Then Varvel had a brilliant idea. Why not enlist the help of dog-loving vacationers to Kauai, who with the help of an airline are bringing back more than their luggage from the Garden Island?

In the last eight months, the program has helped save the lives of dozens of dogs.

The post Hawaii Snapshot: Abandoned Kauai Dogs Get Life Saving Plane Ride appeared first on 天美视频.

But John Marra, the Honolulu-based climate services director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the East-West Center, says policymakers need to be engaged in “climate proofing.”

Marra is one of the featured speakers at an international climate change conference being held at the University of Hawaii this week.

The post VIDEO: Does More Need To Be Done About Climate Change In Hawaii? appeared first on 天美视频.

As part of a fellowship to look at the post Fukushima energy debate I traveled in December for a 10-day reporting trip to Japan. I produced several reports for Civil Beat, creating a Japan Journal. A story I produced for the joint BBC and Public Radio International program The World aired internationally on Monday.

The tsunami and earthquake caused a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant. We are reminded of that terrible day when tsunami debris washes ashore here in Hawaii. We are also still paying the economic consequences in higher energy costs.

Japan’s 52 nuclear reactors were taken off line following the world’s second most grievous nuclear accident (after Chernobyl). 聽All but two remain in cold shutdown. 聽As Japan scrambled to replace all that lost energy production it gobbled up oil to fire up generators similar to those we have here in Hawaii. The price for the low-sulfur oil that powers those generators has spiked, and has stayed high.聽 So every time we fill up at the pump, or pay an electric bill with the nation’s highest electricity rates, we are are in part paying for Fukushima. 聽

All that is to say that聽when it comes to the implications here in Hawaii,聽the debate that Japan is embroiled in about its energy future is more than just academic. Here are a few connections:

If nuclear plants are permanently mothballed, Hawaii’s oil prices, at least in the short run, will likely stay sky high, further motivating the push toward liquefied natural gas (LNG).

If Japan’s clean energy advocates win the day and the industrial giant can make significant gains in renewables, Hawaii will benefit from increased research and development. We likely will see more joint projects like a聽$37 million research project on Maui aimed at increasing the amount of solar and wind energy electric grids can integrate.

And if Japan returns to nuclear power as the new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is inclined to do, Hawaii should get some economic relief. But if there is another nuclear disaster, the resulting hit to the Japanese economy would tumble Japan into a major recession and Hawaii would likely say聽sayonara to thousands of Japanese tourists.聽

The post Fukushima Sparks Energy Tug Of War 2 Years Later appeared first on 天美视频.

Michael Green, a colorful criminal defense attorney, was a passionate defender of the cops and their families who worried they would be publicly humiliated if their names were published.

Jeff Portnoy, a flamboyant media lawyer, put equal energy into representing University of Hawaii journalism students who went to court to get the files released.

The post VIDEO: Opposing Forces: Portnoy vs. Green appeared first on 天美视频.

Take this week’s subject, Mike Bond.

Bond is a Molokai-based mystery writer and activist. In his latest novel, “Saving Paradise,” an investigative journalist is murdered. The prime suspects? Wind energy developers and a Honolulu energy utility.

While that particular storyline is fictional, Bond tells Civil Beat’s Joe Rubin that his opposition to wind energy is 100 percent real.

Images courtesy of Mike Bond.

Ideas for Hawaii Snapshot? Send to joe@civilbeat.com.

The post Hawaii Snapshot 鈥� Big Wind Becomes A Plot Line For Molokai Author appeared first on 天美视频.

But a successful research program on the brink of helping ease depletion of the wild species is facing an uncertain future.

Federal earmarks are drying up.

Underwater video by Nathan Eagle. Additional images courtesy of The Oceanic Institute, Teri Leicher, Dan McKinney and Brooke Everett.

The post Troubled Waters: Budget Cuts Hamper An Unusual Ocean Research Project appeared first on 天美视频.

Read Part 1: Does Japan鈥檚 Nuclear Showdown Mean A Slow Down For Renewables?

