If you’re on Kauai today, stop by the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on the Island’s north shore for the centennial celebration. The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge (HINWR) is generally closed to all public access, and only accessible by boat or helicopter. Kilauea Point is located a couple hundred miles southeast of the refuge’s easternmost border.
Once a major site of materials for the millinery trade, the HINWR is now largely devoid of human contact. The refuge spans roughly 800 miles in length, northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands—from the ancient Hawaiian settlement of Nihoa to the Pearl and Hermes Atolls. It lies within the boundaries of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument—established in 2006—which stretches a bit further to include Midway and Kure atolls.
Stretching northwest, islands in the HINWR provide habitats for hundreds of species of breeding seabirds, wintering shorebirds and endangered aquatic life such as the Hawaiian monk seal and the green sea turtle, or honu. Its 1,800,000 plus acres of reefs surrounding the islands and atolls are home to over 7,000 species of coral, fish and other marine life.
The refuge was first established by President Theodore Roosevelt on February 3, 1909, as the Hawaiian Islands Reservation in an effort to prevent the over-harvesting of seabirds and to protect seabird nesting sites
Staff of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument will give educational presentations and interactive tours at Kilauea Point today, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wildlife authors Mark Rauzon and Patrick Ching, who have spent time traveling the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, will be on hand from 2 to 3 p.m. to sign copies of their latest work and regale the crowd with tales of their journeys.
If you haven’t yet explored Kilauea Point peninsula—which juts out dramatically into the Pacific Ocean like a finger pointed north—you’re in for a treat. The northernmost acreage of the eight main Hawaiian Islands, Kilauea Point is also home to many species of seabirds who nest in the cliffs surrounding the peninsula. This time of year, Kilauea Point is also a great place to spend an afternoon watching humpback whales and their newborn calves breach offshore. Binoculars are made available free at  Kilauea Point’s famed red-domed lighthouse. Tours of the lighthouse will also be offered, as scheduled.
For more information on Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge centennial festivities at Kilauea Point, call (808) 828-1413.

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“Jeff’s outstanding contributions during the past decade to responsibly manage and conserve Hawaii ‘s environment have made our state a better place to live for years to come. The League is proud to sponsor this event and present the first Donald and Astrid Monson Community Action award to him,” said Piilani Kaopuiki, President of the League of Women Voters of Honolulu.

A reception honoring the late Donald and Astrid Monson and first time recipient Jeff Mikulina, who until recently served as Executive Director of The Sierra Club of Hawaii will be held on November 13, 2008, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Honolulu Elks Club in Waikiki. Reservations are $50 per person and include pupus, one cocktail, live music, and valet parking.

As the Director of The Sierra Club of Hawaii for ten years, where he was the organization’s lobbyist and spokesperson, Mikulina was instrumental in the passing of legislation setting caps on Hawaii ‘s greenhouse gas emissions, making solar water heating a standard feature on new homes, and increasing the funding of natural resource conservation and management through tourism taxes. He has previously served as vice chair of both the Honolulu Planning Commission and Honolulu Charter Commission and was awarded the EPA Region 9 Environmental Hero Award in 2003.

Interested persons may call the League of Women Voters of Honolulu at 531-7448 or email Voters@LWV-Hawaii.com. RSVP by Nov. 10th.

The League of Women Voters of Honolulu was founded in 1948. As part of its mission to encourage citizens to play an active role in elections and promote government oversight, members of the League of Women Voters of Honolulu have been actively involved in issues such as education, planning and zoning, transportation, environmental quality, campaign finance reform, prevention of domestic violence. The League of Women Voters of Honolulu has also provided voter services to the community by registering voters, assisting in vote counts, arranging and moderating campaign debates and forums, holding meetings and conferences on various public issues of the day and serving on State and City and County commissions and advisory committees.

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The Anahola Homesteaders Council was awarded the first annual Environmental Justice Achievement Award for its “outstanding leadership in improving community environmental quality,” the EPA said in a statement Monday.

The council is working on improving water quality in the Anahola area rivers and streams and addressing solid waste management, the EPA said. The group also focuses on empowering Native Hawaiians through collaborative partnerships, community involvement and environmental protection in Anahola.

The award recognizes organizations such as academic institutions, state and local governments, and indigenous organizations, for distinguished accomplishments in addressing environmental justice issues.

