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| RFK Jr. ignites summit with alternative energy talk. - Photo: Liza Simon |
High-powered energy summit fueled by RFK Jr.
America's energy dependency on costly oil is being engineered by government regulation that favors the biggest polluters and the most inefficient operators in the system.
This remark came from environmental attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a fiery keynote address April 3 at the inaugural Blue Planet Summit in Kapolei at Ihilani Resort, where noted political leaders, energy experts and environmentalists from Hawai'i and the U.S. continent convened to hammer out solutions to the world's growing energy crisis.
“The While House has been urging us to treat the planet as if it were a business in liquidation. Convert the natural resources to cash as quickly as possible, so we can have a few years of pollution-based prosperity. But our children will pay for it with denuded landscapes and poor health which no one will never be able to re-pay,” said Kennedy, the chairman of Waterkeeper Alliance and “heir apparent” to the Kennedy legacy of progressive political oratory.
“What we need to do is not just buy fuel-efficient cars and light bulbs but get rid of all these rotten politicians who are just indentured servants for the oil and coal companies.”
Kennedy also criticized the press for not reporting that trillions of dollars in government subsidies are propping up foreign oil, driving the overall U.S. economy into deficit spending and preventing fair competition among other cheaper and cleaner suppliers of energy that depend on natural sources of wind, geothermal, biomass, wind and solar. Media duly reports Capitol Hill assertions that environmental protection diminishes America's wealth, he said. “But good environmental policy is identical to good economic policy if we want to measure our economy on how it produces jobs with dignity and promotes the value of assets in our community.”
Citing Hawai'i's overwhelming energy dependence on oil tankers that “journey from two oceans away,” Kennedy urged state residents to learn from the example of Iceland – a once poor island nation that is now flourishing after moving away from oil and coal-generated energy sources and switching to geothermal power. “I realize there have been objections by the indigenous people of Hawai'i about using geothermal energy because of offending the goddess Pele. But right now the children of Hawai'i are going over to Iraq and serving the 'U.S. god of Exxon,' and I would think Pele would want to save her children from this,” he said.
The role of indigenous culture in energy conservation was the subject of a Blue Planet Summit panel discussion moderated by Neil Hannahs of Kamehameha Schools. Participating as a panelist and an individual presenter was Ramsay Taum of the University of Hawai'i Travel Industry Management School and a longtime advocate of sustainable tourism. The traditions of indigenous culture emphasize the importance of human relationships in ensuring that energy resources are not wasted, said Taum. In front of a packed audience that included many of the nation's top energy scientists, Taum presented Native Hawaiian proverbs and explained the ahupua'a land divisions. HE said these were intended to illustrate a traditional understanding of conservation that he said pre-dated modern science.
The April summit was organized by a volunteer group under the lead of Blue Planet Foundation founder Henk Rogers, an entrepreneur and graduate of the University of Hawai'i. Prior to the summit, criticism of Rogers and his group centered on the choice of a luxury resort as a venue and the limiting of summit attendance to invited guests.
A public relations agency representing Rogers said a summary of summit discussions will soon be made public. Video coverage of the summit is also being made into a documentary to be carried on PBS stations. There is no word yet if the local Hawai'i PBS affiliate will air the broadcast. Portions of all Blue Planet Summit presentations are available online at www.blueplanetsummit.org.
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