In this featured episode, Jason interviews Michael Smith of Regenitech, inventor of the “Earth Power Lodge,” (re-named GREEN POWER HOUSE), a closed-loop system highlighted in The Need to Grow. Smith explains how green waste can be converted into electricity, biochar, and soil-restoring biostimulants using algae, bacteria, and cooperative “natural intelligence.” The conversation covers successful soil cleanup (including major herbicide reduction), carbon capture, and water recovery, and explores how modular units could help Maui regenerate farmland, increase food self-sufficiency, and build community-owned resilience.
Maui Neutral Zone (MNZ), founded and hosted by Jason Schwartz, is a long-running community based public affairs talk show dedicated to elevating local voices examining critical issues facing Maui and Hawaii, exists for one simple reason: to create a space where the people of Maui can honestly talk about what’s happening, why it’s happening, and – most importantly – what we choose to do next.
Over the years, we’ve covered:
Fires – lived experience and credibility gaps and recovery challenges,
Housing and homelessness and displacement – exploring affordable housing, land stewardship, and community first alternatives,
Environmental and public health concerns – toxic exposure, land misuse and environmental oversight, sustainability, highlighting public and grass root responses when conventional systems fall short,
Governance and civic accountability – policy, power and public trust,
Healing arts, Music, Visual arts, Cultural continuity and accountability to our Hawaiian host culture.
Local economy and tourism- economic impacts, tourism effects, and cooperation
Maui Neutral Zone was not designed to inflame fear or cause division – but to document truth, elevate local voices, and keep the focus on solutions. We feel that when perspectives hear “each other”, compassion and empathy and “better understanding of each other” will propel us towards mutually beneficial solutions.
We believe something very simple: That awareness is the first step…but action is the goal.
Started in 1991, it is the backbone of a 3-1/2 decades vision of a self-sustainability model, with Maui County being It!
Leave a Reply