Comments from the petition to Governor Abercrombie 

The following are comments from the petition to tell Hawai`i state governor Abercrombie and members of the Hawaii State Legislature to stop Big Wind on Lana’i and Moloka’i and to support decentralized energy solutions.

Please visit the petition page and sign it.

I signed this petition because…..

“Because the legacy of the island is all of our responsibility and the wind farm and what gets left afterwards is not something I want to pass on to the keiki of our island. Surely, we can be better stewards of our beautiful island.”

L.G., Lanai City, HI

“I am a recent tourist to the island and was saddened to learn that this idea was even in the works. Ruin a beautiful island to line the pockets of a few??? Why would mainlanders want to come visit that???”

C.N., Woodland Hills, CA

“This is a bad idea that will cost the state more money than it will earn. Our state is already suffering, where will this millions of dollars come from besides the tax payers wallets?”

B.K., Hilo, HI

“The residents of Lanai and of Molokai, the people whose environments would be wrecked by the Industrial Wind Farm, will not allow the project to go forward. Therefore it is time to stop peddling this bike – it has no wheels.”

K.B., Kaunakakai, HI

“I have seen this beautiful island and the wind generator site. The construction alone would destroy the ecosystem. The winds up on the ridge would eventually tear the generators to pieces, leaving behind massive skeletons for decades to come. If wind generators are so great, why is Europe pulling the plug on theirs?”

T.D., Laurel, MD

“My parents bought land on the Big Island (North Kohala) several years ago and a couple years after they moved in some private company put 15 windmills right between their house and their view of Maui. Large, visually obnoxious windmills and red flashing lights at night…and the windmills only operate at about half capacity (i.e. half are sitting there motionless) most of the time. Was so obnoxious to my Dad that they ended up moving after a few years…”

J.C., Olympic Valley, CA

“This is wrong!!!! This is not going to solve the electrical problems and you are destroying the land to supply O`ahu’s needs. You are not going to give Lana`i and Moloka`i their electrical needs. As a Native Hawaiian, I think you are trespassing on sacred lands and it is not for any of you to make a decision like this. O`ahu can take care of its own needs. Leave the other islands alone. Stop this cultural genocide and annihilation. ”

K.B.O., Wahiawa, HI

“I’ve been to beautiful, fragile Lanai many times and such a rapacious project as David Murdock’s enormous wind farm would decimate one of the last pristine places in the Hawaiian Islands. It would destroy the small community’s primary subsistence hunting area and would provide only a few local jobs in order to feed Oahu’s seemingly insatiable energy appetite. “Green” energy – yes, but this is not the way to solve our need for affordable clean energy. It would not force us to cut down on our energy use – nor would it nurture energy conservation at any level.”

S.F., Honolulu, HI

“Having been raised on the island of Lana’i, I understand the hurt a Wind Farm would cause to those who love and respect the nature of this beautiful aina. This tiny little town on a tiny little island has the nicest people who live a unique life there. Their style of living is peaceful, quite, and relaxing. Recreation about the island brings joy. This island of Lana’i offers people the style of life they dream of. It’s real, not a fantasy, and it should be protected from those who are blind to this reality. I believe this matter started in the name of green energy. In my eyes the turbine windmills are as far from green as can be. Try to imagine after 56 windmills for starters, another 50 windmills plus another 50 windmills. This is not a pretty picture. To see the island of Lana’i untouched by big, gigantic, and colossal turbine windmills is what I pray for. I do NOT hear the people on Oahu chanting, ‘Build wind farms on Lana’i and Moloka’i for us, please?’ I Do hear the people on Lana’i chanting, ‘No Windmills’.

The WIND FARM can never replace what will be taken away from the land and its people. The truth is many people want to save Lana’i from the devastation that can be caused by these outrageous towering windmills. From damage to the land, endangering wild life, leaving the Lanaians to mourn the loss of a life style and causing shame over the sacrifice of an ancient place people long to be. People who support this wind farm must stop and consider that this is history repeating itself. Just take and take. Lessons can still be learned from the past. It is never too late to see that wrong is wrong. I have known this natural beauty on the island of Lana’i; I want my children and their children to know this too.”

L.D., Lana’i City, HI

“’He ali`i ka `aina. He kauwa ke kanaka.’” When will man understand this `olelo no`eau? The land is chief. We are its servants. There is wisdom in the words of our kupuna. Stop the destruction. The windmills will make those who are wealthy even wealthier, while those who depend on the land for sustenance will lose yet another resource. Enough hewa – wake up, respect our `aina, conserve, and be thankful for what we have. Aloha `aina.”

M.E., Honolulu, HI

“Lana`i is my home, and the Big Wind project will only serve to forever desecrate 1/4 of our island for the sake of air conditioning and lights in Waikiki, and bring few jobs while making the company that owns the island even richer. Say NO to big wind! Say YES! to decentralized energy, solar rooftop hot water and PV panels on every house on O`ahu.”

