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.
- Exxon, Chevron, BP and others called to testify on climate disinformationby Megan McLaughlin on September 16, 2021 at 2:51 pm
Executives from Exxon, Shell, BP and others are being called to testify in Congress next month after a secret recording this year exposed an Exxon official […]
- Homeowners relocating because of climate change, wildfires, floodingby Megan McLaughlin on September 16, 2021 at 2:31 pm
Nearly half of Americans who plan to move in the next year say natural disasters and extreme temperatures factored into their decision to relocate, according […]
- Nantucket airport lawsuit blames manufacturers for PFAS contaminationby Megan McLaughlin on September 16, 2021 at 2:21 pm
Nantucket Memorial Airport, which is now paying to clean nearby drinking water contaminated by its decades of using PFAS-containing firefighting foam, has […]
- Court blames Indonesian govt for pollution, demands measuresby Megan McLaughlin on September 16, 2021 at 2:11 pm
A Jakarta court ordered the Indonesian government to strengthen pollution measures, a historic ruling that blames authorities for the air quality […]
- Watchdog must do more to protect boy, 5, from landfill fumes, court rulesby Jessica Murray on September 16, 2021 at 12:32 pm
Doctors say Mathew Richards’ life expectancy has been shortened due to exposure to hydrogen sulphide fumesThe high court has ruled the Environment Agency […]
- A historically Black town stood in the way of a pipeline – so developers claimed it was mostly whiteby Leah Jablo on September 16, 2021 at 11:19 am
When residents in Union Hill, Virginia, decried the pipeline as a form of environmental racism, the energy company insisted it wasn't.
- Production of forever chemicals emits potent greenhouse gases, analysis findsby Leah Jablo on September 16, 2021 at 11:15 am
EPA data reveals that one of America's biggest PFAS manufacturing plants is second largest polluter of highly damaging HCFC-22 gas.
- ‘Larger than usual’: this year’s ozone layer hole bigger than Antarcticaby Leah Jablo on September 16, 2021 at 11:12 am
Scientists say ozone hole is unusually large for this stage in season and growing quickly.
- Alabama PFAS manufacturing plant creates the climate pollution of 125,000 carsby Elizabeth Gribkoff on September 16, 2021 at 10:40 am
As evidence mounts that hamburger wrappers and other kinds of grease-proof packaging contaminate food with PFAS, states have started banning the toxic […]
- LISTEN: EHN's Pittsburgh reporter featured on "We Can Be" podcastby Kristina Marusic on September 16, 2021 at 10:39 am
EHN's Pittsburgh reporter, Kristina Marusic, is featured on this week's episode of the Heinz Endowments' "We Can Be" podcast.She discussed Fractured, her […]
- Growing uncertainty in the Central Valleyby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 10:38 am
California produces much of America’s food—and now a drought and a pandemic have put the system on edge.
- WATCH: What's behind the sperm recession?by EHN Staff on September 16, 2021 at 10:37 am
Dulcé Sloan talks to sperm bank director Michelle Ottey and epidemiologist Shanna Swan about what's causing America's sharp decline in sperm volume in […]
- Production of forever chemicals emits potent greenhouse gases, analysis findsby Tom Perkins on September 16, 2021 at 10:00 am
EPA data reveals that one of America’s biggest PFAS-making plants is second largest polluter of highly damaging HCFC-22 gasA new analysis of […]
- Black Summer bushfires triggered Southern Ocean algal blooms bigger than Australiaby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 2:32 am
Iron-rich ash and smoke from the Black Summer bushfires dropped from the atmosphere into the Southern Ocean, fuelling enormous blooms of algae between New […]
- Fashions to die for: The fur trade’s role in spreading zoonotic diseaseby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 1:22 am
During the pandemic, demand for furs by Chinese, U.S. and EU fashion consumers has set off few alarms, but COVID-19 outbreaks on EU and U.S. mink farms raised […]
- Illegal logging reaches Amazon’s untouched core, ‘terrifying’ research showsby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 1:17 am
One of the main fears about the Brazilian Amazon is beginning to materialize: logging is starting to move from the periphery of the rainforest toward the core […]
- B.C. auditor general warns province had 87 high-risk dams in 2020by Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 1:05 am
British Columbia had 87 high-risk dams with “significant deficiencies" in 2020, according to an audit released on Tuesday that warned the provincial […]
- Federal election vows of electric vehicles prompt responsible mining questionsby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 12:50 am
Positioning Canada as a leader in electrifying the transportation sector also means increasing mineral extraction to fuel that growth.
- The aquaculture industry needs a heat-loving salmonby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 12:40 am
Climate change is a huge threat to salmon farming. Scientists are on the hunt for a fish that can handle the heat.
- Guides just had their worst season ever in the Cascadesby Jim Germond on September 16, 2021 at 12:32 am
A series of extreme weather events stripped the lower 48's most glaciated mountains of their snowpack, leaving guides in the lurch.
- Mobile Billboard to Be Launched Friday in Atlanta to Spotlight Proposed Mine’s Threat to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refugeon September 16, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Changing climate poses burden as people count on fishingby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 11:46 pm
Extreme weather damages access points for coastal residents dependent on seafood, while warming seas shift the balance of life under the water.
