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The truly independent environmental and community action group based on research, experience and plenty sweat equity!

Sometimes it feels that we are living in an Orwellian world –war is peace, hate is love, evil is good. The spin around clean energy, the newest attraction for all sorts of players hoping to make a name for themselves, is truly Orwellian.

70% clean energy by 2030, the mantra goes. But is it true? Let’s be honest about this top-down plan: It is 70% of 70% of the energy Hawai`i uses because itexcludes marine and air transportation. That gets us to 49%. And of the 49%, 21%is energy efficiency. So that really means that 28% is the goal for renewableenergy by 2030. This has been confirmed by the US Department ofEnergy.

But 70% sounds so much better.

When questioning one of the cheerleaders for this plan about this deceit constantly stating that 70% of Hawai`i’s energy will be clean energy (undefined in theplan) by 2030, the reply to Life of the Land was, “Yeah, I know.” Yet the mantrais being repeated over and over again.

This brings to mind a quote by Joseph Goebbels: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from thepolitical, economic and or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomesvitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, forthe truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth isthe greatest enemy of the State.”

Hawai`i has a Renewable Portfolio Standard (albeit with a ridiculous description of renewable energy that includes low flush toilets, energy efficient light bulbs, and green building design – all good, but notenergy generators) that mandates 20% of the energy generated by 2020 be fromrenewable resources. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that if we extendedthese standards past 2020, we would have 30% of our energy generated fromrenewable resources by 2030.

What happened to transparency and accountability?

Despite the spin, Life of the Land continues to push for energy generated from Hawai`i’s own resources so we can stop the export of billions of dollars leaking from our suffering economy each year.

Life of the Land is currently in 10 Public Utilities Commission dockets (cases) because that is where the rubber meets the road. We have been the only publicinterest group in these dockets for most of the last 15 years. In the last yearor so other groups have begun intervening. Energy is now the new darling of the environment.

Interestingly, some of these groups laughed when we got involved in energy in the 90’s saying, “Energy is not an environmental issue.” Now that it has become a front burner issue,some groups are seeing that there is money to be made in the energy arena, sothey are not saying that anymore.

Our Executive Director, Henry Curtis, has devoted the last 15 years and thousands of hours studying and continues studying the best ways for Hawai`i to be energyself-reliant. Our love is for Hawai`i and the generations that will come afterus.

Life of the Land has never taken on issues because of their popularity or because we thought we could make money from them. Our interest has always been andcontinues to be the self-reliance of Hawai`i with the sole intent of leavingsomething for future generations to be proud of.

Life of the Land’s Assistant Executive Director, Kat Brady, has brought the justice component to our work. Her research and passion in this arena has informed ourpositions on imported tropical biofuels. She has been working to create a morejust and equal society by pushing for more transparency and accountability ingovernment and more effective and reasonable approaches to Hawai`i’s socialproblems.

The work that Henry and Kat do every day to build a better Hawai`i often goes unrecognized because self-promotion is not their goal. A healthier, more just,and equal society is their sole motivation.

We, therefore, humbly ask for your help so Life of the Land can continue to work on environmental, energy, and justice issues. We have always done the work on avery slim budget and we are facing unusually challenging times right now, asmost people are.

We hope that you can support the truly independent and direct action of Life of the Land.

Mahalo for your past support and, we hope, your continued support.

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Life of the Land

76 N King Street, Suite 203

Honolulu, HI 96817

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