Hawaii is often stereotyped as the “Tropical Paradise,” islands filled with aloha, surfing, and good vibes (or at least that’s what most foreigners think of it as). Over time, Hawaii’s issues have worsened due to foreigners and its native people. This introduces the problem of the Hawaiian dream, defined as”malama i ka aina – taking care of the land for the next generation. Sadly, this isn’t happening due to the overuse of natural resources by Hawaii’s Natives and government.
Firstly, I will start with Local land ownership, the Hawaiian Homelands Act, summarized as an enactment which gave Native Hawaiians 200,000 acres of land for agriculture, pastoral, and homesteads (DHHL). Additionally, the article “Land Use Division” states Hawaii’s “Land Use Division.” “4,112,388 acres of land where forty eight percent is conservation, forty seven percent is agricultural and five percent is urban” (Office of Planning and Sustainable Development). This in turn backs my claim that improvements can be made to the “Hawaiian homelands act”
Another devastating issue is the exploitation of resources – in this case, the overfishing of marine life. A article citing how nine men were caught illegally diving in a conservation zone on Oahu shows how fish are often exploited for selfish gains (DOCARE, 2023). It was stated that all nine men had Hawaii addresses, which backs my argument that Hawaiians are a big part of the issue. Over 150 fish were taken, including species that are regulated in size or bag limit.
In this article, the main idea is groundwater recharge, which is the amount of water in the ground from rainwater. What does this mean? This is a problem because “Groundwater provides 99 percent of Hawai‘i’s drinking water and about 50 percent of all freshwater used in the State.” In turn, the water we use is being overused and disrupted due to the rerouting of rivers and the overuse of water. This happens especially in places like hotels due to the number of people and water needs.
Yes, there are many great counterarguments for these reasons, like the need for things for our economy and basic needs, but these can both be changed to another way or in a more environmentally protective way. If we all do our part in respecting regulations on resources by learning what causes and how to help fix these problems, our state will become beautiful for many more years and generations to come.
