Workshop to examine sustainability amid growth

By Treena Shapiro
Advertiser Staff Writer

The issue is a huge one — can Honolulu grow and thrive while maintaining its way of life and protecting its environmental, economic and cultural resources?

The question will be addressed at a public workshop Saturday sponsored by the city and the University of Hawai'ii Manoa's Office of Sustainability.

The workshop, the first in a series as the city moves to develop a master plan for O'ahu, will address: the economy, energy, land use, natural resources and transportation.

Gov. Linda Lingle, Mayor Jeremy Harris, and UH President Evan Dobelle will deliver keynote addresses Saturday.

Bruce Miller, director of the UH-Manoa Office of Sustainability, said this is a good time to focus on issues of sustainability. Hawai'i is extremely vulnerable when it comes to electricity, water and waste, Miller said, and "all of these resources are at critical points."

The city needs to look for ways to make tourism sustainable without destroying the environment or the host culture, Harris said. At the same time, the economy needs to be less dependent on tourism.

"We want to become a center for biotechnology or urban technology. We've developed an Asian-Pacific Environmental Institute," he said. "We need to make sure that we have more to offer than just tourism."

The city must make land-use planning decisions and decide what kind of mass transportation needs to be developed, he said.

In terms of energy conservation, Harris said the city will have to look at renewable energy systems."

Harris said the goal is to come up with an energy plan for the island, so "we don't end up simply consuming finite nature resources and destroying our environment."

Other speakers include:

• Dr. Noel Brown, former director of the North America Office of the United Nations Environment Program and current president of Friends of the United Nations.
• John Bullard, president of the Sea Education Association and former director of National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. He is a three-time mayor of New Bedford, Mass.
• Curtis Johnson, president of Citistates Group, a national network of writers, academics and consultants dealing with public policy issues. He has been a teacher and president of three community colleges and for four years headed the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council, which operates a regional transit system, manages wastewater treatment, develops parks and open space, and sets policy for transportation and land use in a seven-county region.

Brown, a frequent visitor to Hawai'i, said those who attend the conference will leave more aware that because they are living on an island, they need to make sure their resources endure, both on land and in the water. They will want to look at alternative energy systems, such as solar power or other renewable energy options.

"They will need to ask themselves, 'What are we doing to manage our waste in an effective way?'" he said.

The workshop is free and open to the public. It begins at 8 a.m. and is scheduled to end at noon. The workshop will be held in the Dole Cannery Ballroom and there will be a $2 charge for parking. For more information, call 523-CITY.