08-31-2007, 01:56 PM
A thousand years ago there was an ocean/agriculturally driven economy here that supported hundreds of thousands of people without importing anything but seeds. Now we import 80% of our consumables and rely on visitors to drive a service economy. The potential is still here for Hawaii to become sustainable again. Especially here on Hawaii Island, where we have Agricultural land (thousands of fallow acres), Energy (Sun, wind, tidal, geothermal)and with the tech industry, another potential facet of economy. Personally, I don't feel that downsizing tourism is such a bad thing, as it may serve to change us back to a more diverse way of life. There is no guarantee the tourists (or supply ships) are going to keep comming anyway. If we keep Hawaii a beautiful place full of aloha, the visitors will probably come, but I feel no need to bet all of our resources on them.
Edited by - greg on 08/31/2007 18:00:34
Edited by - greg on 08/31/2007 18:00:34