The difficulty even with successful investments is that the investor has to take the pain long before any payout rolls in.

But in the case of the proposed hike in the "barrel tax," from a nickel to $1.05 on each barrel of oil, the pain would amount to just a few cents per gallon at the pump — and there are opportunities to leverage the tax revenues for important improvements, particularly in energy security.

So it would be in the interest of Hawai'i's preferred future — one less dependent on imported oil and food — that House Bill 1271 be passed in a final vote by lawmakers today.

That seems likely, but the Lingle administration has been leery of adding any additional ballast to the already hefty cost of living. The governor's staff argues that the tax would trickle down through the economy, to businesses and consumers, and that a recession is no time to do that.

However, this is one modest increase that the governor should not veto. Lawmakers took the recession into account and settled on a minimal hike — $1 per barrel of oil, added to the nickel already collected in a fund for oil cleanups and other "environmental response" tasks. That should have a negligible effect on costs. Even the worst-case scenarios have the tax adding only a few pennies to the price per gallon of gas. That's a small price to pay for a more sustainable future.

The bill forms a task force to draw up a sensible spending plan. The funds would be divided among clean-energy initiatives and agricultural projects designed to make Hawai'i less reliant on imports.

And there are federal stimulus funds for clean energy for which the barrel tax could provide the local matching funds.

These are all goals the Lingle administration has supported in its own drive for creating a more sustainable Hawai'i focused on clean energy — and rightly so.

The environmental group Blue Planet Foundation commissioned a survey indicating that 87 percent of those polled wanted investments made into clean energy, even if the consumer has to pay a little more at first. And where food security is concerned, the agricultural sector needs revitalization if even a measure of self-sufficiency is to be realized.

If public officials are held accountable for use of the funds, this clearly will be money well spent. It deserves support across the board.