Nearly 300 individuals, including homeowners, businesses and those who work in the solar industry, showed up at the Hawaii State Capitol today (Wednesday, March 20) in support of tax credit incentives for renewable energy.

Dressed in yellow T-shirts emblazoned with "Power to the People," nearly 300 individuals showed up at the Hawaii State Capitol today (Wednesday, March 20) in a show of support for renewable energy tax credits, casting a ray of "sunshine" on the floor of the Rotunda.

They included homeowners, business owners, the employees of more than 70 companies that belong to the nonprofit Hawaii Solar Energy Association, members of the  Blue Planet Foundation, Sierra Club Hawaii and the Ulupono Initiative.

All were in support of keeping tax credits in place to help Hawaii reach its goals for a clean energy future.

HSEA president Gabriel Chong said: "These tax credits are accomplishing what they were created to do — make clean energy more accessible and more affordable to more people.

>> According to Chong, since the current tax credits began in 2009, photovoltaic installations in Hawaii have quadrupled, creating enough clean energy to power over 18,000 homes. In addition, with the help of incentives and rebates, Hawaii has the highest per capita solar hot water use in the nation, with over 90,000 solar hot water systems currently installed.

>>  The renewable energy tax credits help our local economy. Over a quarter of all local construction jobs were generated by the solar industry in 2012, said HSEA executive director Leslie Cole-Brooks, citing an estimate from the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

>> Hawaii's solar tax credits enable families and businesses to free themselves from total dependence on electricity generated by burning oil, said Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Blue Planet Foundation.

Last year, I watched as neighbors across the street, down the street and around my neighborhood installed solar PV panels on their rooftops. It's almost as if solar PV systems were blooming here and there and everywhere. This morning, I was happy to see workers installing a new solar water and solar PV array on another nearby neighbor's house.

If the renewable energy tax credits are working, then let's keep them going. It makes so much sense for Hawaii.

Join Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii for a beach cleanup on the North Shore Saturday (March 2). Meet at Turtle Bay Resort's West Lawn. Photo from sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org.

Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii is hosting a North Shore beach clean up from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 2). Meet at the West Lawn at Turtle Bay Resort and follow the blue flags. The general public as well as participants of Wanderlust Oahu Festival (a four-day yoga and music event) are welcome to attend.

Shuttles will transport volunteer teams to Kahuku Golf Course Beach and Kahuku Point at the James Campbell Wildlife Refuge to collect microplastics to be recycled by Method Home.

The whole family is welcome to participate. Some fun games include a hunt for hidden glass bottles during the cleanup to win prizes, including tickets to the evening Wanderlust concert featuring ALO and Kaki King, plus day passes to Sunday festival activities, as well as kids' clothing from Patagonia, Hurley and Quiksilver.

Water, a snack, gloves, tally sheets and other cleanup materials will be provided.

For more information, visit sustainablecoastlinesshawaii.org.

Photo of a mother and baby humpback whale in Hawaiian waters. Photo by Dave Matilla, courtesy NOAA.

Welcome back the humpback whales at a community celebration taking place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 26) at Turtle Bay Resort.

Besides scientists' lectures, there will be a whale observation station, education booths, children's activities, naturalist-led wildlife walks and hula by local keiki.

The "Welcome Back the Whales" celebration is sponsored by the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary in partnership with the North Shore Ocean Education Coalition.

The event is free and open to the public, and a chance for all who love humpback whales to learn more about these magnificent creatures.

Volunteers from Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii picked up 1,748 cigarette butts at Waikiki Beach within just one hour. Courtesy image.

Got your attention? I'm talking about cigarette butts.

Cigarette butts are probably the most ubiquitous litter left behind by humans at the beach, along with plastic litter. It's a serious problem.

City councilman Stanley Chang is proposing a bill (Bill 72) that would ban smoking at some of Honolulu's most popular beaches, including Ala Moana, Duke Kahanamoku and Kuhio Beach parks in Waikiki. It's not an entirely novel idea - after all, the Hawaii County Council passed a smoking ban at all its county parks in 2008. But it's about time.

A recent Star-Advertiser online poll showed that 71 percent of 2,092 voters supported the smoking ban.

It may just have to come down to making a law and making sure it's enforced to get butts of the beach. On the other end of it is education, which is what Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii is trying to do to tackle the problem of cigarette butt litter.

The group is seeing whether signs and portable ash trays at beach concession stands will make any difference. On a recent sweep of cigarette butts, the group cleared a total of 1,748 cigarette butts within one hour along part of Waikiki beach in late November.

It's astounding how many people, locals and tourists alike, use the beach as one big ashtray. There's a perception that it's okay, and that the butts will just go away somehow, buried somewhere in the sand. But they don't just decompose and go away — cigarette butts contain both toxins from tobacco as well as slow-to-degrade plastics in their filters.

The cigarette butts can end up swept into the ocean, where it poisons marine animals. They're also a blight for Hawaii's beaches and have a human impact. How much would you enjoy a walk along a shoreline, only to step on a few cigarette butts here and there? How fun is it to have your toddler making sandcastles, only to pick out a few dirty cigarette butts here and there?

Want to help? Here's a list of some upcoming beach cleanups:

Sunset Beach cleanup on Saturday, Dec 8. From 10 a.m. to noon, Surfrider Oahu presents the Sunset Beach Cleanup with Airwalk. Volunteers are asked to bring their own reusable water bottles and sunscreens and encouraged to bring reusable gloves for picking up trash. Lunch will be provided. Volunteers will also have the opportunity to meet Airwalk pro surfer Anastasia Ashley.

North Shore beach cleanup on Saturday, Dec. 29. Adopt a Beach and Save the Sea Turtles International holds its next beach cleanup on Dec. 29 (and every last Saturday of the month). Meet at 10 a.m. a Chun's Reef on the North Shore, t 61-529 Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa. Call 637-2211 or go to adoptabeachhawaii.com/calendar.html for more information.

The Mau Hau Hele is a native Hawaiian plant, and the state's official flower. HECO is giving away free fruit trees, shrubs and plants on Saturday. Courtesy Photo.

There aren't a lot of freebies to go around, but here's one that will keep on growing.

The Hawaiian Electric Co. is once again giving away fruit trees, flowering shrubs and native plants starting at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3 to celebrate Arbor Day. You might want to line up early, as there's usually a crowd.

For the first time, HECO is also giving away the Aimee Yoshioka gardenia, munroidendron and red sealing wax palm.

Arborists and volunteers from HECO, Kaulunani Urban and Community Forestry Program, Urban Garden Center and others will help you select the right tree.

Only one plant will be given per family, while supplies last. Be sure to arrive early.

Visit www.arbordayhawaii.com for more Arbor Day events across the state.

September is just around the corner — meaning dolphin slaughter season starts up again in Taiji, Japan.

If you love the ocean and the creatures in it, then "Minds In The Water," a feature-length documentary following the quest of professional surfer Dave "Rasta" Rastovich, is for you.

The film screens at 7 p.m. Monday (Aug. 27) at TheVenue, BambuTwo, 1146 Bethel St., sponsored by the Surfrider Foundation, Oahu Chapter.

Watch firsthand how one surfer's quest to protect dolphins and whales blossomed into a movement of like minds.

Rastovich goes on an international journey to help protect dolphins, whales and their ocean environment. His five-year journey takes him from Australia to the Galapagos Islands to Tonga, Alaska and Japan.

While unsure at first, Rastovich quickly found his activist sea legs and helped build a core team of filmmakers, journalists, musicians, eco-pirates, celebrity surfers and a professional mermaid to help spread the message. Others who make an appearance in the film include Hanna Fraser, Isabel Lucas, Jack Johnson and Kelly Slater.

The film, produced by the Saltwater Collective, captures a key moment in Rastovich's life — when apathy is no longer an option.

Stay after the screening for a post-film discussion with Surfrider Foundation members.

You can check out the preview at mindsinthewater.com/media.php. Sign the visual petition.

Cost is $10 ($5 for student) at the door. Call 436-4326 for more information.

The weather was beautiful for the 4th of July and we enjoyed picnics, barbecues and the beach — but let's remember that what we leave behind can have harmful consequences. I'm talking about plastic bottle caps, plastic toys and litter left behind — let's make sure that plastic litter doesn't end up in our ocean.

Two events are coming up next Saturday that you can help participate in to help our aina.

* Sandy Beach Cleanup: From 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, July 14, RevoluSun and the Surfrider Foundation invite the public to participate in a beach clean-up at Sandy Beach. Enjoy a free lunch afterwards hosted by solar company RevoluSun. Look for the tents in the park between the lifeguard stand and shower. Call Fabian Toribo at 721-0012 on the day of the cleanup with questions.

