Hawaii should learn from its past to create a more sustainable future, several speakers said yesterday at the "Language of the Land" conference for writers, environmentalists and cultural practitioners. Writers look to the past
for ideas on the future
By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comAs many as 800,000 people may have lived in the Hawaiian Islands before Western contact, a number that approaches the current population, Nature Conservancy scientist Sam Gon told about 80 people at the Bishop Museum.
Even with that population density, everything people needed was available, he said.
"Now the West Coast dock strikes (management lockout) are making us all sweat and rush to the store to gather toilet paper and other essentials," he said.
The cooperation among Hawaiians to take care of natural resources in the past "can tell us a lot about true sustainability" for the future, he said in a panel discussion on "Sustainable Islands: Mainstreaming Conservation."
Gon suggested that Hawaii needs to increase its "primary" economy, producing products, including food, that can be used here.
State Rep. Mina Morita (D, East Maui-North Kauai) said Hawaii can have a brighter future if it embraces a hydrogen-based economy, one in which the plentiful element is used as a clean energy source.
Unfortunately, however, human history shows we have a tendency to exploit our environment, then move on, said Jim Dator, University of Hawaii futurist. Whether we can reverse that trend remains to be seen, he said.
Rex Johnson, the new director of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, said he is optimistic that Hawaii can find a workable balance between tourism and agriculture and other elements of the economy.
"At the end of the day, the economy, the culture and the environment are so linked that you really can't separate them at all," he said.
The six-day "Language of the Land" conference, sponsored by the Pacific Writers Connection, Hawaii Island Writers Association and the mainland-based Orion Society, continues on the Big Island through Sunday.
