By Nina Wu The Earth Day Network has launched a project called "The Face of Climate Change." The nonprofit group, founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, is inviting people throughout the world to contribute their own images of "climate change."
By Nina Wu Rain gardens are flat-bottomed depressions in the ground that capture excess water and pollutants from rooftops, driveways, sidewalks, parking lots and streets, keeping them from reaching streams and the ocean.
By Nina Wu The juvenile monk seal was having difficulty breathing when he was discovered at Kapaa Beach on Hawaii island's northwestern shore. Once it was reported Feb. 1, staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration mobilized into action.
By Nina Wu When news spread of a baby humpback whale stranded in the waters off Oahu this month, Hono­lulu residents shuddered. A growing crowd watched from shore as scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tried to save it.
By Nina Wu It was the moment we had been waiting for — the arrival of the electric bill. That is, the first bill after the solar photovoltaic system went up on the roof. We had 15 panels installed on our four-bedroom house in the summer.
By Nina Wu Sometimes making a difference is as simple as a sign. A sign that informs, educates and illustrates how visitors and locals alike can respect the coral reef.
By Nina Wu Daniel Bogert, 33, bikes everywhere. He bikes from home to the grocery store, to work, to classes, to run errands, to meet up with friends and on the weekends, he bikes for fun.
By Nina Wu On a Friday morning earlier this month, more than 100 seventh-graders from Kamehameha Schools donned tabi and gloves and waded into Mau­na­lua Bay to pull leather mudweed from the reef.
By Nina Wu So how is KP2 — the orphaned Hawaiian monk seal — doing at his new home at the Waikiki Aquarium?
By Nina Wu Contrary to what many people might think, conservation work is not always about adventure. It may mean traveling to remote islands, but it also requires dedication, patience, research, data crunching and writing up proposals for grants so you can continue to carry out your work.
By Nina Wu We've all heard about the "eat five fruits and veggies" daily recommendation but how about our intake of pesticides? The Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, released its 2012 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce last week.
By Nina Wu It all started with a group of 12 close friends who loved to surf and go to the beach. They came from very different backgrounds and professions — marine biologist, real estate developer and assistant hotel manager — but all had a passion for the ocean.
By Nina Wu Earth Day was Sunday, and sure enough, we had islandwide beach cleanups while businesses pitched their earth-friendly products and stores held “Earth Day sales.”
By Nina Wu It's interesting driving around Oahu neighborhoods these days. Two years ago you would see plenty of rooftops dotted with solar water-heating panels, but solar photovoltaic systems? It was a rare sight — close to only 1 percent of local homes.
By Nina Wu Whoa! Before you pour that pan of tempura grease or french fry oil down the drain, think of what it will do to the sewer lines. Usually, it's "out of sight, out of mind." But oil will clog up the sewer.
By Nina Wu If there's one thing Capt. Charles Moore wants you to know, it's that the plastic floating in the ocean has an impact on you. Moore, credited by most as the discoverer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, says that aside from harming marine animals, the petroleum-based plastics in the ocean ecosystem could have an as-yet-unknown impact on human health.
By Nina Wu The year is coming to a close -- time to clean out the house. As you clear away the holiday clutter, remember that a lot of it can be recycled instead of going to Oahu's overburdened landfills.
By Nina Wu What’s a nurdle?
It’s not a cross between a Nerf and a turtle. Nor are we talking about a wave-shaped glob of toothpaste, in this case.
By Nina Wu Since writing "Surfing Tsunamis of Change: A Handbook for Change Agents" (Island Moonlight, $19.95), author Shanah Trevenna has seen the impact of her writing ripple out like waves.
By Nina Wu September signals the start of many things: autumn, harvest time and shorter days. September is also mass slaughter season for dolphins in Taiji, a coastal town in Wakayama prefecture in Japan.
By Nina Wu But what to do with the bottle caps? Most of us probably toss them into the trash can, not realizing they can be recycled. It's not just drink bottle caps that can be recycled, but plastic shampoo caps, peanut butter jar caps, toothpaste caps and the caps on gummy-bear vitamins.
By Nina Wu Dozens of youths have been working long and hard hours this month at Alii Fishpond on South Molokai. Teenagers from the island and Hana High and Elementary School's building program on Maui, Ma Ka Hana Ka ‘Ike, are busy building an office, restrooms, a traditional hale and a performance platform.
By Nina Wu It's any foodie's dream: to be surrounded by so many of the isle's best lunch wagons that you don't know which line to stand in first.
By Nina Wu Where does your coffee cup go? That is a question that Hawaii Pacific University students Krystle Golly, Brittney Walbaum and Jessica Weh­ling are asking consumers as part of a hands-on proj­ect for their "Building Sustainable Communities" class this semester.