No No No No No! And To Be Clear --- Fuggitaboutit!

We admit to a little neglect of this blog and the world strikes back! It's been about a week since the Legislature went into session, and already some of our public servants want to study the feasibility of nuclear power in Hawaii.

We warned you this could happen – way back on August 6th after picking up the signs in downtown Honolulu.

Let’s be clear about opposition to nuclear power in Hawaii and hope it somehow gets to the newspapers: You don’t have to be an “environmentalist” or “activist” to oppose nuke power in these islands. That’s how today’s Advertiser seems to lump opponents.

You can be a realist or a pragmatist or an idealist or someone who simply knows with certainty that Hawaii’s alternatives to burning fossil fuel to generate electricity can be found in the wind, sun and ocean.

What do you suppose would happen if you asked legislators who support nuclear power for an elevator talk on ocean thermal energy conversion? Would they even know where to begin?

The tropical ocean is the largest solar energy collector on the planet, and we’re swimming in it! Plans are underway to build Hawaii’s first operating OTEC plant; when proven and built out to 100-megawatt size on off-shore platforms or ships, OTEC will be a source of unlimited baseload power that takes advantage of nuclear energy supplied by the sun.

That’s a comeback used by Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation:

“We do have nuclear power in Hawaii; it’s called the sun and it’s safely located 93 million miles away.”

The sun’s energy is stored safely in the ocean that surrounds us, so let’s get on with ensuring a smooth and rapid transition to clean, renewable energy and stop this ridiculous talk about bringing nuclear power to Hawaii.  For more on renewable energy as "our only viable option," see Pat Takahashi's piece today at Huffington Post.