Hawaii
What it’s like to hike Hawaii’s most active volcano
Individuals like to throw across the phrase “I might odor it coming from a mile away,” however if you’re speaking a few volcano, it’s really true. Driving the winding roads within the city of Volcano on Hawaii’s Large Island, by way of the gateway into Hawaii Volcanoes Nationwide Park, the odor acquired stronger and stronger.
It’s laborious to explain the exact aroma. It smelled like a campfire, like a large charcoal grill, like one thing is burning that isn’t purported to be burning — like the bottom beneath my toes.
I don’t actually know what I anticipated the erupting Kilauea Volcano to be like, however I do know I undoubtedly didn’t anticipate it to odor so good.
I additionally didn’t anticipate myself to be mountain climbing 3 miles at the hours of darkness to see it, both, however regardless of my aversion to mountain climbing, that specific trek is one I’d repeat on any day of my life. Of all of the issues I didn’t know to anticipate, I particularly didn’t foresee having my coronary heart cracked open by the arresting magnificence and immense energy of nature.
I grew up going to nationwide parks, so driving as much as Volcano Home, with its rustic Thirties cabin-style structure, very a lot felt like coming dwelling. The rough-hewn log constructing might have been in any nationwide park anyplace within the nation, right down to the wood rocking chairs in entrance of the stacked stone fire within the foyer. However preserve strolling only a few extra steps towards the again of the constructing, and also you’ll rapidly understand that it couldn’t be anyplace else on the earth.
The whole again wall of the constructing is expansive, floor-to-ceiling glass, its home windows searching onto the crater of an energetic volcano. Not simply any volcano, however Kilauea, essentially the most energetic volcano on the island of Hawaii and reportedly some of the energetic on the earth.
However once I acquired there, I used to be largely taken with having dinner.
The restaurant at Volcano Home is the type of place desires are made from. The eating room overlooks the smoking caldera of the volcano and serves a menu of what I’d later uncover is sort of solely recent fish, simply caught off the Kona coast an hour’s drive away.
Volcano Home is in such excessive demand, you possibly can’t simply stroll in and get a desk. (I ought to have identified, as I attempted, unsuccessfully, to e book a lodge room a month earlier.) There have been undoubtedly echoes of the “one doesn’t merely stroll into Mordor” meme there and all through the park, particularly once I was strolling over lava fields that did, in truth, really feel like I used to be strolling into Mordor. “Attempt again in a few hours,” the kindly hostess stated to us. “Perhaps we are able to take you towards the tip of service.”
Effective with us. We had a volcano to see.
Once I say I “hiked” to see the volcano, what I actually imply is that I walked 2 paved miles, and one other largely paved mile, alongside flat pathways of the Crater Rim Path that had been clearly marked and maintained with authorities cash. If it was a problem, it was solely a problem as a result of my associates and I didn’t plan nicely for an evening stroll by way of tropical foliage. We might have thought, simply spitballing right here, to carry some bug spray, or a flashlight.
However that’s what iPhones are for, proper? Remind me to say thanks to Steve Jobs’ ghost for that flashlight function if I ever meet him.
As we walked, it acquired darker and darker, and it crossed my thoughts just a few hundred instances that we most likely ought to have ready higher if we had been going to stroll over lava fields, 1000’s of miles from any household who would ever come deal with us if we ended up in a hospital in Hawaii, in a full physique forged from tumbling down the facet of a mountain or falling into an erupting volcano.
However then I noticed the glow within the distance, purple and orange within the darkness, the blue purple sky above dotted with twinkling stars.
Some moments that change your life you don’t understand till later, after they’ve come and gone. Some, you stand there, taking in what you realize is basically altering your world view because it unfolds in entrance of you.
Watching the lava eruptions, the extraordinary warmth creating “waterfalls” of two,000 diploma molten rock, I discovered a brand new degree of marvel on the magnitude of nature’s power, and a deep sense of peace that got here from being within the presence of one thing concurrently so lovely and so highly effective.
The islands of Hawaii had been created by volcanoes, by the very factor I used to be witnessing at that second. In Native Hawaiian lore, Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and calls Kilauea dwelling. Perhaps that’s what I used to be feeling: the burden of creation, the power of the ages, the type of energy that may solely emanate from such a sacred and dynamic place. I stood there feeling extremely small, however in the absolute best manner, like there have been solemn and protecting forces throughout me, like there was historic energy flowing.
It’s the type of feeling that has me determined to e book one other journey again, despite the fact that I nonetheless have a tan from the go to I’m writing about proper now.
Even for those who can’t go to quickly, you will get part of the expertise for your self. The present eruption, which has been occurring since September of final yr within the Halemaumau crater, is seen on a sequence of stay cams from the Nationwide Park Service.
“If you go to Kilauea, bear in mind to take action respectfully,” the NPS web site says. “In Hawaiian custom, it’s customary to ask permission from Pele to journey by way of her land and this sacred panorama.”
I believe I did. I do know, for certain, that what I took away from the expertise was much more than what I left behind.
Hawaii
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii Game Reveals Combat, Adventure Gameplay Videos
Sega revealed two videos on Thursday and Friday for Ryu ga Gotoku Studio’s Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii (Ryū ga Gotoku 8 Gaiden: Pirates in Hawaii) game. The first video highlights traversal of the three different main areas of the game, and the second video highlights combat.
Sega will release the game worldwide on February 28, 2025. The game will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Steam.
The game will feature Goro Majima as the protagonist, and will take place half a year after Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The story centers on Goro after he arrives at a beach after losing his memory, and how he comes to lead a band of pirates.
