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WHAT JUST HAPPENED …

January 11, 2021/1 Comment/in Climate /by Bill Bugbee

– Editorial –

Fake Patriots, lies and conspiracies, a storm that hit the US capitol

Never before has a sitting president incited his followers to attack the heart of American democracy.

As Michael Chertoff, the former homeland security secretary under George W Bush, put it: “What Donald Trump did was a betrayal of public trust and a violation of his oath of office. There’s no question that what we saw this week was incited by the rhetoric that he has been using now for weeks and that inspired and mobilized extremist right-wingers and conspiracy theorists.”

Chertoff likened the riot at the Capitol to 9/11. “On 9/11 we worried that one of the planes was going to hit the Capitol building. In this case, the Capitol building was hit. It was domestic terror, and absolutely shocking.”

There is going to be a persistent challenge over the next months, depending on how active Donald Trump is when he’s out of office, in terms of domestic terrorism inspired by him directly or by right-wing extremist and conspiracy groups representing an ongoing security challenge for the Country, and into the foreseeable future.

Impeachment; one public accountability option

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday threatened to impeach Mr. Trump unless he resigned “immediately” for inciting the mob attack on the Capitol this week, and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska became the first Republican senator to follow her lead.

“I want him out,” Ms. Murkowski told The Anchorage Daily News. “He has caused enough damage.”

There are legitimate concerns that an increasingly unstable and erratic Trump is unfit for office and represents a threat to national security, as demonstrated this week in the Trump-led attack on the American government, and by extension, the American people he has sworn to serve.

The House is scheduled to be in session on Monday, and articles of impeachment cannot be introduced until then. The timing for an impeachment seems unlikely with fewer than 10 days left in the Trump presidency, once the House reconvenes next week. And in these final days of the Trump presidency, Mitch McConnell remains firmly in control of the Senate, with impeachment being a non-starter. There has been talk of invoking the 25^th amendment, but without VP Pence’s participation, that too appears a bridge too far.

Digital Justice

Perhaps bringing Trump to justice in this digital age may be most effectively executed not in the halls of Congress, but as Twitter announced on Friday that it had permanently banned President Trump from its service “due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” effectively cutting Trump off from his favorite megaphone for public lies, most recently his attempts to overthrow the 2020 election, and with it American democracy.

Twitter, although late in following Facebook, Snapchat, Twitch, and other platforms which only placed time limits on Trump’s access, permanently banned Trump from their worldwide messaging platform – a meaningful metering of digital justice for a man who deserves more for his crimes in office.

Twitter’s decision to permanently suspend Mr. Trump’s account on Friday went the distance of digital justice.

A day earlier Facebook failed to do little more than ban Trump from their platform through the end of his term, the next 10 days. Either way, it was a watershed moment in the history of social media. Both companies had spent years defending Mr. Trump’s continued presence on their platforms, only to change course days before the end of his presidency.

These social networking companies have become powerful corporate autocracies, often masquerading as mini-democracies operating without a Constitution or Bill of (user) Rights. Their moderation decisions are the results of digital formulas without due process, and when publicly held to accountability, operate as if “don’t incite an insurrectionist mob” had been in their community guidelines all along. The high-stakes calls were more the result of gut decisions made under extreme duress, rather than prevention.

In this case, the actions of Trump’s followers did not happen in a vacuum. Equally guilty, is a disgraced president buoyed by alt-right billionaire media tycoons who fueled participation by promoting and cheerleading false narratives, all of which occured in a vacuum of facts self-reinforced from the bully pulpit of Trump. Altogether, these elements are responsible for embolding an attempt to takeover the U.S. government, and in so doing throwout democracy along with national and state election results. In a word: sedition.

Media’s Role

Through “The Apprentice,” TV show Trump he a fantasy version of himself as a tough-minded chief executive of a global business empire and a self-made billionaire, yet in reality, although Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, hotels and casino businesses of his have declared bankruptcy six times between 1991 and 2009 due to Trump’s inability to meet required payments and to re-negotiate debt with banks, owners of stock and bonds and various small businesses (unsecured creditors).

But as Trump’s 2016 campaign played out and his presidency began, Donald J. Trump, the master of the TV screen, evolved gradually into a different character, @realdonaldtrump, and Twitter became his media vehicle of choice. Unlike all previous presidents in moderentimes whose communicated with the public through press conferences and State of the Union addresses, Trump’s unfiltered and targeted messaging — not to the American people, but to his base of blind faith followers. Twitter and other social media became presidential-speak and media megaphone: an agenda-setter for the day’s coverage, a weapon against his rivals, a way of firing aides and cabinet secretaries, a grenade he could throw at Republican lawmakers who had crossed him and reporters whose coverage he hated, a window into his psyche, and most of all, an unfiltered pipeline to his supporters.

Digital media also complimented his wrestling match-style of non-start “political” rallies throughout his presidency and helped him dominate television throughout his term as president.

Part of Trump’s media formula was relying on right wing media outlets to amplify his message, best typified by the Fox News media engine with its built-in bias and fueled by unsubstantiated conspiracies and falsehoods. At the same time, Fox raked in massive profits for the Murdoch media empire and Fox Corporation during the Trump years, and has spawned Fox-like voices also masquerading as “news” to compete for the same audience eyes and ears, e.g., Newsmax.

On Friday night, Fox engaged in typical and continuous looping of self-reinforcing coverage, featuring pro-Trump Republicans in rage. The single thought being recycled were claims that Twitter’s move was an example of Silicon Valley’s tyrannical speech controls, and not a thoughtful reflection on … what just happened.

Outside this alt-right bubble, other media outlets on the co-called left cheered Twitter’s decision as an overdue and appropriate step to prevent more violence, while some also cringed at the thought of so much influence and control which rests in so few hands.

To break this cycle of brainwashing and influence, consumers of media must increasingly “do their homework and due diligence” in order to stay informed, and thereby form well-founded beliefs and opinions. The implications of this needed paradigm shift in media consumption extends beyond the United States, and goes to the core of citizenship responsibility in ever democratic society which requires the fulfillment of democratic obligations by its citizens who elect officials (public servants), and then hold them responsible for their governing actions.