G.K., Truckee, CA

“This project is NOT “Green.” 250 million pounds of concrete will be needed for the turbine bases alone. This concrete will be made using our already dangerously scarce water supply. Concrete, dirt, chemical and freshwater runoff will flow onto our precious reefs and into the ocean. “Green” would be to invest in conservation on Oahu. You do not control a fire by giving it more fuel. Sooner or later, we must learn to conserve.”

L.A., Lana’i City, HI

“It’s time to leave a few stones unturned in Hawai’i Nei while we still can. Mainland developers making millions off the ‘aina from industrial/military wind projects subsidized by tax and ratepayers which produce minimal intermittent power and next to no jobs and have proven elsewhere NOT to lower rates or take power plants off line has become the standard line in Hawai’i. Listen to the real people, not those at the corporate trough. STOP the madness and save the few remaining pieces of real Hawai’i, save our fishing and hunting grounds, save our many archaeological sites, learn to conserve. We can save what’s left of real Hawai’i and still make Lana’i and Molokai examples of what sustainability really means.”

M.S., Lana’i City, HI 12/07/2011

Once the wind mills are erected the company will put up a sign, ‘No Trespassing, or be Arrested’. Local people will be kapu from their land once again!!!”

A.O., Riverbank, CA 12/08/2011

“Lana’i and Moloka’i should not become the industrial backyard of Oahu. Conservation and island/community based approaches to sustainable/renewable energy development will solve energy needs for Oahu. Lana’i/Moloka’i have unique and fragile cultural/natural legacies which must be protected and passed on to future generations. Malama pono i ka aina aloha o Lana’i! Na ka aina i malama pono ia kakou.”

K.M., Kaneohe, HI 12/08/2011

“On December 1, 2011, the Kuli’ou’ou / Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board #2 voted to oppose direct or indirect public financing ‘of the proposed undersea cable and the construction of industrial wind power plants on Lana’i and Moloka’i that provide energy for O`ahu. While wind power is an intermittent alternative energy source to fossil fuels, there are many other forms of renewable energy which are locally manufactured and thus employ more Hawai’i residents. These alternatives include wave energy, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, and new-technology solar and are all viable for Hawai’i’s renewable energy needs. The $1 billion projected costs for the undersea cable alone could be invested in covering 28,500 O`ahu homes (20% of O`ahu homes) with photovoltaic systems, which would reduce O`ahu’s use of oil by nearly 500,000 barrels per year, save those 28,500 homeowners more than $48 million per year, and create an estimated 500 to 600 jobs.”

J.J., Honolulu, HI 12/08/2011

“Lana’i is my home. I was born and raised there, every single inch of land is sacred. My daughter looks forward to every single trip returning home to visit all the places I’ve played, fished, hunted and roamed. What will she share with her children when the day comes? Untouched, is how it should remain as it always been, for my children and their children the same.”

K.S., Lahaina, HI 12/07/2011

“As an outer island resident, I’m strongly opposed to having the neighbor islands provide O’ahu with energy. O’ahu should be solving its own energy demands instead of exploiting the natural and cultural resources of the outer islands.”

C.A., Hilo, HI 12/09/2011

“Lana’i has been ‘used’ for so long; it is time to return the land to represent Hawaii’s archeological and cultural heritage. If not, there will no longer be a Hawaii.”

C.M., Lana’i City, HI 12/09/2011

“If O’ahu is running out of energy, maybe it’s time to stop building.”

C.H., Hilo, HI 12/09/2011

“Industrial wind turbine plants are the most expensive, most inefficient, and ecologically destructive of all the alternate energy choices available today. Add an undersea cable to the plan and it really makes no sense. In addition to the enormous tax money spent.”

S.O., Lanai City, HI 12/11/2011

“The lifestyle of the people of Lanai will be changed for the worse if this project goes through. That is worth saving.”

N.K., Honolulu, HI 12/11/2011

“I lived on Lana’i for three years and I look forward to the day when I can once again make Lana’i my home. The residents and the island of Lana’i have taught me many good lessons about respect for culture, land and family. The residents of O`ahu and the Main Land could learn some very important lessons from the residents of Lana’i. If Lana’i residents can survive with their local stores only being opened six days a week and closing at 7pm then why cannot the residents of Oahu? Just think about the amount of energy that would be saved if business changed their hours of operation and people started to realize that we really do not need to have stores opened all hours of the night. No good can come from destroying any piece of land!”

D.W., Sevierville, TN 12/12/2011

“Wind Mills may allow HECO to make arbitrary goals. However, those goals are unrealistic. Those goals allow unreliable sources of energy like wind and solar access to misguided tax incentives. Big Wind will cost ratepayers an additional 9 to 15% more for a return of only 4 to 8% in energy. We don’t even have an integrated long-term plan for energy production in Hawaii. Let’s be smart about this issue and not just throw our money at it. As a taxpayer and ratepayer let’s put our money behind geothermal and other renewables that have a capacity rating over 75%. Geothermal is effective on the Big Island. Ocean current generation is in its infancy but would also provide a capacity rating in excess of 75%. Don’t waste our money on technology that cannot exceed a 75% capacity rating.”

J.S., Lana’i City, HI 12/14/2011