Energy In Hawaii
Introduction
Energy is a fundamental necessity for living and is used directly and
indirectly by everyone. It is the capacity for performing work. It makes
things happen. For many centuries the only immediate sources of energy were
human and animal, supplemented by energy form combustible materials, the
sun, oceans, wind, rain, lightning, and other natural phenomena. With the
invention of the steam engine and the coming of the industrial revolution,
modern man began to see larger amounts of energy derived from burning fuels.
Today physical labor provides energy for far less than one percent of the
work performed in factories, refineries and mills in the production of
productions Much of today's great volume of work is performed by energy
from fossil fuels-oil, natural gas, coal-as well as water and nuclear
sources. Fossil fuels provide ninety five percent of the energy consumed.
They are stored by nature beneath the earth's surface and must and must
removed by drilling into the earth or stripped from the earth's surface.
Oil is the nation's leading fossil fuel and provides 46 percent of the
nation's total energy requirements. Natural gas is the next largest fossil
fuel source and accounts fro 32 percent of the nation's energy and is used
primarily as a clean-burning fuel. Coal is the third major fossil fuel and
accounts for 17 percent of the nation's total energy consumption.
Hawaii
Hawaii is unique among the fifty states in that more than 90 percent of its
energy comes from oil. Because it is isolated geographically, Hawaii cannot
draw power from neighboring states. It has no conventional energy resources
such as oil, coal or natural gas. Therefore, Hawaii must import every
barrel of oil and ton of coal it uses. Tourism, the largest component of
Hawaiis economy, is dependent upon airline transportation. As a result, jet
fuel accounts for thirty two percent of the state's total energy
consumption. In 1991, the latest year for which individual data are
available, Hawaii ranked highest among all the states in terms dependence
upon petroleum (91.9). Ranking like the United States as a whole, Hawaii
consumes more than 60 percent of its oil for transportation purposes.
However, in contrast with the rest of the nation, 33.1 percent of Hawaiis
oil consumption goes to air transportation as compared with only 9.1 percent
nationally. Fully 55.8 percent of the nation's oil consumption goes to
ground and water consumption compared with only 31.6 percent in Hawaii. And
24.6 percent of Hawaii's oil is used for electricity generation and only 3.2
percent of the oil is used for that purpose. In 1992, the United States
depended upon oil for 3.2 percent of its electricity. Coal was used to
generate 56.3 percent of the nations's electricity. Nuclear plants produced
22.1 percent, natural gas 9.4 percent, and hydroelectricity 8.6 percent. In
contrast to the rest of the nation, Hawaii use petroleum to produce 84.7
percent of its electricity. Biomass from sugar plantations and municipal
solid waste was used to generate 8.2 percent of the states' electrical
power. the remaining 7.1 percent cam from coal, hydroelectricity, wind and
geothermal. In order to manage Hawaii's great energy dependence, the Hawaii
Energy Strategy program began on March 2, 1992, under a Cooperative
Agreement with the United States Department of Energy. Hawaii depends on
oil for 92 percent of its energy needs. This makes Hawaii the most
venerable state in the nation to the disruption of it economy and way of
life in the event of a disruption of the world oil market or raped oil price
increase. Currently 40 percent of Hawaii's oil comes from Alaska and the
remainder from the Asia-Pacific region. The export capabilities of these
domestic and foreign sources of supply are projected to decline by
approximately 50 percent by the year 2000. This will likely increase
Hawaii's dependence on oil reserves of the politically unstable Middle East.
Hawaii is also venerable to possible supply disruptions in the event of a
crisis. The long distance from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in
Louisiana and Texas, combined with a declining number of U. S. flag- tankers
capable of transiting the Panama Canal, make timely emergency deliveries
problematic. Environmental protection is also a major concern for Hawaii
and its residents. Energy production form fossil fuels is the major source
of local and global air pollution, while petroleum shipping and handling
pose risks to fragile marine habitats and coastal resort areas.
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