Aloha !
Listen to today's song as you read-
Feel Free to Click on the pictures to enlarge them
We are 2,500 miles from the nearest continent.
While the continental US
gets 80% of their drinking water
from rivers and lakes.
There are few of either here
on these islands.
When I lived in Kona,
we collected rain on our tin roof,
channeling it into a big tank:
'catchment water.'
When I lived in Kona,
we collected rain on our tin roof,
channeling it into a big tank:
'catchment water.'
Fortunately, fresh water is abundant here.
The Hawaiian word for fresh water
is Wai.
A rich man is one who has lots of water:
Kanaka Wai Wai
(the name of the song you are listening to :-)
(the name of the song you are listening to :-)
But where does it come from?
The answer is wind & sea.
Warm oceanic air blows onto our islands, and
is forced upward by our forested mountains
where it contracts, cools,
and squeezes out it's moisture.
Our trees collect the virgin mist.
Newly formed clouds
drop their fresh-made rain,
birthing pristine mountain streams.
drop their fresh-made rain,
birthing pristine mountain streams.
The rain from mountain streams collects in aquifers,
deep in our porous volcanic islands.
This has been going on
for millions of years.
"The islands are progressively younger in geologic age
This has been going on
for millions of years.
"The islands are progressively younger in geologic age
toward the southeast; Kauai and Ni'ihau are about 5 million years in age,
and the big island of Hawaii is less than 0.5 million years old.. .
The Hawaiian Islands are the exposed summits of the southernmost seafloor mountains, or seamounts, in the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain."
We pump it up,
and harvest the life giving water.
and harvest the life giving water.
Maui's Mount Haleakala alone
provides the Valley Isle with 60 billion gallons
of surface water per year.
Here on Oahu, the Ko`olau Mountains gift us
with 160 billion gallons.
Without that water,
no Hawaii as we know it
for you and for me!
The motto:
E Mālama i ka Wai
for you and for me!
The motto:
E Mālama i ka Wai
means
"Take Care of the Water."
A big Mahalo to Suzanne Case,
executive director of
The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii,
for her illuminating guest column
in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
And a bigger thanks to YOU for visiting today! cloudia
And a bigger thanks to YOU for visiting today! cloudia
45 comments:
Wai! Great word.
Why Wai? Just kidding!
Luv ya, Rosaria
I had never really thought about that!
Beautiful pictures and good water story.
l love Hawaii... I'll be back this summer
See you soon...Hawaii
Stefano
Aloha!
Take care of the water.....amen.
Love the music while reading!
oh I'm so glad!
Really informative. thanks
amber j
Love it. Thanks.
Wai- with a twist of lemon please!
Wonderful informative post!
HFTEC!
J
How interesting! Loved the musical accompaniment!!!
I just watched a documentary by Maude Barlow (based on a book she wrote in 2008) about water being the next thing wars will be fought over. It is called "Blue Gold". Very sobering - a must see!!! Only 3% of the world's water is fresh water, and there is less and less potable water available. She even mentions that The World Bank has countries sign over some of their water rights in exchange for monetary aid. Outrageous.
Sorry ... you mentionned the word "Wai" and got me going here!
:-)
Isn't even WATER a basic human right? *Sigh*
This is why we feed our spirit together. . . we need to witness and to speak up!
That's an amazing process. You have me looking at my refrigerated water with more respect. And it's soooo good!
Amazing first image, thanks !
Truthfully, its bizarre how much we take clean, fresh water for granted. I've read enough to believe that is something we all will pay a heavy price for in the coming years.
Amazing! And all this time I thought water cam from the kitchen faucet. Thanks for the clarity.
thanks!
Water is natures nectar and a precious gift :-).
Lovely shots! And a good reminder that water is indeed a very precious commodity.
that was so interesting. we have a town called wai about 200kms from mumbai!
namaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!
Absolutely cool and refreshing info on your water supply...and all of us every where should be watchful over our water....it is very valuable....what lovely photos...the birdy and seeing them playing in the water...oh I can't wait for weather like that around here!!!! Oh Happy day...have a fantastic weekend, Cloudia!
My daughter in A ustralia after a period of dryness, that the next war will be one about water. Right she is. Lack of water cause great problems. Great post, Cloudia! Our windmills were used to pump the water out ofvthe polder in order to prevent us from drowning.
Groetjes, Wil
Aloha Cloudia! Learning to store water will be paramount...
Sorry for the absence, but one week off means three weeks busy to recover... Blogtrotter Two is around the canals of Amsterdam... Enjoy and have a wonderful Easter weekend!!
Considering that I grew up in Waipahu, I didn't know for the longest time what wai meant. Sheesh!
Protect it !!!
The eternal problem for islands, drinking water.
perhaps if our circumstances were similar we would take care of ours...aloha from va
Hello Cloudia
Good info and very nice pictures make this story compleet..
Greetings and a happy easter on Hawaii.
Joop
Well well. Well then that is a well watered bunch of flowering islands you all have there. Well done to nature and the natural well of the porous aquifer!
Very cool post, darling!
xoxox,
CC
Excellent post. The photographs are beautiful and very informative narrative.
Beautiful photos and a wonderful reminder to take care of the water.
No life without water.
What's that old say..."water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink?" So true if it has salt in it, huh? Something you never think about....till you need it. the it becomes VERY precious! Hope you get plenty of rain water on your tin roof!!
Hawaii has it all! :)
I am honored to be able to celebrate wonderful coming of spring with you.
Thank you for the warmth of your heart.
Have a good weekend...
From Japan, ruma
The motto:
E Mālama i ka Wai
means
"Take Care of the Water."
Are the words for water and life the same or similar?
forgot to say the music is lovely and makes a smile. The sounds of breezes through the trees. smooth and soothing.
This is a fascinating description of where water comes from, and even more importantly is to have songs and views of people who value this great gift. I have to admit I never thought of it before. But am learning more and more about your island every time I visit your blog.
Thank YOU!!
Our water is so precious, yet we don't seem to treat it with much respect.
I got to come to Hawaii once, the big island, ticket given me by a fellow Oregonian with one to spare. She wanted me to help her trap cats at Hapuna Beach, to get them fixed. She'd seen the misery of the cats there, on her first trip, was horrified by it. This prompted her, once back in Oregon, to form a nonprofit to help cats in her town.
So I went with her and we went to Hapuna Beach and lucky for me a woman had already caught the cats and got them fixed. The problem in Hawaii is large. I did go scruff a cat, destined for death otherwise, at Uncle Billy's in Kona. Advocates took her. I netted a kitten on South Point too, and trapped a few at the hospital. I love my visit and wished I never had to come back Oregon. It was relaxing and warm. I split with the Oregon woman and ended up swimming alone on a beach north of Kona and two natives were waving at me from the shore. There was a Tiger shark very near me. I'd seen something big and was trying to be really still in the water. So then Billy and Billy Jr. took me around in their jeep, showed me how to net fish, which is so much like netting cats. I would like to come back to Hawaii some day. The Neuterscooter vet from Indiana goes there a lot and does high volume spay neuter clinics.
Very interesting about your water.
So important, wai.
Easter love and joy and peace to you, dear Cloudia.
Aloha!
I just read Bonnie's comment and it reminded me of the DUNE stories and the Fremins.
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