The Public Utilities Commission staff investigated Hawaiian Electric’s cancellation earlier this year of contracts for three utility-scale solar farms on O`ahu, all owned by subsidiaries of the financially troubled SunEdison, Inc., and the resulting report casts Hawai`i’s electric utility giant … Continued
Ka`a`awa Collapse: Every O`ahu resident knows Kamehameha Highway is the main and, in places, the only road that takes you around the island. At several points, the road runs alongside the ocean, with waves overtopping and undercutting it during high … Continued
We were alarmed to read that Hawai`i County Mayor Billy Kenoi proclaimed March as “advoCats Month” on the Big Island (Environment Hawai‘i, May 2016). This proclamation, which endorsed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs, indicates a striking lack of understanding of the impacts … Continued
Cry me a river. That’s basically what attorneys with the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation had to say about arguments made last month by Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.’s attorneys that it would cost too much — “several million dollars” — for … Continued
“I’m all for expanding marine protected areas. The bigger the better, as you know. The devil is in the details,” the Hawai`i Audubon Society’s Linda Paul said last month of the proposed expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument’s boundaries … Continued
This file has been revised to clarify 1) the number of compounds that could be considered CECs worldwide and their detectability, 2) the description of the model used in the study, and 3) the model’s treatment of conservation lands. June 2016
While wastewater treatment plants are known havens for contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), some 70 million gallons of untreated sewage a day are discharged into the environment via the tens of thousands of cesspools and septic tanks scattered throughout the … Continued
(This article has been revised to clarify 1) the number of compounds that could be considered CECs worldwide and their detectability, 2) the description of the model used in the study, and 3) the model’s treatment of conservation lands.) Of 11 pharmaceuticals commonly found … Continued
HECO Hikes Solar Charges: In an April 14 filing with the Public Utilities Commission, Hawaiian Electric announced it would be charging an as-yet undetermined fee to all 1,100 homeowners still awaiting approval of their net-energy-metering (NEM) applications. The company claims … Continued
Rarely are the state’s laws to protect natural resources and coastal areas so flagrantly violated as they have been in the case of the new seawall built in the Keaukaha area of Hilo. One would think that the builder, celebrated … Continued