Flushing Money Down the Drain
Water is a precious commodity in Hawaiʻi, despite our islands being home to some of the wettest places on Earth where rainfall is recorded in the hundreds of inches. Proper management of this resource is complicated.
Limu: The Good, the Bad, and the Tasty
Whether you enjoy poke, sushi or ice cream—you already eat seaweed and seaweed-derived products. Locally known as limu or ogo, these marine algae are vital to the environment, culturally important, and have serious economic value.
Nonpoint Source Pollution Threatens Environment and Health
Polluted runoff, the often-untreated murky brown water that oozes out into Maui’s ocean after every large storm, contains a toxic stew of oil, gas, fertilizers, pesticides, pharmaceuticals along with plastics, animal waste, detritus, sand, soil and rocks.
The Rising Tide of Microplastic Pollution on Land and Sea
At best 10% of US plastic waste gets recycled. Another 13% gets burned, sometimes to generate electricity. Most of the remaining plastic is buried in landfills, but each year at least 1 billion pounds of plastic finds its way into our oceans.