Striving for Sustainability in HawaiiOur farm is on the Hamakua Coast of the Big Island, near the town of Honoka`a.Although my family and I live in Hilo, we make the trek northward to our property everySaturday to keep the fruit trees watered, the chickens fed, and any fallow fields mowed. It’s asmall establishment, but one day, we hope to make it into a business by selling fresh fruit, eggs,tropical flowers, and other fresh produce at a farmer’s market or through local grocers. Whilewe relish the concept of becoming a fully functional farm and even marketing our produce as“Grown in Hawaii,” this vision does not come without its share of challenges. Many of the most basic supplies needed to operate a farm, including fertilizer, pesticides, animal feed and farmingmachinery, have to be imported from the continental United States due to a lack of production of such items within the state. What’s more, any fuel we use to power our tractor or drive to andfrom the farm must be imported as well. With all the materials that must be brought in fromother parts of the world, it seems somewhat dishonest to call our produce a true product of Hawaii.Although the task of making Hawaii sustainable, in terms of basic food and energyresources, may seem daunting, it is not one that we can afford to shy away from. In the lastcentury, reliance on imported goods for an overwhelming majority of our food and fuel hascreated a weak link in Hawaii’s economy. Attempts to grow or manufacture these necessitieslocally ironically require substantial input from imports, as is the case at my family’s farm. Evenour premier industry, tourism, is centered around “importing” visitors from other parts of theworld. As a result of these factors, the Hawaiian economy has become completely focused onimports, for the purpose of both making money and spending it. If Hawaii’s economic future isto be stable and sustainable, this current state of affairs needs to be changed. Instead of relying
Alexander BitterWaiakea High School, 12
th
grade (Hawai Island)
on just one industry that rises and falls with the ebb and flow of global economic conditions, our state must develop multiple financially viable industries, especially in areas that involve producing the food and energy that we currently import. Such activity should include theincreased production on local farms, as well as the generation of electricity by solar andgeothermal plants.Pursuing a diversified economic future for Hawaii would have several benefits. Havinglocal jobs spread across multiple industries that each require a specific set of skills would giveworkers more of a chance to make use of their own talents without having to leave the state. Themanufacturing of more food and energy in Hawaii would reduce our dependence on importedquantities of these items. Lastly, a diversified economy, coupled with the wise use of Hawaii’snatural resources to produce more food and energy locally, would increase the actual economic production of Hawaii; that is, not only could more products be considered “Made in Hawaii”,most of these would also be “Consumed in Hawaii.”All too often, though, increased industrial production comes with environmentaldegradation. In making Hawaii more self-sufficient, it is imperative not to destroy what makes itunique. The key to sustainability is not simply increasing local production; rather, it is usingavailable resources and environment to meet society’s needs without abusing them. Strikingsuch a balance between humans and our environment will be what keeps the standard of livinghigh as Hawaii forges its future.Although expanding farm production on the Big Island or building a solar electricity plant on Oahu may seem only beneficial to Hawaii, such steps toward sustainability can benefitother APEC regions. As one of the wealthiest and most politically stable areas in the Pacificregion, Hawaii holds great promise in becoming the world’s experiment in sustainability; if it
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