Int’l Migrants Day 352 of 2007 13 days left in this year

HAWAIIAN PROVERB OF THE DAY —
“Lahaina is like a large house shaded by breadfruit trees.”

December 18th, 1846: Lahaina is closing its busiest whaling year ever (before or since),  servicing an estimated 600 whaling vessels. The industry had many influences on the Hawaiian  Islands, two being most prevalent.

Whaling captains used Lahaina as a source of labor, hiring local men to load and unload ships, and to become crew. Hawaiians — along with most Pacific Islanders — were known as kanakas when  they became crewmembers. The money these kanakas spent on themselves, as well as the money the  ships spent, became the driving force in the Lahaina economy for more than six decades.

This economic engine brought the second and most damaging influence: the decimation of local  character, culture and beauty. One newspaperman visiting from San Francisco wrote, “The truth is the whole Hawaiian nation is rotten with licentiousness now. Men hire out their wives  and daughters without the least scruple, for the sake of money…. In Lahaina during the whaling  seasons there are upwards of 400 instances of intercourse with sailors daily. One Lahaina  establishment is a perfect sink of iniquity…dancing naked girls for the entertainment of the customers and the whalemen.”

Eighteenth century historian Ernest Dodge wrote of this time that “the whaling element was disastrous for the native population, with sexually transmitted diseases, liquor, and a myriad other foreign influences decimating the local culture with increasing rapidity.” Mr. Dodge should visit today if he wants to see decimation, this time by the hands of developers.

Recycle: to use again – a simple definition for a process that has grown in importance as we continue to overflow landfills and deplete natural resources, especially on an island like Maui.

Finally, more people are turning to recycling and making it a part of their everyday lives and there are more programs to help with the effort. Expanding from the modest aluminum can, glass and newspaper collections of past years, there are now programs for appliances, electronics, ink cartridges and scrap metal. Plastic shopping bags are now accepted–just put them all in one bag and deposit in the proper bin. Even the family Christmas tree is now turned into garden mulch.

It only takes a few minutes a day to keep your recyclables separate from the garbage, pack them up and drop them off at the nearest collection center. Contribute to keeping Maui clean, reduce landfill trash and save precious natural resources from overuse and depletion. Every ounce counts. Every person counts–we can all make a difference.

Recently, a weekly radio program, “Talking Trash” with Hannah Steele, has debuted on Wednesday mornings at 11:00 on 1110 AM radio devoted entirely to recycling issues. Check it out, call in with questions and keep interest about recycling growing.

Many municipalities provide for home pickup of many items–something for our county to aspire to. Maui has many collection centers stationed across the island. For a complete listing of Maui recycling locations, hours for accepting recyclables, what is accepted and how to prepare it and other sources for specialty items, go to the Maui County Web site at www.mauicounty.gov/recycle.

Contribute to keeping Maui clean, reduce landfill trash and save precious natural resources from overuse and depletion. Every ounce counts. Every person counts–we can all make a difference.

Keep it clean. Keep it green. Keep it Maui.

– Haole Anna, Paia