How do we get there from here? It requires cross-referencing multiple reliable media sources (Google is helpful). Reading books to acquire an in depth knowledge on subjects of interest, and most importantly thinking for yourself. It also comes at the price time and effort, but it is well worth the investment. Being a pawn in world loaded with misinformation happily supplied by state actors, corporate media, and social media is the easy way out that too often leads to unattended consequences as this week’s news cycle proved.

Also …Corporate Crimes in the 21st Century

In October 2018, 189 people were killed when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max jet crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta for a domestic flight. Months later, a Boeing 737 Max 8 crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people onboard.

Boeing was charged with fraud and conspiracy in connection with the two crashes, in which a known software failure led to plane crashes in the newly introduced Boeing 737 Max 8, and the suspension of the aircraft’s flight certification by the FAA.

The Trump-led US justice department last week fined Boeing $2.5bn. No criminal charges was pursued by DOJ, the price of 346 passenger and crew lives lost.

Coronavirus Update

January 10, 2021/1 Comment/in Climate /by BeyondKona

Hawaii Covid-19 Infection and Death Rates Climb

Hawaii health officials reported 200 new cases of COVID-19 statewide on Sunday, including 128 on Oahu, 30 in Maui County, 12 on the Big Island, nine on Kauai and 21 residents diagnosed out of state.

There are currently 129 people hospitalized in Hawaii with COVID-19, including 20 patients on ventilators.

The state has seen an average of 175 new cases a day in the last week — an 87% increase from Dec. 26 when the 7-day average was 93.

The official state death toll from the virus is 309. Civil Beat calculates at least 315 people have died from the disease, including six deaths on Hawaii island confirmed by local county authorities that are still pending medical verification by the state.

Across the state, 3.4% of people tested during the past week have been confirmed to have COVID-19. On Oahu, that figure is 4.4%.

More than 35,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the state as of Friday, Hawaii News Now reports . The state has received 91,700 doses to date.

“We believe things will get worse as we get into January”

…Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease specialist, said in a radio interview early Thursday (Jan. 7th).

It didn’t take long for him to be proved right: Things immediately got worse.

By Thursday night, the United States had set a record for daily reported deaths, with at least 4,111, as well as a record 280,292 new infections. Those figures were an uncomfortable reminder that while many Americans were fixated on the political events roiling Washington after a mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, the pandemic hadn’t ceased wreaking havoc.

The United States broke its single-day record for new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day on Friday with more than 300,000 cases, as public health officials warned the winter surge would only worsen.

It was the first time the country had crossed the 300,000-case mark, according to a New York Times database. Hospitalizations are also at a near-record high — 131,889, according to the Covid Tracking Project — and officials across the nation reported more than 3,890 new deaths on Friday, the third-highest daily tally of the pandemic.

First U.S. case of mutant COVID-19 virus identified

Just as vaccines begin to offer hope for a path out of the pandemic, officials in Britain on Saturday sounded an urgent alarm about what they called a highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus circulating in England.

On Tuesday of this week, a Colorado man became the first known U.S. case of the newly identified strain of Covid-19 circulating in the UK. The new variant is thought to be far more contagious than the previous strain of COVID-19 in which scientists, the world’s medical community, and governments have built their response assumptions and the current vaccines have been based. Newly established variants have prompted some countries to restrict travel to-from the UK.

The Colorado man who contracted the new variant, called B.1.1.7, is in his 20s, and had no travel history, according to the state’s health department. In a statement, Colorado Governor Jared Polis said that health officials are conducting an investigation into how the man might have contracted the virus, while he recovers in isolation.

Although the new variant had not been found in the US until now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that it was likely already circulating through the country.

The new variant has also recently been detected in at least 17 countries, including South Korea, Spain, Australia and Canada. On Christmas Day, the CDC issued new guidelines for travelers from the UK, requiring proof of a negative Covid-19 test.

All viruses evolve, and the coronavirus is no different. “Based on scientific understanding of viruses, it is highly likely there are many variants evolving simultaneously across the globe,” Mr. McDonald, of the C.D.C., said. “However, it could take weeks or months to identify if there is a single variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 fueling the surge in the United States similar to the surge in the United Kingdom.”

False Reports of a New ‘U.S. Variant’ Came From White House Task Force

Reports of a highly contagious new variant, published on Friday by multiple news outlets, were based on speculative statements made by Dr. Deborah Birx.

The erroneous report originated at a recent meeting where Dr. Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, presented graphs of the escalating cases in the country. She suggested to other members of the task force that a new, more transmissible variant originating in the United States might explain the surge, as another variant did in Britain.

Her hypothesis made it into a weekly report sent to state governors. “This fall/winter surge has been at nearly twice the rate of rise of cases as the spring and summer surges. This acceleration suggests there may be a USA variant that has evolved here, in addition to the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more transmissible,” the report read. “Aggressive mitigation must be used to match a more aggressive virus.”

Dismayed, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tried to have the speculative statements removed but were unsuccessful, according to three people familiar with the events.

Agency scientists did not agree with her assessment, according to one frustrated C.D.C. official, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation.

UK Mutant COVID-19 Virus

In recent days, the world has watched with curiosity and growing alarm as scientists in the U.K. have described a newly identified variant of the coronavirus that appears to be more contagious than, and genetically distinct from, more established variants.

Citing the rapid spread of the virus through London and surrounding areas, Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed the country’s most stringent lockdown since March. “When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defense,” he said.

The British announcement also prompted concern that the virus may evolve to become resistant to the vaccines just now rolling out. The worries are focused on a pair of alterations in the viral genetic code that may make it less vulnerable to certain antibodies.

Viruses mutate all the time. Most of the new variants die out. Sometimes they spread without altering the virus’s behavior. Very occasionally, they trigger dramatic changes.

And the question now facing scientists is straightforward: Does the mutated virus represent an increased health risk? Or has its recent rapid spread through southern England occurred because it has arisen in people who are infecting a lot of other people, possibly because they are ignoring Covid-19 restrictions?

