In Hawaiian, the word ‘kōkua’ is translated to mean help without personal gain — this spirit of sacrifice for the betterment of the community is a Hawaiian value you can apply throughout your trip to lessen your environmental impact.
tl;dr
- Pick up trash – especially plastic
- Use less energy
- Only use REEF SAFE Sunscreen
Pick up trash
Hawaiian beaches are actually quite pristine, however, if you look closely, like much of the world’s beaches, you’ll start to notice small pieces of plastic trash.
On my latest trip to Maui, I filled up two small garbage bags with plastic trash I found in front of my hotel. Hotels are great at keeping their beaches clean, but in this instance, a big reason for the trash is that my hotel is by a small river that is damned by a sand bar. At that sand bar, trash that’s been washed down stream had accumulated, so in just 15 minutes or so, I was able to gather most of it up (with the help of two little boys who were playing on the sand bar).
Walking up the beach in front of the hotel I found the following:
- Lots of pieces of small styrofoam
- Plastic bottles
- Chip bags
- Fishing line
- Cigarette butts
- Bottle caps and plastic bottle lids
- One plastic bag
- Many small pieces of plastic
Though you likely won’t find a ton of trash in front of your hotel, consider picking up small pieces of trash throughout your trip, or spend 15 minutes picking up trash at an area more likely to accumulate trash like a beach close to a river, or a roadside (only if you can do so safely).
Remember, since Hawaii is islands, almost all trash is a short trip away from the the ocean, so pick up what you can!
Use less power!
Did you know Hawaii generates much of its power from burning oil? These plants emit CO2 and other pollutants. Most are situated in a way that their emissions are blown off shore, and the islands are making major strides to become energy independent through solar, wind, and energy storage.
By using less power, you can reduce reduce the need for those oil plants and help Hawaii get to a renewable future faster. Here’s some simple things you can do to save power in Hawaii:
- Turn off your room lights and AC every time you leave your room, even short trips. Or don’t use your AC at all! 😉
- Re-use your towels and sheets – most hotels have this as an option — by not getting fresh sheets and towels everyday, you reduce the water and energy consumption from these services.
- Buy local – buy produce, coffee, and other supplies that are made locally on the islands – in many cases you can buy these things that are made right on the island you’re on.
On their own, these things don’t save a ton of energy on a one off basis — however, Hawaii receives millions of visitors each year. If most of us take these simple steps, we can give back a little the Islands and the greater environment we love so much.
USE REEF SAFE SUNSCREEN
This one is huge and many people don’t know about it. The chemicals in traditional sunscreens are killing reefs!!!!! If your sunscreen has “Oxybenzone” it will hurt coral. Other ingredients like petrolatum (mineral oil), and titanium dioxide are harmful to sea life as well.
“Oxybenzone, or BP-3, is found in more than 3,500 skin care products worldwide for protection against the sun’s harmful effects. The compound has been found entering the environment both through wastewater effluent and directly from swimmers wearing sunscreens.”
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/sunscreen-corals.html
What this quote from NOAA means is that even if you don’t enter the ocean, the active ingredients that kills coral will still make it to the ocean from your evening or morning shower in Hawaii. 🙁
Here’s the deal though, reef / coral safe sunscreens are readily available. Several brands are locally made in Hawaii, and can be bought at most convenience and grocery stores. Here’s a list of reef safe sunscreen on Hawaii.com.
With a little extra intention on your next trip to Hawaii you can reduce your environmental impact — maybe even make it better by taking some time to kōkua.
Mahalo!
Read more about my travels in Hawaii.