Tourism is difficult when you love to experience the world but also recognize how damaging travel can be. Maui represents a particularly stressed part of the world from a climate standpoint, and the deadly wildfires there in the summer of 2023 impacted local communities but also the island’s biggest revenue driver: tourism. We did our best to visit responsibly, whatever that means to Maui.
I only had one day to explore Oahu after my climate lab session, meaning I needed to make it count, but since one of my favorite TV shows, “Lost,” was filmed almost entirely on that island, the choice was pretty easy. I was thrilled to see familiar scenes at Kualoa Ranch, but I was surprised to learn more about what else goes on there: sustainable agriculture.
With one third of my year-long program completed, our cohort has been doing a lot of reflecting on what we’ve seen, learned, and applied. At the end of a week together in Hawai’i, we focused on some very real leadership challenges we’ve faced in a fragmented, polarized world, as well as how to encourage and empower others to keep moving forward toward a common goal.
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” as they say, but venturing into the unknown is a daunting experience for anyone. The theme of exploration was strong during our Climate Lab week in Hawai’i, especially given Polynesian cultural ties to long sea voyages. Although solving the climate crisis can feel like sailing into the unknown without a map, we’re building navigational tools that will help us find a destination.
Any good management class will tell you that stakeholder engagement is necessary for project success, but it can be easy to forget that guidance once you’re in project implementation mode. Seeing examples of good stakeholder engagement in person during my Climate Lab week on Oahu helped illustrate just how effective an inclusive process can be, or – even better – how community-led efforts can truly shine.
I was impressed when I learned about Hawaii’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2045, but I was shocked to learn about some unintended impacts of wind energy development on Oahu’s north shore. Hearing from impacted residents was a great reminder that wind energy, like any tool, is not inherently good or bad – it comes down to how it is developed and used.
As part of my year-long climate adaptation leadership program, our cohort is participating in three intensive, in-person sessions at different locations throughout the Pacific. The first week was in Hawai’i, exploring impacts from climate change and adaptation strategies in place across the state. Before we did anything else, we spent some time in the classroom examining priority issues and best practices for engaging local communities.
I was skeptical of the term “beneficial electrification” when I first heard it, mostly because I knew that more than half of our electricity in Pennsylvania was generated using fossil fuels. But when electric appliances are used in concert with energy efficiency measures, cleaner energy sources, and smart grid technology, beneficial electrification represents a meaningful step in addressing the climate crisis.
Many people associate monosodium glutamate (MSG) with Chinese food, but it’s actually in a lot of what we eat, whether it is added to processed foods or naturally occurring in more umami foods, like cheese, fish, and mushrooms. While it gets a bad rap, recent studies indicate that it’s probably not the villain it has been painted to be over the years.
As my climate change leadership program continues, we’re exploring important topics about who gets to make decisions, what approaches might be effective, and why people might be resistant to change. During our first four months of virtual sessions, I’ve been thrilled to see themes from my own work come up in discussions that are relevant across our cohort, whether we’re talking about theory or practice.