Are We Doomed?! And other burning environmental questions

After Faith Tanikawa’s first grandchild was born, she started seeing signs of imminent doom in every climate change headline. 

Civil Beat follows Tanikawa as she learns about the many ways people living in Hawaii can help turn the tide against climate change, and meet other islanders who all saw the same doom-and-gloom headlines and jumped into action in their own way.

What can I do if I’m freaking out about climate change?

Emily Silva teaches swimming, snorkeling and kayaking in Maui so she’s outside all day every day. While an effective sunscreen is vital to her health, her livelihood depends on the health of reefs around Maui.

She asked Civil Beat how she can tell if a sunscreen will hurt marine life or not, and we dug into the research, analyzed our own bad purchases and met some women leading the charge to educate Hawaii — and the world — about reef preservation.

How do I know if my sunscreen is safe for reefs?

It's pretty easy to find out where you should drop off your recyclables, but it's less clear what happens to them next. Civil Beat dives into the world of reuse to find out why we don’t have a recycling plant on-island.

Where do Hawaii’s recyclables go?

Oahu's waste-to-power facility has a hidden carbon cost, but is it better than shipping all our recyclables off-island? Civil Beat runs the numbers.

Recycle or Burn: What's The Carbon Impact of Honolulu's Trash?

Hawaii is known for its iconic surf spots, but the islands' favorite past time is facing a myriad of changes in the face of climate change.

How Will Surfing Be Affected By Climate Change?

Honolulu Civil Beat is non-profit news organization dedicated to cultivating an informed body of citizens, all striving to make Hawaii a better place to live. We achieve this through investigative and watchdog journalism, in-depth enterprise reporting, analysis and commentary that gives readers a broad view on issues of importance to our community. Check us out at civilbeat.org