Hawaii, the motherland where nature blossoms with its full might is gripped in flames as wildfires spread across on Hawaii’s Maui island and Big Island. The popular tourist destination, historic resort city of Lahaina is devastated as forced thousands of residents and tourists to evacuate as the fires take lives of upto 93 people as per the last record which I estimate would be highly as the situation develops. Moreover, displacing hundreds and destroying more than 2,200 structures — the vast majority of which were residential — and burned 2,170 acres, according to the Pacific Disaster Center. While the precious wildlife and ecosystems that thrive on the island are also destroyed. Often the ecological damage is downplayed and human damage is front and center, even though humans can’t live without the environment that gives them life.
Whenever a “natural” disaster occurs that hasn’t in 70 years history of the land, I also question whether the disaster was man-made to begin with and labeling it as a natural disaster is just a way to shift responsibility and ignore the role that the fossil fuel industry has in rising global temperatures that ignited the match that burned this heavenly place on Earth.
Here are some facts that shed some light on this devastating situation in Maui:
As per the new reports, no official cause of the wildfires has yet being determined but the National Weather Service had issued warnings for the Hawaiian Islands for high winds and dry weather — conditions ripe for wildfires. So, you can say this devastation is a direct consequence of rise in global temperatures(Earth’s temperature has risen by an average of 0.14° Fahrenheit (0.08° Celsius) per decade since 1880, or about 2° F in total as per the NOAA Climate Government Agency).
It may seem like a small number but the weather and climate conditions it causes are choking the lives of people who don’t really have much to do with this pressing issue in the first place.
The County of Maui, through the office of Climate Change, Resiliency and Sustainability (CCRS), completed a community-wide GHG emissions inventory which indicates that a 9% jump from 2016 in the overall emissions can be seen. Click here to know more.
Depending on the land size, its a miniscule amount of growth, as achieving Net-Zero is a collective effort of all organizations and people of the region and is committed to be achieved by 2045. But until then, we should look at the drastic backtracking of regulations of travel by airplanes that contributes to the large chunk of the emissions of the island in the first place. Investing in clean and green travel and transport alternatives is the need as per the data to minimize the emission % and help the island be cleaner and greener and most importantly be preserved in its glory for everyone to experience it as God’s creation.
While scientists are screaming on the top of their lungs that climate change, driven by fossil fuel use, has led to more frequent and more powerful extreme weather events. Resulting in frequent disaster whose impact will take a number of years to recover for the humans and the surrounding ecosystem of land and water.
Nature Preservation
Let’s look at some of the local practices that the people of Maui practice to preserve their land and its resources, so we can learn something from their traditions and learn to respect the environment as much as it deserves:
Kīpahulu ‘Ohana and Nā Mamo O Mū‘olea ( NGO’s that consist of a group of people and neighbours with a deep respect of the land and sea) share a deep commitment to perpetuating Hawaiian culture and practices from mauka to makai (the mountains to the sea) so their communities can continue to rely on east Maui’s lands and waters for a traditional subsistence lifestyle. The people of Hawaii has a innate deep respect of the nature that envelops their existence and they pay it forward especially when they see a stark decline in the species population to balance the ecosystem with targeted efforts to restore, preserve and protect.
The Damage
But the wildfires that disrupted the fabric of this ecosystem by damaging the delicate ecosystem of land, air and water, whose exact damage could be assessed once the human lives damage can be clearly measured.
Shockingly, these fires have already taken more lives than a 1960 tsunami that killed 61 people on the island of Hawaii, also known as the Big Island, and the death toll could likely rise further as rescuers proceed to travel to parts of the state that have been blocked by fires or by closed roads.
Dozens of people have also been injured, some critically. A precise death toll may not be known for weeks. This should force you to take stock of your choices and force you to take action by making better choices in our live, contribute your time and money to organisations that preserve your land as you could be the victim of a natural disaster at any given point of time, hoping someone comes to help you as the people and the environment of Hawaii is reeling from the aftermath of this horrible tragedy.
About 46,000 residents and visitors have flown out of Kahului Airport in West Maui since the devastation in Lahaina became clear Wednesday, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. This wildfire has been labelled as the deadliest in a century which just sent a chill down my spine.
While the government response to this wildfire is alarming as questions are also mounting about whether officials could have warned residents with more notice or evacuated them sooner which could have saved lives. Moreover, none of the 80 warning sirens placed around Maui were activated by the island or state’s emergency management agencies as the fire bore down on Lahaina. This may be a area that need to inspected independently by responsible agencies to formulate a plan to deal with such situations swiftly and formulate strategies to minimize the damage to the Big Island.
What people are doing to help?
Amidst the devastating wildfires in Maui, Hollywood A-Listers are stepping up with tangible support. In response, prominent celebrities associated with Hawaii — like Oprah Winfrey, a part-time resident of Maui, and Jason Momoa, a native of Honolulu — are stepping up to help relief efforts.
Oprah was spotted at an evacuation center, springing into action at the War Memorial Stadium in Maui, helping hand out supplies. Momoa has taken to his social media accounts to amplify resources and places to donate.
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