The British variant has 23 mutations, including several that affect how the virus locks onto human cells and infects them. These mutations may allow the variant to replicate and transmit more efficiently, said Muge Cevik, an infectious disease expert at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a scientific adviser to the British government.

But several experts urged caution, saying it would take years, not months, for the virus to evolve enough to render the current vaccines impotent.

“No one should worry that there is going to be a single catastrophic mutation that suddenly renders all immunity and antibodies useless,” Dr. Bloom said.

Scientists are worried about these variants, but not surprised by them. Researchers have recorded thousands of tiny modifications in the genetic material of the coronavirus as it has hopscotched across the world.

Some variants become more common in a population simply by luck, not because the changes somehow supercharge the virus. But as it becomes more difficult for the pathogen to survive — because of vaccinations and growing immunity in human populations — researchers also expect the virus to gain useful mutations enabling it to spread more easily or to escape detection by the immune system.

“This thing’s transmitting, it’s acquiring, it’s adapting all the time,” said Dr. Ravindra Gupta, a virologist at the University of Cambridge, who last week detailed the deletion’s recurrent emergence and spread. “But people don’t want to hear what we say, which is: This virus is mutating.”

What we Know So far …

Scientists believe that although initial mutated versions of COVID-19 appear to be more contagious, it does not cause a more severe illness than other established variants. Research is still ongoing, however, and it remains uncertain whether the new variant is actually more transmissible due to a genetic advantage, or whether it is simply spreading so widely due to fluke super-spreader events. A report from Public Health England found that the new variant in the UK has not been linked to higher rates of hospitalization or death.

Is it more contagious than other viruses?

It appears so. In preliminary work, researchers in the U.K. have found that the virus is spreading quickly in parts of southern England, displacing a crowded field of other COVID-19 variants that have been circulating for months. Some scientists have raised the possibility that the increase in transmission is at least partly the result of how it infects children. Normally, children are less likely than teenagers or adults to get infected or pass on the virus. But the new variant may make children “as equally susceptible as adults,” said Wendy Barclay, government adviser and virologist at Imperial College London.

Does it cause more severe disease?

There is no strong evidence that it does, at least not yet. But there is reason to take the possibility seriously. In South Africa, another lineage of the coronavirus has gained one particular mutation. The mutant variant is spreading quickly through coastal areas of South Africa. And in preliminary studies, doctors there have found that people infected with this variant carry a heightened viral load — a higher concentration of the virus in their upper respiratory tract. In many viral diseases, this is associated with more severe symptoms.

Will the variant render the new COVID-19 vaccines ineffective?

Many experts doubt that it will have any great impact on vaccines, although it’s not yet possible to rule out any effect.

The issue is whether the new variant will be able to bypass the protection offered by the Covid-19 vaccines now being administered across Britain and United States.

“If the new variant was going to have a big impact on disease severity, we would have seen that by now,” said Ewan Birney, deputy director general of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and joint director of its European Bioinformatics Institute in Cambridge.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized two vaccines, one from Moderna and the other from Pfizer and BioNTech. Both vaccines create immunity to the coronavirus by teaching our immune systems to make antibodies to a protein that sits on the surface of the virus, called spike. The spike protein latches onto cells and opens a passageway inside. Antibodies produced in response to the vaccines stick to the tip of the spike. The result: The viruses can’t get inside.

It is conceivable that a mutation to a coronavirus could change the shape of its spike proteins, making it harder for the antibodies to gain a tight grip on them. The mutations include eight in the spike gene. But our immune systems can produce a range of antibodies against a single viral protein, making it less likely that viruses can easily escape their attack.

Kilauea Volcano Awakens; Air Pollution Returns

January 10, 2021/0 Comments/in Environment /by BeyondKona

West, Hawaii Island — 48 hours BEFORE the December 20th Kilauea Eruption

West Hawaii Island — 48 hours AFTER the December 20th Kilauea Eruption

High levels of sulfur dioxide (SO2) are currently being released from the volcano at the rate of 35,000 to 40,000 tons per day.

As of yesterday, the lava lake inside Halema‘uma‘u crater was well over 550 feet deep and rising, while being fed by two fissures, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The lava lake volume was estimated to be about 27 million cubic yards, about 4.8 billion gallons — a 20 feet rise in the crater within the last 24 hours. The surface of the lake is presently about 1,500 feet below the crater rim observation site, according to HVO reports.

“Vog is also impacting the leeward (Kona side) of Hawaii island, as the National Weather Service reported that a Hawaiian eddy will transport Vog onshore,” and poor air quality may intermittently reach a “moderate” air pollution category as levels of SO₂ and PM_2.5rise.

Relief in sight?

Kilauea Volcano as the summit eruption that began on the evening of December 20th continues. The eruption remains confined within Halema‘uma‘u crater. Monitoring data show no signs of activity migrating from the summit into the rift zones, nor indications of summit collapse as with the major 2018 eruption.

The emissions and other aerosols make up “Vog,” or volcanic smog, impacting the Ka‘u and Pahala, Naalehu, and Ocean View districts of Hawaii Island. Trade winds and sea breezes then push the air pollution south and southwest, and up the coast onto West Hawaii and into south and north Kona. Newly arriving visitors to the island at Kona airport are greeted by a sky that resembles Los Angeles in 1950’s, when smog alerts were an everyday occurrence.

According to the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Vog Measurement and Prediction Project, “Vog is likely to impact the western half of Hawaii island (Ka’u district) that includes Pahala, Na’alehu, Ocean View, and South Point areas,” the forecasters wrote, adding that vog will also continue to be transported onshore to South and North Kona districts.

Based on current emission rates (and subject to change) air quality is likely to remain “acceptable” for the general population for much of the week of January 10th, except for those persons with asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions.

As of Saturday (Jan 9th) sulfur dioxide emissions remained elevated and in the range of 3,000 tons per day to 6,500 tons per day. Consistent with SO2 emission levels in that range within the past two weeks.

Recent History —

After two years of clean air and beautiful blue skies, West Hawaii Island residents brace for the return of vog-laced bad air and grey skies.