Our weather couldn鈥檛 be much different, especially at this time of year. Still, Japan and Hawaii have much in common. Of course, many Hawaiians 鈥� about 25 percent 鈥� are of Japanese descent. And we are such a favorite destination for Japanese tourists that on certain corners of Waikiki you are much more likely to hear Japanese than English

On the energy front, we share a great deal. We鈥檙e both isolated island chains, largely dependent on expensive polluting fossil fuels that are shipped in to run our cars and to light our homes.

Increasingly, both Hawaii and Japan are aggressively moving to change that by developing robust renewable sectors. In Japan鈥檚 case, with nearly all of the nation鈥檚 nuclear reactors off line after the Fukushima calamity, the need for homegrown energy is so dire you could make the case that the development of renewables is a national emergency.

Here in Honolulu, if you look up into the hills in some neighborhoods it seems like almost everyone is taking advantage of cheaper solar panel prices and federal and state rebates. Local TV is filled with ads promoting different ways to take advantage.

In Hawaii solar penetration seems to be highest in wealthier neighborhoods. I suspect that鈥檚 because those are the people who have the easiest time qualifying for generous rebates and tax incentives. I spoke to one homeowner who recently installed solar and hasn鈥檛 needed any energy from the grid for months. His entire rooftop system, he said, would pay for itself in five to seven years. That鈥檚 a good investment and tells you which way the wind is blowing in Hawaii.

In the newsroom the other day we were trying to get a fix on just how much renewable energy there is Hawaii. What’s amazing is how estimates vary among experts, from 2 percent to 6 percent. I found the same thing in Japan. Everyone seems to agree that the new feed-in tariff policy that went into effect in July is having a big impact. But how much installed capacity has there been? I heard estimates from 1 gigawatt (about the capacity of a nuclear plant) to 2 gigawatts.

A Different Philosophy When It Comes To Renewables

In Japan there is a different philosophy when it comes to creating renewable energy. Case in point is an intriguing new project called the wind lens being developed in Fukuoka, Japan.

Wind energy has the tendency to divide environmentalists. Take the proposed wind farms on Molokai and Lanai. Many environmental and Native Hawaiian activists are deeply opposed. Others, who see the clean energy producing capability, are all for them.

One of the problems with wind energy is the sheer scale of it. The latest wind mills, clearly visible on Oahu鈥檚 north shore, are skyscraper size. Some people have a problem with that kind of visual impact. The turbines also create a persistent hum for anyone who lives nearby and birds have a hard time making them out, so there is the nasty problem of bird strikes.

But the wind lens project in Fukuoka seeks to bridge the divide.

Yuji Ohya, a professor of renewable energy dynamics and applied mechanics at Kyushu University, is developing the wind lens in Fukuoka. Ohya told me that for the Japanese culture, harmony is a critical concept. The wind lens system he is developing is heavily influenced by ancient concepts from Shintoism that encourage a balance with nature.

Because the wind lens recognizes low pressure areas and focuses wind energy, it is both twice as efficient and smaller in scale then today’s industrial turbines. Birds also easily recognize the sphere (they often roost on them) and the spinning blade, eliminating bird strikes.

I was mesmerized observing three wind lens prototypes in a seaside Fukuoka park. The sphere actually rotates to find the most optimum wind. 鈥淭hink of it like a kite,鈥� Ohya said.

I could definitely see the wind lens fitting in in Waikiki or elsewhere in Hawaii. It would certainly make less of an impact then its more controversial brethren.

If you’re wondering why anyone would possibly install one of the giant conventional wind mills, keep in mind that Ohya鈥檚 team does need to figure out how to make his apparatus bigger and more productive before it can be used on a mass scale. The largest one he has created only has the capability of providing energy for about 30 families. But helped along by research and development funding from the Japanese government, the scientist says he is five years away or less from coming up with a much larger system. For now China, Scotland and several areas in Japan have all installed wind lenses.

And Ohya鈥檚 vision is bigger than just the wind lens. He told me about a utopian plan that involves the creation of renewable energy creating islands that would float offshore of major Japanese cities.

