When I toured the island with National Park Service (NPS) staff in August 2010, Jim Calvinperez, the facilities manager and chief engineer, told me that 2, 000 gallons of diesel fuel had to be shipped to the island weekly in order to keep the generators in the power plant humming.
It is needed to make plastics, to fly planes, to propel construction equipment and to turn generators to make electricity that keeps the lights on and your computer humming in your home or office.