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~f 4 <br /> Curlris Tyler <br /> From: "Josephine Keliipio" <josephine@poidogs.com> <br /> '1`0: "Harold Murata" <zarley2k@msn.com>; "Duane & Marjorie" <erwayd001@hawaii.rr.com>; "Jerry <br /> Rothstein" <jerry@turquoise.net>; "Jack Kelly" <konajack@earthlink.net>; "Mike Varney" <br /> <sundot@ilhawaii.net>; "Mikahala Roy (E-mail)" <mikihala@ilhawaii.net>; "Cindy Punihaole (E-mail)" <br /> <cpunihaole@kukio.com> <br /> Cc: "Curtis Tyler" <ctyler@interpac.net>; "Nancy Pisicchio" <cckona@interpac.net>; "Jeff Turner" <br /> <emerald@konacoast.com> <br /> Sent: Saturday, September 14, 2002 1:55 AM <br /> Subject: Learning from our Past and never repeating mistakes again <br /> The message from this article needs to be conveyed throughout all General <br /> Plan policies BEFORE we dive into our regional plans, folks. <br /> Perspectives <br /> flme w ~ G S <br /> Saving Grace <br /> A Timely Warning from Easter Island <br /> IN FIFTY YEARS, the biggest problem facing us will be our relationship with <br /> the environment. So predicts Jared Diamond, Pulitzer Prizewinning author <br /> and professor of physiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, <br /> who recently spoke at RAND. <br /> "The most important variable that determines the future is how well we <br /> succeed at integrating human communities with natural environments," said <br /> Diamond. He said that the course we're on today cannot be sustained for more <br /> than a few decades. Eventually, environmental problems will be <br /> resolved-either by our actions or by our inaction. <br /> Diamond listed several environmental problems that threaten societies today: <br /> deforestation, soil erosion, unavailability of fresh water, excessive <br /> fishing, loss of biodiversity, depletion of the ozone layer, accumulation of <br /> toxins, climate change, and overconsumption of resources by humans. <br /> "Think of these problems, and one can get pessimistic," said Diamond. "But <br /> one can be hopeful, because the risk we face today is not the risk of an <br /> asteroid-something beyond our control. These problems are entirely of our <br /> own making. So the outcome will depend entirely on our laws and policies." <br /> We're lucky because we can learn from the past, he said. Thousands of past <br /> societies all serve as experiments. People in those societies lived in <br /> different environments, had different laws, and arrived at different <br /> outcomes. The results offer many lessons for today's laws and policies. <br /> Why Some Societies Die <br /> "There have been societies that have gone on for thousands of years where <br /> there has been no sign of environmental decline-for instance, Japan, Java, Corxam, No® <br /> and the Inca empire," said Diamond. On the other hand, "there were societies <br /> where everyone ended up dead for failure to solve their environmental File No. <br /> <br /> problems." ~f, ~~~:4~~ <br /> Ref. Date nc°T 0 ~ 2002 <br /> 9/16/02 <br /> <br />