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The Paulownia Megafolia could be considered the ultimate environmental tree and holds the Guinness book world record at 31 feet in 7 months. Environmental qualities for Paulownia Megafolia Fortunia:
- Each tree removes 48 lbs. of carbon dioxide per year. (115,200 lbs. per acre per year)
- Each acre of trees will scrub 13 tons of harmful CO2, gases and dust from the air per year
- Each tree releases about 13 lbs. of oxygen per day (31,200 lbs. per acre per day)
- Each tree can absorb 24 gallons of wastewater per day. (57,600 gallons per acre per day
- Gentle on the earth, few surface roots, long taproot that helps to lower water table and prevent salinity. A very clean tree, no berries, no sap drop, drops its leaves in autumn and they disintegrate within a few days.
- Paulownia megafolia genetics are the world’s fastest growing quality hardwood cultivars harvesting 16 to 30 foot poles at 4” to 5” diameter Paulownia, originally from China, can produce a butt log of mill able quality hardwood timber within four to six years. This compares with a minimum of 18-20 years for other hardwoods.
For more information about the Paulownia Megafolia or Farr Better Trees please visit: www.FarrBetterTrees.com
The County of Kaua'i is now discussing Bill 2202, potentially the new county housing bill. There is one area in the bill that is very important that we need to push for. The bill basically creates affordable and workforce housing a requirement for developers to provide in future projects. The portion that we feel is important to note is WHEN it is required of a developer. The current bill states that would occur when the property is zoned. Great news for any future projects that will be zoned but what about the 10,000 plus units that have already be zoned in the 80's and 90's, which is what is being developed today?
The answer is that the bill should require the new housing being tied to building permits as well. That means that projects that were zoned years ago will still have to comply with the new law because it could be tied to building permits, which in most cases have not been issued yet.
Two affects will come from this, first, there will be more affordable housing whenever a new development takes place and second, if the margins are too slim for developers perhaps they will decide not to develop at all.
We are in a situation where we are giving it all away to a few and the rest of us are getting stuck with the bill and no housing to boot. Please write to support the idea of adding buidling permitting to the requirements.
You can see a copy of Maui's bill, ordinance #3418 here: http://www.mauicounty.gov/county/clerkSub/ordinances.php
A copy of Kaua'i's Housing Policy bill #2202 here
A breakdown of the issue as a single page here
For more information on the show and format please visit this link.
For your daily dose of Kaua'i sustainability news, visit Ken Stoke's blog site at www.kauaian.net/blog.
Also visit Kaua'i's www.IslandBreath.org for original news and links to important, local efforts.
Susan Keller
kcfb@hawaiiantel.net
Kauai County Farm Bureau
Voice of Kaua'i Agriculture
P.O. Box 3895
Lihue, Hawai'i 96766
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