O'ahu Sustainability League

OSL Introduction

2007-04-26T17:31:00.001-07:00

O’ahu Sustainability League
Meeting our present needs without compromising our future

Mission

The OSL is an organization of concerned citizens working to facilitate the development of a more sustainable Hawai’i, dedicated to the stewardship of the islands through the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.

“The state shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency, and insure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.” -Hawaii State Constitution

Agricultural lands have been decreasing steadily. 16,000 acres of land, approximately 11 percent, have been converted from agricultural to urban over the past thirty years, as the population has increased by 200,000. This impairs our ability to honor this constitutional decree.

Agriculture in this state includes everything from banana and turfgrass, to cattle and equestrian. State agricultural leases were designed to provide land at a reasonable price for farmers to be able to afford to grow the food that feeds us. Of the agricultural land remaining, more and more land is being utilized for the production of non-food products and crops.

Landscape products tend to be more profitable than food crops. As a result, the non-food producers have the economic upper hand at securing long term state agricultural leases. Food farmers are at a disadvantage in the bidding process for leases, as conventional landscape nurseries drive the prices of the leases out of range of the food producers.

Supporting sustainable agriculture is not charity, but an investment in our future. As fuel prices rise, the need to feed ourselves becomes increasingly important.

True Cost of Farming

The landscape of economic indicators have changed. We can no longer look at economic viability only in terms of immediate revenue and expenditure. True Cost economics demands that we expand our calculations to include the extended pros and cons of an economic picture.

"True Cost Pricing (TCP) is an accounting and pricing system that includes all costs into the price of a product.
Under our current system, many products carry hidden environmental and social costs such as air and water pollution, deforestation, and toxic waste. These costs are created during the production, use, or disposal of the products. While the producer internalizes revenue and profits from these products, the costs are externalized to society and the natural environment." – Green Party

Sustainable practices must apply to people (social), planet (environment), and profits (economy). While the state may initially benefit from the higher lease prices paid by conventional agricultural producers, the cost in terms of environmental degradation has not been calculated.

At least 85 percent of our food is imported. As fuel prices continue to rise, and the reserves of our fossil fuels decline, the need to sustain ourselves becomes paramount. The OSL is concerned with voicing the need to protect the consciencious farmers that endeavor to develop an agricultural system that feeds the current population without starving future generations.

Now Then...

2007-04-25T02:54:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in becoming a member of the O'ahu Sustainability League, just send an email with your name and location to: oahuleague@yahoo.com .

This list will not be available to the public. This is for sending information on League events and activities, and for you to give us news and feedback on related issues.

Aside from building an e-mail list, we are also soliciting letters from concerned citizens that want to support the growth and development of sustainable agriculture in Hawai'i. These letters of support will be used to make state agencies aware of the will of the people on this issue.

The above entry can be used as a catylist for your letters if you don't know where to start.

This entry will be used to post updates and hyperlinks to media relevant to the League mission.

Mahalo

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Here is a link to the Alchemy Farms blog:

Alchemy Farms

Alchemy Farms is working to secure a 10 year lease assignment on DLNR land in Waimanalo. This farm will serve as an organic food farm, organic landscape nursery, and a model project for the development of Hawai'i-specific sustainable farming technology.

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Media:

The Real Dirt on Farmer John

excellent documentary on an organic farming pioneer. Trailer below.

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Crucial Comedy that helps put current events in an alternative perspective that is very relevant to the sustainable minded.

Robert Newman's One man show: Google Video Link

"Robert Newman gets to grips with the wars and politics of the last hundred years - but rather than adhering to the history we were fed at school, the places oil centre stage as the cause of all commotion. This innovative history programme is based around Robert Newman's stand-up act and supported by resourceful archive sequences and stills with satirical impersonations of historical figures from Mayan priests to Archduke Ferdinand. Quirky details such as a bicycle powered street lamp on the stage brings home the pertinent question of just how we are going to survive when the world's oil supplies are finally exhausted."

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VERY NICE PHOTO SET

LINK:Running the Numbers
An American Self-Portrait

"This new series looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics. Each image portrays a specific quantity of something: fifteen million sheets of office paper (five minutes of paper use); 106,000 aluminum cans (thirty seconds of can consumption) and so on. My hope is that images representing these quantities might have a different effect than the raw numbers alone, such as we find daily in articles and books. Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs.

My only caveat about this series is that the prints must be seen in person to be experienced the way they are intended. As with any large artwork, their scale carries a vital part of their substance which is lost in these little web images. Hopefully the JPEGs displayed here might be enough to arouse your curiosity to attend an exhibition, or to arrange one if you are in a position to do so. The series is still in its early stages, and new images will be posted as they are completed, so please stay tuned."

~cj, January 2007

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Here is a link to information on the Codex issue. If you are unfamiliar with the Codex issue, it sounds like something out of a Sci-Fi conspiracy movie.

Stop Codex: 40 minuite video http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/

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Scientific American article: Appetite for Organics

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Part one of 6 parts on Bill Mollison, and the Permaculture concept. Click once to view this video here. Double click to go to YouTube to see all six parts.

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International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements

LINK:(IFOAM)

These folks are connected to the Codex Alimentarius Commission. They have some interesting info, but after watching the above link to the Codex video from Health Freedom USA organization, I'm a bit skeptical of the move to "Harmonize" the food standards. You be the judge.

The Future is Now...

2007-04-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

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A Floating Solar Island for the UAE

"The island, which will basically float an a ring-shaped raft, was conceptualized a while ago by CSEM, but until now they haven't found any buyers. The prototype being comissioned by the UAE will first be tested in a nearby desert before the concept is moved onto the ocean."

LINK
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New Bahrain World Trade Center

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Solar Power!

New solar thermal power plant outside Seville in southern Spain.

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"So, what are you going to do about it?"

A biodegradible alternative to styrofoam and plastic ware: LINK: Styrophobia

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