Category: Hawai’i

Exploring the islands

This is a Bit Concerning

Earthquake activity is on a bit of an uptick around here. While the mag 3.9 that woke us up a few nights ago was probably just a settling event under Mauna Kea, much of the remaining activity is under Mauna Loa. This includes a 3.7 magnitude event last night, part of an ongoing swarm under the long mountian.

Mauna Loa earthquake swarm 5 Oct 2022
Mauna Loa earthquake swarm 5 Oct 2022

Mauna Loa’s activity has remained elevated for some weeks now. There are two swarm centers. One directly under the caldera, but more interestingly a persistent swarm under the northwest flank a few kilometers away.

All of this has the island buzzing with concern. On social media, in the local papers, Mauna Loa is the subject of much speculation. The official line is that no eruption is imminent, but officials are quick to remind residents to monitor local emergency channels and have an evaculation plan at the ready.

Continue reading “This is a Bit Concerning”

The Impacts of Sugar

The impact of the sugar industry in these islands simply cannot be overstated. For over a century sugar was the dominant industry in the islands consuming land, water, and people. These islands were shaped by sugar, physically and culturally.

An abandoned truck sits outside the Kōloa sugar mill
An abandoned truck sits outside the Kōloa sugar mill

So much of what you see today is a direct resut of the sugar plantations. Many of the small towns that dot the islands started as plantation towns serving the mills. Towns like Hokokaʻa, Hawi, Waikapu, and Kōloa are remants of the days in which sugar dominated island life.

People and cultures that now call these islands home are descended from the immigrant laborers who came to work the plantations. These immigrants brought with them their languages and so much more. So many traditions, foods, and words, blended with the Native Hawaiian culture to create the island culture we now enjoy.

While this legacy is seen on almost all of the islands it seems most visible on the southern shore of Kauai, perhaps as these plantations were some of the last to shut down, and very little has replaced or re-developed in the area. Plantation towns sit in the shadow of rusting mills that loom over the landscape.

Continue reading “The Impacts of Sugar”