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| The sky blue and the wheat field gold of the flag of Ukraine. Though Ukraine is some 8,000 miles from Hawai'i, these islands will be impacted by the war, warns state Rep. Patrick Piahana Branco. There are also stories in Fortune, Reuters and Wall Street Journal that point to Hawai'i's dependence on Russian oil, which is being cut off by Hawai'i's only refinery. |
WHAT HAPPENS IN UKRAINE IS IMPORTANT HERE, says Hawaiʻi State Rep. Patrick Pihana Branco, a former diplomat. He issued a warning today about possible effects of the crisis in Europe on the rest of the world, including Hawai'i. He wrote: “Prior to serving in the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, I worked to defend American values across the world as a Diplomat in the U.S. State Department, and served in some of the most volatile regions of the world. But no matter where I served, there was always one particularly pervasive factor working against our diplomatic efforts: Russia.
“I experienced Russia’s hostile influence directly, when we received information in the Office of the |
| Hawai'i State Representative and former diplomat Patrick Pihana Branco issued a statement on the Ukraine war's risk to Hawai'i, even though 8,000 miles away. Photo from Patrick Branco |
“Now the world is witnessing a new Russian-made crisis. Last night, we watched in horror as on the ground updates came from Ukraine during Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified deadly assault. In the span of just a few hours, Russia fired more than 100 missiles into Ukrainian territory, targeting Ukraine’s government and military capabilities, and causing the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians. Russian President Vladimir Putin now intends to attempt to seize key population centers, decapitate Ukraine’s government, and install his own hand-picked regime in its place.
“Putin is attempting to upend the post-Cold War order, and has plunged Europe into its gravest security crisis since WWII. We’re now witnessing a war in Europe on a scale that we had hoped would be left to the ash heap of history.
“For those of us living in Hawaiʻi, it may be tempting to think “Why should I care about a conflict happening almost 8,000 miles away—halfway around the world?” But I’m telling you, it’s imperative that you do.
“President Biden is right to move forward on a devastating package of sanctions and other economic measures to hold Russia accountable. He is spelling out clearly to Putin and his gang of oligarchs that there is a dire cost to needless bloodshed, and efforts to destabilize America’s allies and its alliances.
“This crisis is still developing, and the situation on the ground is going to change quickly over the coming days and weeks. Russia’s disinformation campaigns will go into overdrive, and it’s more important than ever to only trust information on this crisis that is verified and reported by trusted news sources.
“While no one knows how this crisis will ultimately be resolved, it’s more important than ever that we put our political differences aside, and come together as Americans to stand for our values and our ally’s struggle for freedom. The peace, safety, and livelihoods of millions depend on it.”
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Hawai'i "is an anomaly among U.S, states. It imports several million barrels of Russian crude oil annually, accounting for 10 percent to 25 percent of Russian crude shipments to the U.S. depending on the year.
Fortune reports that renewable energy projects face delays and setbacks in Hawai'i. Oil plants are part of the fallback plan to keep the lights on for O'ahu residents until those setbacks are sorted out. She quotes the
chair of Hawai'i Public Utilities Commission Jay Griffin, saying, "We have warned about leaving the cost of this transition up to world oil markets, and this week's events are another reminder of the price we pay for oil dependence."
The story also points to the Jones Act that restricts transportation between U.S. ports to ships that are largely owned, staffed and manufactured by people in U.S. That leads to buying oil and other commodities and goods directly from overseas, to avoid the high cost of shipping from the mainland. The only refinery in Hawai'i announced today it is canceling orders from Russia.
"Under Hawai'i's utility regulations, the cost of fuel is passed on to customers. That means Hawaiian could soon see a significant increase in their energy bills," reports Fortune. See www.fortune.com.
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| Jay Griffin, Chair of state Public Utilities Commission |
The story also points to the Jones Act that restricts transportation between U.S. ports to ships that are largely owned, staffed and manufactured by people in U.S. That leads to buying oil and other commodities and goods directly from overseas, to avoid the high cost of shipping from the mainland. The only refinery in Hawai'i announced today it is canceling orders from Russia.