* Invasive species cleanup: From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 14, help the Oahu Invasive Species Club with their monthly removal of harmful invasive plants at the Lyon Arboretum. Volunteers will be removing two invasive shrub species, Ardisia virens and Ardisia sieboldii, from the grounds of the arboretum to prevent them from spreading into the native forests at higher elevations. The Lyon Arboretum is at 3860 Manoa Rd. Contact OISC to RSVP or to get more information at 286-4616 or oisc@hawaii.edu.

Coconut tree in Molokai is one of nation's Big Tree champions. DLNR Photo.

Hawaii is home to six big tree champions, which are now recognized by the National Register of Big Trees, a nonprofit conservation organization that advocates for the protection and expansion of America's forests.

And (drum roll), the six big tree champions are:

* Acacia Koa in Kona Hema Preserve, Hawai‘i
* Two Coconut in Kapuaiwa Coconut Beach Park, Moloka‘i
* Hau tree at Hulihe‘e Palace, Hawaii
* ‘A‘ali‘i at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens, Maui
* Manele/Soapberry at Bird Park/Kipuka Puaulu, Volcano National Park, Hawaii

All of the trees, with the exception of the koa, are accessible to the public. Click here for a map and photos of the trees.

“With forests covering approximately 749 million acres in the U.S., it’s a special honor to have a tree recognized as the biggest of its kind,” said Paul Conry, Administrator of the Division of Forestry and Wildlife (DOFAW). “In a year with 14 different billion-dollar weather disasters, America’s biggest trees proved that they’re survivors. For trees to grow bigger than their competition, it usually means that they’ve been protected and nurtured over the years. And, they’ve been lucky. Having grown into large, healthy trees, they now do their own job of protecting and nurturing the plants, trees, wildlife and even humans in their habitats.”

Since more than half of Hawaii's original forest has been lost, immediate action is needed to protect the trees and forests that are essential to Hawaii's water supply and provide many other benefits. Learn about the state's plan to save Hawaii's forests at hawaii.gov/dlnr/rain, which also includes a short video, “The Rain Follows the Forest.”

“We hope that including Hawai‘i on the national Big Trees register will help educate and encourage conservation of our native and culturally important trees,” said Sheri Mann, DOFAW Cooperative Resource Management Forester. “It is our goal to eventually create our own State of Hawai‘i Big Trees Program.”

Anyone can nominate a big tree for recognition in the program. Currently, 21 species are eligible in Hawaii.

To nominate a tree, three measurements are needed: Trunk Circumference (inches), Height (feet), and Average Crown Spread (feet). These are combined to assign the tree a score. DOFAW staff also needs to know the exact location to verify any candidates.

To learn more about the specific measuring requirements please review the guidelines at the American Forests website.

Please send measurements, GPS coordinates or specific directions to a candidate big tree to:

Sheri Mann, CRMF
1151 Punchbowl Street, Room 325
Honolulu, HI  96813
Or email her at Sheri.S.Mann@hawaii.gov

Plastic carryout bags are expected to be banned in Honolulu starting in 2015, if the mayor signs it into law. Star-Advertiser photo.

Honolulu City Council passed a bill on Wednesday banning nonbiodegradable plastic bags at checkout starting July 1, 2015.

Well, it's about time, given that the neighbor isles (Maui, Kauai and Hawaii island) have already passed plastic bag bans. Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle still has to sign the bill.

So what if there's a plastic bag ban in Honolulu?

The first reaction you get from most folks opposed to the ban is — what am I going to line my wastebaskets with from now on, and from dog owners,  how am I going to pick up my dog's poop? I've had this conversation at the dog park, and there are some owners who are really resolute about their right to a plastic bag just for this very reason.

Finding alternatives to line your wastebasket with is tricky, I'll admit. I do reuse stray plastic bags (that somehow get sneaked into the house) to line the wastebasket.

But for the last two to three years, I've  been bringing my own bags to the grocery store and more and more, to other retail stores as well — or sometimes, simply saying, "No Thanks." I never really understood why you would need a small, plastic bag if you were simply buying a candy bar or bag of potato chips — couldn't you just take the receipt and put it straight into your purse or backpack?

As the owner of a Springer spaniel named Kona — and as the official dog walker in the family — yes, I do have the unglamorous task of picking up her poop. I haven't really found it difficult since switching to reusable bags.

The bag ban would not affect the bags used to package loose fruit, vegetables and nuts, nor does it affect newspaper bags.

We have a newspaper delivered to the door every morning, sometimes in just one bag and sometimes two. These bags actually are the perfect size for picking up dog poop – I find grocery bags to be more unwieldy, with a flyaway effect.

