Major Crisis Happening in Hawaii Is a Threat to Locals and Tourists Alike
Due to factors such as climate change and rapid overdevelopment, Hawai'i is entering an era of environmental crisis. Hawai'ians have spoken out about the growing threats to the ecology of the islands for years, and the crisis came brutally into the forefront last summer after the devastating Lahaina wildfire disaster.
Unfortunately, things have not improved on the islands since the Lahaina wildfires. Hawai'i is currently "on the verge of catastrophe"; a major crisis which threatens to impact everyone in the islands. CBS News covered the troubling threat on April 13.
The Hawai'ian Islands are facing a devastating water crisis, and according to @cbsnews, Oahu in particular is in dire straits. Though climate change and overtourism in Hawai'i have contributed to droughts in the region, Oahu is particularly vulnerable because it only has one source of freshwater, its aquafer. Reduced rains over recent years have lowered water levels, but things developed into a full-blown crisis after a devastating leak at a US military fuel storage facility on Oahu.
The Red Hill Fuel Crisis
According to the EPA, in late November 2021, a petroleum leak from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility leaked into the local water well. Over 19,000 gallons of jet fuel, which had been forced into a drain pipeline after a prior, accidental fuel release in May, escaped through the ruptured pipeline. Locals soon noticed petroleum smells coming from their tap water, and many reported health effects soon after. The crisis directly affected approximately 93,000 users of the US Navy's water system, and even after cleanup, CBS News notes that many victims still suffer from health impacts to this day.
Between the jet fuel spill and another spill of PFAs, or "forever chemicals," the military defueled the site and plans to completely shut it down by 2028. But the damage is already done, and the already-dwindling freshwater in Oahu is even further threatened by contamination.
Tourism in Hawai'i, already controversial for its negative environmental and cultural impacts, is further exacerbating the problem. With attractions like the Wai Kai Lagoon, aka the world's largest surf wave pool, opening up in Hawai'i, more water is being routed away from Hawaii'an locals towards nonessential tourist attractions. With no end to the overconsumption of freshwater in sight, and converting salt water to freshwater not being a viable option at this time, the Hawai'ian Islands are balanced on the edge of an ecological knife.
What You Can Do To Help Hawai'i
Unfortunately, unless you live in Hawai'i (or are incredibly rich and altruistic), there isn't much you can do to help directly. However, you can support organizations like the Hawai'i Community Foundation, which created the Hawai'i Fresh Water Initiative to better manage and protect freshwater systems in Hawai'i.
We also need to keep having difficult conversations about tourism in Hawaii. Locals, particularly native Hawai'ians, have spoken out against the negative impacts of overtourism for years, and after the Lahaina wildfires, these cries became impossible to ignore. As Hawai'i's tourism boom bursts (as Beat of Hawaii covered this February), more and more Hawai'ians are begging tourists not to visit the islands at all.
I'd argue that the safest ethical choice would be to respect those wishes and simply not travel to Hawai'i, period. If you must travel there, though, make a concerted effort to make sustainable choices and patron businesses that are locally-owned, eco-friendly, and tangibly support their local communities. GoHawaii.com has an extensive directory of activities and accommodations that are sustainable and responsible options for eco-tourists. If enough people are willing to make a change for the better, maybe we'll start to see some positive impact.
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