IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR WIND ENERGY IN HAWAII?

Last month I posted on:

     IS HAWAII SHRINKING AWAY FROM PROGRESS?

Bewilderingly, our local community has killed the Superferry, diminished geothermal development, suffocated the Thirty Meter Telescope and scared off wind farm developers.  To quote myself:

All in all, though, while I still maintain a sense that I'm lucky to have been born here and can live out my life in this "Paradise," I worry that we have become a community attempting a return to the past rather than advancing into the future.  

I went on further to say:

According to this source, Hawaii can produce all our electricity just with wind power.  There is no mention that major wind farms were announced for Molokai and Lanai, but local residents successfully scared away investors.

Hawaii is gaining a reputation of a State that only says NO!

So here we are today, and the wind energy industry is perplexed.  Earlier this week, an 816 MW offshore wind power project was announced.  When operating at full capacity, this combined facility would be producing at least half the electricity used on Oahu.  The response was mostly discouraging.  Life of the Land and at least one researcher at the Univerity of Hawaii expressed concern.  The next day, the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Coast Guard, Federal Aviation Administration, Hawaii's Fishermen's Alliance for Conservation and Tradition, environmental groups, Native Hawaiian organizations and community representatives unloaded on the project.  Mind you, some of the concerns were information-seeking, rather than hostile.

On the plus side:

Star Advertiser poll:

June 3, 2015

What’s your reaction to a 102-turbine energy project, 

proposed on two sites 12-17 miles offshore Oahu?

• A. Intriguing; want details (66%, 955 Votes)
• B. Bad idea for Hawaii (34%, 488 Votes)

Total Votes: 1,443

Hooray, two thirds of the local community actually expressed a positive note.  If I sound too much a cheerleader for wind energy, yes, I should disclose that 40 years ago I was chairman of the Wind Energy Division of the American Solar Energy Society, a third of a century ago helped pass in the U.S. Congress the first wind power bill, and, as director of the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute, hosted a variety of workshops and conferences on the subject.  

Here, the State of Hawaii imports 93% of the energy we use, all fossil fuels, which have been identified as the cause of global warming.  Plus, money used to purchase imported energy leaves the State.  If we can keep those funds in the State, the value at least doubles as the money recirculates in our economy.  All common sense argues for the replacement of imported oil, gas and coal with locally produced energy.  

So why is a significant cross-section of our society against something like wind energy?  There is the Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) syndrome.  Then you add aesthetics, noise, religious feelings, threat to economy (hotels in the region of announced wind farms are afraid that the impression of high winds dissuades potential customers), bird kills (the Audubon Society is very active in fighting anything to do with wind power).  I was personally involved 40 years ago when all these forces came against us at hearings.  We then prevailed and were able to continue R&D and for early wind farms to be installed, but there is now an enough is enough attitude and people just don't want too much of what should be a good thing.

Yesterday, the Kahuku Community Association filed an official protest against 10 wind turbines to be operated by Na Pua Makani Power Partners.  The reason:  noise and danger, for homes would only be 2000 feet away.  Okay, I can almost appreciate that concern.

But the groundswell of opposition to the 816 MW offshore facilities is distressing.  Hawaii's best  wind regimes are between our islands because tall mountains channel the winds to these sites.  The ideal location of wind farms is at sea.  From Hawaiian Electric Company:

Here are some facts:

• Anything green (14 MPH and higher mean speed) is fine for wind farms.
• As Hawaii's average cost of electricity is around 30 cents/kWh, while that of the nation is closer to 12 cents/kWh, any colored location is more than adequate for commercialization.
• Orange, Red and Maroon are absolutely fabulous in the top map.
• Purple, Orange and Blue are fantastic.  This power map accentuates the attractiveness, for power increases with the CUBE of wind speed.
• The two Oahu offshore sites will be located in those orange regimes for speed and blue for power. 

