What Can Hawaii Learn From Cuba About Sustainability?
Before the Berlin Wall came down, Cuba was thriving.
The Soviet-bloc nations bought Cuba's sugar cane and tobacco, and they provided economic staples such as food and gasoline in return.
When the Soviet Union collapsed overnight, and the wall dividing Europe came down, Cuba was suddenly stranded.
Without a patron, they had no oil to run their economy.
They had prolonged blackouts because there was no fuel for power plants.
They had no transportation.
They had no fuel for tractors on their factory farms.
Even if the farms had still been running, they had no market where they could sell their goods because they were under an international embargo.
The Cubans had very little food on their plates.
The basis of their traditional economy was sugar cane and tobacco.
Most of their staple foods had been imported from Soviet-bloc countries, and the Cuban farmland was used to support their money crops.
Overnight, they were an orphan nation faced with potential famine.
So, was there a famine in Cuba? No.
Why not? They took quick and immediate action to develop a sustainable community.
All arable land was converted to local food crop gardening by anyone who could make something grow.
Farmland soils that had be depleted by factory farming were replenished through composting and tilling.
The land was worked by oxen and plows, which meant that the soil was not compacted the way it was when the farms were worked by trucks and tractors.
Millions of bicycles were manufactured, large public buses were improvised, and centralized businesses were decentralized to neighborhoods and villages so that long-distance commuting was not necessary.
That meant every industry ...
healthcare, education, light industry, food markets ..
..
It is estimated that the average Cuban adult lost 20 pounds through sparse diets, but soon, the farmers' markets were rich with locally grown organic food.
There was no famine.
There was no anarchy.
Instead, there was a very rapid government-mandated move to a sustainable economy.
There is an eerie parallel in Hawaii.
Hawaii is an island economy.
The two biggest cash crops in Hawaii until recently were sugar cane and pineapple, and virtually all of the production was shipped overseas while consumable foods and energy-producing fuel are still shipped in from the US mainland.
Any natural disaster or manmade incident such as 9/11 could easily disrupt the flow of food and energy, and leave Hawaii in the dark almost as quickly as it happened to Cuba.
Because of its geographic isolation, Hawaii should start down the path to sustainability now, rather than waiting until darkness strikes.
They are already making strides in the area of energy independence through efforts to increase the use of solar, wind and wave power, but other areas are badly in need of faster progress.
In particular, Hawaii could learn from Cuba's experience in the following areas:
Cuba was able to achieve sustainability in very short order through political decree.
Hawaii needs to do the same thing, pro-actively, through consensus.
To borrow the phrase from President Obama's campaign, "Yes, we can.
"
The Soviet-bloc nations bought Cuba's sugar cane and tobacco, and they provided economic staples such as food and gasoline in return.
When the Soviet Union collapsed overnight, and the wall dividing Europe came down, Cuba was suddenly stranded.
Without a patron, they had no oil to run their economy.
They had prolonged blackouts because there was no fuel for power plants.
They had no transportation.
They had no fuel for tractors on their factory farms.
Even if the farms had still been running, they had no market where they could sell their goods because they were under an international embargo.
The Cubans had very little food on their plates.
The basis of their traditional economy was sugar cane and tobacco.
Most of their staple foods had been imported from Soviet-bloc countries, and the Cuban farmland was used to support their money crops.
Overnight, they were an orphan nation faced with potential famine.
So, was there a famine in Cuba? No.
Why not? They took quick and immediate action to develop a sustainable community.
All arable land was converted to local food crop gardening by anyone who could make something grow.
Farmland soils that had be depleted by factory farming were replenished through composting and tilling.
The land was worked by oxen and plows, which meant that the soil was not compacted the way it was when the farms were worked by trucks and tractors.
Millions of bicycles were manufactured, large public buses were improvised, and centralized businesses were decentralized to neighborhoods and villages so that long-distance commuting was not necessary.
That meant every industry ...
healthcare, education, light industry, food markets ..
..
It is estimated that the average Cuban adult lost 20 pounds through sparse diets, but soon, the farmers' markets were rich with locally grown organic food.
There was no famine.
There was no anarchy.
Instead, there was a very rapid government-mandated move to a sustainable economy.
There is an eerie parallel in Hawaii.
Hawaii is an island economy.
The two biggest cash crops in Hawaii until recently were sugar cane and pineapple, and virtually all of the production was shipped overseas while consumable foods and energy-producing fuel are still shipped in from the US mainland.
Any natural disaster or manmade incident such as 9/11 could easily disrupt the flow of food and energy, and leave Hawaii in the dark almost as quickly as it happened to Cuba.
Because of its geographic isolation, Hawaii should start down the path to sustainability now, rather than waiting until darkness strikes.
They are already making strides in the area of energy independence through efforts to increase the use of solar, wind and wave power, but other areas are badly in need of faster progress.
In particular, Hawaii could learn from Cuba's experience in the following areas:
- Sustainable agriculture accessible to more of its citizens throughout the islands.
This includes education as well as access to plots of land that are not currently being used to enhance the food supply. - Sustainable transportation.
Good luck to those who live on the Windward coast but work in Kapolei ...
a bicycle beyond about 20 miles is not a realistic solution, but for trips under ten miles, bicycles should be strongly encouraged. - Sustainable housing.
Have you ever lived on the 20th floor of a building when the electricity went out? - Sustainable healthcare.
With our current form of healthcare, there is not enough access to doctors.
Yet most people don't really need doctors, they need coaching and reassurance that they are making healthy lifestyle choices.
So community healthcare can be expanded by supporting reasonable alternatives short of critical and primary care physicians. - Sustainable culture.
It is interesting that both Cuban and Hawaiian cultures have rich musical and dance traditions.
Hawaii's stir-fry ethnic mix needs to find a common ground, where everyone is interested in their neighbor's welfare.
Then, there will be a sustainable culture.
Cuba was able to achieve sustainability in very short order through political decree.
Hawaii needs to do the same thing, pro-actively, through consensus.
To borrow the phrase from President Obama's campaign, "Yes, we can.
"
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