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When Honora Wolfe and her husband moved to the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, she wanted an environmentally friendly way to commute to her job as a bookshop owner in the city.

Ed Poor rides an eZee Quando II electric bike to work in New York City.

Wolfe, 60, found her solution about a month ago: an electric bicycle. It gets her to work quickly, is easy on her arthritis and is better for the environment than a car.

“I’m not out to win any races,” she said. “I want to get a little fresh air and exercise, and cut my carbon footprint, and spend less money on gas. And where I live, I can ride my bike seven months out of the year.”

The surging cost of gasoline and a desire for a greener commute are turning more people to electric bikes as an unconventional form of transportation. They function like a typical two-wheeler but with a battery-powered assist, and bike dealers, riders and experts say they are flying off the racks.

Official sales figures are hard to pin down, but the Gluskin-Townley Group, which does market research for the National Bicycle Dealers Association, estimates 10,000 electric bikes were sold in the U.S. in 2007, up from 6,000 in 2006.

Bert Cebular, who owns the electric bike and scooter dealership NYCeWheels in New York, said his sales are up about 50 percent so far this year over last. Amazon.com Inc. says sales of electric bikes surged more than 6,000 percent in July from a year earlier, in part because of its expanded offerings.

“The electric bikes are the next big thing,” said Frank Jamerson, a former General Motors Corp. executive turned electric vehicle guru.

They’re even more popular in Europe, where Sophie Nenner, who opened a Paris bike store in 2005, says motorists boxed in by traffic jams are looking for an alternative for short journeys that doesn’t involve navigating overcrowded transport systems.

Industry associations estimate 89,000 electric bikes were sold in the Netherlands last year, while 60,000 power-assisted bikes were sold in Germany.

The principle behind electric bikes is akin to that behind hybrid cars: Combine the conventional technology — in this case, old-fashioned pedaling — with a battery-powered motor.

The net result is a vehicle that rides a bit like a scooter, with some legwork required. Most models have a motorcycle-like throttle that gives a boost while going up hills or accelerating from a stop. On some models, the motor kicks in automatically and adjusts its torque based on how hard the rider pedals.

Although regulations vary by state, federal law classifies electric bikes as bicycles, and no license or registration is required as long as they don’t go faster than 20 mph and their power doesn’t exceed 750 watts.

Price largely determines weight, quality and battery type. A few hundred dollars gets you an IZIP mountain bike from Amazon with a heavy lead-acid battery. For $1,400, you can buy a 250-watt folding bike powered by a more-powerful, longer-lasting nickel-metal hydride battery like those in a camera or a Toyota Prius. At the high end, $2,525 buys an extra-light 350-watt model sporting a lightweight lithium-ion battery similar to a laptop’s. Most models can go at least 20 miles before plugging in to recharge.

Joe Conforti, a commercial film director from New York, uses a four-year-old model designed by former auto titan Lee Iacocca in the 1990s for running errands or getting to social occasions.

“It’s really nice,” said Conforti, who is eagerly looking to upgrade to a newer, more powerful ride. “If you’ve got a date, you go to meet friends — you go out on a (conventional) bike, you’re gonna sweat up. You go out in an electric bike, it’s great it’s terrific, you’re not gonna sweat up and you ride home fine.”

Bike dealers said the growing demand goes beyond just the uptick in gas prices, but also because of word of mouth. Cebular said business at his store and on his Web site has been booming.

“Fifty percent of that increase is probably because of gas prices, and the rest is that there’s just more bikes out there,” said Cebular, who has run his shop on Manhattan’s Upper East Side for seven years.

Improved technology also has made electric bikes more popular, Cebular said.

“When I started, there was only one bike that had a nickel-metal hydride battery — everything else was lead-acid and was 80 or 90 pounds,” he said. “That’s a huge improvement.”

Jay Townley, a partner at Gluskin-Townley, said the latest electric bikes are sleeker, better looking and hide their often-clunky batteries better than ever. That goes a long way to attract baby boomers and other mainstream customers.

“The new designs that we’ve seen in the marketplace are going to inure to the benefit of the electric bike companies,” he said.

Ultra Motor, an England-based electric bike and scooter company, is betting big that it can capitalize on what it seems as a growing market for attractive-looking two-wheelers designed specifically for U.S. commuters. The company on Tuesday unveiled its “A2B” model, a slick, low-riding electric bike.

