Hawaii to Radically Reduce Oil Dependence

Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a Colorado-based energy and resources think tank, announced that the State of Hawaii is launching a comprehensive, integrated approach to reducing oil dependence – Republican Governor Linda Lingle’s “Energy for Tomorrow” bill. Hawaii is poised to be in the forefront of state leadership on innovative energy policies. RMI’s 2004 study, Winning the Oil Endgame, a ground-breaking business-lead strategy for ending U.S. oil dependence, detailed a comprehensive list of policy actions that would accelerate society’s adoption of efficient technologies and biofuels, and move America into a post-oil era. The Governor’s “Energy for Tomorrow” bill is a comprehensive energy policy package that incorporates many of RMI’s policy recommendations, and has the potential to transform Hawaii-the most oil-dependent state in the nation and the one with the highest energy costs-into a state that will lead the nation with a low-cost, sustainable, locally-produced, and secure energy system. “This bill embraces Winning the Oil Endgame’s strategy to reduce oil dependence through efficiency, renewables, and biofuels while strengthening the economy through agricultural revitalization,” said Kyle Datta, RMI Senior Director of Research & Consulting, who coauthored the report. “We knew that energy leadership had to come from the state-level, but Hawaii, with the […]

Read More