USS O’Kane (DDG 77) is a guided-missile destroyer based out of Pearl Harbor and is currently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The O’Kane won the 2004 Chief of Naval Operations and Secretary of the Navy Environmental Quality Award for its conservation programs, which include:

• Implementing an innovative solid waste management program, requiring three separate waste receptacles to properly sort trash for recycling
• Maintaining thermostats and anti-tampering devices on thermostats to maximize air conditioning efficiency
• Tracking fuel use to maintain fuel accountability and efficiency
• Using lighting timers in passageways and unused areas, and using recharging kits in battle lanterns to eliminate the need for replacement batteries

Navy Region Hawaii is implementing several programs to conserve energy and produce electricity from renewable resources, including:

• Retrofitting 30,000 light fixtures with energy-saving devices over two years, which will save 4,500 mega-watts of energy per year – enough to provide 3400 households with all their electricity needs
• Producing 1,180 mega-watts of renewable energy per year from solar water heating systems on Oahu
• Installing solar-powered street lights on PMRF, which produce 8.4 mega-watts of renewable energy
• Consolidating previously-inefficient air conditioning equipment into a single chilled water plant, cutting the amount of energy used in half and saving 8,000 mega-watts of energy per year
• Installing a photovoltaic array on Ford Island’s historic Building 54 at Pearl Harbor. The solar panels currently produce 400 mega-watts of electricity per year—enough to power over 300 homes—and eliminates the release of thousands of tons of air pollutants such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and sulfur dioxide.

For 25 years, the Navy in Hawaii has been successfully implementing its Installation Restoration program to guide the process of cleaning up contaminated sites on its bases and other areas. Sites may have been contaminated due to past leaking fuel tanks and pipelines and former waste management practices. Cleanup is conducted in a way that protects surrounding residences, sensitive habitat, and cultural, historical, and archaeological resources. As a result, formerly contaminated sites have been returned to productive use, drinking water quality and safety has been maintained, endangered species habitat has been protected, and Hawaii’s rich cultural heritage has been preserved. For example, Hawaii’s program won the Department of Defense’s highest environmental award for removing PCBs (a toxic chemical) from soil. Navy Region Hawaii has established procedures to ensure that current and future operations are protective of Hawaii’s environment, and will continue its cleanup programs until all sites are addressed.