Blog

From Mary Amos:

Ipu Lani, Inc. and Hawai’i Gourd Society present the fourth annual, 2010 Ipu Cultural Festival on January 22, 23, and 24 at the Hale Halewai Pavilion on Alii Drive in Kailua-Kona. The festival runs from 6 PM to 9 PM on Friday and 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. both Sat. and Sunday. The admission is free. There will be ipu artists and practitioners, lau hala and coconut weavers, fish net makers, and many other cultural practitioners demonstrating and selling their art. “The Festival will celebrate the diverse culture surrounding the ipu, or gourd. Ipu art, basket weaving on ipu, cordage and olona demonstrations, guest Kumu demonstrations and workshops, music, food, ipu instrument classes (ipu heke, ipu ole’, uli uli), Hawaiian arts and craft vendors, a silent auction, storytelling, and demonstrations will all be included,” said organizers.

Classes in Hawaiian ipu decorating, koko (knotted ipu carrier), along with a variety of gourd decorating techniques will be offered each day for a fee per workshop. Entertainment will be fantastic, beginning with the Hana Hou Air Force Band of the Pacific, concert to begin at 6 PM Jan 22nd. The following two days are filled with :
Saturday, January 23, 2010:

12 – 1PM: Sam Kama
1:15 – 2:15PM: Keoki Kahumoku
2:30 – 4PM: Leabert Lindsay
Sunday, January 24, 2010:
12 – 2PM: Don Kaulia and His Slack Key Haumana
2 – 3PM: Tani Waipa & Warren Kaneao
3 – 4PM: Leon Toomata & Warren Kaneao

Ipu Lani , Inc. a registered 501 (c) 3 organization is the parent non-profit for the Hawai’i Gourd Society, which was established in 2006 to revitalize the Ipu culture in the State of Hawaii. The organizations educate the public through this festival and other learning opportunities by exploring the wide variety of uses, both functional as well as artistic from a modern and historical perspective. The groups also support propagation of the ipu in Hawai’i encouraging different farms to grow, cultivate and propagate the ipu. “We strive to bring back to life the joy of working with the ipu and the beauty of the final ipu art,” said founding member Mary Amos. “We search for proper growing spots and make every effort to begin cultivation. By grants and donations we plan to farm ipu throughout the islands,” she said.

The 2010 Ipu Cultural Festival is sponsored in part by a grant from the Hawaii Tourism Authority through the County of Hawaii CPEP, Dept. of Parks & Recreation, Elderly Services Program, US Air Force, Ipu Lani, Inc. and CNHA. Visit www.hawaiigourdsociety.com for class details and schedule of events or email outtayourgourd@gmail.com for more information

Classes at the festival will be:
1/23/10: 10:30 AM – 1 PM Ni’ihau ipu pawehe (Mary Amos) $75
1/23/10: 11 AM – 1 PM Woodburning on mini ipu (Evie Morby) $45
1/23/10: 11 AM-1 PM Niu (coconut) weaving, Ohana basket (Sam Kama) $50
1/23/10 2 PM-4:30 PM Ipu heke’ (Mary Amos) $85

1/24/10: 10:30 AM – 1 PM Ni’ihau ipu pawehe (Mary Amos) $75
1/24/10: 1 PM – 3 PM Niu weaving Ohana basket (Sam Kama) $50
1/24/10: 2 PM -4:30 PM Ipu heke’ (Mary Amos) $85

From Marti:

News coverage of the court hearing on the University’s plans for Mauna Kea characterized our opposition to the plan as anti-development.  It said:

“(opponents) want to block new development on the mountain by stopping approval of the management plan.”

As one of our kupuna pointed out, actually the motivation is all the University’s part.  She said

“advocates for more telescopes on the summit want the UH CMP rushed to completion in order to move forward with several new development plans.”

While it is true that as long as there is no plan there is no TMT, that is not the desired outcome for the plan.  We’re not trying to block the plan to stop TMT.

What we do want is the opportunity to have a real plan–one that arises out of a transparent process and allows communities to articulate a public vision for the future of these extremely important public trust lands. That is what a public planning process is supposed to do. The point is that we have been denied the kind of critical, public and open discussion that would lead to such a plan. In its place, we are being told to shut up and accept a plan that was written by the university and driven by its interest in telescope development and telescope dollars.

We have long said that we want a fair opportunity to talk through and determine together how astronomy and cultural practice and natural conservation coexist–in what form, by what rules, and with what limits–on the summit. This is not an unreasonable ask. The University is wasting precious public education dollars on motion after motion in this case, because they are unwilling to compromise in any way on their development plans. For the University, this case is all about TMT. For advocates of the mountain, this case is not about TMT at all. It is about our standing, and the right of the people of Hawai’i to determine the future of a unique, irreplaceable summit that is part of Hawai’i's public trust.

