Hawai'i is in dire need of an energy revolution, not the ongoing creeping evolution. Merely suggesting that 20 percent of our electricity be generated from renewable resources by 2020 is apocalyptic.

Hawai'i must move quickly to provide the infrastructure to create alternative energy for generating electricity. Coal and oil must be made obsolete. The Industrial Revolution was energized by fossil fuel. The technological revolution of the 21st century must be energized by the limitless supplies of renewable energies.

David Murdock, a nationally prominent businessman, recently hosted a meeting with legislative and executive branch leaders to announce that he is willing to invest a billion or more dollars to bring alternative energy production to Hawai'i. He acknowledged that our current energy problems are a crisis of epic proportions. Hawai'i is especially vulnerable. The rising price of oil seriously affects every person and industry — especially our one major enterprise, tourism. Former Gov. Ben Cayetano called a special session of the Legislature to address the 9/11 crisis. The same kind of leadership is needed to address our current crisis.

Now is the time to take action. A few legislators made excuses as to why David Murdock's ideas cannot be expedited. This mentality has led Hawai'i backwards in energy independence and many opportunities have been squandered. In the last several decades, despite Gov. Linda Lingle's recent attempts to change things, Hawai'i has become more dependent on coal and oil. The challenges of the energy crisis are an opportunity for competent leaders to institute timely and dramatic changes.

Here are some things that could be accomplished in a special session of the state Legislature: