Words Photographer: Taking the Big Picture of the Big Island, Hawaii
By Laurel Lemontt
Independent Freelance Writer
As a scholar in Geography with a Local/Global emphasis, I study relationships between people and places and the presumption that the global community is profoundly interconnected. I am not solely referring to buying strawberries from Mexico. Studying Political Science theories of multilateral world governance and Geography theories of economic dependency, I reckon that we are ignoring an uncomfortable fact: our actions affect others and ourselves. In the midst of the Green Movement and growing global social movements, I would like to highlight key areas of the Big Island’s economy, social values, and natural environment as a case study for innovative, creative, and problem solving purposes.
I see the economic recession as an opportunity to regain domestic strength by adjusting understandings. I agree with Daniel Pink that innovation and creative right-brainers are going to be the success of the future. These “talents of vision” as I call them are prevalent in Big Island society regardless of the small population size and struggling economic factors. As Americans usually concerned with short term profits, I suggest taking some time to create, implement, and maintain long term forms of prosperity. What kind of a future do we want? I concur with Joseph Stigletz in the fact that reigns on the free market will steer it in the desired direction.
Overall, there are certain premises that we Americans assume precedent and take for granted while the economic, social, and environmental reality is really quite different. I give an analysis and ideas not to criticize but to reveal the complexities involved and the outlets for improvement.
ECONOMIC LIMITING FACTORS
Although in the center of the Pacific Ocean, the Big Island of Hawaii is in fact interconnected to and at times at the mercy of the rest of the world in complex ways. Not only is the Big Island’s economy based heavily on tourism and government funding, it involves imported materials. There is a growing movement to develop self-sufficiency as much as possible in order to spark and grow the domestic economy to its full potential. However, the foundations in place limit this growth in capital, unemployment, and outside competition.
First of all, I notice the general lack of capital. Big Islanders use bartering and I-Owe-Yous to supplement this lack of capital. Also, capital is not recycled thoroughly in the domestic economy because it gets funneled through channels of tourism or international corporations into pockets off island. The only way to replace that money it to buy locally made products – which only buys time. Last, most wealthy are only visitors to Hawaii once a year for a week and have not played a part in sponsoring art, innovation, economic programs, and domestic growth on a regular basis. This lack in capital results in low wages, with domestic companies unable to cultivate the profits needed to support costs.
Unemployment is high, which also drives wages down. Unemployment is high simply because there are not enough projects, programs, and development on the Big Island that creates conditions for employment. There is availability of short term employment that sustains tourism and other unstable industries.
Outside competition has lessened over the years due to many government statues and policies put in place by island activists to promote local products. However, the Walmarts and Coscos are present and flourishing on the Big Island. Some would argue that the Walmarts and Coscos are necessary for jobs creation and thus domestic economy growth. How does the money compare lost to sales at these ventures than made from employees annually? Yet, at the same time Walmart gives out grants to specific community organizations.
So what we see is a lack of money, lack of jobs, and outside influences at times draining the island of capital. However, something is driving abundant life on the Big Island: aloha. It’s the fact that everyone goes out of there way to help someone and give back. This is the kind of model seen in Europe where capitalism thrives alongside a gentle socialism safeguard. What we need is to look at all the factors and reassess what systems can be set in place to sustain a current and future growth in island capital, employment opportunities, and consumer choices.
CONSUMER CHOICES
This leads me to my idea: social consumer choices of youth from the Big Island. In addition to the “talents of vision” and other local/global thinkers like myself who reside on the Big Island, there is a growing influence of youth consumerism. In one sense, this is driving the c“brain drain” because youth sometimes leave the island to acquire life experiences, schooling, and capital elsewhere. Sometimes, they create lives elsewhere too, and as a result Big Island support is ignored. Another facet of consumer choice speaks to the youth on island who are concerned with capital and materialist interests. Revolving around surf gear, electronics, and cars, many youth are spending away their hard-earned capital, becoming more entangled in the interconnected consumer markets with little structure in place to support the Big Island community.
Materialism has been a prevalent issue with wastefulness since the 1950s, and recently we are seeing a rise of the spirituality to replace materialism. However, viewed the importance of conserving and preventing waste is important as seen on an island’s contained resource pool.
Also, the local shopping routine of older generations is dissipating with younger more technical generations. E waste is a big business and highly toxic form of environmental degradation, and hasn't been fully integrated into the consumer moral conscience yet.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESSES
Land is becoming less and less available for the common man to own – happening all over the world. Land that families have owned that has been passed down from generations is increasingly sold or bought by federal lands for protection. The result is more rental units and higher numbers living together to share the high cost of living. Land is central to this debate of alternative betterment. Costs of living are high and exceed htat of Bay Area.
This central land question plagues the family’s well being. There is a need for land ownership, assistance in rental price drops, and/or more Hawaiian Homes projects constructed. Many families grow food or cultivate food from the land or ocean resources today. There is also a prevalence of WWOOFing farms and cooperatives/communes that provide shelter and basic needs. More importantly, the relief at home provides the ability to recycle capital back into the domestic economy. With the oil spills and the vacationers looking to buy winter properties in the tropics, there might be a surgence of low cost housing developments.
SUMMARY
These hidden externalitiessuch as the environmental impact and human impact are indeed hidden but nevertheless still reside and continue to grow in urgency. Everything we do, see, eat,
create or destroy is inextricably linked to somewhere else. The web of relationships undetectable to the eye but intuitive to the heart is constantly around us.
Hawaii has always been ahead of its time and now there are various forms of alternative paradigm shifting business, lifestyle, and future growth. Education and outreach is important for marketing these creative and innovative ideas. Hawaii is a microcosm, let's learn from this case study.
What we need to do is:
1. Educate youth about materialism and impact of consumer choices on the environment and ourselves
2. Generate more opportunities for big island consumer choices, not outside products
3. Lessen costs of living by alternative forms of living not based on imported materials and shared costs
4. Create more avenues for walking, bicycling, buses, to get around the island rather than person cars
