Environment

We recognize that the health of culture, community and individuals is inseparable from the health of our natural resources. We want to know how local communities are mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss, building resilience ahead of natural disasters, perpetuating traditional Hawaiian stewardship practices, and increasing local food production and access. Our goal is to help deepen understanding of the many people and communities working to create a more restorative, sustainable Hawai‘i and build more reciprocal relationships with our environment.

EnvironmentExtreme Weather Is Here: Climate Leaders Highlight Working Together

Extreme Weather Is Here: Climate Leaders Highlight Working Together

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Perspectives from climate leaders as they find hope, optimism and solutions despite climate realities.

EnvironmentEast Maui Water Back on the Agenda With Controversial Solution

East Maui Water Back on the Agenda With Controversial Solution

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The state land board will consider water licenses for private groups and Maui County, which has sparked protests and sign-waving on Maui.

EnvironmentWhen Flood Models Meet Local Knowledge

When Flood Models Meet Local Knowledge

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Column: From Maui to Kauaʻi, researchers are rebuilding flood science around the people who live with the flooding — work that’s now behind community-owned data and a real-time flood app.

EnvironmentScientists Are Tracking ‘Ghost Gear’ and Recycling The Plastic

Scientists Are Tracking ‘Ghost Gear’ and Recycling The Plastic

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Tons of plastic trash wash up on Hawaiʻi beaches every day. Forensic scientists say 80% is abandoned fishing gear from global fleets in the Pacific. Tracing it to its source is only one part of the response.

EnvironmentState May Consider Contested Case Hearing to Assess East Maui Water Authority

State May Consider Contested Case Hearing to Assess East Maui Water Authority

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The state land board will hold an informational briefing on the County of Maui’s East Maui Water Authority’s operational capacity and planning for the East Maui Irrigation System, Koʻolau Forest Reserve.

EnvironmentLiving at the Summit of Hawaiʻi

Living at the Summit of Hawaiʻi

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Column: Listening to the community is how we decide whether the next generation inherits healing or are left to carry the cost of our silence.

EnvironmentWest Maui Seeks to Make Water a Public Resource

West Maui Seeks to Make Water a Public Resource

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As West Maui recovers, residents call for public control of water systems—aiming to restore stream flow, protect the island’s future, and honor ancestral stewardship.

EnvironmentEast Maui Prepares for Historic Takeover of Local Water Systems

East Maui Prepares for Historic Takeover of Local Water Systems

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Residents and local leaders prepare for the takeover of local water systems and push back against outside interests.

EnvironmentHawai‘i’s Water Crisis: How Graywater Could Buy the Islands Time

Hawai‘i’s Water Crisis: How Graywater Could Buy the Islands Time

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Hawaii Business Magazine and Hawaiʻi Community Journal are launching a year-long series exploring the state’s water challenges. This first story examines how water scarcity is rattling the islands’ economy, environment and communities, and why graywater reuse could be a crucial part of the solution.

More articles on Environment are being added regularly. Check back soon to explore our growing collection of in-depth reporting.

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Behind the Story

It's all connected.

The issues shaping our islands — from housing and water to education, environment, and health — are not separate stories. They are connected through people, place, history, and the systems that influence our daily lives.

HCJ traces those connections. We look beyond single events or headlines to understand how decisions ripple across communities and generations, and how solutions emerge from interwoven relationships across Hawaiʻi.

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We are a member of the Solutions Journalism Network directory and are committed to creating and sharing rigorous reporting on responses to social and environmental problems.

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