The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission opened a proceeding to examine energy equity in December 2022. “Energy equity refers to the goal of achieving equity in both the social and economic participation in the energy system, while also remediating social, economic, and...
Kat Brady is Coordinator of the Community Alliance on Prisons and Life of the Land`s Vice President for Social Justice. Life of the Land is fiscal sponsor for Community Alliance on Prisons. Dr. Marilyn Brown introduced Kat Brady: Kat Brady, many love and admire...
Fires require ignition, oxygen and fuel. The legacy of Big Ag has left us with 1,500 square miles (1 million acres) of dense, unmanaged, invasive grasses. Combined with high winds, this is a deadly combination. Hawaiian Electric calls Life of the Land the most...
We grieve with all those impacted by the Maui Fires. Hawai`i has 1,000,000 acres (1,500 square miles) of former agricultural land that is now occupied by unmanaged, dense, invasive grassland. It was/is a ticking time-bomb waiting to explode. Lahaina was widely...
Life of the Land received a phone call in March 1996. Would we join an effort to stop a transmission line from being built? Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) had proposed the project in the 1970s and the community had stopped it. HECO was resurrecting the proposal. The...
By Kat Brady. Having a difficult time putting into words the 2023 session. Each session has its own personality and after almost 3 decades, that is understood; yet the 2023 session felt very different. The fact that two legislators are in prison, and one is...
Community benefit packages have been discussed in numerous Hawai`i Public Utilities Commission dockets since 2005. Community benefits packages have been created and implemented by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO), Hawai`i...
Continental-based firm fossil fuel power generators are powered by coal, gas, and nuclear. Island-based firm fossil fuel power generators are powered by various types of petroleum such as fuel oil and diesel. Firm renewable energy systems can include generators...
The question is not whether an extreme weather event will hit Hawai`i, but whether we will be prepared. Extreme weather events threaten Hawai`i electric, gas, water, wastewater, and telecommunication infrastructure. Hardening systems and added redundancy is required....
Life of the Land opposes an additional state tax on carbon. There are far more effectively ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions including mandates to increase the use of low climate impact energy sources for electricity and ground transportation. Hawai`i has two...
Life of the Land opposes unsustainably deep-sea mining that is currently being proposed for the ocean floor. Deep sea mining poses an existential threat to relatively unknown marine ecosystems. We should recycle electronic devices to recover rare earth minerals rather...
Life of the Land had a long history working on sustainable agricultural issues. This included protecting agricultural land, promoting sustainable agriculture, working on pesticide and toxic hotspots, and being a successful plaintiff in the multi-million-dollar...