BeyondKONA: Politics & Policy
Power, politics, money, and finally policy are undeniably linked in every modern democracy, and Hawai’i is no different in this regard, yet the Aloha spirit can set Hawai’i apart from mainland and global political influences. Vested interests may work to divide us, but we are one island and one community living together here on Hawai’i Island.
Outsized voices seek to fulfill special interest agendas; some succeed by influencing government policy that benefits a few at the expense of many. Hawai’i can transition to a home grown clean energy economy that benefits all, and supports sustainable lifestyles once successfully practiced by the ancient Hawaiians serving as our guide for the 21st century.
Hawaii’s rich environment and its people are its primary assets. Community participation is the political engine that drives policy and solutions — both require public voices to be heard loud and clear in our island community and across the state legislature. All good things are possible when guided by science, progressive governance, cultural and economic fulfillment.
- As Biden prepares to block the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel, pollution concerns persist in Pennsylvaniaby Kristina Marusic on September 12, 2024 at 11:23 am
PITTSBURGH — Amidst recent news that President Biden plans to block the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel on national security grounds, communities near the […]
- US lawmakers push to exclude lucrative chemicals from official PFAS definitionby Tom Perkins on September 12, 2024 at 10:00 am
Language in Senate defense bill is probably first step to shield widely used toxic F-gases from regulationUS lawmakers and the military are pushing for a new […]
- Children's Environmental Health Dayby Sarah Howard on September 11, 2024 at 6:40 pm
Thursday, October 10, 2024 is the 9th annual Children's Environmental Health Day, sponsored by the Children's Environmental Health Network.
- Swiss symposium on endocrine disrupting chemicalsby Sarah Howard on September 11, 2024 at 6:34 pm
On Oct. 28, the Food Packaging Forum is co-hosting a symposium on endocrine disrupting chemicals with a leading research university. Speakers include Drs. Pete […]
- Webinar- Artificial turf: research on plastic pollution, PFAS, and health concernsby Sarah Howard on September 11, 2024 at 6:29 pm
This Sept. 18 webinar will explore the contribution of artificial turf to global plastic pollution, other health and environmental impacts of artificial turf, […]
- Webinar: Science and policy for energy and infrastructure justiceby Sarah Howard on September 11, 2024 at 6:29 pm
This Oct. 22 webinar will bring together three current fellows of the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice program.
- Webinar: Proposed priorities for the next U.S. president to reduce plastic pollutionby Sarah Howard on September 11, 2024 at 6:18 pm
This Oct. 1, 2024 webinar is sponsored by Beyond Plastics and will focus on their priority policy recommendations for the next president.
- LISTEN: Elijah Hutchinson on New York City’s push for climate justiceby Brian Bienkowski on September 11, 2024 at 11:52 am
Elijah Hutchinson joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss New York City’s first comprehensive study on environmental […]
- A coal plant bulldozed an Ohio town displacing residents. Now its owners include a big Trump donorby Oliver Milman in Cheshire, Ohio on September 11, 2024 at 10:00 am
Gavin coal plant, now part-owned by Blackstone whose CEO backs Trump, bought Cheshire in 2002 to move people en masse. Two decades later, locals recall its […]
- Scorched earth: how the search for gold has scarred DRC’s Haut-Uélé provinceby Guardian Staff on September 11, 2024 at 7:00 am
In the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, forests have been cleared for mines and the roads that service them. Large companies take what they […]
- US cave system’s bats and insects face existential threat: discarded Cheetosby Edward Helmore on September 10, 2024 at 3:53 pm
Full bag of snack left in cave occasioned National Park Service to educate public about delicate ecosystemsA full bag of Cheetos, discarded by a subterranean […]
- A Pennsylvania fracking company with more than 2,000 environmental violations was selected for federal environmental justice fundingby Kristina Marusic on September 10, 2024 at 11:13 am
PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania-based fracking company is the subject of controversy after one of its projects was listed as an environmental justice initiative […]
- ‘We’re flooded with trash’: pollution crisis as 500,000 migrants a year attempt perilous Darién Gap crossingby Luke Taylor in Bogotá on September 10, 2024 at 8:00 am
Isolated communities are sounding the alarm over poisoned rivers and cultural erosion after a surge in migrants crossing their ancestral landsThe Darién […]
- Bedlam on the beachby Pete Myers on September 9, 2024 at 11:11 am
This article originally published in the September 2024 issue of Natural History Magazine and is republished here with permission. Copyright © Natural History […]
