Hawaii Bill Seeks to Implement Full Renewable Transportation

Hawaii has a new bill for 100 percent renewable transportation by 2045.

The state of Hawaii of the United States is one of the most progressive ones when it comes to environmental protection policies. The state legislature has introduced a new bill which seeks to implement complete renewable transportation by 2045.

This goal joins the currently implemented target of having all the energy utilities in Hawaii coming from renewable sources also by 2045. The renewable transportation bill is being supported by the Blue Planet Foundation. Jeff Mikulina, the director of the organization, has stated that Hawaii needs to develop a proper vision for its future of transportation, as currently, the majority of fossil fuels go to the transportation industry.

The new renewable transportation bill would not require that the residents of the state discard their fossil fuel-powered cars, at least not yet. This sentiment was emphasized by Representative Chris Lee, the chairman of the Energy and Environment house committee.

Nonetheless, the bill proposes a somewhat ambitious goal, especially in a state where out of an estimated 1 million cars on the road, there are only around 5,000 electric cars. Unfortunately, Hawaii is not a big enough market to decide the trends of the auto industry and, as such, the state is somewhat dependent on the decision they make. Therefore, the new renewable transportation bill does not impose a strict mandate, just a relative goal.

Some of the details of the bill are still being worked out since its introduction into the state legislature. It remains to be seen if it will pass or not, as Hawaii seems keen on becoming a trend setter for renewable energy despite the fact that new US president favors more conventional sources of energy.

In addition to the transportation bill, lawmakers have also introduced a new bill which seeks to increase the required number of charging stations across the state. Currently, there is only one station for every 100 parking spaces. This bill could help incentivize more residents to purchase electric cars, as they would have more charging options.

The renewable transportation bill is also supported by local auto dealerships, but the move to electric cars will require a massive marketing campaign in order to convince residents about its benefits.

Image source: Wikimedia

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Nancy Young

When I was younger I used to spend almost all of my free time playing computer games. My mom and dad would go mental over this. “You’re never going to do anything with your life if you are going to play games all day” they used to say. What was even more unusual was the fact that I played more games than most of the guys in my friend group. Looking back, I have to admit that I probably played a bit too much, but I also learned a lot of great things. When I turned 20 I decided that it was high-time to make some money of my own, but the only jobs I could get were that of waitress or cashier. How exciting. After several excruciating months of serving tables I had a great idea: since I love gaming so much, why don’t I write about it? That’s when I started doing small writing projects on Elance. Eventually, I got an offer for a part-time job. During that time I learned all about content marketing strategies and how search engines work. I started writing about various topics such as technology, health and lifestyle and discovered that I was actually good at it. On November 24, 2014, I became part of the ArgyllFreePress team.