Tad Patzek, a professor of engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, is one of a handful of biofuel skeptics with the scientific chops required to take on the new orthodoxy that biofuels are environmentally more benign than fossil … Continued
When Michael Kohn of Pa`ina Hawai`i first publicly floated the idea of building an irradiator for quarantine treatment of exports of Hawai`i-grown produce in mid-2005, he talked of having the facility up and running by February 2006. A year after … Continued
Traditional Tropical Trees: In Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands: Their Culture and Usage, Craig Elevitch of Kona has collected essays from experts across an entire ocean that describe the many trees that over centuries have become an integral part of … Continued
Judging by arguments made in the contested case hearing over stream-related water sources in West Maui, the fate of the entire island is at stake. Oral arguments in the case begin this month on Maui, and environmental and Hawaiian groups, … Continued
The contested case over the water flowing in Wailiku Water Company’s ditch system has raised an interesting question: When is an operator of an old sugar plantation ditch system considered a public utility? Under Hawai`i Revised Statutes, anyone who sells … Continued
At times, washing something can actually make it dirtier. And when that something is food, it puts the public’s health at risk. In Hawai`i, tens of thousands of acres of agricultural land are irrigated with water from open ditches, which, … Continued
Environmental issues made headlines during the 2007 legislative session, even though few bills affecting the environment made it through to final passage. Topic A had to be the Senate’s consideration of Peter Young, nominated by Governor Lingle to head the … Continued
On May 11, the Board of Land and Natural Resources fined five Maui residents $500 each and ordered them to pay up to an additional $200 each in administrative costs for riding motorized dirt bikes on state conservation lands at … Continued
A Brief History Since it first opened nearly 18 years ago, the Waimanalo Gulch Municipal Solid Waste Landfill has become the landfill on the island, accepting each year some 300,000 tons of municipal solid waste and between 85,000 and 95,000 … Continued
NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sewage Spill Settlement: The state Department of Health, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and the City and County of Honolulu have agreed on a plan to settle a lawsuit filed by the EPA and the state over … Continued