Haven't explored, much less attempted to prove, the Hawaii thesis , but it might say something like this: "Hawaii has a robust, innovative and now self-funding renewable energy effort because it is isloated by oceans from traditional energy sources more so than the rest of us, creating cost barriers tall enough to encourage it to broadly develop renewables sooner than the rest of us." If true, and if those taller cost barriers are coming soon to a country near you, Hawaii might offer models to emulate at state and federal levels to promote intelligent energy self sufficiency.
Hawaii's governor in 1995 set the goal of making the state more energy self-sufficient. For Fiscal Year 2007, this is being done by the National Enerrgy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority with "no general fund support."
More later if this thought has merit. If not, maybe a ton of posts to sort of wash this one away in the sands of time.
