Wiliki Lono 1 : A Sustainability Research Proposal for Hawaii

Transcription

1 Wiliki Lono 1 : A Sustainability Research Proposal for Hawaii The most laudable of Lingle's goals is changing the state's economy from one being overreliant on land development to 'one that is innovation driven,' including alternative energy. Today the state sends $7 billion out of the state for fossil fuel. Another financial drain is importing 85 percent of the state's food. A comprehensive stratified research plan for long term sustainability in Hawaii based on advanced technology, forecasts of future conditions and the generous application of efficiency to the vast existing built environment. The proposal addresses major challenges for long term sustainability some of which are unique or uniquely acute for Hawaii. It proposes specific research subjects to address sustainability in Hawaii. It is comprehensive because it is based on the critical five pillars of sustainability or TWISE (Tourism, Waste management, Infrastructure, Supply chain, and Energy) as shown in Figure 1. It is stratified over time in micro, meso and macro scale, with micro challenges being those potentially addressable in 5-10 years from now; meso challenges being those potentially addressable in years from now, and macro challenges being addressed in 20 or more years, as depicted in Figure 2. Advanced technologies will be studied for generating feasible and cost-effective alternative for renewable energy, transportation as well as for small but critical modifications to travel behavior and life-styles. Forecasts of future conditions are critical for preparing new and updated infrastructure and for protecting the existing built environment. Sea level rise and fuel shortages, along with plans to tackle such mega-challenges are necessary for any plan for long-term sustainability. A critical component of sustainability with the ability to pay large dividends starting immediately is efficiency gains. Research on the extensive existing built environment throughout the Hawaiian Islands will identify feasible and costeffective efficiency improvements for all buildings, industrial plants, homes and infrastructure. 1 Wiliki is Engineer and Lono is the Hawaiian god of the sun, which is Earth s only sustainable energy resource for several millennia into the future. Wiliki Lono then stands for Engineered Sustainability with emphasis on Infrastructure. Page 1 of 8

2 A recent (1/12/09) conference at the Hawaii Legislature by the Blue Planet Foundation stated that Energy Efficiency is the largest, cheapest, safest and fastest energy option that is 100% obtained from investment in local homes and businesses. However, it is the least visible, least understood and most neglected. Besides smart and efficient homes, offices and industrial sites, the same foundation recommended updates to the state s Mobility Policy by encouraging bile lanes and telecommuting as well as efficient vehicles ( foster purchase of high MPG cars in Hawaii, incentivize high-efficiency vehicles, penalize gas guzzlers, mandate gas stations provide working, free air and tire gauges for filling tires to proper efficiency ) and providing alternatives to internal combustion. The internal combustion engines will be around for several more decades, thus alternatives fuels such as methanol from biomass which can easily grow in Hawaii is a potentially strong fuel source. Hawaii s long term survival challenges are highlighted below: Most dependent on oil among 50 states. Big Island geothermal energy accounts for roughly 30% of electric demand. Oahu waste-to-energy accounts for roughly 20% of electric demand. Abundant solar energy accounts for well under 1% of energy use in Hawaii. Hawaii residents pay among the nation s highest rates for electricity and fuel. Importation of food and materials for construction at over 90% raises dependence to an extreme level. Tourism contribution to GSP is very high and essential to the Gross State Product. Dependency on Congressional earmarks: high for Hawaii, and very high for University of Hawaii lead to a poor outlook past 2020, thus sustainable development and research are essential. Sustainability has a more acute character for Hawaii than most other mainland states. In many respects it is survival in the middle of the Pacific with the closest help and support being over two thousand miles away. (One would have hoped that infrastructure in Hawaii is built to address such a unique weakness vis-à-vis major threats such as tsunamis and hurricanes, but on the contrary, the recent power outages, the flimsy bridges on Kauai, the sewage spills and water main breaks indicate exactly the opposite: an old, decaying, substandard and highly vulnerable infrastructure.) A number of specific research subjects to address challenges, weakness and opportunities for improvement are shown in Figure 3. All of the subjects shown are part of the subject proposal and the (future) section on Proposed Research Page 2 of 8

3 has concise description of the research subjects including issues being addressed and expected outcomes. FIGURE 1: The Five Pillars of Sustainability in Hawaii Page 3 of 8

4 FIGURE 2: Time-stratified Sustainability Issues for Hawaii Approximate time scale Macro Loss of infrastructure due to sea level rise Code for mass green retrofits to all built environment Long haul high capacity transportation alternatives Loss of beach due to sea level rise Meso Smart electric grid Infrastructure resilience to hurricane and tsunami Waste no wastewater Green government and offices Fuel shortages Micro Comprehensive infrastructure recycling Fuel cell combustion renewable energy New green buildings Telecommuting; other green travel Infrastructure health monitoring (sensors) Beach health monitoring Page 4 of 8

