Category: Hawai’i

Exploring the islands

SB1025/HB1159 Relating to Light Pollution

Light pollution, a subject near and dear to any sky-gazers heart. It seems we are always struggling to educate our fellow citizens that more is not better, it can be far worse, particularly when it comes to the subject of artificial light. We are at odds with the child inside all of us that delights in the creation of light, a magic that never seems to lose its charm.

LED versus Low Pressure Sodium
Downtown Waimea with new LED streetlights and old LPS
Unfortunately artificial light has a price, and it can be steep, a hidden cost that many do not see. Light at night consumes a lot of energy, megawatts that are simply wasted illuminating places where no one sees it. Or worse, mega watts that are shone into the sky where it has no benefit at all.

Artificial light harms many species that live near our cities and towns, birds, sea-turtles, and more lured to their doom by the lights. The light also harm us, disturbing circadian rhythms and other natural cycles necessary for good health.

Light pollution also obscures the stars, drowning out the universe that would otherwise shine brightly overhead. Besides being a subject we should all care about, the night skies have a real economic impact here in Hawaii, a state largely dependent on a healthy environment and the tourists that come to enjoy that environment.

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HB1767 4WD On Waipio and Mauna Kea

Found among the recent legislation proposed for the 2018 session is HB1767 Related to Motor Vehicles. The bill caught my attention when searching for proposed legislation affecting Mauna Kea. As the issues that swirl about our mauna are high profile there is no surprise that there are multiple bills that turned up in my search.

Four Wheel Drive Only
The back road around Puʻu Hau ʻOki to the summit of Mauna Kea
The bill does two things.. . It requires tour operators to operate with a state issued permit on two road ways, the roadway descending to the floor of Waipio Valley, and the access road to the summit of Mauna Kea. It also requires any vehicle on these same two roads to be only a “low gear four-wheel drive vehicle”.

It is this second provision that really caught my attention. This is something to look twice at and wonder what the effects of this particular legislation might be.

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Proposed Legislation

There are quite a few different bills proposed for this session of the Hawaii legislature that address astronomy and Mauna Kea. Of the more interesting there are proposals for an independant manangement body for the mauna, 4WD drive access to Mauna Kea and Waipio valley, addressing light pollution, and an audit of OMKM.

Mauna Kea Sunrise
Sunrise over Mauna Kea greets me on the morning commute.
As some of these proposals have a direct effect on the mauna and upon me personally I intend to address each of these proposals in blog posts. I also intend to submit testimony on these bills, reading and blogging on them will help.

Just added! (12Feb2018)

As usual for the Hawaii legislature there is occasionally both a house and senate version some of the bills. These must be reconciled in the end as they wend through the rather interesting process our state lege uses. Several of these have passed first reading, the first weeding out of bills in the process for this session.