Ultra Motor took a conventional bicycle and redesigned it with fatter wheels, a lower center of gravity and a thick shaft designed to hide the lithium-ion battery inside, U.S. Chief Executive Chris Deyo said. The result is a cross between a motorcycle and a mountain bike.

The company already has signed up 75 dealers nationwide to sell the $2,500 bike starting next month.

“A year ago, when you mentioned the word electric bike, people looked at you and they really weren’t sure what it was,” Deyo said. “Today, what we’re finding is we’re actually having dealers call us seeking an electric bike to meet the demand.”

Jamerson, the former GM executive who has become a staunch advocate for electric transportation, believes this is only the beginning for electric bikes. He retired from GM in 1993 after helping develop the company’s EV1 electric car, and he’s been an avid follower of alternative transportation ever since.

The EV1 project, though widely seen as a spectacular failure, helped convince Jamerson of the value of electric transportation. Given soaring fuel prices and thinning patience with foreign dependence on oil, Americans are ready to embrace electric vehicles, he said.

“Did you know there are 70 million electric bikes on the road today in China, and they are selling at the rate of 2.6 million electric bikes a year?” he said. “The public at large needs to understand that it is the right thing to do to move to electric transportation, and electric bikes and electric scooters will allow you to do that, to get that familiarity.”

As for Wolfe, she could not be happier with her bike, a 48-pound mountain bike with a lithium-ion-powered assist made by California-based IZIP. A self-described “tree-hugger for decades,” she drives her Honda Insight hybrid car or rides the bus when she’s not using her bike to get to work.

It’s part of her own personal campaign to reduce her carbon footprint. She also powers her home with help from a set of rooftop solar panels, and a geothermal furnace heats and cools it.

The furnace, she adds, even heats her water. Just one more way to reduce emissions, she said.

“Even my 92-year-old mother has a Prius,” she said. “So I come by my green credentials genetically.”

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In a push toward more environmentally sustainable practices, UH is using pervious concrete to pave some of the walkways and areas around the Hale Wainani and Hale Noelani student housing buildings.

Pervious concrete is designed to let water seep through to the underlying ground, and can reduce storm-water runoff and recharge groundwater supplies. While the product has existed for decades, it is relatively new in Hawai’i. More projects here may follow as interest in environmental practices and new technologies for storm-water management grows.

Last month crews installed pervious concrete in part of ‘Ewa Beach Elementary School’s parking lot as a demonstration project for the state Department of Education. Grove Farm of Kaua’i also is looking into the technology for a master-planned development.

UH used pervious concrete — believed to be a first on campus — to be more environmentally sustainable, said UH spokesman Gregg Takayama.

"Sustainable practices of all kinds are studied here at UH-Manoa and taught here, and so it’s important that we practice it as well," Takayama said.

He said pervious concrete likely will be incorporated as other improvements are done throughout the campus.

The pervious concrete is a mix of 3/8-inch rock with cement and water; no sand is used, said Stephen Baginski, president of Kaikor Construction Co. Inc., contractor for the UH and DOE projects.

"A full 5-gallon bucket (of water) will disappear within seconds," when poured onto the pervious concrete, Baginski said. "It runs through it like there’s almost nothing in its path."

Pervious concrete can help address storm-water drainage and runoff problems and could reduce the need for large drainage infrastructure, concrete experts say. It can recharge groundwater, and some projects are also designed to capture the water that drains through for irrigation.

Pervious concrete does have some limitations, however.

It doesn’t have the inherent strength of traditional concrete and is recommended for low- to medium-traffic areas such as parking lots, residential roads and walkways rather than highways and truck loading areas.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, porous pavement should not be used in areas where activities generate high levels of contaminated runoff, and soil permeability on the site also needs to be considered.

More expensive

Pervious concrete typically is more expensive than traditional concrete, and experts say it must be designed correctly to keep sediment off, and installed properly.

Baginski said pervious concrete is about 10 percent to 20 percent more expensive than regular concrete and that it’s more difficult to work with than regular concrete. Installers have a shorter amount of time in laying down pervious concrete, and the concrete must be covered with plastic sheeting for at least seven days to cure.