- The huge US toxic fire shrouded in secrecy: ‘I taste oil in my mouth’by Oliver Laughland in Garyville, Louisiana, Sara Sneath and Will Craft, with a visual investigation by Forensic Architecture on September 9, 2024 at 11:00 am
Louisianans say a major accident at a sprawling Marathon refinery caused health issues. The company insists there were ‘no offsite impacts’At 8.04am on 25 […]
- Most US voters say plastics industry should be held responsible for recycling claims – reportby Dharna Noor on September 9, 2024 at 8:00 am
Even a majority of Republicans support efforts to hold manufacturers accountable for allegedly deceptive claimsConcern about the fossil fuel and plastics […]
- ‘Citizen scientists’ to check UK rivers for sewage and pollutionby Helena Horton Environment reporter on September 7, 2024 at 5:00 am
Big River Watch scheme asks general public to help monitor state of rivers after years of deregulationRivers will be checked for sewage and other pollution by […]
- Light pollution at night may increase risk of Alzheimer’s, study findsby Anna Betts on September 6, 2024 at 10:00 am
Research says outdoor light exposure in evening increases prevalence of the disease, especially in people under age 65New research claims that exposure to […]
- What’s in your protein powders?by EHN Editors on September 5, 2024 at 11:21 am
Ten out of eleven popular protein powders recently tested have levels of toxic lead that would trigger a health warning in California, according to a new […]
- Air pollution harms male fertility while women face similar risk from noise, study findsby Tobi Thomas Health and inequalities correspondent on September 4, 2024 at 10:30 pm
Environmental pollutants may have different effects on male and female reproduction, research in BMJ suggests Air pollution is associated with a higher […]
- Sewage in Scotland’s rivers and beaches far more widespread than realisedby Severin Carrell Scotland editor on September 4, 2024 at 4:00 am
Thousands of undisclosed sewage overflow incidents mean Scotland needs tougher regulations, says watchdog Sewage pollution of Scotland’s rivers and beaches […]
- ‘I want out’: how a natural gas project along the Gulf coast is upending residents’ livesby Delaney Nolan on September 3, 2024 at 2:00 pm
Venture Global’s plant depletes water, emergency services and road space, say local officials, people and paramedicsWhen America’s newest gas giant arrives […]
- ‘Queen of trash’ among 11 on trial in Sweden’s largest environmental crime caseby Miranda Bryant Nordic correspondent on September 3, 2024 at 1:51 pm
Bella Nilsson’s company Think Pink accused of dumping at least 200,000 tonnes of wasteEleven people, including an entrepreneur who once called herself the […]
- Op-ed: We mobilized to defend the EPA in Trump's first term. This time the stakes are even higher.by Ruth Greenspan Bell on September 3, 2024 at 11:44 am
In early 2017 when the Trump administration was just starting to reveal its true intentions, I and other U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alumni formed a […]
- Pollution levels highly harmful to wildlife in quarter of England’s neighbourhoods, research findsby Helena Horton Environment reporter on September 3, 2024 at 5:00 am
Friends of the Earth says pollution exceeds healthy levels for nature in 9,062 localitiesMore than a quarter of neighbourhoods in England have pollution levels […]
- Aquatic life under threat as pollution and warmer waters wreak havocby Paul Brown on August 30, 2024 at 5:00 am
Research makes clear that the problem caused by sewage and climate change is more urgent than previously thoughtAlmost half of all fish species and 10% of […]
- Pennsylvania will monitor private drinking water wells near the East Palestine train derailment site for 10 yearsby Kristina Marusic on August 29, 2024 at 12:02 pm
A year and a half after a catastrophic Norfolk Southern train derailment and chemical fire in East Palestine, Ohio, the Pennsylvania Department of […]
- LISTEN: Timnit Kefela on treating plastic pollution as an environmental justice issueby Brian Bienkowski on August 28, 2024 at 11:55 am
Dr. Timnit Kefela joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the the specific ways microplastics harm urban communities and some of […]
- So Starbucks’ CEO commutes to work by private jet? Let’s not pretend the super-rich care about the planet | Arwa Mahdawiby Arwa Mahdawi on August 27, 2024 at 9:38 am
It’s paper straws and compostable cups for the masses, space travel and $600m weddings for their overlords. No wonder everyone who can afford it wants a […]
- Prozac in waterways is changing how fish behave, research findsby Petra Stock on August 27, 2024 at 4:01 am
Australian study of guppies shows that pharmaceutical pollution could threaten species’ long-term survivalContamination of waterways with the antidepressant […]
- Plutonium levels near US atomic site in Los Alamos similar to Chornobyl, study findsby Tom Perkins on August 26, 2024 at 12:00 pm
Much of the land near the atomic bomb’s birthplace was converted to recreational areas, but toxic waste remainsSoil, plants and water along popular […]
- Industry acts to head off regulation on PFAS pollution from semiconductorsby Tom Perkins on August 24, 2024 at 1:00 pm
