Great post.
An eye opener for many I'm sure. When I first started visiting the Hawaiian Islands in the early eighties I saw cane fields everywhere. Little did I know that was around the time when the sugar companies began to fall victim to their competitors cheaper produced products.
However, at that time tourism seemed to be doing very well. United Airlines was even flying to Hilo around that time if I recall correctly. I guess times have changed. Boom has been replaced by Bust and who knows how long it will last. Some stats I've read on the USDA website show more people farming and diversifying into different crops but one has to wonder if that will be Hawaii's savior or not. Shipping costs are going up and local markets shrink when tourism shrinks as well.
I've also read about lots of introduced agriculture pests and invasive species making their way to the islands which can only have a negative impact on farming and the environment. The USDA also has a proposal to allow tropical fruit imports from Thailand into the U.S., including Hawaii. That's still being reviewed and would be a shame if that were to occur.
Perhaps it would be a somewhat good thing. Too much unfettered growth is often accompanied by many problems which could pose many problems for the islands. As for my dream of one day moving to and farming in Hawaii, I don't know if that will ever happen.
Everything seems so fragile when the economy is so dependent on tourism. One of my biggest hopes for Hawaii is to become less dependent on oil for energy. Hawaii has a great resource in it's natural beauty. And if it can somehow become energy independent through wind,solar,geothermal and maybe wave power. Perhaps Hawaii could be a model for other parts of the country and the world-providing cheaper energy- thereby helping industry and residents alike, thus making it more affordable as a retirement haven, ultimately moving it closer to capitalizing on the natural beauty and aloha spirit.
Doesn't hurt to dream does it?
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