May 5, 2011 | Environment
Gunars Valkirs, a renowned biophysicist, volunteers his time and considerable expertise to the Whale Trust, a Maui-based nonprofit organization that conducts permitted research on the complex behavior, communication, and social groupings of humpback whales. Currently, one strand of the Trust’s research focuses on the relationship between whale behavior and steroid hormone levels tested in blubber samples. Among his other contributions, Valkirs is mentoring and supervising students analyzing the hormone samples at Lahainaluna High School in teacher Steven Cornell’s biotechnology lab.
Valkirs has spent his distinguished professional career in medical diagnostics after graduating with a doctorate from UC San Diego. He invented and developed the first rapid, visual pregnancy test before founding his own diagnostic research company, Biosite Inc. After selling the company in 2007, Valkirs and his wife, JoRene, retired to Maui and established the Makana Aloha Foundation, a private family foundation committed to supporting and improving the Maui community. “We share the community values expressed through Focus Maui Nui. Before we moved here, we had not fully appreciated the strong sense of community and ‘ohana,” notes Valkirs.
Commenting on public education in Maui Nui, Valkirs says, “I am a product of public education and I am committed to supporting excellence.” Valkirs explains that his foundation supports public education through the agriculture program and science lab at Lahainaluna High School; environmental conservation, especially the work of the Whale Trust; human needs through healthcare projects; and the arts. Valkirs’ vision for future work includes a marine biology facility within the public school system, and establishing active collaboration in whale research between students from Maui and Alaska.
Meanwhile, the work of the Whale Trust continues by promoting scientific research on whales and the marine environment, and by developing public education programs based directly on research results. For more on the Whale Trust, go to: http://whaletrust.org/.
Apr 21, 2011 | Environment
Continuing our series on newly appointed County Department Directors, reflecting the role of government in responding to community values and needs.
The priorities for Kyle Ginoza, Director of the County Department of Environmental Management, are directly aligned with two of the community values identified through the Focus Maui Nui process: Protecting the environment, through solid waste management and wastewater reclamation, and addressing related infrastructure challenges to improve capacity and ensure reliability of service. At the same time, Ginoza is responsible for ensuring the County is in compliance with EPA and other Federal and State regulatory mandates. His immediate challenges are launching a pilot curbside recycling program in South Maui, and expanding the recycled water capacity of the Lahaina wastewater treatment plant.
Ginoza was born and raised on Maui and graduated from Maui High School. He earned degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA)from UCLA before beginning his career as a Project Manager for Honeywell in the field of commercial jet air conditioning. He returned with his wife, Kim, who is also from Maui, to raise their young family. He was Director of Transportation during Mayor Arakawa’s first term (2003-06), overseeing the early days of the Maui Bus system. More recently, he worked as a project manager for Munekiyo and Hiraga Inc., and for the County as a project engineer in their wastewater division.
“My family is my priority outside of my work for the County,” says Ginoza. “I’m proud to be my daughters’ soccer “Team Dad” and go to their swimming practices. I’m also involved in education as a volunteer Board Member for the Wailuku Hongwanji Mission Japanese School.” Ginoza’s family-oriented values are enhanced by an unexpected talent – as a recreational magician. “I’m the free entertainment at birthday parties for my daughters and their friends. I have a bevy of tricks. I really enjoy that,” Ginoza adds with a warm smile.
Mar 24, 2011 | Environment
Ten things you can do to protect the Environment:
- Buy local
- Car pool to work
- Grow native plants in your yard
- Use biodegradable products whenever possible
- Install rooftop photovoltaic panels for hot water
- Maintain your car, especially if it’s an older model
- Support your local watershed partnership
- Adopt your favorite park and help keep it tidy
- Teach your children to protect the environment
- Turn off lights in unoccupied rooms
What else can we do to protect the environment? Leave us a comment and share your ideas!
Mar 17, 2011 | Environment
PDC World Disaster Alerts app on iPad
Disaster Alert, the free app developed by the Kihei-based Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) and Google’s Android platform, was featured in an article published today in the online version of USA Today.
