Cesspools Are Killing Hawai‘i’s Coral – But It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way
An expert explains how to reverse the damage from the state’s 83,000 cesspools, including using treated wastewater for irrigation and landscaping.
Sustainability
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes 2023
Climate change has raised the stakes for Hawai‘i and communities around the world. That’s why we are sharing six stories of people and companies that are taking significant climate action.
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes: Elemental Excelerator
The climate-tech accelerator helps fund food, energy and transportation solutions in Hawai‘i and around the world.
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes: Pono Pacific
The company is on a mission to conserve land, save native species, promote food security and develop renewable energy from agriculture.
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes: Shifted Energy
The company uses machine learning to optimize energy use, with a focus on multifamily and rental buildings.
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes: Makena Coffman
The UH Mānoa professor is an energy and climate policy expert focused on reducing carbon emissions, especially in the transportation sector.
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes: Blue Planet Foundation
Among its recent legislative wins is a law that extends efficiency standards to toilets, water coolers, ventilating fans and other products.
Hawai‘i’s Sustainability Heroes: Pono Home
The company helps homeowners and renters reduce their energy and water waste, while saving customers $6.3 million a year.
The Goal: Tourism That Regenerates Hawai‘i, Not Degrades It
A program that limits access at Kaua‘i’s Hā‘ena State Park and raises local dollars is considered a model for places inundated by visitors.
What’s Next for the Trust for Public Land in Hawai‘i
Since its founding 50 years ago, the organization says it has protected over 77,000 acres. Among its current projects is returning land to Native Hawaiian control.
Powering O‘ahu 24/7 for 60 Years
Behind the scenes at the Kahe Power Plant, which opened in 1963 and still generates firm power to supplement solar- and wind-generated electricity.
Blue Planet’s 2023 Agenda: More Efficient Appliances, Lighting and Transportation
The nonprofit is focused on small steps that will make a big impact in reaching Hawai‘i’s 100% clean energy goals.
Two East Maui Icons Win a Nature Conservancy Award
Tweetie and John Lind have spent their lives preserving traditional subsistence practices and Hawaiian lifestyles in Kīpahulu.
This Big Island Startup Turns Degraded Land into Thriving Ecosystems
Terraformation started by planting 7,200 trees and plants. The ultimate goal: restoring 3 billion acres across the globe.
Hawai‘i’s Native Forests Are Vanishing. Here’s How to Help.
Pests and diseases are decimating ‘ōhi‘a trees and others, but simple actions can help stop the decline.
Hawai‘i Land Trust Preserves Special Places for Today and the Future
The nonprofit has protected over 20,000 acres, including shorelines, fishponds and sacred cultural sites.
Why Hawai‘i’s Wildfires Are Growing Bigger and More Intense
The unfolding disaster on Maui is a sign of things to come as invasive grasses spread across the landscape and extreme rain-drought cycles intensify their fuel loads. Here's the science behind Hawai‘i’s wildfires, and the experts who are fighting to stop them.
You Don’t Need 4 Wheels to Go Electric
For short trips, e-bikes and scooters, Onewheels and even electric unicycles are fuel efficient, easy to park and lots of fun.
Local Architects Talk About Repurposing Existing Buildings in Post-Pandemic Hawai‘i
In some cases, it will make more sense to repurpose underused buildings than to tear them down and start from scratch. Recent examples include the office-to-residential conversion of 1132 Bishop Street and the transformation of the former Macy’s in Kailua into Lau Hala Shops.
Here’s How Hawai‘i Plans to Expand its Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
Today, 1.4% of Hawai‘i’s passenger vehicles are electric. If the state is to get to 500,000 EVs by 2045, we need tens of thousands of charging stations.
Half of Foreign Oil for Hawai‘i Comes from Russia and Libya
Hawai‘i got half of its imported crude oil in 2020 from Russia and Libya, which concerns at least one local environmental organization.
How Hawaiʻi's Light Pollution Affects Wildlife and Humans
Wedge-tailed shearwater fledging season runs from early November to late December. That’s when hundreds of grounded birds are found on roads and in people’s yards in Hawai‘i each year.
Fires Consume More Hawaiʻi Forest in Recent Years
Fires burned more than 30,000 acres of forest and brushland in both 2018 and 2019 – far more than any other year in more than a decade.