Having lived on Maui, seeing the apocalyptic fires that started on my birthday, was especially surreal. People, pets, Na ’Aikane Maui Cultural Center, homes, businesses in Lahaina – gone. Climate change deniers dismiss the facts about Earth burning up because of humans burning fossil fuels, releasing carbon dioxide (CO2), and industrialized cattle and hog farms spewing methane gas into the atmosphere. But it’s undisputed that every year Earth’s temperatures are getting hotter and hotter. Hawaii, like many places around the world, has been experiencing severe drought. Combine that with high winds from a hurricane, and you have the perfect storm for wildfires. On this Aloha Friday which normally would have been bustling with people eating, drinking, surfing and vibing to 103.3 Rhythm of the Islands Jawaiian reggae music, all that’s left are weary survivors “talking story” about harrowing escapes.
One couple from Fresno, California, along with their 5 young children were eating at an oceanfront restaurant when they heard explosions and saw the wave of flames heading straight towards them. Reacting quickly, they ran to the ocean and jumped in, dodging flying embers. A local Hawaiian whose building was on fire had the forethought to not open his door and instead grabbed a rope and shimmied down 3 floors on the side of the building that had not caught fire yet, then also jumped into the ocean.
Perhaps if the US had not conquered The Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893, put Queen Lili’Uokalani under house arrest,or converted stolen land into plantations, Hawaii would not be so vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Concrete, condominiums and infrastructure accommodating torrents of tourists cover sacred land filled with invasive grasses brought over by invaders to feed livestock. We can’t undo the past, but we can do something, no matter how small in the here and now to help each other, save our environment and ourselves. So on this Aloha Friday, as an artist activist, I’m sending my soothing Jawaiian song “OUT ” and One Love to my friends on the Hawaiian aina and to humanity all over mama Earth.
Peace and One Love…
Aria
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