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+--- Thread: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge (/showthread.php?tid=18364)
Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - MarkD - 05-07-2017
In several recent Punatalk threads, commentators explained the native Hawaiian opposition to the TMT project. I expressed sympathy to the opposition but questioned the extent to which building the TMT is incompatible with native Hawaiian’s religious beliefs.
Too bad that these native Hawaiians do not direct their protests to shoreline issues instead. The thought arises every time I hear Country Comfort’s 1974 Waimanalo Blues.
Tired and worn, I woke up this mornin' and found that I was confused.
Spun right around and found that I'd lost the things that I couldn't lose.
The beaches they sell to build their hotels, my fathers and I once knew.
Great songwriting. (Liko Martin)
Native Hawaiians’ reverence for shorelines is long established. Perhaps the ideal opportunity for large-scale shoreline protests has not presented itself. Native Hawaiians on Kauai are disputing the ownership of the Coco Palms Resort property.
Also on Kauai is the recent Mark Zuckerberg case (Facebook CEO). Native Hawaiians challenged Zuckerberg’s initial plans on his 700-acre parcel. The case, apparently resolved, is primarily concerned with court partition procedures and mostly separate from the issue of monied property owners--hotels and homeowners--dominating Hawaii’s shorelines.
The massive coastal construction in the past 40-50 years, to use a cliche, is out of control.
Three allied questions arise: How dense are coastal communities; how close are they to the water’s edge, and what are the attitudes of property owners? Some conclusions:
Waikiki. A massive affront to the coastal environment. But there is justification. Waikiki’s density leaves more open shoreline elsewhere on Oahu. And Waikiki works. People in Waikiki happily share the beach (narrow as it is). Generally, anyone can walk through any hotel to reach the shore. No access problems.
Hotels that spread out along coastlines like our south Kohala coast and Maui’s Kaanapali also allow shoreline access. These hotels and private oceanfront condo complexes occupy a middle ground.
The real problem is oceanfront houses, set side by side, sprawling across miles of Hawaii shorelines. The owners are typically territorial, as are home owners everywhere.
The problem of public access to shorelines that are girded by houses has been growing for decades. Time and again, these homeowners commandeer public shorelines. And hundreds of homes are too close to the sea.
The available public space can be tiny. Sometimes there is none. Notable are some Alii Drive residences and houses on south Kapoho Bay, where homeowners built walls at the water’s edge. This blocks “lateral coastal access.”
Coastal experts such as UH’s Sea Grant advise greater shoreline setbacks. They warn of the need for “managed retreat” of shoreline homes. Over time beaches “migrate” inland. If homeowners instead harden their properties with walls, beaches disappear. (Yes, this affects Waikiki also. A discussion for another time.)
Contrary to the hopes of homeowners, erosion will take seawalls and solid rock. And long before they do, waves will surge over the obstructions. Oceanfront homes along Puna and Kona’s rocky shores just have a bit more time. Cliffs have yet more time. Some experts urge setbacks of 200, even 250 feet, from the highest wash of the sea. And eventually those setbacks will need readjusting.
The message is ignored by mainlanders and their coastal McMansions. It is mostly disregarded by legislators and shoreline permitting agencies. (See activist Caren Diamond’s work, North Shore Kauai.)
Buying or building a house right on the shore is, in many instances, an anti-social act, an offense to the coastal commons. My sentiment is regarded as absurd by many people, especially realtors. Hawaii’s real estate industry has for decades subtly pushed the notion that single-family houses along the ocean are good for Hawaii.
Unmovable private castles on our shorelines. Right. What a contrast to the way that native Hawaiians wisely respected and used the coastlines.
The thought of divine intervention arises. After the 1990-1991 Kalapana eruption, some native Hawaiians reportedly asserted that ”Madame Pele cleaned out the hippie squatters” at the south end of the beach fronting Harry K. Brown Park with 20 feet of lava. Squatters had invaded in the late 1980s.
The thought of a reaction by Madame Pele, Mother Earth or Mother Ocean, against humans damaging the environment is ridiculed by most people. They could be correct.
Still one wonders about Mother Ocean. In 1969 one of the largest north swells ever recorded struck Hawaii. Giant waves damaged some 60 homes on Oahu. http://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/swell-of-1969
These extreme events occur every 80-100 years. Pick a year, say 2049 -- 32 years from now. 80 year interval. Same size swell, same duration. Now add one more factor: Sea level rise. The annual increase has been about .07 to .13 inches. But many scientists say that sea level rise is skyrocketing and predict a 2 to 6 foot rise by 2100. For 2049, a 12 to 16-inch rise is not implausible.
One commentator’s prediction for the 2049 swell impacts: Puna shores: minimal effect--several homeowners on south Kapoho bay lose their rock walls. Keaukaha: 3 feet of water over the roads, significant damage. Alii Drive: 3-4 feet over the road. Major damage to dozens Kona shoreline homes.