But Baginski and others say there are environmental benefits and potential savings with using the porous material, including possible reduced costs associated with drainage structures.

Kaikor Construction began laying down the pervious concrete at UH late last month and conducted a demonstration for several teachers and counselors participating in The Pacific Resource Partnership’s "Tools of the Trade" construction internship program.

The company recently used pervious concrete at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park to pave a small area near the wave pool as a demonstration project, Baginski said.

‘Ewa beach project

State education department officials also are interested in the technology. The education department’s demonstration project, a joint effort with the Cement and Concrete Products Industry of Hawaii, involves paving two rows of parking stalls, about 4,200 square feet, at ‘Ewa Beach Elementary, said Jadine Urasaki, public works manager for the department.

DOE officials are looking toward more projects using sustainable materials, and may use pervious concrete at other schools that have a soil substructure favorable for such pavement, Urasaki said.

Grove Farm, believed to be the first in the state to use pervious concrete, paved its employee parking lot with the permeable material about a year ago to test its performance and durability.

The company is considering incorporating porous pavement like pervious concrete or porous asphalt in its Wailani master planned project, which includes commercial, residential and industrial development, said Grove Farm senior vice president Michael Tresler.

"Our plan was to get experience and data on the pervious surface with the longer range plan to employ this pervious surfaces in our master plan project to recapture runoff water, recycle and reuse the gray water for irrigation," he said.

Tresler said so far the pervious concrete surface parking lot is holding up and working as hoped.

"When it rains, you don’t see runoff," he said. "It pretty much percolates through. It’s pretty neat, actually."

growing interest

The use of pervious concrete has been growing "exponentially" in the country in the past five to 10 years, in part because of stricter U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requirements for storm-water management, said Bruce Ferguson, Franklin professor of landscape architecture for the University of Georgia. The concrete industry also established pervious concrete installation standards several years ago, he said.

He said in addition to controlling storm-water runoff, pervious concrete is being used to recharge groundwater and allow trees along sidewalks and in parking lots — which typically have limited rooting space — to grow to full maturity. It’s also been shown to be a treatment medium for urban pollutants, he said.

Porous asphalt also is available but is not as widely used as pervious concrete, in part because the asphalt industry has not yet established installation standards, Ferguson said.

While the use of pervious concrete is relatively new in Hawai’i, the product has been around on the Mainland for decades, said Wayne Kawano, president of the Cement and Concrete Products Industry of Hawaii, a nonprofit trade organization.

"Before it might have been considered, ‘Well, it costs too much,’ " he said. "But now if you look at it as a whole … water retention system, then it may certainly be more cost effective."

Projects in states like Florida and Georgia have used pervious concrete for more than a decade.

The first use of pervious concrete in Atlanta is believed to be the driveway and turnout for Southface Energy Institute in 1996, according to the Georgia Concrete and Products Association.

Southface, an environmental consulting group, hasn’t experienced any problems with the pervious concrete, said Southface public relations coordinator Ku’ulei Sako.

"The pervious concrete at Southface allows rainwater to trickle through the driveway and sidewalks to provide water to the plants and trees, while providing storm-water drainage for the sidewalks, driveways and other public areas," Sako said. "In metropolitan cities, like Atlanta, it also helps to reduce the heat and provide cooler temperatures while minimizing the impact on the environment."

Gordon Kenna, executive director of the Georgia Concrete and Products Association, said a stadium parking lot paved with pervious concrete in Chattanooga, Tenn., was designed to collect the water that seeps through the concrete for irrigation.

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The event is sponsored in conjunction with the County of Hawaii Department of Research & Development. The E Malama Aina Festival is an outgrowth of the Chamber’s successful Ag Expo.

The event’s co-chairs, Steve Shropshire (Aloha Green) and Richard Ha (Hamakua Springs Country Farms) take aim at the compelling need to inform, educate, inspire and initiate consumer action — critical public issues in light of oil’s continued volatility.

“This year our community–and the country at large–face severe challenges. E Malama Aina will showcase innovation in agriculture, alternative energy, transportation, housing, and education in an interactive village environment, offering consumers a unique, hands-on experience,” said Shropshire.

