Tag Archives: Royal Order of Kamehameha

Protest at the TMT Groundbreaking

Richard Ha writes:

Tuesday morning was the groundbreaking ceremony for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT). The blessing took place – Kahu Kaniela Akaka blessed the four corners of the site – but the speeches, the cutting of the maile lei and the ‘o‘o symbolically breaking the ground had to be cancelled due to protestors.

I understand and am okay with folks expressing their passionate opinions. But I am very embarrassed that they attacked the foreign dignitaries at the ceremony, our guests, yelling at them close up and calling them thieves and snakes. That was truly bad manners.

It is not Hawaiian style. That made us all shame and reflected very, very poorly on all Hawaiians.

Kaliko Kanaele of the Royal Order of Kamehameha was present at the protest. The Royal Order’s mission statement says this:

The purpose of the Royal Order of Kamehameha I as it is known today is to unite in fraternal and benevolent work, men of Hawaiian descent, of good moral character, of sound bodily health; to cultivate the cardinal principles of friendship, charity and benevolence; to aid widows and orphans; to improve the social and moral conditions of its members; to provide scholarship assistance; to preserve and perpetuate the ancient culture, customs, and traditions of Hawai’i, uplift the Hawaiian people; infuse the spirit of patriotism, loyalty, helpfulness and kindness among its members; advance the interest of its members in every rightful cause, and to encourage and develop leadership.

I don’t see how protesting the TMT uplifts the Hawaiian people. The leadership of the Royal Order needs to do some soul searching, or else they should change the organization’s mission statement.

The TMT is one way of taking care of our people and our future. It provides jobs, money for the economy, money for our keiki’s education, furthers our scientific knowledge, and moves us and our families and our island forward.

There is more than one way to respect and honor our ‘aina and our ancestors and our mauna. Our people have always been brilliant and managed to honor the past at the same time they move forward and take advantage of the best of the present. I don’t know why people now are so hell bent on fighting to stay in the past.

Mayor Billy Kenoi was there; he spoke with the protestors and handled it well, trying to find common ground. He gave the police explicit instructors that no one got hurt and there would be no arrests. He handled it very well and I was proud of him. No one felt any danger. It was the manners part that was a big problem.

Learning From The Past & Moving Forward

My impressions regarding the arrival of the seven vaka:

  • The canoes: They looked like ancient canoes, but were equipped with the most modern equipment.

Vaka

7 vakas at Palekai

TJ Glauthier, me, Patrick Kahawaiola’a, Ramsay Taum and Rick Blangiardi. All are Ku‘oko‘a members, except for Patrick, who is President of the Keaukaha Community Association

  • The people: They have kept the old values, and we respect and admire that.

Welcome ceremony

  • The future: It is uncertain, but our values must be clear: What’s important is taking care of the land, the people and future generations.

PatTalking story with Uncle Patrick Kahawaiola’a

Royal orderThe Royal Order of Kamehameha

Kalepa Kalepa Baybayan, left, is Navigator-in-Residence at ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center

With Nainoa

Me with Nainoa Thompson (right

  • The lesson: We were there to participate and to, ourselves, become grounded.

PageantryPageantry!

Kaiu
Ka‘iu Kimura (at left) is executive director of ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center

DieterDieter Paulmann (left) poses with some members of the 1976 Hokule‘a crew

Hawaiian Perspectives in Support of Geothermal

Over the weekend I was on the panel of a Hilo Community meeting called “Hawaiian Perspectives in Support of Geothermal Development.” It was held at the UH Hilo, and I estimate that about 50 people attended. By far the majority of the folks there were in favor of geothermal development, provided it is done in a pono way.

Flyer2-UH-Hilo-Mtg-5.28.11
Each panel member spoke about his/her area of interest.

IMG_0912

From left to right, this is Wallace Ishibashi, co-chair of the Geothermal Working Group, and member of the Royal Order of Kamehameha; Robert Lindsey, Big Island OHA trustee, Geothermal Working Group member; Mililani Trask, Hawaiian legal rights attorney and consultant to Innovations Development Group

I talked from the point of view of a banana farmer who, five years ago, found his operating costs rising, and attended three Peak Oil conferences to learn how to position his business in a future of rising oil prices.

I talked about how there are serious outside forces at work. The world has been using twice as much oil as it has been finding, and has been doing so for the last 20 years. The winds of change will soon be blowing and oil prices will be rising. It is very serious, and we cannot afford to insist on individual agendas. It is no longer about us now; it is about future generations.

There are many ways that we can deal with depleting oil.

HECO’s plan of fueling with biofuels will cause electricity rates to rise. Rising electric rates means that folks on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder will be the first to have their lights shut off.

There are people who advocate small scale, individual solutions to energy independence. This approach will encourage those who are able to leave the grid to do so, and leave the folks that are unable to leave to pay for the grid.

Another, much better, alternative is to bring more geothermal on line. Geothermal is proven technology, clean and lower in cost than other base power solutions. The more geothermal we use, the more we protect ourselves from future oil shocks.

I told the group what I had asked Carl Bonham of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization: If we can maximize geothermal as our primary source of base power, will we become relatively more competitive to the rest of the world as oil prices rise? He said yes.

I told the group that we are lucky to have the options that we have, especially geothermal. Very few in the world are as lucky.

In modern Hawaiian history, our economy has taken, taken, taken and the culture has given given given. We are at a unique time now when the economy can give and the culture can receive.

Do we dare dream of prosperity for future generations? I believe that most felt that geothermal was the way to get us there.

There are a thousand reasons why “No can.” We are looking for the one reason why “CAN!”