Tuesday, July 2, 2013

USA, Hawai'i:

Opinion: For Native Hawaiians, Supporting Geothermal Makes Cultural Sense (Honolulu Civil Beat)

‘Auwe nohoi! We are at a critical turning point in our history.  For the first time in a long, long while, Native Hawaiians and the public at large are poised to play a meaningful role in how we shape our future.

The trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) were recently presented with the opportunity to make change happen.  Innovations Development Group (IDG), a Native Hawaiian company that is already developing geothermal energy on behalf of a number of Maori Trusts, took to OHA the results of nearly two years of canvassing the Hawaii geothermal community.

After months of careful internal consideration and external review, the OHA trustees voted almost unanimously to invest as a player in a groundbreaking effort to finally do something about our dependence on imported oil by developing a firm power alternative: geothermal. The investment met OHA's strategic priorities. It is in line with its mission. It is consistent with OHA’s direct investment policies and meets the requirements set out under federal law in the Uniform Prudent Investment Act.