In an effort to preserve the natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, Hawaii has been extremely progressive in terms of researching and applying technologies that will allow locals to use alternate sources of energy, allowing Hawaii to become a more environmentally friendly state with a reduced carbon footprint. Its also extremely important that Hawaii becomes more dependent on alternative sources of energy because since Hawaii is isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, millions of dollars are spent to have the oil shipped to the islands, making it even more expensive than elsewhere in the nations. Because of the Hawaii’s geographical location, Hawaii would have the ability to access numerous alternate sources of energy, a convenience many other places in the world don’t have. Researchers in Hawaii are working on creating technologies that will allow Hawaii to rely less on oil and more on other sources of energy including wind, sun, waves, and geothermal activity.

Because Hawaii enjoys sunny weather more than most other places in the world, solar technologies are one of the most hopeful alternate sources of energy. In fact, there are already numerous businesses in Hawaii that offer solar products in some way or form so people can take advantage of Hawaii’s sunny weather. Many people in Hawaii have installed solar powered fans, solar water heaters, and photovoltaic solar panels to supply all of the home’s electricity needs. By using solar energy, many homeowners can save a barrel of oil a day.

Another alternate source of energy that applies to Hawaii more than anywhere else is wave energy. Researchers are finding ways to harness the power of the waves in order to create electricity. ]]> http://www.theviewpoint.org/environment/environmental-technology-in-hawaii/feed/ 0 http://www.theviewpoint.org/hawaii-state/about-hawaii/ http://www.theviewpoint.org/hawaii-state/about-hawaii/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:48:26 +0000 admin http://www.theviewpoint.org/?p=137

The state of Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states and is the only state made up entirely of islands, an archipelago known as the Hawaiian Islands, which is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States.

Hawaii is made up of eight major islands: Ni’ihau, Kaua’i, O’ahu, Moloka’i, Lana’i, Kaho’olawe, Maui, and the island of Hawai’i, all of which were formed entirely by volcanic activity. The island of Hawaii, which is also referred to as the Big Island to avoid confusion, is the youngest and largest of the eight major Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii has a population of about 1.3 million residents, but over 90% of the population is situated on the island of Oahu, which could be considered the center of commerce for the state.

Oahu is home to Honolulu, the state capital and largest city, as well as Waikiki, the main tourist center throughout the islands.

With its beautiful beaches, lush greenery, and pleasant, year-round warm climate, Hawaii is one of the most popular destinations in the world for vacationing.

Some of the most popular towns and cities to explore in Hawaii include Hilo and Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, Kihei and Lahaina on Maui, Lihue and Kapa’a on Kauai, and Honolulu, and Waikiki on Oahu. Although great experiences can be found on any of the Hawaiian Islands, there are really only four islands suitable for vacations: Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and the Big Island. Although Oahu suffers from overcrowding, overdevelopment, and traffic, Oahu has the most to offer in terms of dining, shopping, and entertainment opportunities.

Although Hawaii doesn’t have many high-tech or engineering industries, Hawaii still holds an important role in the world of science in terms of the marine biology research done in the islands. It is obvious why marine biology would be one of the most prominent sciences practiced in the islands due to convenient access to the sea and the wealth of marine life in the Pacific Ocean, and one of the premier marine biology facilities in the islands is theHawaii Institute of Marine Biology, which is located on Coconut Island in Kaneohe Bay, just 15 miles from the main campus of the University of Hawaii and downtown Honolulu.

The 29 acres of land on Coconut Island is entirely a research facility surrounded by 64 acres of coral reef designated as the Hawaii Marine Laboratory Refuge.

The island is also composed of 6 acres of enclosed lagoons that are used for keeping organisms in captivity for study. Only researchers and members of the research facility can access Coconut Island and conduct any experiments on or around the island.

Although scientist from around the world come to conduct experiments at the facility, the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology is established primarily for use by University of Hawaii students and faculty.

Although it may seem that Hawaii would be somewhat less technologically advanced than most other parts of the world because it is isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which also happens to be the largest ocean in the world, Hawaii, especially the island of Oahu is just as developed as many large cities. In Hawaii there are many important issues that are talked about, and many of these give rise to the numerous blogs on the internet about Hawaii affairs. Although there are thousands of blogs on Hawaii on the internet, many of which are only related to tourism, here are a few of the most popular Hawaii blogs.

One of the most heated issues in Hawaii are related to Native Hawaiian rights, which makes the Hawaiian Independence Blog, which is made especially to discuss Native Hawaiian Issues, one of the most popular Hawaii Blogs. Some topics talked about on this blog are related to Hawaii regaining its sovereignty and the disputes over the Akaka Bill, which is proposing to give Native Hawaiians more rights. Another popular Hawaii blog is Hawaiirama, which is a blog dedicated to Hawaii travel. This blog will give you all the local’s best picks for shopping, dining, and entertainment so that visitors can have the best experience possible in paradise. With all of the talk about being eco-friendly and going green, environmental issues are the primary topic on the Hawaii blog, Raising Islands. This blog offers news about the environment of the Hawaiian Islands and educates readers all about environmental sciences so that people are more aware of the environment around them. ]]> http://www.theviewpoint.org/hawaii-blogs/some-of-the-top-hawaii-blogs/feed/ 0