Eric Gleason President, NextEra Energy Hawaii President, NextEra Energy Transmission After a career in investment banking – interrupted by a couple of years backpacking around the world with his wife – Gleason has spent the last six years in the…
Native plant restoration is an ongoing process at the Kaupulehu Dryland Forest in North Kona – one of more than a dozen projects by the nonprofit Hawaii Forest Institute. “Not all (Hawaii) forests are native forests,” notes Rob Pacheco, who…
We may buy that clamshell of beautiful, ripe strawberries with the best of intentions – pancakes! cobbler! fruit salad! – but when the end of the week comes and they’re getting soft and fuzzy in the back of the produce drawer,…
It’s an economical and eco-friendly way to eliminate overgrowth on land, and the workers are cute and quiet. Chris Wilcox, then a boat captain for a fish-farming operation on Hawaii Island, switched gears in 2013 and started Big Island Goat…
Batteries are old. In a sense, the last major development in battery technology was the invention of the lead-acid battery in 1859 by the French physicist Gaston Plante. Earlier batteries had short lives, quickly losing their charge as their electrodes…
Don’t tell his wife, but Wayne Hu is in love with trees. “For me, to be able to trim trees is like Michael Jordan being able to play basketball. I just looove tree trimming. “Trees are supposed to be three…
It’s not clear how Native Hawaiian self-governance will affect Hawaii’s economy, but there is no shortage of ideas. Different Hawaiian leaders talk about changing taxes, control of land, lease rents, business incentives, ownership restrictions, import rules and much more. More…
With consumers seeking healthier options, small producers like Molokai Livestock Cooperative are enjoying a spike in popularity. “We have seen an increase in consumer demand over the years,” says GM Jack Spruance, 62. “But marketing is not our biggest challenge, …
Final bioplastic product: The Miss Sissi lamp. More info: tinyur.com/hnei-bioplastic UH researcher got help from microorganisms to invent green product The Creator Jian Yu didn’t set out to find a way to re-use organic waste. When he first moved to…
We looked into the story of the island’s freshwater, including where it comes from, how good it is and whether we’re taking care of it.
Overlaid on this picture is part of the Early Childhood Action Strategy systems map. TO TRANSFORM A system as complex as energy in Hawaii, dynamic thinking is needed, Dawn Lippert says. Systems maps and systems thinking help guide that dynamic thinking.…
There must be blood in the water. Until last year, when Hawaiian Electric Industries announced its intent to merge with Florida energy giant NextEra, the company seemed like a permanent fixture of the local economy. Only a few zealous renewable-energy…
YOU PROBABLY KNOW THAT Newell’s shearwaters, the birds native to Hawaii that are also known as Hawaiian shearwaters, are a protected species. But did you know their protection extends beyond the shore, including enforcement on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Pride of…
IT LOOKED LIKE the end of an era. Maui Land & Pineapple shuttered its agricultural operations after 90 years and laid off the few farm workers left out of a workforce that once numbered more than a thousand. In what many…
WAIMANALO – David Yarber hands out samples of his locally brewed kombucha, a popular fermented tea that’s touted for its health benefits, to a group of Japanese visitors at his Waimanalo brewery. It's obvious from their nodding heads and polite…
Wednesday, 2:17 pm Lyon Arboretum Photo by Aaron Yoshino Laboratory manager Cindy Yamamoto tends to one of the endangered plant species at the arboretum. The plants live in test tubes that contain food…
G ov. David Ige surprised many when he appointed Iwase to replace Hermina Morita at the PUC. Clearly, the former city councilman, state senator, deputy attorney general and chair of the state Tax Revenue Commission has administrative and political chops,…
W Hen Iolani Palace’s monthly power bill doubled to more than $41,000 last fall, even drastic steps like cutting off the air conditioning in the adjacent barracks couldn’t bring costs back to where they had been just a few months…
WHAT DO YOU GET WHEN YOU COMBINE ELEMENTS OF THE 19TH, 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES? Start with the U.S. government’s oldest scientific agency, with roots stretching back to the early 1800s; add historic Ford Island aircraft hangars that survived the…
THE TRAVEL CHANNEL named Kona’s manta ray night dive one of the top 10 things to do in your lifetime. As they feed on the plankton attracted to the flashlights held by divers and snorkelers, the gentle yet massive rays,…
If you ever use a waste-burning toilet, don’t be surprised if you find out a solar-power company installed it. That’s one of the technologies being investigated by RevoluSun, a Honolulu-based solar company that has expanded its “Smart Home” division, offering…
WHEN CHEF ED KENNY envisioned his new Kaimuki restaurant, Mud Hen Water, he aspired to totally integrate sustainability.…
WAIALUA, Oahu – Liz Ryan takes a bite of asparagus, just plucked from the ground at Twin Bridge Farms in Waialua. “Man, that’s good,” says the 59-year-old from Hot Springs, Arizona, who had never eaten fresh-picked asparagus before. “It’s a…
THE HONOLULU FIRE DEPARTMENT says fire safety and lives are more important than traditional Christmas trees in public spaces Fresh cut Christmas trees – the same kind you may have in your living room every December – can no longer…