{"id":474620,"date":"2026-02-17T22:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/474620\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T22:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:14:12","slug":"uhero-survey-sea-level-rise-worries-most-hawai%ca%bbi-residents-maui-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/474620\/","title":{"rendered":"UHERO survey: Sea level rise worries most Hawai\u02bbi residents : Maui Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DSC_2165-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-236093\"\/>King Tide at Olowalu (5.26.17) File PC: Asa Ellison<\/p>\n<p>Most\u00a0Hawai\u02bbi\u00a0residents believe sea level rise is already affecting the state, expect major impacts within their lifetimes, and support significant changes to how and where development occurs. At the same time, many remain uncertain about how large-scale adaptation should be financed.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s according to a new statewide survey released by the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/uhero.hawaii.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">University of\u00a0Hawai\u02bbi\u00a0Economic Research Organization<\/a>\u00a0(UHERO), the first representative study to measure public beliefs, risk perceptions and policy preferences related to sea level rise across all four counties. The report,\u00a0Public Views on Sea Level Rise in\u00a0Hawai\u02bbi: Results from a Statewide Survey, draws on responses from 1,314 adults surveyed in summer 2025 and provides the most comprehensive snapshot to date of how residents view sea level rise and the policy choices it raises.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur findings show that\u00a0Hawai\u02bbi\u00a0residents overwhelmingly accept that sea level rise is happening,\u201d said Colin Moore, political scientist and associate professor at\u00a0UHERO. \u201cThere is broad agreement that action is needed. The harder question is not whether to act, but how to structure adaptation in a way that is credible, fair and sustainable over time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n<p>Among the study\u2019s key findings:<\/p>\n<p>89% of residents believe sea level rise is happening, including large majorities of Democrats (97%), Independents (90%) and Republicans (80%).<\/p>\n<p>Nearly half say sea level rise is already affecting people in\u00a0Hawai\u02bbi, and more than 80% expect impacts within the next 25 years.<\/p>\n<p>83% believe sea level rise will have catastrophic consequences for the state within 50 years.<\/p>\n<p>About 90% support restricting development in flood-prone areas, and more than 80% favor prioritizing inland development over continued coastal expansion.<\/p>\n<p>81% would be willing to relocate from high-risk areas if offered fair compensation.<\/p>\n<p>Only 45% say they would be willing to pay higher taxes or fees to fund neighborhood-level protection projects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople clearly recognize the risks and support major shifts in coastal policy, including limits on development and public assistance for relocation,\u201d said Ketty Loeb, a co-author and assistant prof essor at the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/manoa.hawaii.edu\/isr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">UH\u00a0M\u0101noa\u00a0Institute for Sustainability and Resilience<\/a>. \u201cAt the same time, many residents report feeling poorly informed about sea level rise and doubt that government agencies are fully prepared. That combination creates both an opportunity and a responsibility for policymakers to engage the public more directly about what adaptation will involve.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Support for government assistance<\/p>\n<p>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n<p>The survey also found strong support for government assistance to property owners in vulnerable areas, including expanded access to flood insurance, incentives to elevate or flood-proof buildings, and public funding to support voluntary relocation. Residents were more divided on shoreline armoring, with narrow majority support for private seawalls but much stronger backing for seawalls protecting public infrastructure such as roads and utilities.<\/p>\n<p>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ADARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHawai\u02bbi\u00a0residents are keenly aware of sea level rise, and they are pragmatic about what lies ahead,\u201d said Zena Grecni, researcher with Pacific\u00a0RISA\u00a0and co-author of the report. \u201cThey support protecting or adapting communities where possible and relocating when necessary. What remains uncertain is how the costs of those choices should be shared across households, communities, and levels of government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The research team also included Victoria Keener of Pacific\u00a0RISA\u00a0and Arizona State University. Funding for the project was provided by the Global Futures Laboratory at Arizona State University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"King Tide at Olowalu (5.26.17) File PC: Asa Ellison Most\u00a0Hawai\u02bbi\u00a0residents believe sea level rise is already affecting the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[4253,192,219910,219911,219912,219913,79,32359,108314,219914,219915],"class_list":{"0":"post-474620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-climate-change","9":"tag-environment","10":"tag-global-futures-laboratory","11":"tag-institute-for-sustainability-and-resilience","12":"tag-pacific-risa","13":"tag-public-views-on-sea-level-rise-in-hawaii","14":"tag-science","15":"tag-sea-level-rise","16":"tag-uhero","17":"tag-university-of-hawaii-economic-research-organization","18":"tag-victoria-keener"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}