A shorter version is expected to appear in the weekend print edition of USA Today. PDC has been advised that the article may be featured on CNN this Sunday, March 10th, at 2.30 p.m. EST.
The article describes the spike in disaster app downloads following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11th. Downloads of PDC’s Disaster Alert tripled from the average of 3,500 downloads per week, and has now reached close to 100,000 downloads, ranked #30 and #41 top free (News) for iPad and iPhone, respectively.
Disaster Alert provides instant access to global “active hazards”, including weather-related disasters, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. The USA Today article quotes PDC Executive Director Ray Shirkhodai: “We harvest and present a lot of data from more than 65 trusted sources and mark those that are potentially dangerous.” The app monitors multiple agencies in real time, and information can be disseminated well ahead of mainstream media broadcasts.
The Disaster Alert app launch was featured in a Focus Maui Nui article published by the Maui News on August 16, 2010.
Mar 16, 2011 | Community, Environment
All volunteers who make a difference in the community by improving the environment deserve recognition, but volunteering every day for ten years and transforming an unkempt coastline into a thriving native ecosystem represents an extraordinary achievement.
Mike Perry, retired Lahaina Postmaster, has been instrumental in transforming 20 acres of Kanaha Beach Park, makai of the airport in Kahului, into a well-cared for habitat that supports diverse native plants and wildlife. Over the years, and with occasional help, Perry has cleared trash, pruned the understory of trees, trimmed back the kiawe, tended the Park’s wetlands, removed invasive weeds – an ongoing, endless chore – and nurtured heritage species that are now protecting the natural dunes.
“The County takes care of the campground in the park and mows the grassy areas, and Maui Community Work Day removes the green waste, but there’s a lot to do. I always welcome help, and there’s a lot that volunteers can learn about a unique environment of native plants growing naturally in a beachfront setting,” says Perry. (Volunteers can reach Perry through Maui Community Work Day). “Because this work does not depend on outside funding or grants, it’s sustainable all the while the voluntary effort continues,” he adds. Many locations around the State benefit from one-time improvement grants and volunteer labor, but Kanaha is special because of Perry’s ever-presence.
Before transforming Kanaha one section at a time, Perry taught himself about native plants. He apprenticed as a volunteer with Maui Community Work Day, the Nature Conservancy, and the Sierra Club, and on environmental projects on Molokai and the Big Island. “Over the years, Kanaha became a pleasant, family-friendly beach park,” observes Sharon Balidoy, coach of Lae`ula O Kai canoe club, which has been based at the park for 20 years. “Mike Perry is a treasure. He is a one-man force who tirelessly works hard and has made a significant difference in our community.”
Jul 8, 2010 | Environment
Pu‘u ‘Ula‘ula is the highest point on Haleakala’s summit, with an elevation of 10,023 feet. But the mountain was once much higher than this.
In its prime, Haleakala may have reached a height of 15,000 feet.
At one time Maui consisted of 2 separate islands. The sea between them was filled with erosion from the two Volcanoes, and the fertile Central Maui valley was formed connecting the West and South. Factors that have contributed to Haleakala’s shrinking include thousands of years of wind and water erosion that began to carve two large river valleys out of the rim, rapid caldera collapse, and slow sinking into the ocean bed. The volcanoes of the Hawaiian chain do not erupt violently like Mt St. Helens, but rather have a long, sustained and relatively gentle eruptive cycle. They form “shield” volcanoes, so-called because they resemble the silhouette of an ancient Greek shield. As with icebergs, these volcanoes show only a small part of their total mass above water, leaving 95% below on an ocean seamount. Haleakala is the 3rd highest point in the Hawaiian islands. It is also the third highest mountain in the world from seamount to top.
