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Wow, Hotcatz, I really admire your independence and sustainability! Bear and I also do vegetable gardening with open pollination replanting and are now on our fourth generation of some veggie varieties. Photovoltaic power is something we should consider, but so far the cost and the number of cloudy days at our location have kept us from it. Maybe we will do it someday, especially if the cost of oil goes way up (a certainty,) and the cost of solar panels goes down (a possibility with new technology coming into the market.)
Your idea about light rail on the Big Island appeals to a lot of us, but unfortunately the cost, even with the Feds helping, would be beyond a rural region like ours. There was another thread on rail transit recently, and I did some research. The MINIMUM cost per mile for light rail is $10M to $12M. That quote was for areas with low construction costs (not us) and optimum geologic conditions (also not us.) The math is not promising for our already constrained County budget. A more feasible transit solution might be a bigger fleet of buses powered by either ethanol or biodiesel, both of which could be produced here. Buses can go anywhere there are roads and come in lots of different sizes, making service to lightly populated areas possible.
It's time to think outside the usual energy box, and Hotcatz is a great example for us all in that regard. Bravo!
Cheers,
Jerry
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I put a proposal into the Puna Development Plan called "Puna Parkway". It included providing sufficient width of road easement to provide room for light rail in the future. I really think it important that we, the community, endow the future with options rather than limitations.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Rob, I have no problem with the concept of rail transit. I rode MARTA trains to work daily in Atlanta for years and I would love to have that option here. Unfortunately our population density and financial resources are a big limiting factor. Assuming a very low-ball cost of $15M per mile, a rail system that served most parts of the island would cost somewhere between $2 and $3 BILLION. With luck and far more effective lobbying for funds than we have ever accomplished, we might get the Feds to pay half of it. (I'm being really generous here when you remember we would be in line behind Honolulu and any number of medium sized mainland cities.) So where do we get the other $1 to $1.5 billion?
I don't want to rain on anybody's parade, and I do believe in pursuing community dreams. I just think it is more practical to start with the affordable and attainable. And for what it's worth, I really like your Puna Parkway proposal. It's better than a lot of other plans.
Cheerfully contrary to most Punawebbers on this issue,
Jerry
Edited by - JerryCarr on 10/29/2007 10:15:58
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I personally could only envision light rail in Puna when the district approaches full build out which would then provide the necessary population density. I see a window of 15-30 years depending on world events.
By acquiring the rail right-of-way now and making it part of a current parkway development the costs in the future could be cut drastically.
It's kind of like buying real estate and holding it for 30 years as an investment in the future. At the present there are about 12 developed properties on the route. It will be much more costly when there are 200. Acquire the land NOW.
At the moment there is light rail discussion for Honolulu at around $200 million a mile. It's not the price of steel rail that drives it up, its the price of the developed real estate.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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Back to the original topic.
I see increased scarcity and high oil prices as being very detremental to the environment rather and any faint solution.
Scarcity and price will drive oil drilling into ecological preserves to get the money - environment be damned. Scarce oil will lead to more wars over resources. Anyone notice Russia planting their flag on the ocean floor near the North Pole?
More stress in lifestyle and life on the mailand will drive more people here - not less. Those with a few bucks in the bank will escape.
I don't particularly hold the tourists accountable for environmental degredation. I would look toward the locals that are bringing them to the overburdened locales for a buck.
Just the way I see it. Doesn't mean I have a crystal ball that's better than anyone else's.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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That is a distinct possibility as ecological refugees(like myself) flee the main land.
I hope you're wrong, but it's worth guarding against.
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Not to start a riot, but, when you put oilmen into the White House......
Edited by - nanawalejulie on 10/29/2007 22:43:10
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Hey on the news tonight a lady from Oahu started taking the bus instead of her big SUV to work each day, got there faster than she would because of the lane on the freeway the bus can use and said she saves $600 a month she usually spends on gas!
Carrie
http://www.carrierojo.etsy.com
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. ~Dalai Lama
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Heard on the news this morning, gas is now up to $94 a barrel
"From knowledge comes understanding"
"From knowledge comes understanding"
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I wonder why the media hasn't mentioned this:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aQP1F89dAOs8&refer=home
http://globalpublicmedia.com/transcripts/2820
These people warned of $100 per barrel oil coming soon last year and everyone laughed at them!
Steve & Regina
Hawaiian Acres / North Lake Tahoe
'If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there' - George Harrison
