your friends and neighbors.
With much aloha
