By Jessica Corbett Hawaiian state and U.S. Naval officials confirmed Tuesday that firefighting foam containing “forever chemicals” leaked at the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Honolulu, requiring cleanup efforts and increased monitoring of soil and water. Commonly called forever chemicals because they persist in the human body and environment for long periods, per- […]
Kilauea, a large volcano on the Island of Hawai’i (or Big Island) and one of the most active in the world, erupted Sunday night following a series of earthquakes, CNN reported. The eruption sent lava shooting into the air, along with a huge cloud of ash and steam. Hawaiian officials urged residents to stay indoors […]
A team of scientists has created the first-ever aerial map of the coral reefs surrounding the main Hawaiian Islands, in a breakthrough researchers hope will assist reef conservation in the islands and beyond. The map, written up in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences article Monday, was able to show the geographic distribution […]
By John R. Platt It takes a lot of effort and more than a little bit of luck for researchers like André Raine to get to the remote mountaintops of Kauai, where they’re working to save endangered Hawaiian seabirds from extinction. First you need a helicopter capable of reaching sites more than 4,600 feet above […]
By Dana Drugmand Hawaii has officially joined the fight to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for the climate crisis. On Monday the City of Honolulu filed a lawsuit against 10 oil and gas companies, seeking monetary damages to help pay for costs associated with climate impacts like sea level rise and flooding. The lawsuit, filed […]
By Brett Walton Defying a vote of the County Council, Maui Mayor Michael Victorino said on Oct.18 that he will not settle a Clean Water Act lawsuit that holds national implications for water pollution permitting. Instead of the settlement that the council authorized last month, Victorino prefers to have the nation’s highest court decide whether […]
By Lorraine Chow Kokia drynarioides is a small but significant flowering tree endemic to Hawaii’s dry forests. Native Hawaiians used its large, scarlet flowers to make lei. Its sap was used as dye for ropes and nets. Its bark was used medicinally to treat thrush. But Kokia drynarioides — commonly known as Hawaii tree cotton, […]
By Kaitlin Grable I was born on the island of O’ahu, 98 years after the U.S. supported an illegal coup in my hometown of Honolulu to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani and steal Hawaiian land. I was born in a Hawai’i that is radically and tragically different from the Hawai’i of my ancestors. The Hawaiian word for […]
Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano could be gearing up for an eruption after a pond of water was discovered inside its summit crater for the first time in recorded history, according to the AP. Last year, the volcano spewed lava and destroyed homes on the archipelago’s Big Island. Then in the spring, a lava lake vanished from […]