The eruption of Kilauea volcano that began Sunday (December 20th) quickly created air quality hazards for Hawaii Island, but nothing as bad as the 2018 run-up to the volcano’s last major eruption, which created significant toxic air emissions affecting large areas of Hawaii’s population.

The current eruption, as with previous events is projected to spread VOG (volcanic smog) across the island chain, according to Department of Health report issued earlier this week.

While all eruption activity is presently confined within Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, VOG conditions and sulfur dioxide air levels may increase or fluctuate in coming days and weeks, impacting various parts of the state.

Areas downwind of the summit, such as Pahala and Ocean View, and West Hawaii Island have already experienced levels of sulfur dioxide air pollution causing some respiratory health problems, especially for residents with sensitive and chronic respiratory heath issues, including asthma.

Areas around the summit of Kilauea on Wednesday were blanketed in high levels of sulfur dioxide and particulates that reached levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency as hazardous, according to a statement from Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

On Friday, Christmas day, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported “no significant change” to the ongoing eruption.

The present eruption continues with no end in sight, DOH recommends Hawaii Island residents and visitors take the following precautions during higher emission conditions:

• Reduce outdoor activities that cause heavy breathing, especially for sensitive groups such as children, the elderly and individuals with preexisting respiratory conditions.

• Stay indoors and close windows and doors. If an air conditioner is on, set it to recirculate.

• If moving out of an impacted area, turn on the car’s air conditioner and set it to recirculate.

• Always keep medications on hand and readily available. Daily prescribed medications should be taken on schedule and may protect from the effects of sulfur dioxide.

• Contact a doctor as soon as possible if any health problems develop.

• Do not smoke and avoid secondhand smoke.

• Drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.

• Have family emergency plans prepared and ready.

• Heed warnings by county and state emergency management officials.

The department also warned that COVID-19 face coverings and masks do not protect from sulfur dioxide and other VOG pollutants. Officials also offered the following online reporting resource on island Vog and Air Quality:

DOH’s Clean Air Branch’s near-real time network of air quality reports: health.hawaii.gov/cab/hawaii-ambient-air-quality-data/

Stunning Before and After 2020 Volcano Eruption Pictures

Lake Kilauea, Halemaʻumaʻu crater 2019-2020

Halemaʻumaʻu crater, December 21st, water replaced with fresh lava lake

Kilauea Caldera Eruption Chronologically

December 22, 2020

2:40 p.m.

In a tweet this afternoon, HVO stressed “that the current activity at Kilauea’s summit is confined to Halemaʻumaʻu crater within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Monitoring data show no changes to the lower East Rift Zone or other parts of the volcano.”

1:30 p.m.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists conducted a helicopter overflight of Kilauea’s summit this morning. The overflight revealed that two of the three fissures are still active and feeding lava into the new lava lake inside Halemaʻumaʻu crater.

11:05 a.m.

Activity over the past 10 hours at Kilauea volcano has been characterized by three fissure vents on the north and northwest walls of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, according to the USGS.

Fountaining lava at these vents is estimated to be up to 82 feet high. The vents are feeding lava flows into the base of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, which is being filled with a growing lava lake.

The lava lake has been rising approximately several yards an hour since the eruption began. The current lava lake exhibits a circulating perimeter, but stagnant center.

The event has been accompanied by only moderate amounts of deformation, indicating deflation of a magma reservoir under Halemaʻumaʻu. Rates of tilting have decreased slightly since the beginning of the eruption.

Increased rates of seismicity in the summit region continue. Some of these earthquakes may be felt.

6:13 a.m.

Civil Defense reported at 6:09 a.m. that “the situation at the Halema‘uma‘u crater of the Kilauea volcano has stabilized.”

“The crater lake has evaporated and is slowly being replaced with a lava lake,” according to Civil Defense. “The threat of ash fallout is very low but is possible in the Ka‘u and South Kona districts.”

Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Erupts on the Big Island

Gas and steam erupt from the Halemaumau Crater of the Kilauea Volcano on December 21, 2020 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. Andrew Richard Hara / Getty Images

Previous updates: The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has upgraded Kilauea Volcano’s alert level to “WARNING” and aviation color code to “RED” following an eruption that commenced shortly after 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m., the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said scientists detected glow within Halemaumau crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano.

“An eruption has commenced within Kilauea’s summit caldera. The situation is rapidly evolving and HVO will issue another statement when more information is available,” the observatory said. “Accordingly, HVO has elevated Kīlauea’s volcano alert level to WARNING and its aviation color code to RED.”

https://www.facebook.com/USGSVolcanoes/videos/381366952965888/

This video is from the rim of Kīlauea caldera just after 6 a.m. HST on December 21, 2020. The middle of the three fissures that opened in Kīlauea caldera last night has paused, but activity continues at the main eastern fissure, as well as the weaker western fissure. Lava flows from these vents are cascading down the walls of Halemaʻumaʻu, the bottom of which is being filled with a lava lake. The lake has filled more than 50 meters of the crater floor. Volcanic gas is travelling downwind of the vents, and and small volcanic glass particles (such as Pele’s hair) are being deposited locally downwind of the vent.

Not Enough to Go Around

December 15, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate /by BeyondKona

Beyond this formal recommendation, ACIP has not made formal recommendations for the second and much larger group of Americans in “phase 1b”. This group includes a much broader category of Americans, including essential workers, adults over 65 and people with high-risk medical conditions.

Hawaii – we can work it out…

The first shipment of 975 doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to the state arrived at 8 a.m. Monday at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu and transferred from their thermo-insulated containers containing dry ice into one of two ultra-cold freezers for storage.

According to the COVID-19 Vaccination Plan, 883,600 people in Hawaii would be vaccinated during the first three stages followed by anyone who did not have access during previous allocation stages.

