ABSTRACT
Understanding the issue of geothermal drilling are in Hawaii as a question of environmental justice depends on insights drawn from the geology, the traditional local religion, and the political economy of the region. There are a number of ways that geological knowledge might provide insights for informed and fair decision making in Hawaii. Geologists experienced with geothermal energy development can help assess the resource in terms of physical costs and benefits. The Hawaii Natural Energy Institute has conducted basic research on wind energy in Hawaii and this includes studies of wind speed variations on power output quality and cost-effective battery storage for wind-generated energy. Wind energy can be thought of as a variation of solar energy because winds are ultimately powered by the sun: Air moves in response to differences in pressure, which, in turn, come from differences in surface temperature. Distributed unequally across the globe, solar energy is concentrated along the Earth's middle latitudes, including those occupied by Hawaii.
