Island Issues

Island Issues stories published in Maui Nō Ka ʻOi Magazine.

Hawaii superferry

Harboring Doubts and Dreams

No vacancy: Maui’s commercial harbor hits max occupancy.
pineapple

Eat Here Now

On an island where 90 percent of our food is imported, sustainability starts with eating locally.

Empty Isles

No one knows for sure, but urban lore says that if the ships and planes stopped coming, our food supplies might last a few weeks.
turtles

A Growing Concern

Monitoring the Mysterious Disease that Threatens Hawai‘i's Green Sea Turtles.
clark foam

How to Duckdive a Tsunami

Half a year after an industry wipeout, Maui’s surfboard shapers come up for air.
power plants

Power Plants?

Maui's beleaguered agriculture may provide a green answer to the island's future energy needs.
maui small boat harbors

Harboring Doubts and Dreams Part II

Raising Wake at Maui’s Small-Boat Harbors
Hawaiian grammy winners

Discordant Notes

Hawaiian musicians face long odds at the Grammys since all are lumped in one musical category: folk music.
ocean nets

Tangled Net

Learn the rules behind the proposed ban.
whale rescue response team

Breaking the Ties That Bind: Whale Rescue

Learn how you can help entangled whales.
Maui sugarcane plow

The End of Maui Sugarcane

Goodbye Sugar. Hello… What? The Pu‘unēnē Mill has ceased production, along with 36,000 acres of sugarcane farming in Maui’s central valley and along the island’s north shore, ending about two centuries of commercial sugar in Hawai‘i.

Plant Warriors

Maui Cultural Lands (MCL), a nonprofit dedicated to the reforestation of native flora, leads a weekly expedition up to Hana‘ula on the slopes of Mauna Kahalawai (the West Maui Mountains); planting, watering, weeding and clearing invasive foliage.

Short-term Aloha

Transient vacation rentals, long a quiet part of the Maui tourism industry, are a noisy new controversy.
maui beach business

Drawing Lines in the Sand

Maui’s population is growing. The number of beach parks is not. As pressure mounts, activity companies say the County has left them stranded.
climate change issues

Living with Climate Change

A warming planet is raising sea levels around the globe. How can we adapt to keep living near the coast?

Na Wai ‘Eha

Farmers, environmentalists, and the pressures of development vie for Wailuku's contested streams.
Haleakala telescope debate

Eyes on the House of the Sun

Plans to build the world’s largest solar telescope on the summit of Haleakala have set two very different ways of seeing at odds.

Save the Shaka

Beyond the “shaka,” that friendly thumb-and-pinkie hand waggle that says “hello” in a uniquely local fashio, is an intangible spirit defines these islands.

In Case of Emergency

From dousing flames, to diving underwater, to scaling mountains, rescuers must be prepared for anything—so they train for everything.
maui axis deer

Fair Game

Axis deer destroy crops and endanger native species. Beleaguered farmers, ranchers and conservationists are taking aim at the problem.
superferry

Will It Float?

Is the Hawai‘i Superferry a boon for interisland travelers, or a boondoggle threatening Maui’s way of life?
Haleakala silverword

Managing the Mountain

Haleakala National Park’s newest superintendent tackles traffic on the summit.
reef safe sunscreen info graphic

Save Your Skin — and Maui’s Sea Life

Beware of false claims: The terms “reef-safe” and “reef-friendly” are not regulated.