Reflections

REFLECTIONS

By: Randi Kika Brennon


Well, I heard from my PA'A friend George last night. He's visiting Big Island from Houston, and he and his wife want to get together with the Big Island PA'A crew. Three of us, Linda, Al and myself, are dropping out of our day-to-day realities for a minute and having lunch tomorrow. We're bringing our families so that they can meet everyone, too. I'm excited and so looking forward to it.

It feels like we're finally moving into another phase, another shade of what it means to be a PA'A participant. As a group, we've been through so many phases already. The hopeful task of applying to the program set standards and expectations high. Hearing that we were actually given the opportunity to join this new but mana-ful tradition put in place a bubbling excitement, an eager, disbelieving anticipation. Actually getting on the plane to go to Honolulu brought all the emotions together, making the short jaunt between islands almost surreal. The three days on O'ahu pushed us together, rolled us around and put in place an instant, deep feeling of family, comraderie, us-ness.

Being on Kuaihelani took our group and plunged us to a whole new level of life experience. Our relationships with each other and with the 'aina deepened and strengthened. We pushed ourselves individually and supported each other universally. The group sucked unsuspecting Fish and Wildlife agents (yeah, you Tracey) and Midway workers into our vortex, binding them to us as well. I think we all quickly knew that finding words to do justice to our experience was always going to be a challenge.

Leaving Pihemanu was almost heart-breaking and makes my eyes start and sting even now as I remember that night. My heart was so full with the island, understanding that I was truly bound to the place for life. My mind was numb, not comprehending how we could keep going towards the plane and away from the birds, the ocean, the land. The dark, cold, uncomfortable plane ride back to Honolulu was almost poetic in its contrast to the previous ten days.

We were dropped back into our "regular" lives, some of us taking a few days to readjust, some of us diving immediately into new adventures. For me, the transition took longer than I expected...almost two weeks to feel really back in my skin and functioning. Our group stayed connected through Facebook and email. We shared pictures and thoughts and updates. We began to network and follow up on our ideas to work together as ambassadors for the NWHI. We made plans to see each other when we could.

I think that's the phase we are at now. Our PA'A group is ready to use our experiences over the summer to weave a long future of caring for the NWHI. Out of the blue (of course out of the blue...we're talking Norbert here), I got to see Norbert when he came to Hawai'i Island for a workshop. Seeing him was magical and surreal. How could he be just like he was on Midway Island? As we chatted and caught up, we realized that we have a whole group of mutual friends from years back; now we are bound together in past, present and future. As for the future, Norbert and I will be working together with Jen on a project this year with our students. Jen has graciously agreed to be on the board of the non-profit my husband and I are starting. I see Tanya when we participate in Eyes of the Reef activities. Marion and Tracy have agreed to try to come to Big I to help with a week-long campout with my students. Maya and Sarah are constant sources of good cheer and exciting adventures. Linda and I have a future date to get together for dinner with our families. All of us meet in cyber-space and bounce ideas off each other, introduce each other to new friends, and develop our projects. The enrichment and life-changing experience of participating in PA'A is laying the groundwork for a lifetime of stewardship of our kupuna, the NWHI.

And that brings me back to the phone call from George. We'll get together tomorrow and catch up. We'll share our families with each other, tell stories, take pictures. We'll meet again as the family we are, and we'll move steadily towards our common future. Our whole experience is like the hau that we worked on together on Midway. We have been chosen, just as hau bark is sifted through and chosen. We have been soaked in experience, just as hau is soaked in kai. We were stripped and massaged and molded, laid out in the Kuaihelani sun to mature. Finally we were twisted and bound into the cordage we are now, subtle, strong, beautiful. Tomorrow will be another hau strand, lovingly twisted and woven into the larger cordage that binds us together as Papahanaumokuakea 'Ahahui Alaka'i.

Our Ocean, Our Choice

Post for Saturday June 19, 2010

Our Ocean, Our Choice
By: Sarah Wilson

Every day on Midway we open our day with a special oli (Hawaiian chant) to prepare our group for learning and openness. One morning this week Nai'a mentioned how amazing it is we are here together by choice. We chose to apply for PA'A last winter, they chose to accept us out of their copious stacks of impressive people, and we all chose to fly to this remote island archipelago in the middle (and I mean MIDDLE) of the Pacific Ocean. So here we are on our last day together on Midway and we continue to reflect on our choices....our choice in how to carry this unique experience with us in our daily life and how we will educate others. Our sessions help provide us with the content knowledge we need, while our "free" time is our personal exploration and adventures around the island that definitely fosters knowledge and inspiration. One of our sessions was exploring change in our oceans health. Robin Kundis Craig is a fellow PA'A member, environmental lawyer and professor at Florida State University College of Law in Tallahassee. She spoke to us about climate change, Marine Protected Areas (MPA's), and how the law and governance is involved in the conservation of species and ecosystems. The ocean is facing a variety of stressors from overfishing to marine debris and these combined impacts can take their toll. Add to the mix a steady change over time in climate and the combined resource use stressors and this can cause serious damage to ocean ecosystems.

Environmental law does not regulate the environment, it regulates humans. The law has to be tied to direct and indirect effects of what humans do to the environment. It is easier to prohibit a particular behavior in advance, such as oil extraction in a certain area, than it is to mandate later on in the form of habitat restoration after an oil spill. When measuring ocean use, money value is placed on ecosystem services, or the resources that ecosystems provide. Across the globe $33 trillion is provided from ecosystems and 2/3 of that value is from ocean ecosystems. With this numerical value now placed on the value of a healthy ocean….it would make sense that we want and need a healthy and productive ocean. What are the management steps Robin recommends to have this?

1.Pollution prevention….all types of pollution such as large plastics, derelict fishing gear and large scale chemical discharge and every day runoff from land.

2.Fishing regulations that are more conservative than those found now.

3.Create global Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) which are similar to underwater national parks.

4.She advises most important is to admit that the old ideas of what is sustainability don’t work anymore and it is time for new ideas and new choices.

These regulations can contribute to a productive ocean…..but what about climate change? One major threat is the increase of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, and the ocean absorbs this CO2. This increase in CO2 in the ocean rises carbonic acid, making the oceans more acidic. Just like too much acid in the human body can cause issues it does in the ocean as well. From ocean animals forming week shells to coral skeletons growing at an extremely low rate ocean acidification has far reaching impacts.

So what are the top 2 things to practice to help reduce the combined harmful impacts the ocean is facing?

1.Use less…less plastic, less power, less driving.
2.Recycle plastics and papers and reuse items whenever possible.

Every day is a series of choices. What will yours be to help protect and restore the ocean?

Mahalo for joining us,
Sarah

Links to learn more:
Avoiding Jellyfish Seas, or, What Do We Mean by ‘Sustainable Oceans,’ Anyway? Article by PA’A member Robin Kundis Craig Professor with the Florida State University College of Law. Visit the Social Science Research Network to read abstract and download complete article.

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1658109


The Ocean Takes Care of Us, Let’s Return the Favor …The ocean is a vital resource that provides food, water, commerce, recreation, medicine and even the air we breathe. Today, our ocean faces unprecedented threats from pollution, trash, declining fisheries and multiple impacts from climate change.
http://www.thankyouocean.org/


National Geographic Ocean Portal
Visit our new ocean site to dive into all things blue! Explore the sea through our rich media collection, learn about ocean issues, news and how you can get involved in conservation efforts.

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/