• While there are numerous spots on Oahu excellent for wind farms, the ocean is where flow is laminar (smooth...whereas mountains cause turbulence, affecting gears and materials).
• So why don't we put all wind turbines in the ocean?  Simple, they cost a lot more, for here are the total systems levelized cost (don't worry about what these numbers stand for...it's the relativity that counts):
• wind on land           80
• wind offshore        204
• solar PV                  130
• biomass                  103
• geothermal               48
• advanced nuclear     96
• natural gas               66
• coal                          96
• cleaner coal            147
• Based on the above, why don't we switch to geothermal in Hawaii?  Well, NIMBY, noise, smell, Hawaiian culture, opposition by marijuana growers, etc.

All these individuals and organizations opposing wind farms, geothermal facilities, biomass power plants and ocean energy (sure to come...both the technology and protests):  Really, do you want Hawaii to continue to import fossil fuels, rather than convert to FREE and clean natural energy resources?  Why not an attitude of IMBY?  In My Back Yard, please.  I'm not sure whether I'm more mystified or angry about where we are headed as a community.

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At 120 MPH, but weakening, Hurricane Blanca is heading for Baja, with landfall to occur on Monday:

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PROVOCATIVE NEWS ITEMS OF THE DAY

From the Washington Post:

Transgender issues always have a way of making social conservatives very, very uncomfortable, but as the Post story makes clear, their befuddledness and lack of grace dealing with Jenner’s public transition is really something. As the Post puts it, Jenner’s transition is weighted with symbolism for them, in a bad way: “To them, the widespread acceptance of Jenner’s evolution from an Olympic gold medalist whose masculinity was enshrined on a Wheaties box to a shapely woman posing suggestively on the cover of Vanity Fair was a reminder that they are losing the culture wars.”

From Bruce to Caitlyn, there was an Olympic Gold Medal for the decathlon, then three marriages, the third to Kris Kardashian, mother of Courtney, Kim, Kloe and Rob.  Bruce was a Christian conservative and Republican.  Not sure about Caitlyn.

Coming soon, FIBANSERIN, a drug to increase the sexual desire in women.  It looks almost exactly like my high blood pressure pill:

By a vote of 18-6, the advisory committee to the Food and Drug Administration approved this female equivalent to VIAGRA.  Well, early reports indicate that the effect is mild, with potentially serious side effects.  The campaign for fibanserin is a classic case of industry prevailing over government with intense lobbying.    The theme created by Sprout Pharmaceuticals (co-founder Cindy Whitehead below) was Even the Score.

How modest is the expectation?

The women who took part were having an average of two to three of what they defined as “sexually satisfying events” per month when the studies began. Once they started taking the drug, the number of such events increased, but by only about one event per month more than for women in the trial who got a placebo.

By the way, have you noticed the new seductress of Viagra?  That's 47-year old Kelly Hu from Hawaii.  how can she be that old.  Well, she was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993.

Incidentally, the final girl I dated before I left for Stanford more than half a century ago became a Miss Teen Hawaii.  And the other two became finalists for Cherry Blossom Queen.  I wonder if I should contact them?  They did say to let them know when I returned to Hawaii.  Of course that was 57 years ago.  Stay tuned for further developments.

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Hurricane Blanca is weakening, now only at 95 MPH, and expected to affect Baha by late Sunday night:

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HOW TO SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON A CHEAP SPAGHETTI MEAL

Every so often everyone splurges on something.  As you might know, I recently had a bathtub installed, so went to Williams-Sonoma to consider purchasing a couple of bubblebath liquids and, perhaps, bath salts.  The store at the Ala Moana shopping center has essentially moved around the block in the Nordstrom direction.  No one on any kind of budget enters this store, for items are double and triple what they might cost at Wal-mart or the equivalent...for essentially the same product.

But how many years do I have, so why not truly enjoy my future baths?  This is like fine wines.  I can't really tell the difference between cheap and expensive wines, but one tend to appreciate the latter more because they cost so much more.

