Tamara Paltin
Non-partisanQ1 As energy prices continue to increase in Hawaiʻi, what role, if any, should alternative energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal, and liquefied natural gas, play in Hawaiʻi’s future energy mix? What policies would you support related to alternative energy development, regulation, and/or research, and why?
“I support alternative energy production that engages the community affected by the related infrastructure and takes Environmental and ecological impacts into account and mitigates them to the extent possible. Important policies would be planning ahead for end of useful life dismantling and disposal. I am most familiar with solar and wind power as alternative energy sources but open to learning more.”
KEYWORDS: Safety, Accountability, Transparency, Efficiency
Q2 Every county has faced a major disaster in the last decade, with more and more happening each year. What is your concrete plan to adapt to a world with more volatile, climate-driven risks and protect our communities?
“Working on coastal retreat adaptive pathway policies, water conservation policy/strategies and source development with County of Maui Department of Water Supply, food security through partnerships and grants with County and State Departments of Agriculture and Resilience hubs and networks with Maui emergency management agency”
KEYWORDS: Retreat, Conservation, Resilience, Food Security
Q3 While data centers can be important facilities for processing, transferring, and storing data, there are growing concerns about data centers’ environmental impacts and health repercussions. What policies, if any, would you support to balance technological and economic growth with infrastructure reliability, environmental sustainability, and the preservation of land and water? For example, Bill 170 from Hawaiʻi County proposes to ban AI data centers and distinguish them from standard data processing facilities; should other counties follow suit?
“Sure, from my research the large data centers would not be suitable for Hawaii and we have some of the smaller types already. I believe data centers that do not use/pollute large amounts of water or draw large amounts of energy are most concerning and the output of funny memes and flyers just arent worth that kind of trade off. There may be ethical data centers but as a community we would need to look into what is being offered, what it’s used for and what is the tradeoff in terms of our Natural resources.”
KEYWORDS: Water/Energy comsumption, pollution, ethicalqqq
Q4 Across the Hawaiʻi’s Public School System, a little more than 40% of students achieved math and science proficiency in the 2024-2025 school year. However, access to these opportunities varies across the state due to factors such as geography, school resources, and program availability. What policies do you support to expand equitable access to high-quality STEM and general education for students across Hawaiʻi, such as the use of AI in the classroom, increasing public funding, and more support for extracurricular activities?
“I support more training and workshops for teachers and organizations instructors(such as Boys and girls club or A plus) specifically in areas where science and math proficiency is low and incentives for students to participate in STEM programs.”
KEYWORDS: Training, Workshops, Incentives
Q5 Hawaiʻi faces unique obstacles in its transportation infrastructure, with inter-island travel, ports, and many rural communities. How can we balance environmentally sustainable technologies (such as sustainable aviation fuel, electric or hybrid vehicles, public transit options like the bus or rail) with equity for different communities?
“I support fare free public transit for buses especially in areas that have traffic congestion. Currently we are working on a county sponsored inter county ferry to help with transportation between Maui, Molokai and Lānaʻi. I support trying hybrid or electric buses with a designated way to get rid of those batteries at the end of their useful life and trying algae or seaweed based jet fuel. In more rural communities I support micro-transit or rideshare type programs.”
KEYWORDS: Fare-free, micro-transit, ride share