Bread bags also work — every time we go through a loaf of bread, I save the bag and reuse it.  It still probably isn't the greenest choice — maybe someone some day will invent a new way to pick up dog poop.

There's such a plethora of plastic bags in our lives that honestly, it's not a big deal to give up plastic checkout bags. It's nice to get rid of the plastic  bag monster under the sink.

If it came down to it, I suppose using biobags would be a greener option — they do cost money, but they work fine.

Still, the detrimental effects of plastic in the ocean is far greater than the inconvenience. I'm not just talking about choking up turtles — I'm talking about the health of the ocean's ecosystem and in turn, the health of humans who are interconnected with that ecosystem.

Now, we could have considered a fee for plastic and paper checkout bags, which was effective in Washington DC. The bill in the state legislature seeking to place a 10-cent fee on plastic and paper checkout bags stalled this session, though it had the backing of both retailers and environmental groups like the Surfrider Foundation and Sierra Club Hawaii.

But really, we can live without plastic (and paper) checkout bags. Just bring your own bag.

Here is my Bokashi Bucket, filled with apple and banana peels, old rice and macaroni.

Since writing about Throw To Grow, I've decided to give the Bokashi Bucket a try.

The Bokashi Bucket, in case you haven't heard of it, is an anaerobic composting system that ferments your food waste (including meat, dairy and bones) into rich, gardening soil. It's basically a 5-gallon bucket tucked inside of another one with a spigot that you can keep indoors in your kitchen.

Each One Teach One Farms entrepreneur Jim DiCarlo sells the bucket systems at Haleiwa, Ala Moana and Hawaii Kai Farmers' Markets. You can also find them at Kale's Natural Foods and the North Shore Organic Gardening in Waialua.

If you're handy, you could probably pick up two buckets from Lowe's, Home Depot or City Mill and make the system yourself, except for the activator mix (basically bran mixed with molasses and microorganisms), which is a more involved process. Jim sells a jar of the mix for just $5 at farmers' markets.

What I like about it, so far, is that it seems easy to use.

I keep my bucket on a little step stool in the kitchen, next to the trash can. Once a day, or once every other day, you take your food scraps, open the lid up, toss them in and close the lid again. When the food scraps are at about three inches, you take your jar of bokashi activator mix (basically bran mixed with microorganisms and molasses) and sprinkle some on top.

I wouldn't say it's completely odorless. Hopefully I'm doing it right, but there is definitely a sort of sweet and sour, pickled smell every time I open up the bucket.

It's not pleasant, but it's not horribly unpleasant, either. My husband says he can tell every time I open the lid, because he gets a whiff, but it usually goes away after we turn on the kitchen ceiling fan for a few minutes.

So far, I've thrown all kinds of stuff in the bucket — orange peels, avocado and banana peels, apple cores, celery, ginger, egg shells, old pasta, old rice, a whole head of lettuce that went bad, a whole box of granola cereal (that some ants had gotten into), a whole rotisserie chicken carcass and salmon skin.

The word "bokashi" has turned into a verb in our household. Now I say, "Are you done with this? Should I bokashi it?"

My bucket is about half full, so far. When you open up the bucket, you won't see any transformation of the food yet. Apparently that happens after it all goes into the ground.

So far, so good.

Some things that are good to know: You want to only add fresh, not rotten (or moldy) food or it will smell. It's a good idea to place a paper or ceramic plate on top to basically compress all the air down. It's best also to keep the bucket away from sunlight.

For more tips on using the Bokashi Bucket, go to eachoneteachonefarms.com/bokashi.

We have a worm composting bin, as well, in the garage, and usually I put on gloves to open the lid, move aside the shredded paper, before tossing in food scraps. Separating the worms from the vermicompost is a messy chore in itself (I make my husband do it). What's nice about the worms is that you can throw moldy stuff in there. What I find challenging is that we usually have way more food scraps than the worms can process (since we just started with a small starter kit, which took a year to grow into a small bin). I often wonder whether it might be good to invest in  a Can-O-Worms system that can take more food waste.

The bucket doesn't take up a lot of space, but seems to be able to handle the volume. So far it's not too much of a hassle to throw the food scraps in there. My dog sniffs the bucket lid with interest every time I open it, but she's not too interested in digging through it (thank goodness). I can't wait to see how this all works once the bucket contents go into the ground. Will keep you posted.

Here's a cool video from Kasha Ho at Kanu Hawaii explaining how she tried out her Bokashi Bucket: Bokashi "Unbucketing" from Kasha Ho on Vimeo.