Hawaii's paradise falls victim to progress

by Jan Corey Arnett
December 31, 2006
Battle Creek Enquirer

Early Hawaiian culture taught that the earth is a living, conscious being. It is not to be dominated but is to be cared for with pono (balance and rightness). In the land of true aloha (love, compassion, divine blessings) the land provides for its people. This sacred Hawaiian value is similarly expressed in the cultures of many ethnic groups.

As 2006 concludes, I struggle to find the words to express the angst and powerlessness I feel about what is happening to our planet and to the values that should be guiding our relationship with it.

My husband and I recently returned to the island of Maui after having visited there a few years ago. The changes were disheartening, even as we were very much aware that by taking our vacation dollars there, we were part of the problem, rather than the solution. Tourism increasingly drives the Hawaiian economy as ironically, the very things which bring many people there - scenic beauty, nature's allure, a slower pace, authentic culture, island agriculture and a search for connectedness - are compromised in the name of profit.

Maui is just 48 miles by 26 miles in size. Yet, thousands of high-rise condo units and hotels, sprawling subdivisions and end-to-end golf courses compete for ocean-side and ocean-view locations. Traffic creeps along, rental car bumper to bumper.

What is happening to Maui is a microcosm of what is happening to many beautiful places and cultures. Lush pineapple and sugar cane fields, orchards and ranches are becoming four-lane highways to move more tourists faster between resorts and shopping malls. Mountainsides are being blasted to create wider roads, exposing fragile, spirit-filling rain forest and secluded valleys to the onslaught of "progress." Picturesque upcountry towns are reeling from the influx of construction as natural vistas, majestic trees, exquisite foliage, quaint cottages (and yes, heritage barns) are stripped away. Waste and litter flows and blows into oceans and fields, or is trucked to a gaping landfill in the center of a sugar cane field.

David Malo, a Hawaiian scholar in the early 1800s, was an adviser to chiefs as well as a teacher, government official, lawmaker and minister. After being "converted" to Christianity, he is reported to have turned against his own cultural values. Still, he wisely predicted that when "the white man's ships have arrived with clever men from the big countries, they will devour us."

Malo's predictions are unfolding. Kahuna (harmony), and ka la¯ hiki ola (hope and promise) are threatened for those who have called the island home. Families who go back generations can no longer afford to live on the islands as taxes are skyrocketing, utility bills can exceed $300 a month and the median price for a modest home is $695,000 (the average is $1 million).

Pono is being forgotten as privately-operated super ferries begin operating in 2007 among the four islands. The 340-foot catamarans will haul 866 people and 282 vehicles on each trip through the Humpback Whale Sanctuary, the once sacred breeding and birthing home to thousands of whales. Even if the Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) succeeds in reducing the speed of the catamarans from 45 to 20 knots, the vessels will still kill whales and calves. Cruise ships and other large vessels, already responsible for the deaths of thousands of marine animals around the world, have been seen with whales impaled on their bows. Owners of the super ferry say they "cannot guarantee they will not interact with whales." The PWF is also petitioning the state to install facilities at Hawaii's harbors to capture sewage and other waste from ships for treatment rather than allow it to continue to be dumped directly into the oceans.

I am no scholar, no scientist, no theologian. I am just an ordinary person who believes that the more we depart from the cultural values that taught us how to care for the land and for one another, the more unhappy and disconnected we will all become. If you listen and observe with a humble heart, you will feel the earth's fatigue and will better understand your own.

The sanctity of all life depends on balance, rightness, hope, promise, harmony and love. Please listen to the elders of the ages. Resolve in the new year to practice pono and to live with true aloha.

Jan Corey Arnett is an author, speaker and operates Coralan Communications. She may be reached at www.jancoreyarnett.com.

Source:
www.battlecreekenquirer.com