Stage One – will be divided into two phases, first it covers high-risk health workers and first-responders followed by people with comorbidities and underlying health conditions that put them at high risk and adults over age 65 living in “overcrowded settings.” It’s estimated 121,000 will be vaccinated during stage one.
Stage Two – includes K-12 teachers and school staff; critical risk workers; people with comorbidities and underlying health conditions that put them at moderately high risk; people in homeless shelters or group homes; incarcerated individuals and staff at incarceration facilities; and all adults over age 65. An estimated 450,000 people would be vaccinated during stage two.
Stage Three – an additional 403,000 people would be vaccinated, including young adults between age 18 and 24 and children up to age 17 and workers in industries and occupations not included in earlier stages.
The Final Stage, will focus on vaccinating an undetermined number of Hawaii residents who did not have access to or receive a vaccination during the earlier stages.

WHT reported that priority for the vaccine will be given to those with direct patient care of COVID patients, and those caring for at-risk populations. Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea said the facility anticipates it will receive some of the eight trays of 975 doses to be shipped to the outer islands “sometime next week.” The Hawaii Health Systems Corporation’s Kona Community Hospital expects to receive its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine “sometime next week,” said Judy Donovan, spokeswoman for the Kealakekua-based hospital and the HHSC’s West Hawaii Region, which includes Kohala Hospital, Alii Health Center and the Kona Ambulatory Surgery Center. Like Queen’s, the vaccine will not be mandatory.

Kaiser Permanente did not respond to our request for information on the health systems vaccination plans for Hawaii.

States struggle to decide who should get Covid vaccine first

The federal government’s vaccine, therapeutics and medical supply development initiative, Operation Warp Speed, has spent more than $18bn to get pharmaceutical interventions for Covid-19 to market. But just a fraction of that has been allocated for distribution in the most logistically complex vaccination campaign in American history.

A widely cited study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found roughly 75% of US residents would need to develop immunity to “extinguish the epidemic”. That level has never been reached by the annual flu vaccine, which usually around half the population takes. The vaccines are untested in children, which means 70 million Americans under age 16 will not be eligible to receive the vaccine, underscoring the need for high adult uptake.

Two vaccine candidates lead the race. One, Pfizer and BioNTech, which has an infamously difficult -94F (-70C) ultra-cold storage requirement and was just approved by the United Kingdom. A second is developed by Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. If independent analyses bear out publicly released data, both would be among the most effective vaccines in medicine.

With both vaccines now approved for distribution, federal authorities believe there will be enough doses initially to vaccinate 20 million people. That may still fall short of vaccinating everyone in the highest-priority groups, and a drop in bucket in a country with a population of 331 million citizens.

There are roughly 20 million healthcare workers in the US, ranging from nurses to home health aides to hospital housekeepers. Another 3 million people live in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

What the polls say about Americans’ willingness to get the vaccine

Five pollsters that have recently tracked how Americans feel about a coronavirus vaccine have found a mixed willingness to receive one, with a range of 45 to 61 percent of the public saying they will or are likely to get the injections.

The seven surveys, conducted by five firms since Nov. 1, illustrate the possible challenges that may await public health officials as they seek to inoculate Americans against a virus that has sickened more than 16 million and killed over 300,000.

Pfizer and Moderna, the companies behind the two vaccine front-runners, have said their drugs are safe and effective. But many of those who are unwilling or unsure about coronavirus vaccination say they are not very confident in the safety of the development and approval process or in the federal government’s ability to oversee it, the polls found.

In a Quinnipiac University poll published Wednesday, 6 in 10 registered voters said they’re willing to get a vaccine “if it is approved by government health officials.” But 37 percent said they would take the vaccine as soon as it’s available to them, while 41 percent said they would “wait a few months.”

Hawaii Island’s Underground Fresh Water Rivers to the Sea

December 5, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate /by BeyondKona

A newly discovered transport mechanism of Hawaii’s Island’s fresh groundwater may be a mechanism for renewable offshore fresh water reservoirs, which are considered more resilient to climate change-driven droughts, and a new water resource for the island.

There are few things on the island of Hawaii that are more valuable than fresh water. This is not because the island is dry. There is generally plenty of rain, but less predictable with a changing climate. Hawaii, like many places around the world, face increasing demand for clean, fresh water.

In the case of the Big Island, much of it that does not accumulate on the island’s porous surface, and quickly disappears. New research by marine geophysicists reveals that underground rivers running off the Big Island’s western coast are a key force behind this vanishing act.

Fresh water is often pumped on the island from aquifers formed from rain at higher elevations where it is easy to access. The drawback is that if too much water gets pumped to meet demand, little remains to travel through rocks to farms and fragile ecosystems that depend upon it. To make matters worse, recent studies have revealed that these aquifers are also heavily leaking somewhere else.

“Everyone assumed that this missing fresh water was seeping out at the coastline or traveling laterally along the island,” said Eric Attias, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii, who led the new study published Wednesday in Science Advances. “But I had a hunch that the leak might be subsurface and offshore.”

The big island of Hawaii is like an iceberg. Only a tiny fraction of the island sticks out of the ocean. The rest is submerged. To study the hydrogeology of these sections, Dr. Attias turned to electromagnetic imaging. Ocean water conducts electricity exceptionally well because of the presence of dissolved salt ions. By comparison, fresh water is a rather poor conductor. Aware of these different electrical properties, Dr. Attias worked with a team at Scripps Institute of Oceanography towed a 3,200-foot long system behind a boat that emitted electromagnetic fields down through the submerged coastal rocks near Hualalai volcano on the west coast.

Hawaii Island underground rivers of fresh water are flowing 2-½ miles out into the ocean.

Dr. Attias’ work shows that within the rock of the island below the waves, there are rivers are flowing through fractured volcanic rock and surrounded by porous rocks that are saturated with salt water.

In total, Big island rivers below ocean surface appear to contain enough fresh water to fill about 1.4 million Olympic swimming pools.

To access this water, Dr. Attias proposes a system similar to an offshore oil platform. “The water is already under high pressure, so little pumping would be needed and, unlike an oil pump, there would not be any threat of pollution. If you have a spill, it’s just fresh water,” he said.

“I am excited to see wells drilled into these offshore aquifers so we can find out how fresh this water is and whether or not we can produce large volumes without pulling seawater into the system,” said Mark Person, a hydrogeologist at the New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology.

Dr. Attias speculates that the discovery could be relevant to other islands, too. “Given that Reunion, Cape Verde, Maui, the Galápagos and many other islands have similar geology, our finding could well mean that the water challenges faced by islanders all over the world might soon become a lot less challenging,” he said.