The game will have three main locations: Hawaii, Rich Island, and Madlantis. Players will be able to command a ship and sail to various islands.
Those who pre-order the standard, deluxe, or collector’s edition of the game will get the Ichiban Kasuga Pirate Crew & Special Outfit, which will add Ichiban and his pet crawfish Nancy to the player’s pirate crew, as well as two of Ichiban’s outfits.
The deluxe edition includes a “Legendary Pirate Crew Pack,” a ship customization pack, an outfit pack, and an extra karaoke and CD pack. The collector’s edition includes the same extras as the Deluxe Edition but also adds an acrylic standee, an eye patch, a treasure coin pin, and a pirate flag.
The Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryū ga Gotoku 8) adventure role-playing game launched on January 26 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Windows and Steam. The game is a direct sequel to Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Sega announced the game in September 2022 as the eighth and newest mainline entry in the Yakuza/Like A Dragon franchise.
Source: Sega‘s YouTube channel
Hawaii
Creating a Sustainable Hawai‘i 2024 – Hawaii Business Magazine
As an island community, Hawai‘i’s well-being depends on sustainable systems, where people and nature exist in balance. Learn about efforts to increase food production in an ancient fishpond on O‘ahu, reuse treated wastewater on Maui and clean up the reefs of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Letter from President and CEO Alicia Moy
COMMEMORATING ITS 120TH ANNIVERSARY THIS YEAR, HAWAI‘I GAS HAS THE DISTINCTION OF BEING ONE OF THE OLDEST COMPANIES STILL OPERATING IN THE ISLANDS TODAY. We’ve always been defined by innovation: as a critical infrastructure utility in the middle of the Pacific, our predecessors pioneered the use of new technologies to deliver clean, reliable energy to homes and businesses in Hawai‘i. Decades later, climate change is upon us—the challenge of our lifetimes. At Hawai‘i Gas, our employees are ready to meet that challenge head-on, joining many others charting a course focused on sustainability and resiliency for our island communities.
Hawaii Gas has led the nation in its use of hydrogen blended into the utility fuel mix on O‘ahu since 1974—decades before it became a favored clean energy solution. In 2016, Hawai‘i Gas diversified into utility-scale solar with the launch of Waihonu Solar Farm, and in 2018, the company partnered with the City & County of Honolulu to operate the state’s first Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) facility at the Honouliuli Wastewater Treatment plant. Our journey toward increasing production of locally produced, renewable energy continues. This year, we announced two more renewable energy projects on the horizon: a renewable green hydrogen project and an RNG project using non-invasive bana grass, both of which mark significant forward movement on our path to decarbonization.
As climate change raises the stakes immeasurably for all of us, we stand with those in our community taking bold action, driving innovative solutions, and advancing the state’s climate goals. Our future depends on it.
Alicia Moy
President and CEO
To learn more about Hawaii Gas, visit hawaiigas.com.
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Removing Ghost Nets from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project has collected 786,287 pounds of derelict fishing nets and other debris from the vast Hawaiian archipelago.
Restoration of He‘eia Fishpond Nears a Major Milestone
Paepae o He‘eia has spent decades removing mangroves and rebuilding the fishpond wall. The nonprofit is now gearing up to start sustainable fish production.
From Wastewater to Green Belt: An Ingenious Idea Takes Shape on Maui
A pilot project will use treated wastewater to create a green belt, protecting fire-prone Mā‘alaea and restoring coastal waters.
Hawaii
Hawaii Deploying Drones to Kill Hated Frog
Kermit the Frog better watch out!
Drone Wars
Wildlife officials in Hawaii are using aerial drones to wage chemical warfare on coqui frogs by dumping citric acid on these invasive creatures, thereby killing them — along with any tadpoles and eggs.
The officials are using drones to eradicate the frogs because they recently found a population of the amphibians in a mountainous strip of land on the island of Oahu that’s inaccessible to pest control crews, according to a statement from the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).
It’s a wild scenario that somehow encapsulates the environmental problems many fragile ecosystems are facing — the introduction of foreign species — along with how us humans are turning to technology, like drones, to solve them.
The infestation of coqui frogs, so named because of the distinctive sound they make, was detected by a resident who heard them noisily croaking in the island’s Kuliʻouʻou Forest Reserve, according to the DLNR, a spectacular and mountainous tropical forest with scenic views.
Wildlife experts following up on that tip then discovered that about 13 acres of forest were plagued by these frogs, setting off a mad scramble to deploy the drones.
The drones are dumping a watery solution with a citric food additive on infested areas, according to the DLNR. Non-toxic to humans, the frogs are fatally susceptible to this solution because they absorb the liquid through their porous skin.
Frog Sothoth
Hawaii officials want to kill off these cute-looking frogs because they have no natural predators in the island state, hence why their population has exploded over recent decades. They also have an incredible appetite, devouring native insects and spiders that indigenous animals like birds rely on for food.
The frogs originally came to Hawaii from their native Puerto Rico in the 1980s while hitching aboard nursery plants as stowaways.
Since then, wildlife officials have been pushing a campaign to kill them off, and not just for the benefit of native fauna and flora. These frogs are piercingly loud, with males reaching 90 decibels, or about the noise level of a lawn mower. Basically, they’re noise pollution nightmares.
Since the problem was caused by humans, it seems only fitting local authorities are turning to a human-engineered solution to help them in killing off these slimy, beady-eyed pests.
Hopefully the drones will prove to be effective in controlling these plague of frogs so that places like Oahu preserve their pristine beauty.
More on frogs: Scientists Surprised to Find Mushroom Growing Out of Frog
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