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Bailing out green energy

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for green energy, yet now renewable developers want utility rate-payers in New York and other states to bail them out. According to a report late last month by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda), large offshore wind developers are asking for an average 48 percent price adjustment in their contracts to cover rising costs. The Alliance for Clean Energy NY is also requesting an average 64 percent price increase on 86 solar and wind projects. The IRA includes ...

Mayor faces massive task

Apart from the lunacy of blaming the Lahaina fire on lasers shot from space, the most absurd thing we have heard in the natural disaster’s wake is the call for Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen to resign due to lack of transparency. Our island faces its biggest crisis in modern history and they would have us change leadership midstream. Why? Because Bissen didn’t have polished answers to their questions? Because he did not cater to the outside media’s fixation on rushing to blame? Perhaps Bissen could have performed better under the glare of the spotlights, but we would rather ...

Sexism in the US military

Nearly eight years ago, the United States opened up all military combat roles to women, clearing a pathway for female service members to join the most elite military forces. But even before the first women qualified to become part of the revered Green Berets or 75th Ranger Regiment, thousands worked in noncombat roles dating as far back as the Revolutionary War. During the war in Afghanistan, women deployed, and one died, working alongside the Green Berets and Army Rangers. Still, gender biases, and at times outright misogyny, pervade all levels of the Special Operations forces, ...

Staying the course on anti-inflation

Investors these days parse Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s every remark for any sign the pain of higher interest rates will end soon. He disappointed them again Friday in his annual speech at a central banking conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., which is much to the good. “Although inflation has moved down from its peak—a welcome development—it remains too high,” Mr. Powell said. He added that the central bank will keep monetary policy at its current “restrictive level” until there is more evidence that inflation is truly whipped. Many on Wall Street were hoping ...

Pain of loss still fresh

Nearly a month has passed since wind-driven fires destroyed Lahaina town and leveled 19 homes Upcountry, yet the pain feels raw as ever. Try as we might to leave our collective sorrow behind, every conversation seems to circle back to the blazes. As an island, we mourn our brothers, sisters and children who succumbed to smoke and flames. We grieve for their loved ones, imagining the immense suffering they are going through. Our hearts go out to the people who lost homes, businesses, belongings and pets. To those whose water systems are contaminated and those who suddenly find ...

Warning signs of fire

Maui officials should have known what was coming. In 2014, they were put on notice that highly flammable invasive grasslands presented a serious wildfire risk. In 2018, after West Maui fires destroyed 21 houses and 27 cars, angry residents criticized the poor disaster response. The next year, wildfires charred five times more land in Maui County compared with the previous year, and Hawaiian Electric admitted it needed to better fortify its power lines. In 2021, another report came out urging officials to clear flammable grasses. Again and again, the warnings came. Days before the ...