Environment Hawai'i

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In the grand old tradition of the New York Times, we would love to publish all the news that's fit to print. Alas, with just 12 pages a month, we end up with a surplus of goodies.

EH-xtra is where you'll find the news that we just couldn't squeeze into our print edition or come up after we have gone to press.

Draft Rules on Endangered Species — 'Parade of Horribles' for Hawai`i

Even as the public eye is focused on the presidential candidates, the current administration is still working hard to reshape government in its own image before it loses its lease on the White House. No more stunning example of the mischief it hopes to wreak before the end of the Bush term exists than the proposed changes in rules for administering the Endangered Species Act.

And while the regulations have been denounced by many mainland environmental and conservation organizations, their criticisms have not touched on the special threat that the regulations pose for Hawai`i, says David Henkin, an attorney in the Honolulu office of Earthjustice.
more...

Yellow Light on Biofuels

The nation’s premier professional association for ecologists, the Ecological Society of America, has weighed in with a statement on biofuels that urges policy-makers and planners to go slow in converting lands to biofuel crops.

“Supplying the emerging biofuels industry with enough biomass to meet the U.S. biofuel energy target – replacing 30 percent of the current U.S. petroleum consumption with biofuels by 2030 – will have a major impact on the management and sustainability of many U.S. ecosystems,” reads the policy statement from the society, which represents some 10,000 ecological scientists.

“Current grain-based ethanol production systems damage soil and water resources in the U.S. and are only profitable in the context of tax breaks and tariffs,” the society said in a news release. “Future systems based on a combination of cellulosic materials and grain could be equally degrading to the environment, with potentially little carbon savings, unless steps are taken now that incorporate principles of ecological sustainability.”

The full policy statement is available on the society’s website: www.esa.org

To post comments about this article please click here

Fate of Ontario Superferry: Lessons for Hawai`i?
In all the recent coverage of the Hawai`i Superferry, little has been said about a troubled sister ship that briefly plied the waters of Lake Ontario. Here are some of the facts about its short-lived service between Toronto and Rochester:

more...
DBCP and Dole, 30 Years Later
Dibromochloropropane, a nasty pesticide that continues to lurk in Hawai`i’s aquifers long after the pineapple fields have gone fallow, was used throughout Central America as well – and with consequences equally disastrous. In November, a Los Angeles jury found that Dole Food Co. had deliberately exposed six Nicaraguan banana workers to DBCP, rendering them sterile. A Nicaraguan court had found Dole culpable earlier, but lawyers for the plantiffs said the workers were unable to collect on their judgments in that country. The jury ordered Dole and Dow Chemical Co. to pay compensatory damages to the six totaling $2.8 million, with Dole bearing 80 percent of the responsibility; punitive damages may still come.more...
Get a handle on environmental issues
For almost 20 years, Environment Hawai`i has been publishing award-winning monthly newlsetters that shed light on the toughest environmental issues of the day. Don't be left out. Subscribe now.

Enter the special coupon code TOTE to receive a free eco-friendly tote with a one-year subscription. All donors who give $50 or more will automatically receive a tote. Hurry, this offer is available only while supplies last!
EH-xtra Archives
Browse our free archive of EH-xtra stories.

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CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN THE AGE OF EXTINCTIONS
As Hawai`i experiences one extinction after another, the question inevitably arises: What are the scientists in the forefront of conservation biology doing to address this? David Duffy of the University of Hawai`i and Fred Kraus of the Bishop Museum do more than just raise the question: they attempt to answer it. more...



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EH-XTRA! EH-XTRA! READ ALL ABOUT... In the grand old tradition of the New York Times, we would love to publish all the news that's fit to print. Alas, with just 12 pages a month, we end up with a surplus of goodies. EH-xtra is where you'll find the news that we just couldn't squeeze into our print edition or come up after we have gone to press. Draft Rules on Endangered Species — 'Parade of Horribles' for Hawai`i Even as the public eye is focused on the presidential candidates, the current administration is still working hard to reshape government in its own image before it loses its lease on the White House. No more stunning example of the mischief it hopes to wreak before the end of the Bush term exists than the proposed changes in rules for administering the Endangered Species Act. And while the regulations have been denounced by many mainland environmental and conservation organizations, their criticisms have not touched on the special threat that the regulations pose for Hawai`i, says David Henkin, an attorney in the Honolulu office of Earthjustice. more... Yellow Light on Biofuels The nation’s premier professional association for ecologists, the Ecological Society of America, has weighed in with a statement on biofuels that urges policy-makers and planners to go slow in converting lands to biofuel crops. “Supplying the emerging biofuels industry with enough biomass to meet the U.S. biofuel energy target – replacing 30 percent of the current U.S. petroleum consumption with biofuels by 2030 – will have a major impact on the management and sustainability of many U.S. ecosystems,” reads the policy statement from the society, which represents some 10,000 ecological scientists. “Current grain-based ethanol production systems damage soil and water resources in the U.S. and are only profitable in the context of tax breaks and tariffs,” the society said in a news release. “Future systems based on a combination of cellulosic materials and grain could be equally degrading to the environment, with potentially little carbon savings, unless steps are taken now that incorporate principles of ecological sustainability.” The full policy statement is available on the society’s website: www.esa.org To post comments about this article please click here Fate of Ontario Superferry: Lessons for Hawai`i? In all the recent coverage of the Hawai`i Superferry, little has been said about a troubled sister ship that briefly plied the waters of Lake Ontario. Here are some of the facts about its short-lived service between Toronto and Rochester: more... DBCP and Dole, 30 Years Later Dibromochloropropane, a nasty pesticide that continues to lurk in Hawai`i’s aquifers long after the pineapple fields have gone fallow, was used throughout Central America as well – and with consequences equally disastrous. In November, a Los Angeles jury found that Dole Food Co. had deliberately exposed six Nicaraguan banana workers to DBCP, rendering them sterile. A Nicaraguan court had found Dole culpable earlier, but lawyers for the plantiffs said the workers were unable to collect on their judgments in that country. The jury ordered Dole and Dow Chemical Co. to pay compensatory damages to the six totaling $2.8 million, with Dole bearing 80 percent of the responsibility; punitive damages may still come.more... Get a handle on environmental issues For almost 20 years, Environment Hawai`i has been publishing award-winning monthly newlsetters that shed light on the toughest environmental issues of the day. Don't be left out. *Subscribe now.* Enter the special coupon code TOTE to receive a free eco-friendly tote with a one-year subscription. All donors who give $50 or more will automatically receive a tote. Hurry, this offer is available only while supplies last! EH-xtra Archives Browse our free archive of EH-xtra stories. more... CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN THE AGE OF EXTINCTIONS As Hawai`i experiences one extinction after another, the question inevitably arises: What are the scientists in the forefront of conservation biology doing to address this? David Duffy of the University of Hawai`i and Fred Kraus of the Bishop Museum do more than just raise the question: they attempt to answer it. more...	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