While in W-S I happened to walk past some exorbitantly priced olive oils and basalmic vinegars.  I don't ever remember paying more than $5 for either, but, in the spirit of maximizing pleasure, went to the extreme.  I remembered 15C's lunch was Italian, so stopped by Fujioka's (a decade ago was purchased by Times Supermarket) and bought a bottle of Barolo.  When I returned, I requested a take-out of spaghetti and meatballs, plus a mixed salad, to be picked up later in the day, where they charge $1.50 for this privilege.

Can you guess which bottle cost $1.50, $3, $30 or $60?

From the left, the truffle oil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil each cost $30, while the Barolo was $60, but "only" $46 on sale at Fujioka's.  My dinner:

The noodles were not the proper al dente, but what can you expect when I had to microwave the pasta.  I might add that Chef Kyle here makes a very decent spaghetti sauce, and the meatballs were nicely small.  Note the basil leaves, for they come from my basil, mint and arugula lanai garden:

Thus, was this a cheap $1.50 meal, or, a very expensive $137.50 spaghetti meal?  Probably the former, for the truffle oil, olive oil and balsamic vinegar will last me a very long time for dozens of lanai meals.  The Barolo was excellent, and I will tonight bring it to my Thursday night dinner table tonight.

I've now been here at 15C for a year and did not realize my apartment was just above my parking spot.

There was also the beginning of a sunset as I dined.

SPECIAL JAWS ALERT:  Beginning at 4PM Hawaii time, AMC will show the four versions of Jaws, beginning with the original and ending with Jaws:  The Revenge.  AMC has commercials, so, clearly, should you have a recorder...

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Hurricane Blanca is now at 110 MPH, should strengthen into a Category 3, but then weaken before striking Baha on Monday:

Former Hurricane Andres has now weakened to 40 MPH, but, curiously is backtracking in a south easternly direction.

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YET ANOTHER DAY AT 15C

Why is a mystery to me, but my readership increases when I post on my doings at 15 Craigside.  Thus, anytime you see 15C in the title, that means there will be something related to my activities here.   I'm actually a day late, for I had to post American's Got Talent yesterday.

First, Pearl's Sunburst began blooming several days ago, so I placed the pot in the 12th floor elevator foyer.  Yesterday the flower attained full bloom:

Here is the photo on the back cover of SIMPLE SOLUTION ESSAYS:

I went for a quick bento lunch at Magic Island, where the waves were at a summer high, double the height of the surfers:

Then off for some golf at the Ala Wai Golf Course, where I took the following photo:

There is a plaque in front of that Gold Tree, with Diamond Head in the far background.  There are around 20 of these trees now scattered throughout the course.

On the way to our 15C dining room, I said hi to Jo Ann, who is the friendliest reception in the whole wide world.

Like many of our staffers here, she came from Aloha Airlines.  Then, as I entered our cafeteria (yes, it is not quite a dining room yet) I took a photo of Fred (of Sarento's fame) and Lily.

Lily is the mother of Ed Ing, who was General Counsel for U.S Senator Spark Matsunaga when we worked together and shared the same office section a third of a century ago.

Our Monday Night Dinner Table drink of the week was a Mexican mojito.  Our personal bartender is Dexter, who went through all the motions of muddling the mint.  I was requested to bring two bottles of light rum:

I didn't know much about mojitos, so looked up the subject on Wikipedia, and noted that the Cuban version uses rum, but the Mexican mojito should use tequila.  We now have a wireless speaker playing music from my iPhone, and tonight we had Mexican music.  I guess I should have brought Cuban tunes, but I'm not sure anyone on the table would appreciate the difference, especially as we now have it so soft.  Last week an adjacent table complained that we were playing our patriotic songs (it was, after all, Memorial Day) too loud.  At least we haven't been kicked out of the room yet.  

For dessert, Emily and Dexter brought the peelable version of the Chinese stickey rice cake:

In the background to the left is a table which benefited from four glasses of our mojitos.  We complained that they were laughing too loudly. 