Co-chair Ha added that the organizers have found many on Hawaii Island “who have been engaged in innovative work aimed at sustainability. For example, there’s a progressive small company in Hakalau making hydrogen out of energy generated by river water; Native Hawaiian aquaculture practices are being re-introduced because of its inherently sustainable design; and as traditional farmers, we’re excited to be inspiring our community with simple, do-it-yourself home gardening innovations.”

The event is to have a series of sustainability “villages” staffed by experts in areas critical to our contemporary island lifestyle. A sample section of a “green home” will be erected onsite, showing best building practices, including solar energy and renewable building materials. A miniature ahupuaa is to be on display, depicting land stewardship practices found in traditional Native Hawaiian living.

Additionally, event planners are working with island schools to offer class field-trips to the festival engaging children in interactive sustainability practices first-hand.

Besides all of this, there will be continuous live award-winning Hawaiian entertainment, a variety of food vendors, and a special edition Hilo Farmers Market.

Lalea “Sam” Puluole, executive director of Hilo’s Downtown Improvement Association (DIA), a member of the planning committee said “We are fully engaged in this special event, and are excited to see Hilo town evolve into the E Mälama ‘Äina homebase.”

Aggressive media campaigns are on the way with Oceanic Time-Warner, Hawai’i's cable

television provider reaching more than 400,000 households, through an exclusive media partnership featuring a statewide series of promotional commercial spots. The first of the television promo series features Mayor Harry Kim inviting all of Hawai’i Nei to attend the event. Statewide broadcast will begin in early July, with a special announcement on the Time-Warner OC-16 series “Kamaaina Backroads.”™

Hawai’i Island-based filmmaker Roland Joseph Torres is producing a series of short films profiling Hawaii innovators of sustainability, to be broadcast in segments on Kamaaäina Backroads™ shown in Hawai’i and the mainland, as well as during the festival in November.

“Ultimately, we see this as an opportunity to partner with our larger community in working toward a better tomorrow,” said Shropshire.

For corporate partners, E Malama Aina offers a wide range of opportunities designed to maximize consumer-direct interaction in the first event of this kind in Hawaii.

Sponsorships are being coordinated through the Pacific Media & Learning Trust, contact (808) 333-5764

The E Malama Aina Festival is a project of the Hawai’i Island Chamber of Commerce (HICC). Founded in 1898, the Chamber celebrates its 110th anniversary in 2008. Based in Hilo, the County seat of Hawaii Island, it serves members from East Hawaii as well as member businesses from throughout all of the State of Hawaii, the nation, and internationally.

High and low resolution images are available for members of the media. Please contact Roland at the Pacific Media & Learning Trust, (808) 333-5764

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Homeowners will be able to rebuild and replace with Energy Star-rated appliances and lighting, Forest Stewardship Council certified wood, water-saving plumbing fixtures, nontoxic paints and carpeting and debris removal that can be recycled and kept out of landfills.

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The US Conference of Mayors presented the award at the group’s 76^th Annual Meeting, held this year in Miami, where Mayor Hannemann spoke about the need to support the arts and the travel industry.

"I’m very pleased that the US Conference of Mayors has recognized our hard work to make Honolulu an environmentally friendly and sustainable city," Mayor Hannemann said. "We take environmental protection very seriously, and we will continue to be good stewards of our precious island and its natural resources."

Honolulu was one of four large US cities to receive the award today.

The City was praised for its Sustainability Plan, the "nuts and bolts" application of the principals outlined earlier by the Mayor’s Vision for the 21^st Century Ahupua’a. The document is the first comprehensive sustainability plan developed with full participation of all affected City departments. It sets ambitious goals over a ten year time frame and identifies specific programs, responsibilities and methods for measuring progress.

"We must benefit from the wisdom of our Polynesian ancestors combined with the technological innovations of today to make our island home sustainable and self sufficient for future generations," Mayor Hannemann said.

Hawai’i's original inhabitants developed a sophisticated and successful resource management system based on the ahupua’a land division that supported a population more than half as large as it is today. The concept of the 21st Century Ahupua’a is to develop a culturally appropriate strategy for restoring balance and sustainability to our island home.

"We must continue to learn from our Polynesian predecessors and renew our commitment to self-sufficiency and to the protection of our precious ‘aina," Mayor Hannemann said.

Mayor Hannemann is a member of the USCM Advisory Committee and the chair of its Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee, one of the USCM’s largest committees.