The Scientific Finding, and Cautionary Note

The onshore aquifer at the island of Hawai‘i exhibits a notable volumetric discrepancy between high-elevation freshwater recharge and coastal discharge. In this study, a novel transport mechanism of freshwater moving from onshore-to-offshore was discovered, offering a potential fresh water source for Hawaii Island in times of drought.

Between all of this salt water and the flowing fresh water are thin layers of rock formed from compacted ash and soil that appear to be impermeable and thus keeping the two types of water separated. “It looks quite plausible that there is a whole lot of fresh water down there beneath the ocean,” says Graham Fogg, a hydrogeologist at the University of California, Davis who was not involved in the study. “The fresh water that they have discovered is clearly being actively fed by the aquifer on the island,” he said. “This means that the entire aquifer system is connected and our draining of this new water could adversely impact island ecosystems and water availability for pumps on the island.”

Covid-19 – what 700 Epidemiologists Think Is Next

December 4, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate /by BeyondKona

… an informal survey of 700 epidemiologists conducted by The New York Times earlier this week offers some insights.

Of the Epidemiologists surveyed, the majority foresee that even with vaccines, it would probably take a year or more for many activities to safely restart, and that some parts of their lives may never return to the way they were.

Some have begun going to the grocery store again, but don’t see vaccines making life normal any time soon.

Even with coronavirus vaccines on the way, many epidemiologists do not expect their lives to return to pre-pandemic normal until most Americans are vaccinated. In the meantime, most have eased up on some precautions — now going to the grocery store or seeing friends outdoors, for example — but are as cautious as ever about many activities of daily life.

A minority of the epidemiologists said that if highly effective vaccines were widely distributed, it would be safe for Americans to begin living more freely this summer: “I am optimistic that the encouraging vaccine results mean we’ll be back on track by or during summer 2021,” said Kelly Strutz, an assistant professor at Michigan State University.

Half surveyed said they would not change their personal behavior until at least 70 percent of the population was vaccinated. Thirty percent said they would make some changes once they were vaccinated themselves.

Concerns

Epidemiologists are worried about many unknowns, including
- how long immunity lasts;
- how the virus may mutate;
- the challenges of vaccine distribution; and the
- possible reluctance to accept the vaccine among some groups.

On the eve of the Covid winter, the epidemiologists are living with stringent precautions and new workarounds in place, far stricter than those of many ordinary Americans. Yet those precautions have evolved since last spring, as scientists have learned more about how the coronavirus spreads and what prevents it.

Of 23 activities of daily life that the survey asked about, there were only three that the majority of respondents had done in the last month: gathering outdoors with friends; bringing in mail without precautions; and running errands, like going to the grocery store or pharmacy.

The epidemiologists have almost entirely avoided other parts of pre-pandemic life — including activities that many Americans are doing now. Almost none said they had attended a sporting event, play or concert; met up with someone they didn’t know well; or attended a wedding or funeral.

“Being in close proximity to people I don’t know will always feel less safe than it used to,” said Ellicott Matthay, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, San Francisco.

Three-quarters of respondents said they planned to spend Christmas, Hanukkah or other winter holidays only with members of their household, or not celebrate at all, similar to how they spent Thanksgiving.

When asked about the safest and riskiest activities on the list, most epidemiologists agreed on these general principles: They are less worried about outdoor activities and about touching surfaces, and more worried about indoor activities and those with large groups. But even the epidemiologists didn’t all agree on their assessment of risk.

“Indoor venues with lots of people is the riskiest situation,” said Leland Ackerson of the University of Massachusetts. “Outdoors with few people, social distancing and precautions is the least risky.” He said that during the last month, he had hiked with friends, opened mail without precautions and run errands.

Herd Immunity

Most scientists say around 70 percent of the population will need to be immune for the United States to reach herd immunity, when the virus slows down significantly or stops. Moncef Slaoui, who is leading the government’s Operation Warp Speed vaccine development program, said this week that vaccines may roll out quickly enough for the United States to reach herd immunity by early summer. But scientists do not yet know if vaccinated people could still spread the virus.

Climate Action Lags, President Biden to the Rescue?

November 19, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate /by BeyondKona

Warming Accelerates as Climate Action Lags — report

For at least two decades, countries, companies, cities, and communities have been claiming they are “doing better” on climate change. Annual reports have been full of ratios showing greenhouse emissions per unit of output falling, and sometimes emissions falling in absolute terms.

All good—but unfortunately, not enough. All over the world, as leaders and CEOs have been honestly claiming they are doing better, the situation has been getting worse, according to the World Resources Institute’s State of Climate Action report released earlier this month.

Graph source: NOAA, NASA, released 2019

The report, evaluated climate progress across six sectors and found that decarbonization efforts across most of them, from vehicle electrification to renewable energy gains, need to happen at least five times faster. The report findings conclude:

Climate impacts from global heating are indeed much worse than we had earlier understood.

Countries need to speed up their climate action dramatically to stay on track toward halving global emissions by the end of the decade.

In order to meet benchmarks within the Paris Agreement for 2030 and 2050, the report recommends rapid transitions — between three and eight times faster than current rates — to zero emissions power generation, lower industry emissions, and have more sustainable crop output and reforestation.

The current pace of emissions reductions worldwide is too slow to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

Rampant deforestation and agricultural sector emissions are two of the worst climate offenders. Both have increased since 2012.

To get on track, the world must—among other actions—rapidly transition to clean electricity generation, accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles, reduce emissions from industrial production, boost agricultural productivity, shift to more sustainable food consumption patterns, and increase annual tree cover gain. For these and other goals, the report specifies the much faster rate of progress needed to meet most of these global targets.

Helen Mountford, vice president of climate and economics at the World Resources Institute, said the fight against global warming needs to “greatly accelerate” before a United Nations climate conference in late 2021. “The decisions countries make in the lead up to the COP26 UN climate negotiations next year could either steer us to a safer and more resilient future or greatly increase the likelihood of deadly and costly climate impacts,” she said in a statement.