"Under Hawai'i's utility regulations, the cost of fuel is passed on to customers. That means Hawaiian could soon see a significant increase in their energy bills," reports Fortune. See www.fortune.com.
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GRASSROOT INSTITUTE OF HAWAI'I IS ASKING PRES. JOE BIDEN FOR A ONE YEAR EXEMPTION TO THE JONES ACT, "in response to the parent company of Par Hawai'i deciding to suspend Russian oil imports to Hawaii." Grassroot Institute Pres. Keli'i Akina pointed to the "vulnerability created by Hawai'i's excessive dependence on foreign oil sources. This dependence is largely a consequence of the U.S. maritime law known as the Jones Act."
Par Hawai'i's parent company, Par Pacific Holdings "became the first U.S. refiner company to halt Russian oil imports in response to the conflict in Ukraine," reported Akina - quoting Reuters. He also pointed out that on March 1, the Wall Street Journal noted that "Hawai'i annually imports several million barrels of Russian crude oil. Depending on the year, this accounts for roughly 10% to 25% of Russian crude shipments to the U.S." One reason, according to Wall Street Journal, ""is the 1920 Jones Act. As usual with protectionism, this is expensive, and it's especially hard on outlying areas like Hawai'i." See Grassrootinstitute.org.
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The Office of Homeland Security request any incidents or abnormal activity related to this message be reported through the Hawai‘i State Fusion Center at hsfc@hawaii.gov in addition to reporting to Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at us-cert.cisa.gov, Central@cisa.dhs.gov, or 888-282-0870 and/or to the FBI via local FBI field office, or FBI’s 24/7 CyWatch at 855-292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov. "The Hawai‘i State Fusion Center develops, produces, and shares intelligence and other actionable information central to preventing cybersecurity incidents, as well as responding to those that do occur," the message says.
“While there is no specific, credible threat to Hawai‘i at this time, we encourage all organizations—regardless of size—to heed the Department of Homeland Security’s recommendations and adopt a heightened posture when it comes to cybersecurity and protecting their most critical assets,” said Frank Pace, Administrator, Hawai‘i Office of Homeland Security.
Pace recommended:
Reduce the likelihood of a damaging cyber intrusion by keeping networks secure, ensuring software is up to date by prioritizing updates that address known exploited vulnerabilities identified by CISA, and confirming with IT that all non-essential ports and protocols have been disabled. If your organization uses cloud services, confirm that IT personnel have reviewed and implemented strong controls outlined in CISA’s guidance. Make sure to also sign up for CISA’s free cyber hygiene services.
Reduce the likelihood of a damaging cyber intrusion by keeping networks secure, ensuring software is up to date by prioritizing updates that address known exploited vulnerabilities identified by CISA, and confirming with IT that all non-essential ports and protocols have been disabled. If your organization uses cloud services, confirm that IT personnel have reviewed and implemented strong controls outlined in CISA’s guidance. Make sure to also sign up for CISA’s free cyber hygiene services.
Ensure that the organization is prepared to respond if an intrusion occurs by designating a crisis-response team, assuring that key personnel will be available in response to an incident, and conducting a tabletop exercise to ensure that all crisis-response personnel understand their roles.
Maximize the organization’s resilience to a destructive cyber incident by testing backup procedures to ensure that critical data can be rapidly restored, ensuring that backups are isolated from network connections, and conducting tests of manual controls to ensure that critical functions remain operable if the network is unavailable or untrusted.
CISA urges cybersecurity/IT personnel at every organization to review Understanding and Mitigating Russian State-Sponsored Cyber Threats to U.S. Critical Infrastructure. CISA also recommends
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SEE UPCOMING EVENTS IN KA'U AND VOLCANO
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| See March edition of The Kaʻū Calendar newspaper at www.kaucalendar.com |