Environment
The economic value of groundwater in Obama
Obama City has a population of 33,000 and is located in the central Wakasa district, in southwest Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Groundwater is used aboveground year round for commercial and domestic purposes and during winter months to melt snow. Submarine groundwater discharge along the coast supports a nearshore fishery in the region. Results from a choice-based […]
Read MoreThe 1960 Tsunami in Hawaii: Long-Term Consequences of a Coastal Disaster
On May 23, 1960, a devastating tsunami struck the city of Hilo on the island of Hawaii. This tsunami provides a unique natural experiment as the tsunami was unexpected, and the other Hawaiian Islands, which were not hit by the tsunami, provide an ideal control group that enables us to precisely identify what happened to the […]
Read MoreScience and Community Engagement to Improve Water Management in Hawaii
‘Ike Wai (from the Hawaiian ‘ike, meaning knowledge, and wai, meaning water) is a five-year National Science Foundation project. The multidisciplinary research team from UH Manoa and Hilo will collect new geophysical and groundwater data, integrate these data into detailed groundwater models, and generate an improved understanding of subsurface water location, volume and flow paths. […]
Read MoreIntegrating fast feedback and GIS to plan for important agricultural land designations in Kauai County, Hawaii
With increased affluence worldwide, planning for and preserving land for agriculture and conservation have become important goals in many communities. In Hawai‘i, the identification and designation of Important Agricultural Land (IAL) was first proposed at the 1978 Hawai‘i Constitutional Convention and approved by voters the same year. The state is required to conserve and protect […]
Read MoreBenefit-cost analysis of watershed conservation on Hawai‘i Island
In landscapes around the world, growing attention is being paid to the link between forest structure and water resources. More clarity is vital for informed decision making, especially as water scarcity continues to increase in many regions across the globe. The objective of this study is to estimate the volume of freshwater yield saved per […]
Read MoreCostly stakeholder participation creates inertia in marine ecosystems
Ecosystems often shift abruptly and dramatically between different regimes in response to human or natural disturbances. When ecosystems tip from one regime to another, the suite of available ecosystem benefits changes, impacting the stakeholders who rely on these benefits. These changes often create some groups who stand to incur large losses if an ecosystem returns […]
Read MoreElectric Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Assessment for Hawaii
This study estimates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of electric vehicles (EVs) compared to that of other popular and similar cars in Hawaii, by county over an assumption of 150,000 miles driven. The GHG benefits of EVs depend critically on the electricity system from which they derive their power. The analysis shows that EVs statewide are […]
Read MoreAssessing the Costs of Priority HISC Species in Hawaii
Over the past decade, funding for the Hawaii Invasive Species Council (HISC) has ranged from less than $2 million per year in the three years following the recent economic downturn, up to almost $6 million in FY2015. The HISC website provides total award amounts for past projects, but it is difficult to attribute exact dollar […]
Read MoreInforming Water Policy in Hawaii with Transformative Interdisciplinary Research: UHERO’s Role in ʻIke Wai
By Kimberly Burnett and Christopher Wada UHERO’s Project Environment will be leading the economic analysis for a new National Science Foundation project addressing critical gaps in the understanding of Hawaii’s fresh water supply that limit decision making, planning and crisis responses. ‘Ike Wai (from the Hawaiian ‘ike, (knowledge), and wai, (water) spans geophysics, microbiology, cyberinfrastructure, […]
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