Biden Talks with 14 World leaders, Discusses Need for Climate Action

The leaders of the Vatican, Ireland and Canada each talked to President-elect Joe Biden about climate change in their first phone call. So did the British, Australian and Indian prime ministers. The presidents of France, Chile, South Africa and South Korea did, too.

Biden has discussed climate change in 12 of his first 14 calls with world leaders, according to readouts from his transition team. That’s an unprecedented diplomatic focus from a new U.S. president, and signals Biden’s plans to make climate a signature component of his foreign policy.

The phone calls are more than a gesture, experts said. The U.S. has a credibility problem on climate that will be difficult for Biden to repair.

Domestically, Republicans have enough congressional power to stymie new laws mandating emissions cuts. Internationally, the history of every 21st-century U.S. president reversing their predecessors’ climate policies calls into question the durability of Biden’s promises.

With his calls, Biden could be signaling that those constraints won’t dissuade him from pursuing climate action, said Barry Rabe, a University of Michigan professor of environmental policy.

“There are lots of things for a president to talk to a world leader about in that initial call. And I think what is said could be indicative of what’s on the top of a president’s list,” he said.

“The very fact that he would raise [climate] in call after call — rather than cherry-picking one or two — is really suggesting that this is going to be a significant priority,” Rabe said.

Biden has vowed that one of his first acts as president will be returning the U.S. to the Paris climate agreement, which President Trump quit. He has also vowed to pressure other countries to pledge more ambitious goals.

A Split Decision for Democrats

November 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate, Politics & Policy /by BeyondKona

BeyondKona Update: Nov.7 09:30HT

Weary voters appeared willing to give former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. a chance, but they shied away from putting Democrats in full control of Washington.

Americans who turned out in record numbers for the election were willing to weigh a change in course at the White House after four tumultuous years of President Trump, but the unfolding results showed that voters were not ready to hand unfettered control of the government to emboldened Democrats who had pledged to pursue an ambitious agenda if they triumphed.

Despite a record-setting fund-raising bonanza and a flurry of indications that voters were deeply dissatisfied with Mr. Trump, disappointed Democrats came up well short of their aspirations to seize clear control of the Senate and pad their numbers in the House. Instead, they watched gloomily on Wednesday as their path to the Senate majority narrowed while they absorbed unexpected losses in the House.

The split political decision underscored the reality that even as they turned away from the chaos of a divisive Republican president, voters wanted to hedge against Democratic hegemony in the nation’s capital and in statehouses around the country.

Far from the so-called blue wave that many Democrats had imagined, the election was shaping up to be a series of conflicting squalls pointing in different directions that, above all, appeared to promise continuing division at all levels of government.

In some ways, the configuration could be tailor-made for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who will likely prevail. It mirrored the decision that Democrats made this year in choosing Mr. Biden as their standard-bearer, elevating him over far more progressive contenders.

Mr. Biden sees himself as an old-school deal maker, someone who can operate in the more conventional political environment that voters seemed to be yearning for by delivering mixed outcomes like re-electing Senator Susan Collins, the centrist Republican from Maine, while delivering three of the state’s four electoral votes to Mr. Biden.

A Senate Firewall

A Biden victory will mean our next President will have to break through a Senate firewall controlled Republicans, some of whom are on a mission that is ahead of country and party – simply put: the deconstruction of key governmental institutions design to serve and protect the public interest.

Biden must also contend with Republican majority led by senate president Mitch McConnell, who consistently demonstrated he plays by rules only subject to his whims, and has a recent history of gutting bi-partisanship for a take-no-prisoners governing style — obstructionism when it suits him, and running rough shod over Senate processes and norms to achieve his very partnership goals, e.g. Barret Supreme Court nomination process absent of due diligence and process.

The Biden-McConnell dynamic could force the new administration to scale back legislative goals on immigration, health care, the environment and economic policy. For the majority of Americans who help elect Joe Biden, they are looking for a different outcome.

It could also compel Mr. Biden to negotiate with Republicans on his nominees for the executive and judicial branches, who would need to win Senate confirmation. Progressives who had been expecting big wins on Tuesday that would allow them to rush forward with bold new initiatives were headed for disappointment.

“Senate Republicans are going to be in a very strong position to steer the next two years,” said Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, a member of the Republican leadership. “Nothing is going to become law without the support of Senate Republicans.”

With a GOP-controlled Senate unwilling to do the people’s business, a President Biden may have no other choice than to take a page from the Donald J. Trump playbook, and govern by Executive Order.

If any man can find a way forward in these divided times, it’s Joe Biden

Biden served as a senator from Delaware for more than 35 years, and during the campaign talked about his experience working across the aisle and suggested he could win over the half dozen or so Republicans needed to advance legislation. But that was provisioned on a Democratic majority. A president Biden will be facing a different time, however, Biden and McConnell have a history of hammering out agreements, but the terms did not always meet the approval of fellow Democrats.

But if bi-partisanship is now truly dead, President Biden and the Country as a whole, will have more fundamental problems to address than just restoring the recent absence of traditional checks and balances of power among the three branches designed by America’s founding fathers.

Hu Honua Meltdown

November 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Climate, Energy /by Steve Holmes, Guest Editor

No amount of political influence is going to change the outcome for the Hu Honua Biomass project.

While there continues to be an effort to somehow rescue this ill-conceived power plant, the principals are already locked in litigation. Kind of a fitting end considering how many years they wasted in court as Ian Lind, has exposed in his excellent coverage.

Construction related litigation, suits against HELCO and NextEra, and even now they are trying to get their way using a writ of mandamus to the Hawaii Supreme Court and short cut the legal appeals process. The irony being that they want special expedited treatment because they are financially crumbling.

Ian Lind, (Hawaii-based investigative reporter) recently exposed the curious case of certain elected officials attempting to bully the PUC into granting a waiver from the competitive process. Threatening to cut agency funding. This behavior was even brazenly put in writing which will likely attract attention from federal law enforcement tasked to prevent public corruption. Something that should bring immediate censure from their colleagues at the very least.

