Big Island Hawaii
Island Visitors Bureaus
The purpose of the Island Visitors Bureaus is to promote the interests of the individual counties (Oahu, Big Island, Maui and Kauai). The Island Visitors Bureaus will work with the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau, in addition to the HTA’s other international marketing partners to market and promote leisure and business travel, including meetings and conventions, on their islands. Should you have any questions regarding island-specific marketing programs, please contact the Island Visitors Bureaus. ... [Read More]
Wind Energy in Hawaii
On the island of Hawaii (also known as "the Big Island"), a 10 Megawatt (MW) wind farm at Upolu Point in North Kohala is under development by Hawi Renewable Development. Additional information is provided on the electric utility website: www.heco.com . From an article in West Hawaii Today : According to David Absher, Hawi Renewable Development's vice president, "Upolu Point is one of the best places in the U.S. to build a wind farm. The wind blows there 70 percent of the time." Also from the article: HELCO's contract with Hawi Renewable Development "will pay them what we would have paid to produce the same amount of power," according to Warren Lee, HELCO president. "That is, during peak hours (7 a.m. - 9 p.m.) they'll be paid 9.2 cents per kilowatt hour. During off - peak hours, they'll be paid 7.47 cents a kilowatt hour." The amount paid will fluctuate with the price of oil. ... [Read More]
Volcano Watch
Volcano Watch is a weekly newsletter written by the scientists at the US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. It is published in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald's Sunday newspaper and the West Hawai'i Today's Monday newspaper, and posted here the following Monday or Tuesday. While primarily addressed to the residents of the Big Island of Hawai`i, some articles may have a broader scope. Article topics may range from volcanic features on the Big Island, volcanic hazards, informational topics of Long Valley, Montserrat, or Alaska, to topics about the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. ... [Read More]
Hawai`i Department of Land and Natural Resources: Division of State Parks
Island of Moloka'i Park Information ... Island of O'ahu Park Information ... Island of Kaua'i Park Information ... [Read More]
Hawaii Renewable Energy Data Report, 1995 - Chapter 4 - Savings by Island
Figure 2 shows that the peak year for renewable energy savings on the Big Island was in 1983. By 1992, the savings had reduced almost 40 percent as the energy output of the Big Island's sugar mills declined. The power production from the Puna Geothermal Plant and the Wailuku River Hydropower Project acted to increase the savings on the Big Island in 1994. However, the closure of sugar facilities on this island has resulted in a significant decline in biomass usage, both for industrial steam raising and electricity generation. The Big Island has also had the greatest mix of renewable technologies contributing to its energy production. During the later half of the 1980s, bagasse, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and geothermal energy conversion technologies were simultaneously making significant contributions to the Big Island's oil savings. ... [Read More]
USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center home page
The geographical isolation of the Hawaiian Islands has resulted in the evolution of a highly endemic biota: approximately 80% of Hawaii's plants, 100% of its forest birds, and 67% of its arthropods are found nowhere else in the world. But human colonization of the Islands has severely impacted native plant and animal populations--more than 75% of the historically known endemic bird species are now either extinct (23) or endangered (30). Of the nearly 1,300 endemic plant species described from Hawaii, 104 are considered extinct, and 267 of the remaining taxa either are listed or are proposed as endangered or threatened species. ... [Read More]
Geothermal Energy in Hawaii
Geothermal energy can be used instead of fossil fuels to produce electricity. Replacing fossil fuels will reduce the amount of air pollutants which can cause acid rain and contribute to global warming. Reducing the amount of oil shipped to the Big Island (officially called the Island of Hawaii) for electrical generation lessens the possibility of oil spills. Geothermal energy is believed to exist in large amounts on the Big Island and possibly the Island of Maui. It does not have to be imported from foreign countries or parts of the United States which require shipping over several thousand miles of ocean water. Besides biomass, geothermal energy is the only large-scale, commercially mature natural alternative to fossil fuels on the Big Island which can provide a steady (i.e., baseload) amount of power 24 hours a day -- every day, rain or shine. Use of geothermal energy as a source of electricity will help reduce the Big Island's dependence on fossil fuels for electrical power gener ... [Read More]
Visible Earth: MISR Views the Big Island of Hawaii
The color images show the greater prevalence of vegetation on the eastern side of the island due to moisture brought in by the prevailing Pacific trade winds. The western (lee) side of the island is drier. In the center of the island, and poking through the clouds in the stereo image are the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, each peaking at about 4.2 km above sea level. The southern face of a line of cumulus clouds off the north coast of Hawaii is also visible in the stereo image. ... [Read More]
National Weather Service Forecast Office - Honolulu, Hawai`i
Station KBA99 Serving Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lanai and part of the Big Island on 162.550 & 162.400 MHz Station WWG27 Serving parts of the Big Island on 162.550 MHz ... [Read More]
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO)
The Big Island of Hawaii is made up of five volcanoes, Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualalai, Mauna Loa, and Kilauea. From the top of Hualalai Volcano, you get a spectacular view of the other volcanoes on the Big Island, (and Haleakala on Maui). ... Hualalai is the third youngest and third-most historically active volcano on the Island of Hawai`i. Six different vents erupted lava between the late 1700s and 1801, two of which generated lava flows that poured into the sea on the west coast of the island. The Keahole Airport, located 11 km north of Kailua-Kona, is built on the most recent flow. For information on Hualalai, click here . ... [Read More]
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