PUC Decision on Hawaii Electric’s Rooftop Solar Program; Merwin Conservancy’s The Green Room; Community Opposition to Waianae Homeless Shelter
PUC Decision on Hawaii Electric’s Rooftop Solar Program: Leslie Cole Brooks
Our first conversation may make you wish that you had transitioned to solar sooner. Last week the Public Utilities Commission agreed with HECO to end net metering. You may remember that we talked about this months ago as HECO was floating new plans for a capped credit for new solar customers. Critics say the end of net metering will undercut the move away from fossil fuel, even though it will be replaced with two new programs that start this week. With a look at how the solar industry is assessing the change, Hawaii Solar Energy Association executive director Leslie Cole Brooks joined The Conversation in our studios.
- Intro Music: I Want To Be Happy by Sonny Rollins, Thelonious Monk
- Outro Music: Trane's Blues (aka John Paul Jones) by John Coltrane and Paul Chambers
Merwin Conservancy’s The Green Room: Barry Lopez
How did we get so far removed from nature? Most of us, even in Hawaii, live our lives at a remove from the natural world. It’s around us and we appreciate it, but it’s in its own little compartment to open and close as we choose and we’re not immersed in it. Barry Lopez is a nature writer and environmentalist who thinks about such things as he wonders why people who do live close to nature, like the indigenous people of the earth, are so often stripped of power by their governments. He’ll be talking about his work this Friday evening in the McCoy Theater at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. It’s part of the ongoing Green Room series sponsored by the Merwin Conservancy.
- Intro Music: Trane's Blues (aka John Paul Jones) by John Coltrane and Paul Chambers
- Outro Music: Nutty by Thelonious Monk
Community Opposition to Waianae Homeless Shelter: Kymberly Pine
At the end of our special series on homelessness last month came word from Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell of plans for a new leeward shelter. The City had been eyeing a little over an acre to support a small modular community as a temporary home for about 75 to 90 people. But residents aren’t so sure they want another shelter which could be a potential magnet for homeless people. Councilwoman Kymberly Pine represents the area and joined The Conversation via phone to share her thoughts.
- Intro Music: We Made Our History by The Best Pessimist
- Outro Music: Clarity by Moonlit Sailor