As you can see in this rendering there are also solar panels. The holes in the middle, Ohya said, could also be fish/aquaculture ponds. How very Japanese to keep the sushi flowing:

Energy Companies of the Future

Something to think about when pondering Japan’s and Hawaii鈥檚 energy futures is the future of energy companies. If you believe the most optimistic projections, renewables will account for 80 percent of electricity by 2050 (a figure that scientists say is necessary in order to try and reverse climate change). The utility company of the future will be a very different beast.

At Tokyo鈥檚 Rikkyo University, I met up with economics and energy policy professor Andrew DeWit, who says that 鈥渞enewable energy doesn鈥檛 fit into the traditional model where you plunk down that investment capital, you build large-scale centralized power generation and then you just sell.鈥�

DeWit says that renewables are different. 鈥淲hat happens in a dynamic environment where you have people with solar panels on their roofs and wind offshore and on shore and bio mass generators? There are strong political economic challenges because those distributed power sources are generally not in the hands of the utilities. They are in the hands of community groups, local governments, households.鈥濃��

In Japan, like in Hawaii, utilities are adapting to the world of renewables. Legally, they have to. Purchasing energy from small solar, wind and hydro generating facilities is legally mandated under both Japan and Hawaii鈥檚 feed-in tariff policies.

But DeWit said that doesn鈥檛 mean that old school companies are efficient or enthusiastic partners when it comes to renewable energy. In Japan, there are reportedly long waits for permitting and for projects to tie into the grid. DeWit said that some cities, like Yokohama, are exploring breaking off from one of the traditional big electricity companies and forming its own municipally run company more geared toward renewables and smart-grid technology.

One thing that DeWit said stuck with me. He said that we are so much at the dawn of the renewable energy era that it鈥檚 akin to being at the dawn of the Internet.

Imagine that: before Facebook, Twitter and Google were invented. It makes you wonder what kind of innovations and companies await us.

The post Hawaii and Japan: Imagining The Future of Renewable Energy appeared first on 天美视频.

Earlier this month I rang up Schatz office. I was heading out to Japan in a couple of days on a reporting trip to look at the development of clean energy there. As Hawaii’s clean energy czar and someone who visited Japan earlier this year and talked renewable energy policy with officials there, I figured Schatz would have some insights. He invited me to the state Capitol the next day.

When the gigantic koa wood doors swung open to the LG’s palatial office, I shook his hand and said the obvious, 鈥淣ice digs.鈥� Schatz shot me a disarmed, wry smile. In retrospect, having just come from Japan, where officials generally insist on all questions in advance, our conversation was refreshing and wide ranging.

Schatz demonstrated a firm, wonkish grasp on energy policy and a philosophy that weaves together climate change concerns with those about the economic security of Hawaii.

Civil Beat鈥檚 Sophie Cocke has written about Schatz’ support for rejiggering Hawaii鈥檚 infrastructure to handle LNG (liquefied natural gas) from the mainland. That鈥檚 a curious position for an avowed environmentalist and something I wanted to learn more about. Schatz made it clear that he indeed views fracking as destructive, but he also said the shift to handle LNG for Hawaii is necessary because the state鈥檚 dependence on imported oil is far worse. 鈥淗awaii is the most isolated, populated place on the planet and we are totally dependent on fuel oil from a far,鈥� he said.

Schatz continued, 鈥淚 think the extraction of fossil energy from the earth whether its coal, oil, LNG or any other kind of fossil energy cannot be done without environmental consequences. One of the reasons I got into politics is that I am very concerned about climate change. But you often don鈥檛 get to flip a switch and move to a fossil-based economy into a clean energy-based economy. We have to make a transition, and we are in fact making a transition quicker than any of the other states in America.鈥�

In a bit of unintentional foreshadowing, when I asked Schatz whether his support for importing LNG would undermine green energy projects around the state, he invoked then Sen. Dan Inouye. 鈥�(Inouye) saw in the ’70s what happened when oil prices took a dive, everyone sort of lost their interest in clean energy except for him and a few others. But we are committed to this because it is in our long term strategic and economic interest, it also aligns with our values.

