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In evaluating the well-being of our community, it is worthwhile to start with some basic questions:
- Are there meaningful jobs that pay living wages?
- Can residents find homes they can afford?
- Does money spent here stay here and build the local economy?
- Is the ocean in which we swim, surf, and fish clean? How about the water we drink?
- Do residents have access to affordable, fresh, healthy foods?
In answering these questions it becomes apparent that, despite tremendous economic wealth, our current systems are highly unsustainable and inequitable. Consider the following:
- None of Kaua`i’s 10 largest occupations pay a living wage and 36% of households on Kaua`i have incomes that qualify them as “economically needy.” (Kaua`i Economic Development Plan, September 2004)
- The median price of a single family home in 2006 was $678,000, but according to government calculations, the average family of four can only afford to purchase a home for $183,100. This trend has only worsened recently.
- Kaua`i imports 85-90% of its food and both the number of farmers and the amount of land used for agriculture are declining. (Hawaii Sustainability Analysis and Recommendations, Rocky Mountain Institute, May 2008)
- Energy costs on Kaua`i are the highest in the nation, with 95% of it coming from overseas oil. Although we have an abundance of clean renewable energy resources, such as wind, water and solar, we continue to rely on the burning of fossil fuels that makes us dependent on imports and contributes to the global climate change crisis.
- Over 5,000 residential units and 6,100 resort units are currently pending and may be built within five years. Overdevelopment is pricing out local families, putting a burden on deteriorating infrastructure, and taxing our finite resources.
We have a single landfill that will reach maximum capacity in December 2008 and is overflowing and contaminating surrounding areas. Nearly 50% of waste in the landfill is recyclable paper, plastic, glass and aluminum, and 14% of waste in the landfill is compostable food scraps. (Kekaha Landfill Waste Composition Study)
Forty-one percent of residents believe the ‘Aloha Spirit’ is declining. Many lament that the unique and treasured Kaua`i lifestyle is being lost to America’s mass culture. (Measuring What Matters for Kaua`i – Community Indicators Report 2006, Kaua`i Planning and Action Alliance)
Tourism and development have brought immense economic growth to Hawai`i in the past few decades. Yet, the realization that growth and increased consumption does not necessarily increase overall societal well-being has led many to question conventional models of economics, which don’t consider the interconnectedness of environment, society, economy and culture. Traditional measures of wealth like GDP are being abandoned for indicators that take into account equity, leisure time, happiness, and human and environmental health.
Other elements of Relocalization:
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