05-29-2007, 06:30 AM
Malolo, Charsui and Royall I agree with you.
Personally, I think the "need for infrastructure" directly corresponds to the level of self-sufficiency. If you are not prepared to live off-grid and deal with pv, and catchment systems, you should find a place to live that already has electric and water. If you really don't want to hassle with rough roads, there are a lot of paved ones out there to choose from. I think these issues should be given some serious and REALISTIC consideration when people are thinking of moving to rural areas like Puna. These places often contain some of the last stands of intact native forest and useable agricultural lands. Converting them into typical suburbs with storm drains and wide roads would radically alter the ecosystem, not to mention the rural quality of life many of us enjoy. Sure enough, some change will come eventually... but it always seems to work out best when you live in a place you can accept and love pretty much just the way it is... Maybe we should take a look at the fact that there are a lot of folks living well in Puna with very little in the way of "improved infrastructure". Many people come here to live more lightly on the land, even if it sometimes winds up being less "convenient". Wouldn't it be great if other places were more like Puna that way... say, the Kona side hotels and commercial buildings provided their own solar power instead of relying on County infrastructure? Or if big box stores in Hilo used their own catchment systems instead of County water? Maybe less centralized infrastructure and more self-sufficiency is the way to go. Before assuming that more County infrastructure would be an improvement, I think its worth a good look at what's already working here in Puna. Jerry, I see your point as well. It sometimes is a catch 22 and will require some out-of-the-box creative solutions. I still believe that people should appreciate the uniqueness of the place where they now live, rather than remaking it into the place they left behind.
Aloha to all,
Mitzi
Personally, I think the "need for infrastructure" directly corresponds to the level of self-sufficiency. If you are not prepared to live off-grid and deal with pv, and catchment systems, you should find a place to live that already has electric and water. If you really don't want to hassle with rough roads, there are a lot of paved ones out there to choose from. I think these issues should be given some serious and REALISTIC consideration when people are thinking of moving to rural areas like Puna. These places often contain some of the last stands of intact native forest and useable agricultural lands. Converting them into typical suburbs with storm drains and wide roads would radically alter the ecosystem, not to mention the rural quality of life many of us enjoy. Sure enough, some change will come eventually... but it always seems to work out best when you live in a place you can accept and love pretty much just the way it is... Maybe we should take a look at the fact that there are a lot of folks living well in Puna with very little in the way of "improved infrastructure". Many people come here to live more lightly on the land, even if it sometimes winds up being less "convenient". Wouldn't it be great if other places were more like Puna that way... say, the Kona side hotels and commercial buildings provided their own solar power instead of relying on County infrastructure? Or if big box stores in Hilo used their own catchment systems instead of County water? Maybe less centralized infrastructure and more self-sufficiency is the way to go. Before assuming that more County infrastructure would be an improvement, I think its worth a good look at what's already working here in Puna. Jerry, I see your point as well. It sometimes is a catch 22 and will require some out-of-the-box creative solutions. I still believe that people should appreciate the uniqueness of the place where they now live, rather than remaking it into the place they left behind.
Aloha to all,
Mitzi
Uluhe Design
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com
Native Landscape Design
uluhedesign@yahoo.com