Richard Ha writes:
I testified before the County Council against Resolution 42-18. That’s the resolution that asks the Legislature to repeal Act 97, which allows geothermal resource zones in certain land classifications.
This was my testimony:
I think we can make things work to everyone’s satisfaction by amending Act 97, instead of repealing it.
I am testifying as a farmer who has attended five Association for the Study of Peak Oil (ASPO) conferences. Most of the time, I was the only person there from Hawai‘i.
The world has been using two to three times the amount of oil as it had been finding, for 30 years. Oil is a finite resource and there will be consequences. It’s not a matter of if. It is just a matter of when.
More Information can be found at the ASPO website.
A report done by an economic research team of the IMF was presented at the last ASPO conference.
They modeled five declining oil scenarios. They found that under declining oil scenarios of between one and four percent – when oil price exceeds $200 per barrel of oil – it could not be modeled. That would be uncharted waters.
The report said when two of three of the following conditions occur, then all bets are off.
- If the minimum amount of oil necessary to maintain infrastructure is not met
- If a minimum amount of oil necessary to maintain essential technology is not met
- Or if the relationship of supply to demand exceeds 1-1, and the oil price rises faster than supply
If two or more of these issues occur simultaneously, the results could be dramatic or even downright implausible. These words in an economic report are very worrisome, especially for us living out here on an island.
We on the Big Island could be in jeopardy from outside forces. Robert Rapier, an International energy expert, lives right here on the Big Island. I highly recommend that the County Council ask him to give a presentation.
I also recommend that we start to focus on solutions. Just saying no is not enough.