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.
- India bans use of "last hope" antibiotic on farmsby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 6:44 am
After a Bureau investigation into the use of colistin to fatten chickens and other livestock, the Indian government has banned the practice. […]
- Blackjewel workers not 'terminated,' company says; can't access 401(k) accountsby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 6:32 am
Three weeks after closing its coal production operations and putting 1,700 people out of work, Blackjewel LLC continues to work to secure the financing it […]
- Bees are dying. Would a consumer ban on a pesticide help?by Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 5:59 am
If you find yourself sipping a cold brew with a piece of watermelon in your hand this summer, you can thank the bees for making that snack possible. […]
- The jungle metropolis: how sprawling Manaus is eating into the Amazonby Sam Cowie in Manaus on July 23, 2019 at 5:00 am
Informal settlements are expanding, with a new occupation attempt every 11 days, and the threat to the rainforest is severeAntonio Pinto’s makeshift home […]
- Experts fear deserted oil tanker off Yemen could explodeby Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor on July 23, 2019 at 4:00 am
‘Floating bomb’ holding 1m oil barrels could create environmental disaster in Red Sea A deserted oil tanker described as a “floating […]
- Schumer calls for continuation of bee colony trackingby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 3:55 am
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., held a press conference Monday morning warning of the possible impact declining bee populations could have on upstate agriculture. […]
- Could Lake Erie’s grape belt be the next Napa Valley?by Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 3:29 am
Chautauqua County one day may keep company with Bordeaux, Tuscany and Napa Valley. Thank climate change for that possibility. […]
- Buffalo program aims to ‘ROLL’ out old lead water lines, install new copper onesby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 3:23 am
Full water line replacement is now a key component of our multifaceted effort to battle the effects of lead in the City of Buffalo's aging infrastructure," […]
- Sunscreen: What the science says about ingredient safetyby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 2:57 am
Sunscreen is essential for staying protected in the sun – but recent research suggests some of the ingredients could be improved. BBC Future analyses the […]
- 288 dead from asbestos cancer in Shropshire, UKby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 2:46 am
Asbestos-related cancer has claimed 288 lives in Shropshire since the 1980s, new figures have revealed. […]
- Arkansas is latest state to ban calling veggie burgers “veggie burgers”by Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 2:30 am
A new law bans those phrases, and others, on packaging in Arkansas. Tofurky and the ACLU are suing. […]
- Estonia′s Soviet-era housing finds new eco-friendly futureby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 2:14 am
Thousands of apartment blocks across Estonia were built in the 1950s as temporary housing. Now an EU project in Tartu is transforming some into sustainable […]
- Fears over Indonesian president’s demand for unfettered investmentby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 1:57 am
President Joko Widodo has threatened to "chase" and "beat" anyone hampering investment in the country. […]
- Indonesia, facing a waste crisis, plans to burn it for electricityby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 1:46 am
The Indonesian government has targeted four cities in Java island to build incineration facilities this year to tackle the country's plastic waste crisis. […]
- The legacy of the Blobby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 1:28 am
From California to Alaska, animals born during the infamous Blob are coming of age. […]
- Hundreds of landowners still haven't signed agreements with Trans Mountain for pipeline expansionby Jim Germond on July 23, 2019 at 12:30 am
Landowners along the route who have yet to sign agreements with the company say they're frustrated with a process they say is unequally weighted in favour of […]
- Sawdust might be one answer to the world’s plastic problemby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 11:52 pm
Beverage giants Pepsi, Danone and Nestle plan to sell water in recyclable plastic bottles made from lumber scraps. […]
- Climate change: Investors pressure concrete producers over CO2 emissionsby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 11:42 pm
Investors worried about climate change are warning the world's biggest cement producers to reduce their emissions or face extinction. […]
- Arctic summer 2019: record-beating heat, dramatic ice loss and raging wildfiresby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 11:33 pm
Gloomy pictures of climate change from the top of the world. […]
- Bloom's mission to turn toxic algae into shoesby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 11:10 pm
One company thinks it can solve the global algae crisis by making sneakers from sludge. […]
- Greta Thunberg receives Normandy's Freedom Prize, donates prize money to climate groupsby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 11:01 pm
Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teen who inspired a massive youth movement to combat climate change, on Sunday received the first Freedom Prize awarded by […]
- Bipartisan senators fight 'political considerations' in EPA's new FOIA ruleby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 10:54 pm
A bipartisan group of senators is pushing back against the new public records policy at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), saying it may violate the […]
- Judge rules against oil companies to keep climate liability case in Rhode Islandby Jim Germond on July 22, 2019 at 10:48 pm