- Two days after the election: Oslo welcomes new round of shelf drillingby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 11:38 pm
Outgoing Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru says she is happy about the big number of companies eager to drill as part of a new license round.
- After 24 years of water advisories, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation can drink from the tapby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 11:20 pm
After more than two decades without clean drinking water, Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is celebrating the opening of a water treatment facility and the end of […]
- Pennsylvania counties take the lead in Chesapeake cleanup plansby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 10:57 pm
In a major shift in strategy as the Chesapeake region nears its 2025 Bay cleanup deadline, Pennsylvania has switched to an approach that gives the reins and […]
- You have no idea how much you need nitrogen-fixing bacteriaby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 10:37 pm
Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are a crucial, if largely unknown, part of our ecosystem. They're how plants and animals get nitrogen from the air.
- Cunhaporanga Tatuyo became a TikTok star by sharing glimpses of her life in a remote indigenous community in the Amazon.by Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 10:19 pm
Cunhaporanga Tatuyo became a TikTok star by sharing glimpses of her life in a remote indigenous community in the Amazon.
- EPA confirms climate impacts are more adverse for racial minorities in the Southwestby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 9:53 pm
The worst effects of climate change are disproportionately falling on “underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat […]
- Report: Most nations fall far short in plans to curb warmingby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 9:39 pm
Nearly every nation is coming up short — most of them far short — in their efforts to fight climate change, and the world is unlikely to hold […]
- Groups ask US to consider extreme heat in border policiesby Jim Germond on September 15, 2021 at 9:25 pm
Human rights groups are calling on the Biden administration to consider the effects that climate change-fueled heat has on migrants when designing the […]
- Drought puts 2.1 million Kenyans at risk of starvationby Megan McLaughlin on September 15, 2021 at 6:01 pm
An estimated 2.1 million Kenyans face starvation due to a drought in half the country, which is affecting harvests.
- Democrats advance climate bill as advocates gird for a fightby Megan McLaughlin on September 15, 2021 at 5:58 pm
The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a historic suite of climate and environmental policies in a marathon two-day markup, kicking off a pressure […]
- How wildfires fueled by climate change affect oceans and algaeby Megan McLaughlin on September 15, 2021 at 5:55 pm
Two years ago, in the southern Pacific Ocean, an explosion of algae grew to more than 2,000 miles wide — about the width of Australia.
- Wolves in Northern Rockies One Step Closer to Endangered Species Protectionon September 15, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Lake Sturgeon Will Get Endangered Species Decision in 2024on September 15, 2021 at 12:00 am
- BLM Withdraws Decision Allowing Grazing in California Area Protected for Desert Tortoiseson September 15, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Maui Grand Wailea Resort Put on Notice for Lights That Kill Endangered Seabirdson September 15, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Pollution is damaging UK rivers more than public thinks, report saysby Patrick Barkham on September 14, 2021 at 11:01 pm
Survey finds 43% believe waterways are in good condition despite widespread problems in England, Wales and Northern IrelandRivers, streams and freshwater […]
- ‘Forever chemicals’: the hidden threat from the toxic PFAS on your shelfby Anna Turns on September 14, 2021 at 6:00 am
PFAS are used in paints, food packaging and even cosmetics. We know they are in our water, air, soil and bodies – but less about how they will affect […]
- Formosa Plastics Fined $2.9 Million for Endangering Public, Workers in Texason September 14, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Virtual Film Festival Highlights Link Between Food, Environment, Social Justiceon September 13, 2021 at 12:00 am
- New Thames tunnel will make London pollution worse, warn climate activistsby Harriet Sherwood on September 11, 2021 at 3:00 pm
Campaigners say Sadiq Khan’s support for a four-lane road under the river is at odds with his environmental aimsBurrowing deep under the Thames, […]
- An actor, two big bees and a lot of experts: a week spent tackling the planet’s problemsby Patrick Greenfield on September 11, 2021 at 10:00 am
World’s largest conservation summit since Covid-19 brought 4,000 people to Marseille to showcase issues and solutions from coral reefs to land protection […]
- HS2 loses large amount of potentially highly polluting bentoniteby Diane Taylor on September 10, 2021 at 11:36 am
Campaigners are dismayed that so much of the clay slurry could have been lost during constructionHS2 has lost vast amounts of a potentially highly polluting […]
- Santa Barbara County Staff Recommends Approval of ExxonMobil’s Plan to Restart Offshore Platforms, Truck Oilon September 10, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Netherlands proposes radical plans to cut livestock numbers by almost a thirdby Senay Boztas on September 9, 2021 at 12:31 pm
Dutch farmers could be forced to sell land and reduce the amount of animals they keep to help lower ammonia pollutionDutch politicians are considering plans to […]
- México debe responder ante fallas en el cumplimiento de la legislación ambiental para proteger a la vaquita: Comisión del T-MECon September 9, 2021 at 12:00 am
- USMCA Commission: Mexico Must Respond on Vaquita Enforcement Failureson September 9, 2021 at 12:00 am
- Coalition Petitions Federal Government to Ban Coral-Killing Chemicals in Sunscreenson September 9, 2021 at 12:00 am
- In Response to Lawsuit, EPA Pledges to Strengthen Standards for Slaughterhouse Water Pollutionon September 9, 2021 at 12:00 am