Peter Vitousek didn’t mince words: “Everything we’ve lost, and everything we will lose, is because of human activity. We’re responsible for that change.” Vitousek, a professor of biological sciences at Stanford University, made the comments as the opening speaker at … Continued
The most heated discussions during the three-day meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council last month concerned the reach of the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. For years, council executive director Kitty Simonds has made no secret of … Continued
A Tighter FIT: Two years after launching a feed-in-tariff program, which guarantees renewable energy producers grid interconnection and fixed rates and terms for their power, the Hawaiian Electric Companies want to tweak a few things. In its March 4 reexamination … Continued
After a ban on congressional earmarks, many thought the practice of members of Congress setting aside special funds for favored projects may have ended. Not so fast. Nowadays, expenditures for pet projects not included in the proposed budgets of federal … Continued
The state Department of Transportation has had fair warning that its most critical transportation facilities on O`ahu are highly vulnerable to climate change. And while potential climate change impacts don’t have to be evaluated in environmental assessments or impact statements … Continued
August 2014
September 2014
In this issue – the first in our 25th year of publishing! – we review cases of recent environmental litigation. Our cover story discusses the critically important decision of a federal judge in a case involving the discharge of wastewater … Continued
The same phrase that gladdens the heart of the visitor industry arouses dread in the hearts of the officials charged with keeping Hawai`i’s environment and important crops safe from marauding invaders. Consider: The coconut rhinocerous beetle. This native of India … Continued
Greed is good. That, anyway, was the mantra of the Wall Street anti-hero. But it serves just as well the owners of the Hawai`i longline fishing fleet and their personal civil servant, Kitty Simonds. Not content to accept the miserly … Continued