February 28th, 2016

T-minus 5 days until I am on a 12 hour flight taking me to “One of the most beautiful places on Earth.” Of course its beauty was only one of the things drawing me to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, specifically the island of Oahu. Aside from that, I was captured by the leaps and bounds Hawaii is making in the renewable energy field. On June 8th, 2015 (about one year ago) the Governor of Hawaii signed four energy bills, one of which holds Hawaii to their goal of generating 100% of their electricity from renewable energy by the year 2045. They are the first U.S. state to set such a goal, and an aggressive one at that! By not having to spend $5 billion on imported oil a year, Hawaii will be able to invest more money into their economy. I will be visiting Makai Ocean Engineering to learn more about their current research and technologies being developed right now.

Along with learning about the business of renewable energies, I will be immersing myself in Hawaii’s unique culture by preparing cultural food and building paddles that the natives used when discovering the islands.

I am a very excited senior interested in our Earth, engineering, traveling, and what Oahu holds for us and our future. Keep coming back if you share any of these interests!

-Maddie