COURTESY PHOTO
Lake Wilson and adjacent farmland in central Oahu demonstrate the need for balancing human activities with nature.
Mayor Jeremy Harris, Gov. Linda Lingle and University of Hawaii President Evan Dobelle will be keynote speakers Saturday at a workshop that hopes to map out ways to improve Oahu. Top isle officials join
resource conference rosterSaturday's workshop will explore
avenues to sustainable livingBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com
"Anyone interested in whether their children are going to have a better world than they have now" should attend, said John Bullard, former director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's sustainability office and a workshop speaker.
Five topics will be covered in the free public "Sustainability Workshop" at the Dole Cannery Ballroom: the economy, land use, transportation, energy and natural resources.
Over the next five months, there will be five additional workshops focusing on each of the five topics, culminating in a sustainability master plan for the island, said Harris.
Bruce Miller, director of the UH Office of Sustainability, calls sustainability "managing our resources today so they're available in the future."
Miller, whose job was created last fall, said the city and UH are "looking at developing a partnership that's going to move the city and the university along on a parallel path."
The workshop is not just for policy wonks; it is for ordinary people who care about their environment, Bullard said.
Technology is evolving on many fronts that can make it possible to continue our standard of living while doing things to decrease our impact on Earth's resources, Bullard said.
The former three-time mayor of New Bedford, Mass., said he has attended hundreds of sustainability conferences, and "it helps me realize there are other people thinking about this than me."
Harris said attendees will have opportunities to ask questions of speakers and panelists and to become part of future workshops on the topic areas.
"Is the economy of the state going to be sustainable? Is the tourism industry going to burn out because we don't handle it well? Where are we going to put trash? These decisions have to be participated in by an informed and involved public," Harris said.
The free event will be held 8 a.m.-noon Saturday in the ballroom, 650 Iwilei Road, with parking available for $2.
For more information, call 523-CITY or e-mail sustain@hawaii.edu.
University of Hawaii
