This book may be one of the most important books ever published in the State of Hawaii. I say this as one who appreciates good books, who values the ways in which books can help preserve Hawaii's unique cultural and biological heritage, and who sees books as, among other things, essential tools for communication.
It is in this last use of books that A Green Hawaii stands out as unique. Very few books present a vision of Hawaii's future. About the only "books" that address the future are the "planning" documents published either by our governmental "planning" bodies or by "planning" firms hired by those bodies or by some real estate developer. All those documents are based on some very questionable assumptions, and most of them are written to plan for unsustainable "growth" and progress .
A Green Hawaii critically questions those assumptions, shows how those assumptions do not work in the best interests of our citizens, and presents a vision of our future that is economically sustainable, socially equitable, politically democratic and environmentally sound. This book includes over 60 pages of footnotes, so that readers who want more information about the ideas presented can pursue it with little difficulty.
The ideas are presented as an historical review of the previous half century as it might be written in the year 2010. In this way, not only is the sustainable vision of the future presented, but so is the path we might follow if we want to arrive there in the next 20 years. It effectively tells us how to get from here to there.
Where there is very little mention of permaculture or its design methodology, it is as if our whole society has been transformed into a thriving, positive culture based on permaculture principles.
This book may be one of the most important
books ever published in the State of Hawaii.
We see in Hawaii's future an economy based on renewable energy and on diversified enterprises which are locally-owned and which serve local needs first. Just as a permaculture farm will integrate the production of many products, a green Hawaii will integrate work with leisure; social with political; rural with urban; aquaculture, agriculture and forestry with processing and marketing tourism with education about and appreciation of our unique heritage.
Agriculture will be building soil, not eroding and poisoning it forestry will plant forests for the future, not clear-cut them; the fishing and aquaculture industries will increase their stocks, not deplete them; education will tap people's creativity, not stifle it; transportation will work for the people, not against them. In permaculture terms, we will invest in our procreative assets, those that increase in value, and in our generative assets, our essential tools. And we will stop investing in enterprises which decrease our long-term wealth.
Rohter, the author, is also a co-founder of the Hawaii Green Party and a professor of political science at UH-Manoa. So it's not surprising to find a clear vision of how our society can be made more democratic and how communities can gain more control over their own future.
As a whole, the book has few mistakes, and those 1 found seem minor (e.g., methane is not a suitable fuel for transportation end-uses; methane has too few BTUs.) The one thing I would like to have seen would be a clearer legislative program for the state legislature and the counties to adopt that would facilitate the establishment of a green Hawaii.
The range of options which this book offers is staggering. And yet it is only a beginning, not really comprehensive at all. Again, it's like permaculture: no design is ever complete. There's always a way to make a site more productive. The only thing that limits the available options is the quality and creativity of the thought applied to it. This book is excellent in this regard. What we must do is take this fine beginning, expand it with our own creativity, and implement it into our own lives. If we all do so, our quality of life will improve and the future, for ourselves and for coming generations, will become more healthy and prosperous.