Welcome
Mayor William Kenoi, County of Hawai‘i
The Kohala Center is the kind of organization that provides leadership by bringing leaders together, so that we can all collaborate and learn to rethink, revalue, and reframe issues that we all care about.
The science of sustainability, what the Yale folks call “industrial ecology,” looks at energy, food, and water sustainability, as well as the unique characteristics of this island, in terms of its social, cultural, historical, and industrial systems.
When we think about how to become sustainable, we see that we need to make a collective effort and work together to change the status quo. Contained in this community are the answers for moving forward into the next generation. I believe we can do this, if we roll up our sleeves. We need to move from 37% to 70% renewables. We can do this with bio-fuels produced from algae and from utilizing geothermal resources.
This island is a gift that has been given to us by our grandparents. Our kuleana (responsibility) is to address the challenges we face and to be innovative and creative so that our children can benefit from this great legacy that is Hawai‘i Island.
We have many assets. This project will help us to talk about the gifts we have, including our island leaders. One gift we should all recognize is the leadership provided by Dr. Earl Bakken, who has been a solution pioneer for humankind and an inspiration for us all.