As the Pacific plate moves northwestward at 10 cm per year, it carries the shield-stage volcano away from its heat source. As a result, the volcano erupts less frequently, and the lava erupted will differ chemically from that produced during the shield stage because of the diminished heat supply. These changes define the character of the third stage, called postshield volcanism. Nearly 200 km from the hot spot, Haleakala volcano is still in its postshield stage of volcanic evolution, and has been active for two million years. It remains active, having erupted several times in the past 1,000 years.
Haleakala’s last eruption was near the southernmost foot of the mountain at La Perouse Bay in the mid-1700s. Postshield lava supply is diminished, but not curtailed completely.
Haleakala will erupt again, given the frequency of its past eruptions and long eruptive history. Modern under- standing is that the recent, and coming eruptions are the waning efforts of a postshield-stage volcano.
Question of the Week:
Have you visited Haleakala National Park?
Leave a comment here or post it on the Focus Maui Nui Facebook Page. Mahalo!
Jun 10, 2010 | Environment, Sustainability
In 1790, Capt. John Kendrick of Boston set out to trade Pacific Northwest seal and otter fur in China. He stopped in Hawai’i to replenish his ship with wood, water and salt. Sailing offshore he smelled a familiar odor emanating from a cooking fire. It was sandalwood, so revered and precious in Asia, and a commodity that was escalating in world prices.
Hawaiians called it ‘iliahi. It was sandalwood that introduced Hawaiians to the concept of credit. Foreign merchants used items such as military uniforms, liquor, guns, silks, leather, silver mirrors, and brass cannon, to barter for sandalwood.
In 1805, after unifying the Hawaiian Islands, King Kamehameha I began to trade with foreign countries. To participate in the lucrative sandalwood trade he purchased a brig, the Ka’ahumanu, and in 1817, with Capt. Alexander Adams, sailed to China. Because of China’s brokerage charges and port fees, he failed to make a profit. But having learned from that experience, he imposed an anchorage fee of 80 Spanish dollars for every ship sailing into Hawai’i harbors. When he died in 1819, the monopoly on ‘iliahi took a downward plunge.
By 1821 credit debt extended on promised sandalwood reached a stunning $300,000. The common people were displaced from their agricultural and fishing duties, and all labor was diverted to harvesting sandalwood. In 1826, to reduce the staggering promissory note debt, the Kingdom of Hawai’i enacted a sandalwood tax.
Every man was ordered to deliver to the government a half picul of ‘iliahi, (a “picul” was 133.3 pounds of ‘iliahi heartwood, at $8 to $10 dollars per picul) or pay four Spanish dollars. Every woman older than 13 was obligated to make a 12-by-6-foot kapa cloth for trade. The Kingdom of Hawaii continued selling sandalwood until the mid 1840s. This period saw two major famines and ‘iliahi was harvested to the point of commercial extinction in Hawai’i forests.
Organizations involved in education, conservation, protection and restoration of native Hawaiian endemic and indigenous plants and eco-systems can be found by visiting the Directory of Resources at http://www.iliahi.org/
Question Of The Week:
What else has been harvested into extinction?
Leave a comment here or post it on the Focus Maui Nui Facebook Page. Mahalo!
Oct 22, 2009 | Environment, Sustainability
Aia i ka`ōpua ke ola (There is life in the clouds.)
Water conservation is something we all can practice. Except for the air we breath, water is the single most important element in our lives. It is too precious to waste.
Here are some simple suggestions to help you save hundreds, even thousands, of gallons per month. Do one thing each day to save water. Don’t worry if the savings seem minimal, every drop counts, and every person will make a difference.
Run your clothes and dish washer only when they are full. You can save up to 1,000 gallons a month.
Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 150 gallons per month.
Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, shaving or washing your hair and save 25-300 gallons a month.
Use a hose nozzle or turn off the water while you wash your car and save up to 100 gallons every time.
Sweep instead of hose your lanai and sidewalks and save 25 gallons of water for every 5 minutes of hosing.
You are in control. START TODAY!
To find out how much water you use at home visit http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/sq3.html.
Question of the Week: How do you conserve water?
