Ke Kai Ola

"The healing sea"

The island is growing. The volcanoes ferociously erupt, enveloping the land with liquid magma, only to be calmed by the ocean. Neither overtaking the power of the other, and together their interaction expands and grows the island for all its inhabitants.

Did you know that 90% of the plants and animals on the islands of Hawai'i are found nowhere else in the world?

Being back where I once was two years ago was nostalgic, magical, welcoming, assuring, and warm. It felt good. We stayed in Kona and the Kilauea Military Camp, which included many adventures I had already done myself when I was WWOOFing. Being in an educational program allowed me to learn things the locals could not tell me before.

Soooooo I've had some time and opportunities to think about some things. Let me ask you:

how do we put a monetary value on natural environmental assets?

Plants detoxify the air, water, and soil.

Photosynthesis and pollination requires no human effort.

Plants like mangroves provide buffer zones for land against natural disasters.

Nature is simply aesthetically pleasing.

All of this is done without human help and for free.

So when it comes to growth as a country, how do we incorporate how well our ecosystems are doing in the progress as a nation. If our land, water, and soil are truly cleaner than other countries from our biotic environment, then should we not recognize that aspect in the value of our country? What exact numerical worth does it contribute?

Or what about the costs. Because net growth must account for what is lost.

Polluting emissions from facilities

Harvesting of natural resources

Loss of plant and animal biodiversity

Deforestation

Ambiguous GMO side effects

Loss of topsoil from construction and depletion of soil nutrients from farming

Mass waste production

Decreased human health from lowered air/water/food quality

How much do we actually grow as a nation when progress incurs these kinds of costs?

This isn't meant to make you feel bad. To be this advanced in this world, accounting for the huge human population, adverse costs are inevitable. But now we must look at why these costs are occurring. Is it even necessary for such large scale and detrimental costs to take place? Can we maximize our natural environment's worth and outputs while also minimizing adverse costs?

I've thought about this a lot, and the answer always seems to point to "no." But, I've learned that it is not a question answered by our physical capabilities and actions, but rather a predecessor to our actions: our thoughts, and even something preceding that: our values. You see, we act based on what we value. It is hard being the person you want to be when your desires push you to act in opposition.

I am the first to admit I am a selfish person. It is hard for me to work towards a balanced earth and lifestyle when I gain so much pleasure indulging in things within my reach. Why not take what I want when it does no harm to those I love?

However, I must ask myself this: does what I value contribute to the world I want? Would I want those around me to act the same way I act? Humans inhabiting the earth is a collective effort, and we need to stop placing a hierarchy of obligations on people based on a certain attribute. We all live here, and that fact is enough to justify an equal spread of social responsibility, to the extent each person can manage.

Heavy....                                                                                                                 

Good people lead to good conversation, and I'm surrounded by 29 of the best people I have ever met. I find myself getting lost in conversations I've never been challenged to have and questioning ideas I cannot wait to expand in different settings. My friend Sam sat with me at the end of the pier for lunch and we talked about how happy we were for this opportunity, the world, and other issues we can endlessly discuss without solving. She lamented her disgust for the worldly dependence on money, and how so many issues would be solved if it disappeared and was no longer the sole focus and motive for the majority of our actions. She continued on about how many problems would disappear, while I added up the problems it would cause. Nonetheless, I let her go on, entertaining her vision since it made me reevaluate.

Now, I want you to as well, …

                                                            What would you be doing with your life if money did not exist?

Would it be what you are doing now?

I love you