HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2008-23 Draft 1COUNTY COUNCIL COUNTY OF KAUAI r No. 2008-23, Draft 1 RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE MAYOR TO PREPARE, THROUGH THE OFFICE- OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AN ENERGY SUSTAINABILITY PLAN FOR KAUAI COUNTY WHEREAS, every activity, family, business and organization within the County of Kauai presently depends almost entirely on finite, foreign supplies of fossil fuels for its energy needs. Over 90% of Kaua`i's electrical generation and virtually all transportation demand (from air, sea, and land) related to Kauai are currently met with imported petroleum products; and WHEREAS, every aspect of human life depends on energy, including the production and processing of food; the pumping of water and sewage; the operation of businesses, health care facilities, government and nonprofit organizations; the manufacturing of medicines and fertilizer; the transportation of people and goods;the sustaining of the economy and jobs; and the flourishing of culture and arts,sports and leisure time activities; and WHEREAS, the future prosperity and survival of residents and the economy of Kauai depend on the availability of a sufficient, consistent, affordable and environmentally sound supply of energy; and WHEREAS, Kaua`i's reliance on a finite supply of a fossil fuels, in the midst of an unprecedented and growing worldwide demand, puts Kaua`i's families,economy and way of life at great risk to ever rising prices and the possibility that fuel supplies could be insufficient to meet basic human needs sometime in the future; and WHEREAS, Kauai, in its dependence on fossil fuels; is also sending millions of dollars each year out of the local economy; and WHEREAS, Kaua`i's dependence on fossil fuels is also releasing thousands of tons of greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere annually,thereby contributing to global warming and its detrimental impacts to global ecosystems which is already beginning to affect Kauai through frequent storms and flooding and sea level rise; and WHEREAS, sustainability means meeting current essential human needs for energy, food and water without diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their essential needs, or~as one K-12 school in Hawaii has said, "(creating) a future where there can be enough for everyone, everywhere, forever." This reflects the Hawaiian concept of " konohiki" which restricted use of essential natural resources in order to provide for all; and