The Chips and Science Act has led to a production boom but experts say it could generate huge amounts of toxic wasteProducers of PFAS chemicals and […]
- ‘It could be months or years’: Walsall canal faces long road back to health after chemical spillby Jessica Murray Midlands correspondent on August 24, 2024 at 9:00 am
Charity is considering removing some of the water and there is also concern over the sediment on the canal floorWhen sodium cyanide leaked into a Walsall canal […]
- NYU plastics and human health symposiumby Sarah Howard on August 21, 2024 at 7:12 pm
New York University Langone Health's Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards is hosting a Plastics and Human Health Symposium on September 23-24. […]
- Op-ed: Turning air pollution sufferers into experts in California’s Inland Empireby Jose Ramon Becerra Vera on August 21, 2024 at 11:44 am
‘Inland Empire Once Again Ranks as Worst in Nation for Air Quality’ read the headline of a 2022 PBS SoCal story.Two years later, little has changed. […]
- Trump’s plan to boost LNG exports could benefit Chinaby EHN Curators on August 21, 2024 at 11:21 am
Donald Trump’s plan to expand U.S. liquefied natural gas exports if re-elected may lead to increased sales to China, despite his tough rhetoric against the […]
- Convertir en expertos a quienes sufren la contaminación aérea en el Inland Empire de Californiaby Jose Ramon Becerra Vera on August 21, 2024 at 9:30 am
“El Inland Empire vuelve a ser el peor del país en calidad del aire” decía un titular de PBS SoCal en 2022. Dos años después, la situación es la […]
- Is recycled plastic safe for food contact? If the company making it says so, according to the FDAby Meg Wilcox on August 19, 2024 at 11:54 am
Recycled content in food packaging is increasing as sustainability advocates press manufacturers to cut their use of virgin plastic. Since 1990, the U.S. Food […]
- At least 36 facilities in Texas identified as potential microplastic polluters, according to new mapby Cami Ferrell on August 16, 2024 at 11:49 am
LA PORTE, Texas – On a humid summer afternoon in July, about 40 minutes from Houston, children are running up and down the Texas coastline of Sylvan Beach. […]
- Al menos 36 instalaciones de Texas identificadas como fuentes de microplásticos, según un nuevo mapaby Cami Ferrell on August 15, 2024 at 4:23 pm
LA PORTE, Texas– En una húmeda tarde de verano de julio, a unos 40 minutos de Houston, los niños corren arriba y abajo por la costa tejana de Sylvan Beach. […]
- Now accepting applications: Lou Guillette, Jr Outstanding Young Investigator Awardby Sarah Howard on August 14, 2024 at 3:19 pm
Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS) sponsors an award of $5,000 in honor of the late Lou Guillette Jr. to a young investigator who […]
- LISTEN: Brandon Rothrock on the environment and queer identitiesby Brian Bienkowski on August 14, 2024 at 11:47 am
Brandon Rothrock joins the Agents of Change in Environmental Justice podcast to discuss the intersection of the environment and LGBTQ+ identities, and emerging […]
- Care for endangered seabirds continues amid a 51-year legacy of optimismby Derrick Z. Jackson on August 13, 2024 at 11:51 am
Steve Kress’s smile lit up the dusk as research assistants at least 50 years younger than him regaled him with tales of their vigilance to save tern chicks […]
- Silica dust exposure could pose a major health riskby EHN Curators on August 12, 2024 at 11:12 am
Silica dust exposure in industries like construction and mining could become as harmful as asbestos if stricter regulations are not implemented.Fred Schwaller […]
- Phthalate chemicals found in popular avocado oilsby EHN Editors on August 9, 2024 at 11:56 am
Eleven popular avocado oils recently tested have detectable levels of phthalates, according to a new report from Mamavation.Partnering with EHN.org, the […]
- Op-ed: Black lives matter in Africa's National Parks tooby Aalayna Green on August 7, 2024 at 11:48 am
About 7,400 miles away from my partners in Namibia, I sit at my desk, pen in hand and mouth agape. This isn’t the first time my colleagues have left me […]
- Las vidas negras también importan en los parques nacionales de Áfricaby Aalayna Green on August 7, 2024 at 9:29 am
Separada por unas 7.400 millas (11.000 km) de mis compañeros en Namibia, estoy sentada en mi escritorio, con el bolígrafo en la mano y la boca abierta. Esta […]
- ExxonMobil, LyondellBasell y Chevron Phillips están en el top de empresas contaminantes en Houston: Informeby Cami Ferrell on August 6, 2024 at 5:58 pm
Las instalaciones industriales más contaminantes del condado de Harris, que incluye a Houston, son en su inmensa mayoría compañías petroquímicas […]
- Appalachian groups express frustration over first $30 million in federal hydrogen hub fundingby Kristina Marusic on August 5, 2024 at 11:35 am
PITTSBURGH — On July 31, the federal government announced $30 million of funding for the Appalachian Regional Clean Hydrogen Hub, or ARCH2, which plans to […]
- ExxonMobil, LyondellBassel and Chevron among Houston’s top polluters: Reportby Cami Ferrell on August 2, 2024 at 12:00 pm
HOUSTON – The top industrial polluters in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, are overwhelmingly petrochemical companies, which are responsible for […]