North shores of Oahu and Kauai: Catastrophic damage. Nearly 200 homes completely destroyed. Major damage to some 600 homes. Several miles of coastal road ravaged. Rocks and debris everywhere. Further damage on west and east facing coasts. Statewide: Total damage approaches $1 billion. (Hurricane Iniki cost $1.8 billion.)
Hopefully no one dies. But I am not going to be overly upset at houses floating out to sea in pieces. What I really want to see is what the legislators, planning and permitting officials, and realtors who facilitated this disaster by profiting from--or kowtowing to--Mainland Big Money will say afterwards.
It is going to be amusing to watch the fingers pointing. And the quiet nods of native Hawaiians.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - punaticbychoice - 05-07-2017
MarkD :
Indeed.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - kalakoa - 05-07-2017
It is going to be amusing to watch the fingers pointing.
Less amusing: the massive tax increases required to "bail out" those expensive oceanfront homes.
Don't imagine -- not even for a moment -- that the owners won't expect this. After all, they're paying plenty taxes.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - leilanidude - 05-07-2017
Don't imagine -- not even for a moment -- that the owners won't expect this. After all, they're paying plenty taxes.
--------------
Exactly. Plus, the greedy county keeps asking those people to keep paying more.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - punaticbychoice - 05-07-2017
Build next to ocean pay plenty property and flood and hurricane insurance,
you're stupid enough to be next to the Pacific, you take the burden of 100% of cost of rebuilding
and realize the road access might washout too. You chose to live there.
Hopefully rebuild somewhere less dangerous and leave the access to all of us.
Simply, the Hawaiians are right and the often ignored/ unenforced ($$$$ talks) law is
right, these people who want to "build on the water" have no sense on any level.
Even submerged.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - Kapoho Joe - 05-07-2017
Oh yeah, it's so horrible living on the ocean. I mean really, it's such a burden to watch the sunrise and sunset every single beautiful Hawaiian day. I traded earthquakes for hurricanes, big deal.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - TomK - 05-07-2017
"The thought of divine intervention arises. After the 1990-1991 Kalapana eruption, some native Hawaiians reportedly asserted that ”Madame Pele cleaned out the hippie squatters” at the south end of the beach fronting Harry K. Brown Park with 20 feet of lava. Squatters had invaded in the late 1980s.
The thought of a reaction by Madame Pele, Mother Earth or Mother Ocean, against humans damaging the environment is ridiculed by most people. They could be correct.
Still one wonders about Mother Ocean. In 1969 one of the largest north swells ever recorded struck Hawaii. Giant waves damaged some 60 homes on Oahu. http://encyclopediaofsurfing.com/entries/swell-of-1969
These extreme events occur every 80-100 years. Pick a year, say 2049 -- 32 years from now. 80 year interval. Same size swell, same duration. Now add one more factor: Sea level rise. The annual increase has been about .07 to .13 inches. But many scientists say that sea level rise is skyrocketing and predict a 2 to 6 foot rise by 2100. For 2049, a 12 to 16-inch rise is not implausible."
How are you going to show this is due to divine intervention?
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - leilaniguy - 05-07-2017
Agree Tom, it's just day to day life on an active volcano on an island on an unruly Earth, nothing holy.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - TomK - 05-07-2017
Nature does what it does. There is no evidence it "decides" what to do nor is there any evidence it decides to take revenge, which requires some sort of intelligence. Hence my question above.
RE: Hawaiians, Shorelines & “Mother Ocean’s” Revenge - opihikao - 05-07-2017
Standing ovation, MarkD. Mahalo piha. Well thought out post. This is why our ohana cherishes our shoreline/coastline 'aina. (We are the only kanaka maoli owners, 7 generations we can count, left in our area.)
There are several issues Statewide dealing with Hawai'i's shoreline/coastline worth reading about, and better yet, understanding the "legalities" involved. The Federal Government has some oversight, and the State entity who controls harbors, etc.,(DLNR) is presently under severe scrutiny. However, the "vagaries of the law" continue to provide inaction, or worse, lack of accountability.
As to the terminology "divine intervention", it is quite difficult to express our cultural beliefs literally in English words. However, the gist of your position I agree with completely. Those who scoff at our cultural beliefs are allowed their opinions, as they have their own beliefs. It is eternally entertaining to watch all of it transpire...here on Moku o Keawe.
Tutu Pele, for example, is not pau...she continues to reign over her 'aina, as her favorite brother, Kamohoali'i reigns over the sea. There are stories we don't dare share, due to the Kapu. Worse, we might be thought of as "touched". [
] Don't forget Pele took Queen's Bath, and Kaimu Black Sand Beach, too...Both had become pilau. It won't be too long before her wrath visits Kehena. Poho.
Mahalo ke Akua, e na Aumakua, e na Kupuna.
As always, JMO.
ETA: typo, e kala mai.