The committee today approved resolutions urging Congress to:

· support expansion of the US Visa Waiver Program to facilitate foreign travel to the US by residents of South Korea and other nations, which would greatly benefit Honolulu and many other cities with strong tourism industries;

· approve the Travel Promotion Act, which would establish the first substantial international marketing campaign to promote the US overseas as a travel destination;

· and to restore full funding to the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Office of Museum Services after years of harmful budget cuts.

Mayor Hannemann also today briefed the committee on a proposal to establish a task force of mayors and private industry representatives to support Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games; and to set up a similar task force to help address problems created by the recent closure of Aloha Airlines and other carriers amid rising costs for jet fuel, which are harming the visitor industry in many cities.

Mayor Hannemann was the driving force behind the Ten Point Plan that the USCM adopted for presentation to presidential candidates, addressing a variety of issues that are important to our nation’s cities.

At the committee meeting, Mayor Hannemann discussed the positions of Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on issues related to travel and the arts, which are among the USCM’s priorities.

On behalf of the USCM, Mayor Hannemann, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and Miami Mayor and incoming USCM chair Manuel Diaz met last month with Senator McCain, who said he was very sympathetic to concerns about the airline industry problems and pledged to do all he could to assist.

Mayor Hannemann today reported that Senator Obama is very familiar with the USCM’s call for assisting and strengthening the arts, and has incorporated the arts in his campaign platform.

Senator Obama is also a co-sponsor of the Travel Promotion Act, which Hawaii Senator Daniel K. Inouye has championed. Senator Obama has pledged to support Chicago’s bid to host the Olympics, and is scheduled to address the conference in Miami tomorrow.

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But now, there’s an eco-friendly way to enjoy take-out.

Mocha Java Café in Ward is just one of a growing number of local businesses serving up drinks and plates of food in bio-degradable ware.

“We’re almost 100% right now just running out of stock,” said Luzia Maia, owner of Mocha Java Cafe.

The eco-friendly foodware is called Styrophobia.

They contain no harmful or toxic materials — found in Styrofoam and plastic.

Instead they’re made from corn starch and sugar cane fiber — and are 100% compostable.

The idea to bring styrophobia to Hawaii came to Mike Elhoff after San Francisco banned the use of Styrofoam and plastic bags.

“We’re using them as a model and we know they can do it,” said Elhoff.  “And at the same time San Franciso is diverting up to 70% of their landfills to biodegradable’s to landfills and recycling.”

Elhoff says ,where as — Styrofoam sits in our landfill leeching toxic chemicals into the soil, “styrophobia” biodegrades in up to 90 days.

And since it’s au naturale, you can even bury it with the rest of your compost in your back yard.

You can’t really tell the difference between a styrophobia cup and a plastic cup. They both look and feel the same. And even though this is made out of corn. You can’t tell.

The local company’s also pushing bio-bags for dogs, in hopes animal lovers and people who love plate-lunches will use these green products to create a greener Hawaii.

“Ultimately it’s about this,” said Elhoff.  “It’s about changing our habits taking more responsibility for what we do in the day.”

It costs an extra 25-cents to carry the styrophobia products.

So far, almost 100 local businesses, schools and colleges have made the switch.

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Under the hood, a new environmentally friendly engine replaces an old diesel one.

The result is cleaner air.

"The fine particles that come out of diesel exhaust can lodge deep in our lungs and can result in premature mortality, can exacerbate respiratory illnesses like bronchitis and asthma," said Deborah Jordan of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Division.

Under the diesel vehicle retrofit program, you will literally breathe easier.

You can clearly see the black emissions produced by a truck that hasn’t been retrofitted with a cleaner engine versus one that has.

"If you’ve ever wondered why there’s a black film over your car rather than a white film that’s what’s there," said Bob Wilkinson of Grace Pacific.

More than 75 State Department of Transportation trucks have the new technology in place; some designed to reduce diesel emissions by up 85 %.

Construction company, Grace pacific, is also doing the same with its vehicles. In the next six months, it plans to have 100 trucks retrofitted with the new eco-friendly technology.

"These engines besides being quieter, burn less fuel, more fuel efficient we get a little more power out of them," said Lorne Fleming of Grace Pacific.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, City, State and private businesses say this is only the beginning to a cleaner and healthier hawaii.

Chevron also provided $800,000 in funding to help kick start this project.

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