Getting healthy through exercise, public policy

What makes Hawaii such a healthy place to live? A lot of effort.

America’s Health Rankings 2012 attributed the state’s expansive health coverage and good personal choices to making Hawaii’s the second-healthiest state in the country, behind Vermont. We spend more on health care and offer it to more people than most states. We exercise. Obesity, sedentary lifestyles and smoking are lower than the U.S. average.

Another healthy indicator: An all-time low in illegal tobacco sales to minors this year, based on annual surveys by the state Department of Health. Trends like these could help Hawaii get to No. 1.

Deep-sea exploration needs deep pockets

Cool science often comes at a high cost. So it’s not surprising — though still lamentable — that the University of Hawaii’s submersible program, already hit by federal budget cuts, is struggling to stay afloat after 32 years.

The UH’s Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory is working to line up research and commercial dives next year for its Pisces IV deep-diving submersible, and the Pisces V, coming its way from NOAA. But so far, no luck.

The lab and its subs have helped discover deep-sea corals up to 10,000 years old, among the planet’s oldest-living organisms, and have been studying Loihi, the undersea volcano southeast of Hawaii island.

Where’s the National Geographic Society or director/explorer James Cameron when you need them?