Sam Fujii (above with Cookie of 15C) of our table this past Saturday was honored with the French Legion of Honor for his service in the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team (no, that bottle of Haleiwa Sochu is not the medal), and Minoru Tamashiro, also on our table, should be one of the next awardees.  Here are Polly and Mino to the left.  I might add I was once in the 442, but that was during the Vietnam War.

My evening then ended at the 15C poker table.  Another great day in 15C.

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Hurricane Andre was the strongest storm in this part of the Pacific ever, for the month of May.  Today, Hurricane Blanca is at 130 MPH and over the next day could strengthen into a Category 5, then, by the weekend weaken and threaten Baja:

As I said yesterday, this kind of activity so early in the season can only be taken as ominous.

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AMERICA'S GOT TALENT: Season 10

If I had to rank my favorite network series programs, America's Got Talent (AGT) on NBC is probably #1.  However, relative to my life in general, this facet of my interest is so relatively insignificant that I neglected to even watch or record the opening session of Season Ten, which occurred a week ago Tuesday.  I was mildly depressed until I figured out a solution. 

In Hawaii, Channel 1017 is Oceanic's service to you where the top programs are kept for a week.  AGT is on ABC, and if you go to that station, effectively, Oceanic has recorded it for you.  

So I saw that first show, which tends to be of especial interest, as the producers present some of the most interesting acts of the season to capture your attention.  Particularly heart-warming stories are linked to the performances.  One problem is that you can't fast-forward through the commercials.  You can, of course,  also re-watch this program on the internet.  See that flag?  Turns out that many of the performers are not from America.  Hey, but we are the land of opportunity.

So tonight at 7PM or 8PM, depending on where you live, tune in to Week #2.  If you are pressed for time, record those two hours so you can at your leisure later erase the commercials.

I've reported on AGT before, so let me today just focus on Howie Mandel (that's him when he was 32...now almost 50) one of the four judges:

He is the bald guy on the right.  He has been here and there in entertainment, but has found his calling on this program.  By the way, he has natural hair, but shaves his head as a symptom of severe mysophobia, a pathological fear of germs.  He feels cleaner when bald.  He also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, (ADHD), so is a bundle of nerves.  In the first show this year a hypnotist persuaded Mandel to touch people without fear.  Mandel also used his "once only" Golden Buzzer, which allowed a stuttering comedian, Drew Lynch (left), a free pass to the live show.  Understandably, Mandel personally identified with this handicapped individual.

AGT was created by Simon Cowell, and in 2006 preceded Britain's Got Talent.  However, because Cowell was a judge on American Idol (AI), he could not participate in AGT, so instead also invented The X Factor in 2011.  Previous hosts of AGT were Regis Philbin and Jerry Springer, now Nick Cannon (on the left above).

I enjoy AGT over AI because the entertainment can be anything, some bizarre and even dangerous.  However, most of the winners have been singers, beginning in Season One with Bianca Ryan, all of 11 years old then.  The annual champ gets $1 million (40-year annuity) and a Las Vegas Strip headline show.  Bianca today to the right.

Unquestionably, the success story is Jackie Evancho, who was selected through a You Tube application, only came in #2 in Season Five, but has sold more than two million albums.  Two made it to #2 on Billboard.  She has to, though, "save" her career, for her second album sold 1.1 million, and each subsequent release declined:  682,000, 341,213, 116,054 and now 41,566.  Her first live performance on AGT was stunning.  If you haven't seen it, CLICK HERE.

She was only 10 years old!  A more recent photo to the right.

So watch America's Got Talent tonight.  I have poker, so will need to remember to record it.

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Andres is still a hurricane, but is weakening and does not know what to do.  All models show him turning east, then southeast, a strange path:

Blanca, to the east, has suddenly become a real hurricane at 85 MPH, and could easily become a Category 3 or 4 very soon.  Again, very weird:

Blanca should weaken and probably strike Baha.  However, this freaky start to our hurricane season is worrisome.

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