Click here to read the article from the Hawaii Tribune Herald.

From Marti:

Yesterday morning, the Third Circuit Court heard oral arguments on the University of Hawaii’s motion to dismiss our appeal for a contested case hearing on the University’s new management plan for Mauna Kea.

Though we are still waiting for the judge’s ruling, the hearing made one thing clear: supporters of this “CMP” also support more telescopes (and more desecration and destruction) on the sacred summit.  Less than a dozen people sign-waved outside the Hilo courthouse during the hearing with pre-printed signs that said “Mauna Kea TMT Yes!”  If you ever doubted the connection between more telescopes and the University’s CMP, then yesterday’s demonstration of support for the “Thirty Meter Telescope” at a hearing on the CMP should make it clear that the University wrote this CMP to facilitate telescope construction on Mauna Kea.  Indeed, the CMP does not speak to any limitations on telescopes or a carrying capacity for the summit.

…unless, of course, if by “TMT” they meant “Too Many Telescopes.”

And, Mahalo Nunui!! This is just a little shout out to all of those who took time out of their workday to sit in solidarity with us before the judge.  Mahalo for your unwavering support.

Want to help? Click here to sign up for action alerts and receive regular court updates. And click over here to donate directly to the Mauna Kea Legal Defense Fund.

Have a greener holiday party this year, and no, I’m not talking about your Christmas tree.

Sustainableparty.com has come up with a guide to direct the common person on having sustainable and environmentally friendly parties.

The guides covers issues that include: Community, Resource Conservation, Food, Transportation Materials and Waste Management. Even if you only practice one of their recommendations this year, you will feel better about this wasteful (sometimes even frivolous) season.

Please click on the following link to view these easy and practical ways to reduce your holiday impact:

Sustainable Party Best Practices

From Marti:

The Defend Oahu Coalition is looking to you to help keep the country country.  A developer is close to receiving the last set of permits necessary to proceed with a massive resort complex on the North Shore. Your participation can help to protect Oahu’s shorelines from construction and the rural character of this community. Take a look at their update below and please try to attend their community meeting tomorrow evening 6:30 pm at Kahuku High School Cafeteria.

TURTLE BAY TALKSTORY II

Tuesday, Dec. 8th at 6:30-9:00
Kahuku High School Cafeteria

From Defend Oahu Coalition:

This is the second in a series of Community Forums regarding the future of Turtle Bay. The City’s Department of Permitting and Planning is reportedly very close to issuing final subdivision permits to the developer at Turtle Bay which will allow him to move ahead with the outdated plan for five additional hotels and one thousand more resort condominiums. The State Supreme Court is set to hear Oral Arguments regarding the Keep the North Shore Country case asking for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement.

The existing property is formally changing owners this month, who are reportedly working on a new business model for the resort. This is a crucial time to get updated about the current situation. Efforts aimed at building on plans for preservation as well as sustainable land use enforcement at City and State levels will also be addressed.

Notable speakers invited to attend include: Governor Lingle, Representatives Abercrombie and Hirono, Mayor Hannemann, Turtle Bay Advisory Working Group Chair Bill Paty, Senator Clayton Hee, Councilmember Donovan Dela Cruz and Interim Developer for Kuilima Resort Company Stanford Carr. The moderator for the evening will be Dee Dee Letts, a member of the Ko’olauloa Neighborhood Board and longtime community activist.

Click here to learn more from the DOC.

The Pacific garbage patch is so large it cannot be precisely measured. It is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and  one of five in the world. Out of sight, out of mind? I think not.

Light bulbs, bottle caps, toothbrushes, Popsicle sticks and tiny pieces of plastic, each the size of a grain of rice, inhabit the Pacific garbage patch, an area of widely dispersed trash that doubles in size every decade and is now believed to be roughly twice the size of Texas. But one research organization estimates that the garbage now actually pervades the Pacific, though most of it is caught in what oceanographers call a gyre like this one — an area of heavy currents and slack winds that keep the trash swirling in a giant whirlpool.

PCBs, DDT and other toxic chemicals cannot dissolve in water, but the plastic absorbs them like a sponge. Fish that feed on plankton ingest the tiny plastic particles. Scientists from the Algalita Marine Research Foundation say that fish tissues contain some of the same chemicals as the plastic. The scientists speculate that toxic chemicals are leaching into fish tissue from the plastic they eat.

The researchers say that when a predator — a larger fish or a person — eats the fish that eats the plastic, that predator may be transferring toxins to its own tissues, and in greater concentrations since toxins from multiple food sources can accumulate in the body.

It may be out of sight, but it should be on your mind. After all, the effects could end up in your body. 

For the captain’s first mate, Jeffery Ernst, the patch was “just a reminder that there’s nowhere that isn’t affected by humanity.”

To read the rest of the article, click here.