鈥淚 happen to be deeply concerned about global climate change, but even if I weren鈥檛 I would say that we should move in the direction of clean energy because our economy is unlikely to thrive a generation from now if we are still generating 90 percent of electricity generation from afar.鈥�

It will be fascinating to see Schatz, who will be the second youngest member of the Senate come January, try and make his mark. Opponents and those who loved Inouye were awestruck by his ability to bring federal dollars back home. One wonders if Schatz can conjure up some of that magic and combine it with his passion for clean energy projects. And it will be interesting to see his views evolve on national issues like fracking now that he will be casting votes on issues that extend beyond Hawaii’s shores.

Listen to the full conversation:

The post Schatz Talk: Hawaii’s Newest Senator ‘Deeply Concerned’ About Climate Change appeared first on 天美视频.

You might think that a conference about the sobering topic of nuclear safety, which I attended this week in Fukushima Prefecture, would be the last place you would find hula dancers. After all, people in Fukushima haven鈥檛 had a lot of reasons to dance for joy of late. Thousands died as a result of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. And of course there was the triple meltdown at Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant that displaced over 100,000 people.

But conference attendees from 110 countries also were reminded that there is a lot more to Fukushima than its recent troubles. The event was held in a gleaming conference center in the bustling city of Koriyama. Outside conference sessions on topics like 鈥減rotection of people and the environment from ionizing radiation鈥� were a few tables with locally produced goods and tourist information. I met a peach farmer who served juice from the recent harvest (certified radiation free). It was delicious. And then there were the hula dancers who were the star attraction of an opening night dinner. You can see some of their performance in the video below.

The dancers hail from the coastal Fukushima city of Ibaka. As you might have guessed there is a story there. Back in the 1960鈥檚 Ibaka was an economically distressed coal-mining town. Someone had the bright idea of taking advantage of local hot springs and started a resort, adding the twist of a Hawaiian theme. Spa Resort Hawaiian was born. Palm trees were imported and local girls learned the art of hula dancing. The resort, with the hula girls as the primary attraction, became fabulously successful, attracting over a million guests per year. A popular 2006 movie, Hula Girls, even captured the rags to riches story.

Flash forward to the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster. Spa Resort Hawaiian suffered structural damage and had to close. But the far bigger hit was to the resorts image. Concern about radiation leaking from the Dai-Ichi nuclear plant 35 miles to the north was a major obstacle to restarting operations. Again the hula girls came to the rescue, going on a national tour to generate excitement about the resort reopening and to reassure the public it was safe. It reopened in February and business is reportedly rebounding. I didn鈥檛 get a chance to stop by, but if you’re planning a trip to Japan, Spa Resort Hawaiian might be a way to soak in some thermals, a see a unique hybrid of Japanese and Hawaiian culture and support the recovery of Fukushima.

Read past Japan Journal columns:

• Japan Journal: Video Essay From Fukushima Nuclear Plant
• Japan Journal: The Promise of the Wind Lens
• Japan Journal: On The National Campaign Trail
• Japan Journal: From One Island To Another

The post Japan Journal: How Hula Dancers Are Helping With Fukushima Recovery appeared first on 天美视频.

After coming back from an exclusive tour of the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant, Joe filed this video essay. He was one of a handful of journalists allowed into the plant for a tour organized by Japan’s Foreign Ministry. This was only the third time international journalists have allowed to visit the plant since the disaster and the first visit in nearly a year.

Joe was granted extrordinary access, touring one of the reactor buildings damaged in an explosion, seeing first hand the control room which monitors the heat and radiation levels and talking with workers at the plant. He left with profound feelings of empathy for the 3,000 workers performing dangerous contamination work.

Photos that appear in the video were taken by J眉rgen D枚schner.

Read past Japan Journal columns:

• Japan Journal: The Promise of the Wind Lens
• Japan Journal: On The National Campaign Trail
• Japan Journal: From One Island To Another

The post Japan Journal: Video Essay From Fukushima Nuclear Plant appeared first on 天美视频.