5 FIGURE 3: Proposed Research Areas and Specific Subjects 1. Sensors a. Infrastructure health monitoring b. Beach quality (health-threatening pollutant monitoring) c. Individual consumer behavior (trips, energy consumption, ) d. 2. Local transportation alternatives a. Better Place concept for electric vehicle substitution b. Telecommuting c. Other efficient vehicles d. Incentives for green travel e. f. SCL 2 3. Infrastructure resilience a. Disasters (hurricane, tsunami, flooding, military accident, dam collapse) b. Climate change (sea water level rise and other threats to infrastructure) c. Long haul freight and passenger transportation d. 4. Energy New technologies i. Green buildings ii. Fuel cells, combustion, other renewable energy iii. Smart grid and pumped hydroelectric storage iv. v. SCL Efficiency vi. Examine feasible, cost effective retrofits to the vast existing built environment vii. Sustainable resorts (military to civilian conversion of technology) viii. Off-grid residences, small businesses, tourist bungalows ix. 5. Large scale recycling and reuse a. Pavements b. Aggregates c. Glass d. Rebar e. Fly ash f. Wastewater g. Refrigerants h. Municipal wastes 2 SCL is Social, Cultural and Legal challenges or barriers to implementation. Page 5 of 8

6 DISCIPLINES INVOLVED Civil Engineering and Architecture: structures, traffic mgmt, ITS, pavements, green buildings, recycling, materials Electrical Engineering and Computer Science: Sensors, solar energy, electric vehicles, smart power grids Mechanical Engineering: Methods, materials, corrosion HNEI: Biofuels, energy alternatives Travel Industry Management: sustainable tourism, supply needs, capacities, threats Law: Environmental, transportation, international law Economics: Demand, forecasts, pricing, evaluation Geophysics: Inundation zones (tsunami, hurricane flood or sea level rise) OUTCOMES Life cycle processes and simulations Analytical proofs of concepts Articles, papers and reports Professional seminars Community and school presentations Undergraduate and graduate courses Intra/extramural cooperation Research proposals Public/private technology demonstrators EXPORTABLE KNOWLEDGE Develop a sustainable path for heavily populated island communities through: Diversity of energy resources Solar energy: direct and through green waste Emphasis on renewable propulsion (green boosters or fuels) Updated codes for urban areas (green codes) Optimization of urban travel (green travel) Remanufacturing of solid and liquid wastes into useful products Survive fuel shortages, disasters and floods PARTNERS/EXTERNAL SUPPORTERS Governor Lingle, Hawaii State DOT, Hawaii State DBEDT, Better Place, Cybercom, Kite for Sail (Maui), HCDC, Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), Saitama University (Japan) MAJOR PROSPECTS 2010 University Transportation Center via Congress/U.S. DOT, NSF projects, NSF IGERT or Renewable Energy, EPA, State of Hawaii (various agencies) Page 6 of 8

7 Engineers: U.S. infrastructure a 'D' American Society of Civil Engineers says under-funding has caused the nation's infrastructure to crumble - and stimulus won't do enough. By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: January 28, 2009: 11:22 AM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The nation's roads, bridges, power grid, water supply, schools and transit systems are all in a state of disrepair due to under-funding - and the proposed stimulus plan will not go far enough to solve the problem, according to a report released Wednesday. The American Society of Civil Engineers, which represents 146,000 engineers across the country and grades the nation's infrastructure every four years, assigned a "D" grade to the country's infrastructure. The group said the cost to repair crumbling public structures has risen to $2.2 trillion from $1.7 trillion in "The nation's infrastructure crisis is endangering our future prosperity," ASCE President Wayne Klotz said at a press conference. "Crumbling infrastructure has a direct impact on our personal and economic health." The group rated 15 infrastructure categories, none of which received a grader higher than "C+." Drinking water, inland waterways, levees, roads and wastewater facilities all received a "D-," the lowest grades on the 2009 report card. Roads got a particularly poor grade, as Americans spend an estimated 4.2 billion hours a year stuck in traffic, which costs the economy about $78.2 billion a year, according to ASCE. Highway construction is set to receive $30 billion from the stimulus plan - the largest portion of infrastructure spending in the bill. The national power grid, another key project in the stimulus plan, got a "D+." ASCE said public investment on the grid has not met rising demand for power and electric utility investment needs could rise to $1.5 trillion in 20 years. President Obama has proposed updating the existing structure to a new "smart" grid. But even if the federal government passes its economic stimulus plan, ASCE still estimates that infrastructure will be under-funded by $1.1 trillion. State and federal spending will only amount to $903 billion in the next five years, according to the group's estimates, and stimulus spending is expected to be less than $100 billion. Page 7 of 8

8 The group said the stimulus program would amount to a good start, but the country "clearly still has a long way to go." "By all accounts, infrastructure investment only represents a small percentage of the overall package," said Klotz. "Even with the stimulus package, there remains a still significant - some would say staggering - $1.1 trillion gap in funding." Still, Klotz supported the bill, calling government's effort a historic level of leadership." He said that each billion dollars spent on infrastructure supports 35,000 jobs and is a key element of the economy's recovery efforts. The report also presented several broad solutions to the problem, including increasing infrastructure investment on a state and federal level, promoting a culture of sustainability and developing plans for future public works programs. First Published: January 28, 2009: 11:17 AM ET Page 8 of 8