Social, economic, and health impacts of the Red Hill fuel spill: preliminary survey results
By Leah Bremer, Tara Sutton, Ruben Juarez, Nicole Siegal, Nathan DeMaagd *University of Hawaiʻi Economic Research Organization (UHERO), Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), Department of Geography and Environment, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. BackgroundOn November 20, 2021 the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility leaked approximately 19,000 gallons of jet fuel into the Pearl Harbor […]
Read MoreEcological Economics and the Circular Economy
By Kimberly Burnett, James Roumasset, and Christopher Wada The Circular Economy In 1969, Belgian industrial designers Paul Jorion and Jacques Braijt proposed the circular concept of manufacturing products from recycled materials as opposed to the “linear” concept of producing them from mined or harvested raw materials and discarding the corresponding waste. The idea has gained […]
Read MoreReducing fire risk and restoring value to fallow agricultural lands
This blog was conceived via conversations among UHERO faculty and fellows from diverse backgrounds from environmental economics, ecosystem services, economic diversification, and fire and ecosystems. It is meant to stimulate conversation, research, and action towards pathways to address the critical problem of fire risk from unmanaged grasslands and opportunities to support more generative landscapes. We […]
Read MoreLinking climate, forests, and limu: Examining the influence of environmental change on groundwater dependent ecosystems in Kona
By Leah Bremer, Brytne Okuhata, Jade Delevaux, Angela Richards Doná, Celia Smith, Veronica Gibson, Henrietta Dulai, Aly El Kadi, Kosta Stamoulis, Kimberly Burnett, Christopher Wada Summary: Climate change and increased groundwater pumping are likely to increase the habitat suitability of an invasive seaweed and decrease the abundance of a native and culturally important limu species […]
Read MoreFifth time’s a charm!
By John Lynham PhD student Adrian Amaya and UHERO Research Fellow John Lynham recently started working on a new NSF-funded $1.6 million project entitled “Pathways and constraints to adaptation in coastal social-environmental systems”. The project is a collaborative research endeavor, both across institutions and academic disciplines: it brings together marine biologists, oceanographers, economists, anthropologists, and […]
Read MorePuʻulani: Biocultural restoration of agroforestry in Heʻeia, Oʻahu
By Leah Bremer, Zoe Hastings, Maile Wong, and Tamara Ticktin Puʻulani (heavenly ridge) sits above the loʻi kalo (taro patches) that Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi, a community-based organization in Heʻeia, Oʻahu, has been actively restoring since 2010. Just five years ago, in 2018, 100% of the trees at Puʻulani were non-native species. Since then, a partnership between […]
Read MoreTime for A Carbon Tax for Hawaii?
By James Mak and Erik Haites Hawaii’s constitution requires a Tax Review Commission (TRC) be appointed every five years to review the state’s tax/revenue system. Commissioners comprise of tax experts in the state and serve without compensation. In its final report to the Legislature, the 2020-2022 Tax Review Commission’s top recommendation is a carbon tax […]
Read MoreVOG – Using Volcanic Eruptions to Estimate the Impact of Pollutants on Learning Outcomes
By Rachel Inafuku. Joint research with Tim Halliday, Lester Lusher and Aureo de Paula. Introduction While an extensive number of studies have shown that pollution is detrimental to human health, a smaller, growing body of literature has found that pollution also negatively impacts cognitive performance. Research has shown that increases in pollutants lead to decreased […]
Read MoreTourism water use during the COVID-19 shutdown: A natural experiment in Hawai‘i
By Nathan DeMaagd, Peter Fuleky, Kimberly Burnett, and Christopher Wada A recent study published in the Annals of Tourism Research used the shutdown of tourism in Hawai‘i during the COVID-19 pandemic to shed light on the relationship between tourism and water use on O‘ahu. The importance of water management is accentuated when there is near […]
Read MoreSocial and Cultural values of Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems in Kona
By Veronica Gibson, Leah Bremer, Kimberly Burnett, Nicole Keakaonaaliʻi Lui, and Celia Smith “I think about the anchialine pools and the significance of the anchialine pools and how, if you have anchialine pools in your ahupuaʻa, especially in a place like North Kona, Kekaha Wai ʻOle,… you’re considered very wealthy” ~ anchialine pool resource manager […]
Read MoreManaging for diverse coastal uses and values under sea level rise: perspectives from Oʻahu
By Leah Bremer, Makena Coffman, Alisha Summers, Lisa Kelley, and Billy Kinney “That whole experience of bonding, the family, the fresh air, that’s so critical. And we’ve lost a lot of that. As we lose the beaches, we lose that part of our culture, which is Hawaiʻi’s culture. Whether it’s a barbecue… or spend [ing] […]
Read MorePrivate Actions to Combat Climate Change Through Offsetting: The Story of The Coconut Traveler
By Kimberly Burnett, James Mak and Christopher Wada In late 2021, the United Nations (UN) held its 26th climate change conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Among the many agreements that emerged from the conference was a coordinated plan for tourism climate action (Glasgow Declaration) to cut tourism’s global carbon emissions in half over the next […]
Read MoreCharging Visitors to Access Hawaii’s State Parks and Natural Recreation Areas
By Kimberly Burnett, James Mak and Christopher Wada Senate Bill S.B. 3192 S.D.2 in the current (2022) legislative session proposes to: “establish a visitor impact fee program, to be administered bythe department of land and natural resources, as a license requiredby visitors for usage of Hawaii’s public beaches, parks, trails, coastlines,and environment. The purpose of […]
Read MoreShould Hawaii Levy a Visitor Green Fee to Protect Our Environment?
By James Mak Since the visitor to the Islands unquestionablycontributes significantly to the State’senvironmental problems, he will no doubthave to bear a substantial portion of the outlays needed for their solution. William Baumol1970 IntroductionMore than 50 years ago in 1970 when Hawaii hosted a relatively paltry 1.7 million visitors, Princeton University economist, William Baumol, authored […]
Read MoreThe Rising Cost of Climate Change on Home Values
By Justin Tyndall Climate change poses a clear threat to coastal real estate assets. As sea level rises and coastal weather events become more severe, exposed properties will experience recurring damage and some will become uninhabitable. Homebuyers may fail to fully appreciate the threat of sea level rise, causing homes in coastal areas to be […]
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