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Islands of Loss and Hope The Sierra Club seeks a Hawaii where native habitats maintain their wild richness, where the coast and the sea are safeguarded from pollution, where human disruptions are minimized, and tourism is maintained at a negligible cost to the environment. On Our Agenda
The Land More than 2000 miles from the nearest continental land mass, the Hawaiian archipelago is the most geographically isolated place in the world; more than 90 percent of its native flora and fauna exist nowhere else. Fifteen percent of the island's 6425 square miles are protected by federal, state, and private entities; the federal government oversees four national parks and three national wildlife refuges. Population 1 million residents; 7 million annual visitors. Economy Tourism tops the list, bringing in some $10 billion annually--about one-third of the state's total income. Next comes the U.S. military, which contributes $2.5 billion a year. Agriculture runs a distant third, although pakalolo (marijuana) is the biggest cash crop--an estimated $5 billion worth was confiscated by state police in 1991. Well-Known Fact More than half of the 2000 remaining North Pacific humpback whales winter in Hawaii. Composers as well as acrobats, the endangered humpbacks sing complex, ever-evolving songs that last from 6 to 30 minutes. Little-Known Fact The first colonists of the volcanic islands were probably fern and moss spores that drifted in on the jet stream; new arrivals established themselves only once every 100,000 years. It is estimated that more than 10,000 unique forms of life thrived here before the first humans, Polynesians from Tonga and Samoa, arrived between A.D. 500 and 700. 216 Years Ago Captain James Cook sailed into Kauai's Waimea Bay on January 19, 1778, and named his discovery the Sandwich Islands. Greeted as a god but killed a year later by the natives, Cook opened the islands to European settlers, who brought with them domestic animals--goats, cattle, pigs, dogs, and cats--that ran rampant, decimating the delicate flora and fauna. Nearly 75 percent of the documented plant and bird extinctions in the United States are Hawaiian. Nature Meccas Molokai, the fifth-largest and least-visited island, has the state's biggest beach and highest waterfall, and the world's highest sea cliffs. On the Big Island, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park offers 140 miles of trails through lava fields, native-bird reserves, rainforests, fern groves, and craters. Superlatives Rising 13,680 feet above the sea and consisting of 10,000 cubic miles of solidified lava, Mauna Loa has a bulk larger than the entire Sierra Nevada; when measured from the sea floor it is the world's highest mountain. The air at its upper reaches is so clear that the U.S. Meteorological Service observatory on the northeast side of the mountain can record dust particles thrown up into the air from a hiker's steps several miles away. Progress In 1978 the Sierra Club, working with the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, helped win protection for the palila, an endangered bird on the island of Hawaii. More recently, Club activists helped delay a Star Wars rocket-launching project on Kauai; gain significant additions to the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai; stop construction of an enormous commercial marina on Hawaii; and obstruct--for now--a ruinous geothermal project in Hawaii's Wao Kele O Puna rainforest. Unprotected Treasures Throughout the islands, lava tubes, limestone caves, and sea caves hold the secrets to the geological, botanical, biological, and human history of Hawaii. Despite their inestimable value, caves are mined and used as refuse dumps, and alien plants and animals kill cave organisms and destroy archaeological sites. Biggest Threats The entire archipelago faces continued degradation and extinction of native species, coastal disturbances, unfettered development, and unregulated tourism. The forest industry, having harvested all the koa (a tropical hardwood) from private lands, has set its sights on state lands, a move that may precipitate an environmental boycott of koa. Tells It Like It Is Up-to-date and unique natural-resource news can be found in Environment Hawaii, a monthly newsletter written by Patricia Tummons. For back issues and subscriptions ($35/year), contact Tummons at 200 Kanoelehua Ave., Room 103-325, Hilo, HI 96720, 1-808-934-0115. For a complete discussion of Hawaii's biological systems, consult Conservation Biology, edited by Charles Stone (University of Hawaii Press, 1989). To Learn More
Contact: Photo courtesy Philip Greenspun. Up to Top |
