BEST ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE GMOs Monsanto’s growing of genetically modified corn in South Maui and Molokai is probably the most divisive political issue today in Maui County. It led directly to a historic ballot measure in 2014, that scooped up huge numbers of votes, both pro and con (the pro side won, though the fight continues to this day in the courts). Since the battle over … [Read more...] about MauiTime Best of Maui 2016: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: GMOs
Best Environmental Issue
MauiTime Best of Maui 2015: Best Environmental Issue on Maui Cane Burning
BEST ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE ON MAUI Cane Burning Is there a bigger issue than this right now on Maui? Yes, cane burning has been going on for over a century, and yes, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar employs 800 or so people at their Puunene Mill–the last big sugar operation in Hawaii. But tradition and jobs are poor excuses for maintaining what many people on the island … [Read more...] about MauiTime Best of Maui 2015: Best Environmental Issue on Maui Cane Burning
MauiTime Best of Maui 2014: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: GMOs
Best Environmental Issue GMOs We’re going to assume, given your answer to the State blunder category, that you’re naming genetically modified organisms the county’s best environmental issue because you feel that they’re not a good thing. And while GMOs are a big issue everywhere–Americans have been eating genetically modified products for a couple decades now, they’re … [Read more...] about MauiTime Best of Maui 2014: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: GMOs
MauiTime Best of Maui 2013: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: Cane Burning
Best Environmental Issue Cane Burning Forgive the pun, but the controversy over Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar’s insistence that the only way they can process sugar is by first burning the cane in the fields is really blowing up. Defenders point to the company’s 800 employees and the fact that HC&S has “always” harvested sugar in this manner–as though that makes the … [Read more...] about MauiTime Best of Maui 2013: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: Cane Burning
MauiTime Best of Maui 2012: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: Sugar Cane Burning
Are there other environmental issues these days? Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar (HC&S), which operates the last mill on Maui, grows sugar on 37,000 acres. For much of the year, company workers burn the fields when the cane has grown about two years. This burning releases a great deal of smoke and ash which contain particulates that can exacerbate respiratory disease, … [Read more...] about MauiTime Best of Maui 2012: Best Environmental Issue on Maui: Sugar Cane Burning