Last week, we sent MauiTime to press with the cover headline “Visualizing Sea Level Rise.” We didn’t realize that king tides, which rolled in on July 2, would be doing the work of predicting sea level rise for us. In our story, writer Susan Halas interviewed Sea Grant scientist Tara Owens, who showed us how […]
On This Week’s Cover Story: We can no longer afford to be ‘climate ignorers’
The images in this week’s cover story illustrate the likely effects of climate change on Maui by mid- to late-century. In recent days, we have seen melting roads in France, drought in the cities of India where wells have run dry, freak summertime hail storms in Mexico, and raging wildfire devouring the Everglades. The global […]
Visualizing Sea Level Rise on Maui: Sea Grant scientist Tara Owens explains how computer modeling helps prepare for climate change
“I’ve known since I was five I wanted to be a marine scientist,” said Tara Owens. She grew up in Tennessee and spent summers along the South Carolina shore. Fast forward, Owens is now 40 and has been a Hawai‘i resident for more than 10 years. In the meantime she received her master’s of science […]
University of Hawaii researchers say sea-level rise will harm low-lying islands far earlier than previously thought
People who live on low-lying atolls in the Pacific like Roi-Namur in the Republic of the Marshall Islands may have to evacuate due to rising sea level in as little as 12 years, according to a new study by researchers from the USGS, NOAA and the University of Hawai‘i’s International Pacific Research Center. The paper […]
County of Maui to start using key Hawai`i Climate Change report in planning
In December 2017, the Hawai‘i Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission released a monster 304-page report. The title tells you all you need to know about its importance: “Hawai‘i Sea Level Rise Vulnerability and Adaptation Report.” It pulls no punches about the dire threat that faces Hawai‘i, and the rest of the world. “[R]apid warming […]
Quizunderstand: What do you know about visitor spending on Maui during 2017?
1. Visitor spending to all four major Hawaiian islands rose in the first 11 months of 2017, according to a Dec. 28, 2017 statement from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, though Maui’s growth was the lowest of them all. How much did visitor spending grow on Maui? A. 2.7 percent B. 3.4 percent C. 4.0 percent […]
As climate change accelerates, Hawaii prepares report on potential sea level rise damage
Yes, it’s depressing to watch the Trump Administration do everything it can to dismantle federal efforts at researching and countering climate change. The State of Hawaii obviously feels differently about the issue, which is why sometime around the end of the year (assuming we all live that long), the state Department of Land and Natural […]
King Tides are just more evidence of climate change reality for Maui
The fact that the ocean is creeping up ever further on Maui and Hawaii shores is a reality anyone here can see. We see most pronounced it in the form of old trees toppled over in the sand as the surf sloshes around their roots on Maui’s north shore and along the road between Olowalu […]
Drew Toonz worries about Maui’s shifting sands and rising seas
Illustration: Andrew Miller
MauiTime 2016 Year In Review
Even without the election of Republican Donald Trump to be President of the United States, this was a monstrous year. We’ve had to deal with job losses, outrageous giveaways to big business and just a general slide away from democratic protections and open government assurances. We like to think of Hawaii (and Maui especially) as […]
University of Hawaii researchers and Miami Beach residents deal with horror story known as sea level rise
Seriously, I can’t believe this intelligence-insulting contraption known as the 2016 Election hasn’t exploded yet, like the unstable engine that it is. For anyone with even three functioning neurons, this year’s presidential contest has been a daily, sometimes hourly assault on the senses from which we may never recover as a society. There are a […]
New NOAA report outlines climate change threat to Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument
A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) makes clear that the worst elements of climate change–sea-level rise, ocean acidification, coral bleaching, etc.–will make life very difficult for the diverse variety of life that exists in the 139,797-square mile Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. The 99-page report on the future of the monument […]
USGS: Climate Change may make many atolls ‘uninhabitable’ in coming decades
Here’s more lousy news on the climate change front (you Republicans out there can just hum softly through this or go make yourselves sandwiches or something). According to an Oct. 1 news release from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the half a million people living on atolls around the world are screwed. “A new study shows that […]
New UH study shows how rising sea levels will erode most Hawaii beaches
I know, there’s a public relations rule that bad news typically drops on Fridays, but scientists rarely adhere to such traditions. Which is why the University of Hawaii sent me yet another alarming news release today on how global sea level rise will cause even more damage to our shorelines than previously estimated. “For the […]
Big Kaanapali Beach Restoration Takes Small Step Forward
Way back in 1964, when the Ka‘anapali Resort was still in its infancy, its owner American Factors paid for a 19-minute promotional film to bring rich tourists to Maui (click here to watch it on Youtube). Titled Kaanapali, the film called the area a “Polynesian Riviera” and didn’t undersell the importance of the resort’s expansive […]
State of Hawaii Signs Onto Majuro Declaration On Climate Change
On Monday, Sept. 27, the United Nations released a new 2,000-page report on climate change. The verdict, is that it’s “extremely likely” that human activity (read: industrialization) is causing our planet’s climate to change in ways that will be destructive to life everywhere around the world. “Our assessment of the science finds that the atmosphere […]