A federal judge ruled against multiple oil and gas companies Monday, deciding that Rhode Island’s novel climate liability case can be tried in the state. […]
- Leonardo DiCaprio flooded with requests to save Siberian lakeby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:18 pm
Russian environmentalists inundate actor's Instagram with messages urging him to support the campaign to 'Save our Baikal!' […]
- Heat wave slams the grid. Here's what to knowby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:11 pm
While nearly two-thirds of the country sweated through a crippling heat wave over the past week that's been blamed for at least six deaths, the U.S. electric […]
- Beset by drought, Indonesia to start cloud seeding to induce rainby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:09 pm
After more than six weeks without rain, Indonesia will soon start cloud seeding in an effort to kickstart precipitation and end an El Niño-driven […]
- India set to lower ‘normal rain’ baseline as droughts biteby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:07 pm
At the same time India anticipates a drop in average rainfall, it expects more regional variation and extreme weather driven in part by worsening climate […]
- The Dutch are testing floating dairy farms to fight climate changeby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:05 pm
The Dutch are no strangers to thinking outside the box to overcome natural world barriers. Now they're doing it with cows. […]
- 'Restore UK bogs' to tackle climate changeby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:05 pm
Restoring peat moors degraded by farming may prove a relatively inexpensive way of tackling climate change. […]
- This park is designed to protect its neighborhood from floodingby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 7:03 pm
North Miami is starting to feel the effects of rising sea level. So the city bought a property that was continually flooding and will instead turn it into a […]
- Schoolgirls petitioning McDonald's and Burger King over plastic toys amass more than 400,000 signaturesby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 6:54 pm
Two schoolgirls who have been petitioning for McDonald's and Burger King to forego plastic toys in children's meals have garnered more than 400,000 signatures. […]
- Researchers warn of 'unexpected implications' as climate risks convergeby Megan McLaughlin on July 22, 2019 at 6:52 pm
If India's water-short farmers were to adopt more efficient methods of irrigation, cutting evaporation from their fields, farmers in East Africa might see less […]
- Lawsuit Forces Trump Administration to Consider Oil Drilling’s Harm to Endangered Wildlife in Gulf of Mexicoon July 19, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Lawsuit Launched to Protect Imperiled Dunes Sagebrush Lizard in Texas, New Mexicoon July 19, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Trump Administration Agrees to Revisit Ocean Salmon Fishing Impact on Endangered West Coast Orcason July 19, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Pollutionwatch: soot study shows harm from open waste burningby Gary Fuller on July 18, 2019 at 8:30 pm
Not only carbon dioxide but also soot released from fires has impact on global warming, study findsThe focus on plastics in our oceans has highlighted the […]
- Southern Water must pay for its pollution spills, watchdog toldby Sandra Laville on July 18, 2019 at 3:18 pm
Environmental groups condemn cutting of company’s fine from £37.7m to £3mEnvironmental groups are demanding one of Britain’s biggest […]
- Ofwat has a duty to protect our rivers | Lettersby Letters on July 18, 2019 at 3:17 pm
Ofwat’s proposal to reduce a penalty on Southern Water for its ‘deliberate misreporting of data’ on pollution incidents is wrong, say […]
- Congresswoman Velázquez Introduces Bill to Ban Pesticide Linked to Parkinson’son July 18, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Wyoming Game Commission Urged to Adopt Bear Spray Requirementon July 18, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- A city suffocating: most polluted city in Americas struggles to changeby John Bartlett in Coyhaique on July 17, 2019 at 5:01 am
Wood smoke smothers Coyhaique, Chile, in June and July. Yet despite the WHO ranking its air worst in the Americas, residents are reluctant to alter their […]
- Trump drilling leases could create more climate pollution than EU does in a yearby Emily Holden in Washington on July 17, 2019 at 5:00 am
US has offered close to 378m acres of public lands and waters for oil and gas leasing since Trump took office through April 2019Donald Trump’s leases of […]
- Lawsuit Launched to Force Forest Service to Protect Endangered Species, Remove Livestock From Arizona, New Mexico Waterwayson July 17, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- What is happening in America's Cancertown is tragic, immoral and evil | Rev William Barberby Reverend William Barber on July 16, 2019 at 10:00 am
Politicians have chosen process over lives and the result has been rampant cancer in the regionRead more from the Guardian’s Cancer Town series“Woe […]
- Court Partially Blocks Summer Grazing on Sensitive Oregon Public Landson July 16, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Endangered Species Mural to Be Celebrated July 19 in New Mexicoon July 16, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Petition Seeks to Remove Snail Darter From Endangered Species List, Marking Conservation Successon July 16, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Appeal Upheld in Challenge to Oil Drilling in California's Carrizo Plain National Monumenton July 16, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- Lawsuit Challenges Fracking Leases Threatening Northern Arizona Groundwateron July 15, 2019 at 12:00 am
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- 1.8 Million People Oppose Trump Effort to End Gray Wolf Protectionon July 15, 2019 at 12:00 am
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