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Environment

News stories regarding Molokai’s outdoor environment

Facing Climate Change, Part II

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Emillia Noordhoek

Editor’s Note: Emillia Noordhoek, executive director of Sust`ainable Molokai, traveled to Europe to attend the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year. This is the second in a three-part series about the Panel’s conclusions and how global climate change will affect Molokai and the world.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) met at the end of last year as a collaborative effort between countries, scientists and policy makers to address growing evidence of real and serious global climate change and discuss a report on the latest findings. The day after the IPCC was released, activists from Swedish environmental group, PUSH Sweden, organized a demonstration to bring attention to the report and the lack of action they felt was being presented by the Swedish government.…

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Mandatory Boater Ed Enforced in November

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

DLNR News Release

With less than six months to go before Hawaii’s new mandatory education law for boaters is to be enforced, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) would like to inform boaters that there is still ample time and multiple ways to become compliant.

Beginning Nov. 10, 2014, all individuals who operate a motorized vessel in Hawaii’s state waters must have taken a boating safety course and be able to show proof of certification. The rule applies to all boaters unless they and/or the vessels being used fall under one of the exemptions mentioned in the new rule.…

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From Garden to Pizza

Thursday, June 5th, 2014

From Garden to Pizza

At Sust`ainable Molokai’s permaculture farm in Ho`olehua, there’s a time to sow and there’s a time to reap the harvest.

There’s also a time to craft and eat homemade, baked and garden-fresh pizza fresh out of a traditional pizza oven. For pizza Greensboro call Cedar’s Restaurant & Pizzeria. Their delicious, freshly made pizzas will satisfy your cravings with every bite.

“This is really how to get kids and others to enjoy eating what they grow,” said Emillia Noordhoek, executive director of Sust`ainable Molokai, a local nonprofit that works with the community to find modern strategies for sustainability while respecting cultural traditions.…

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Undersea Cable Still On the Table for Some Islands

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014

State and federal energy officials got a clear message from Molokai residents who voiced their continued opposition to a potential undersea transmission cable in Hawaii that would transport energy interisland.

“I’m totally pro-renewable energy which is why I’m very concerned and upset by this document,” said Molokai resident and energy expert Mike Bond, referring to the Hawaii Clean Energy Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS). “The one thing that concerns me the most is the tacit acceptance of the undersea cable… I think the cable is a disaster — it’s hyper-costly, and in my view, a political, corporate scam.”

The PEIS is a 1,000-page-plus document that analyzes potential environmental impacts associated with a wide variety of clean energy technologies and activities across the state.…

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Feeding Molokai Sustainably

Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014

Feeding Molokai Sustainably

Molokai used to be known as “Molokai `Aina Momona,” or the abundant land, for its plentiful food supply that fed a population many times its current size. Like much of the state, Molokai now imports most of the food found in its stores and restaurants — 98 percent, in fact.

But the food served on Molokai’s dinner tables is a different story. About 40 percent of food consumed comes from subsistence sources such as hunting, fishing, gathering and home grown fruits and vegetables, according to a 2012 study conducted by Sust `aina ble Molokai.

“[The high level of subsistence] means that if disaster hits, Molokai is actually better off than other islands even though food production is less [than other islands],” said Emillia Noordhoek, executive director of Sust `aina ble Molokai.…

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Everything Ulu

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Everything Ulu

Community Contributed

By Glenn I. Teves, County Extension Agent, UH CTAHR

Breadfruit is an important part of an agroforestry system and essential food plants in many Pacific islands. On May 17, a breadfruit workshop held at the UH Maui, Molokai Farm was attended by 46 residents and covered all aspects of ulu from history to growing to tasting.

Dr. Diane Ragone shared decades of work with ulu, starting as a graduate student at UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources studying ulu, and the last 25 years at the Pacific Tropical Botanical Gardens Breadfruit Institute on Kauai. She travelled throughout the Pacific documenting and collecting breadfruit, and with root cuttings of more than 300 varieties, she was able to propagate and grow to maturity over 170 of them established at Kahanu Gardens in Hana.…

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Facing Climate Change, Part I

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Community Contributed

By Emillia Noordhoek

Editor’s Note: Emillia Noordhoek, executive director of Sust`ainable Molokai, traveled to Europe to attend the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year. This is the first in a three-part series about the Panel’s conclusions and how global climate change will affect Molokai and the world.

Climate change is real. Experts predict that oceans will acidify, killing the coral reef and everything that has a shell. This will create global hunger, and be especially devastating for Molokai, where we rely heavily on subsistence fishing. Climate departure will happen sooner in tropics than any place else — as soon as 2020 — manifesting as increased storms, tsunamis and hurricanes, also causing flooding, erosion and runoff.…

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Small Changes for Better Electric Service

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Small Changes for Better Electric Service

At Molokai’s Maui Electric Pala`au Power Plant, there’s a room filled with panels of switches, dials and screens. There, an operator who works 24/7, keeping Molokai’s lights on. There’s a constant hum inside the control room from the plant’s 13 huge diesel generators.

“We’re attuned to this noise,” said electrician Brian Tachibana. “If it changes at all, these guys will pick it up.”

Slight changes in frequency could mean a drop or surge in power, which require minute adjustments in settings by the operator.

They also watch the clocks – not so they can tell when their eight-hour shift is up, but as a way to monitor the frequency being generated.…

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Panel Speaks Against Pesticides

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

Agriculture in the United States uses millions of pounds of pesticides and herbicides per year. About 80,000,000 pounds of atrazine, a widely used herbicide found in many U.S. water sources, is sprayed on crops annually. At the same time, some male frogs are “feminizing” –producing eggs instead of sperm, and agricultural chemicals are the blame, according to Dr. Tyrone Hayes.

Hayes, University of California Berkeley Professor of Integrative Biology, presented a lecture to address the effects of agricultural chemicals on hormones as part of a five-island speaking tour on Molokai, May 16. Hayes was joined by food advocates Maui District Health Officer Dr.…

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Energy Assistance Program

Wednesday, May 28th, 2014

MEO Molokai News Release

June is the only month that the Low-Income Energy Assistance Program is offered and MEO Molokai will be taking applications June 2-30, Monday through Fridays except on June 11.  We ask that if anyone is interested to please pick up a brochure that is posted in town or at MEO office at the end of Kolapa Place.

Give us a call at 553-3216 to make an appointment and please gather all your required documents before coming to your appointment.…

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