The PUC denied the waiver from competition because they found that Hu Honua wanted too much money for electricity and that it wasn’t in the public interest to raise rates for all consumers including State and County facilities on the Big Island as well as hard hit businesses and homeowners suffering through the pandemic economy. This at a time when solar farms have been approved and more are proposed at a fraction of the cost to ratepayers. Rates will actually go down for huge savings and creating lots of jobs in the process. Why would our elected officials jump on board an effort with this as the result?

Finally, we really don’t need Hu Honua to get Hawaii island to 100% renewables. We don’t need an antique technology like burning trees to create energy that is hugely inefficient and represents the old central generation model with high transmission and distribution costs that get added on to our electric bills, when low cost and zero emissions wind and solar, and with zero fuel costs, offer Hawaii clean and abundant self-sufficiency energy options. With global heating on the rise, we certainly don’t need to be spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere when Hawaii has climate-compatible generation alternatives available for half the energy cost of Hu Honua.

Governor Ige has already committed federal CARES Act funding toward workforce development and training to ensure that as we create the grid of the future that we are hiring locally. That is something we can all embrace. Help diversify our economy and recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

We can also support a County ESPC or energy saving performance contract to save millions and reduce grid demand. Leverage this third party financing approach to build green infrastructure and create jobs without the need to float bonds.

Steve Holmes is the former Energy and Sustainability Coordinator for the City and County of Honolulu. He won the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Champion Award in 2002.

He served 12 years on the Honolulu City Council putting large areas into parks and preservation. He was a state energy analyst in Hilo, a Park Ranger at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Executive Director of Hawaii’s Thousand Friends, Hawaii Chapter Conservation Chair of the Sierra Club, President of Kokua Hilo Bay, and has won numerous awards for his efforts on behalf of Hawaii’s environment.

Hawaii Community & Notices

November 6, 2020/4 Comments/in Climate /by BeyondKona

HEADLINES

Hawaii Island’s new Mayor, Mitch Roth, hits the ground running with cabinet positions, set to be filled by Dec. 7

ON Arrival, post-flight COVID-19 Testing Program for Travelers Arriving to the Big Island will be scaled back Friday, according to outgoing Mayor Harry Kim. Since the post-flight testing program — which allows travelers to skip a 14-day quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19 immediately after arrival — began on Oct. 15, only 17 travelers have tested COVID-positive out of more than 12,000 tests, Kim said. On his way out the door, Mayor Kim’s order appears premature at best, with mainland cases peaking, and may be setting up Hawaii Island for another surge and spread of COVID-19 cases, as the tourist trade returns.

Up in Pennsylvania and Nevada, Biden Edges Closer to Victory — Leads in Pennsylvania; Nevada; and Georgia (which will go into a recount before final voting results are announced)
Joseph R. Biden Jr. stood on the cusp of the presidency on Friday, seizing a lead over President Trump in both Pennsylvania and Georgia and building on his lead in Nevada as he drew ever closer to securing the 270 electoral votes needed to lay claim to the White House.
Mr. Biden, who was winning the popular vote by more than four million votes and has already won 253 electoral votes, had pulled ahead of Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania by more than 19,500 votes by Friday evening. If his lead holds — and it is expected to — the state’s 20 electoral votes would vault him past the threshold to win the election.
Donald Trump’s baseless vote fraud claim opens cracks in Republican ranks
The Associated Press is still not calling the presidential race because neither Joe Biden nor President Trump has secured the 270 electoral votes — needed to claim victory. Millions of ballots are being counted in key states that remain too close to call, including Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Trump and his campaign continue to make unsubstantiated and unspecified claims of voter fraud as Biden inches ever closer to the 270-vote threshold.

Here’s where the race to 270 (Electoral College) currently stands as of 4 pm HT:

Biden: 264 (AP has called Arizona for Biden)
Trump: 214

Hawaii Island, COVID-19 Impact Response

As of November 5th, Civil Beat calculates at least 236 people have died from the disease in Hawaii including multiple deaths on Hawaii island that have not been recorded yet by the Department of Health due to medical verification lags. The statewide official death toll remains at 219 and the state’s COVID-19 death rate is 1.45%.

As of Thursday, 68 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were hospitalized, including 13 in intensive care and nine COVID-19 patients on ventilators.

As of Wednesday DOH reported that 15,473 individuals in Hawaii have tested positive for COVID-19.

Of these Hawaii COVID-19 cases:

219 have died
1,125 required hospitalization
11,958 have been released from isolation

Community Calendar

Steady progress has been made in turning the tide on commercial Aquarium fish extraction trade. The environmentally destructive practice of harvesting reef fish throughout the state.

As you may have been noting, more than a few poachers on this island (many of whom were the primary applicants for the failed Environmental Impact Statement considering preferential permits for more collecting) have been marched into court recently for violating the court ordered moratorium on Hawaii Island’s “Gold Coast”.

Separately, legal actions against the reef fish extraction trade are underway, as a very important bill before the Honolulu City and County Council is pending calling for restricting inhumane practices associated with the shipping of reef fish abroad. The bill (066), would impose greater accountability in the tracking of fish mortalities associated with the Aquarium trade.

Presently, there is an for public input in setting policy, an opportunity to participate in the State’s long awaited “Holomua marine 30 x 30 initiative”. Two DLNR hosted public meetings are scheduled for West Hawaii Island residents:

November 10, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
December 3, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Hawaiʻi’s Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is leading the Marine 30×30 Initiative, which focuses on developing and strengthening the essential components of effective management, including development of: a resilient marine managed area network; statewide fisheries rules; outreach and enforcement strategies; monitoring; and restoration.

Recent scientific analysis revealed declines of up to 75% in populations of some of our favorite reef fish. And the state’s first mass bleaching event in 2015 resulted in up to 90% coral mortality on some reefs, global heating and acidification of Hawaii waters, along with the Aquarium trade represent, altogether represent the one-two-three punch and knock out to Hawaii’s marine environment, along with the cultural and economic values Hawaii reef system offers the residents and marine animals of Hawaii Island and the state

You may also provide feedback through email at Marine30x30@hawaii.gov or phone at 808-587-0100.