So many of our critical projects seem to get stuck. We don't have great agriculture anymore; we don't have anything much in Kaka'ako; we've dismembered the capital structures of tech and local film; we're still attacking projects in aquaculture and astronomy; we're coming apart over rail; and we've kicked out the one project that brought our islands together — the ferry.

No, it's not your imagination. Trying to get big projects done in Hawai'i is like pushing on the end of a string. We've had increasing difficulty doing iconic things, just as we've struggled with pride and progress. We're reluctant to celebrate — we "commemorated," not celebrated, our 50th state anniversary, and for some people it brought tears not joy. What makes us so despondent? It can't be just the economy.

THE QUADRANGLE

All is not lost. DBEDT, yes DBEDT, is busy working on the undersea power cable, 70 miles and $1.2 billion, connecting the quadrangle — O'ahu, Maui, Moloka'i and Lana'i. DBEDT is now working on the EIS, which they expect will take two years to complete, and the RFP for the laying of the cable itself. This will draw investors and bidders from distant places. It will also draw despondents from right here at home.

Whatever they say about the environmental and regulatory issues, we know one thing: The cable will deliver renewables from three Neighbor Islands to O'ahu, and later from the Big Island, too. It will signal progress toward a fossil-free Hawai'i. It will be a huge and challenging project, generating cutting-edge science and engineering, splendid collaboration among industry, academia and government, and lots of jobs, sweet, lovable, nutritious, delicious jobs.

SAUCE FOR GANDER

The likelihood, sad to say, is that DBEDT will run into resistance on a project as big as this. For every successful step, it will be attacked and pulled into the crabs bucket. However careful and creative it may be, it will have to deal with that resistance, just as its industry counterparts must do in their undertakings. Like everyone else, DBEDT will have to cope with the destructive power of our impacted bureaucracy. Sauce for the gander? Will we be amused by DBEDT's frustrations, or sympathetic to its efforts?

To shut down a project of this nature would be like shooting ourselves in the foot — it would not only hurt us in the short term, but would cripple our prospects going forward. In Hawai'i, you can anticipate this risk well in advance — it's the brick wall that blocks every ambitious project.

We've promised ourselves that we would build a better carbon footprint, and we need to do that. But the "fast-track" feed-in tariff has been waiting in the PUC for nine months, and the new generating plant at Campbell is offline waiting for biofuel. We've got to steam ahead, and waste no time in incentivizing the production and distribution of renewables throughout the state.

WHY WE CARE

Perhaps you're thinking we can get along the same way we've gotten along all these years — without a cable. Wrong.

We've got to keep up in a fast-moving world. We can't drop out of our biggest initiative ever — that would be group seppuku after shameful squander. If we want renewables, let's do this project. If we're going to drop out, let's shut it down now and not suffer the disgrace of yet another failed initiative.

We need to show ourselves we can do it, to prove up and to energize those around us. Like it or not, we measure ourselves on success, and the world does, too, and frankly right now we need a win. We need to show them what "can-do," "chance 'em" and "go-for-broke" are all about — no exceptions, no exclusions, no doubt, greed or fear. Let's get back to the take-charge mindset that made Hawai'i great.

Let's build this cable for Hawai'i. It's more than just a cable — it's our cable, our confidence, our culture and our kids. We must let it gather us up and connect us together. And not get stuck.