On a warm Thursday afternoon, some two dozen people sat on metal folding chairs inside the hollow-tiled walls of the Waikapu Community Center, while fluorescent lights hummed and six ceiling fans spun lazily. Outside, a Field of Dreams-esque ball field awaited the arrival of after-school baseball practice, set to the panoramic backdrop of puffy clouds pillowing atop the green … [Read more...] about Wastewater Injection Wells May Be Polluting Our Ocean
The Plight of the Hawaiian Monk Seal
A dozen years ago I met a strapping young man, just out of high school and working as first mate on a snorkel cruise boat. Much to my amazement, one of his duties on daily excursions to Molokini was to discourage a rambunctious teenage monk seal, known for making amorous advances on unsuspecting tourists. I had read about “Humpy,” as the seal was dubbed, and his interactions … [Read more...] about The Plight of the Hawaiian Monk Seal
Pau for Now
“I was a warrior who thought I could bring peace. Sooner or later, though you always have to wake up.” - Jake Sully, Avatar THE BIG BANG 2010 started with a bang. Literally. Like so many New Year’s Eves before, much of Hawaii became a simulated war zone, with fireworks and aerial explosions out of control. It’s local tradition, after all. And because of that simple fact, … [Read more...] about Pau for Now
Julia Butterfly Hill
Each year, billions of North American monarch butterflies undertake a remarkable journey to spend the winter in central Mexico’s high mountains, carpeting treetops in gold. Some estimates place the colonies’ density as high as 50 million per hectare. The pines and eucalyptus trees of Pacific Grove, California also are a wintering spot for the monarchs, some traveling as much as … [Read more...] about Julia Butterfly Hill
Eleven Ideas for Fixing Agriculture on Maui
It’s been distressing to witness the unraveling of once-viable agricultural operations over recent years and months. The old paradigm of large mono-crop plantations and export commodity crops is dying, but it still hasn’t yielded to new models that favor local food security and sustainability. We spend about $4 billion annually on food imports (amounting to 85-90 percent of our … [Read more...] about Eleven Ideas for Fixing Agriculture on Maui