And we shake our collective heads, perhaps wondering "What next?". During the past 4 months (May to August), not necessarily in order: ʻōlaʻi: small, medium, large, extra large 2.8, 3.5, 4.6, 5.0, 5.4, 5.6, 6.9...tens of thousands of all sizes; Pelehonuamea and her pele working in Keahialaka, Halekamahina, Kapoho, Pūʻālaʻa, Malama, Waiwelawela, Pohoiki..., adding 875 acres to the shore of Hawaiʻi nei, inundating 13.7 square miles and 700+ houses with fresh ʻaʻā and pāhoehoe; newly sculpted puʻu, māwae, kīpuka, lae and kūʻono, 62 lūʻōniu and their attendant M5.3 equivalent energy-no-tsunami-generated shakings; Halemaʻumaʻu, then 280 feet deep, now ~1,500 feet deep; a new pali on the floor of Kaluapele with a face 400 feet tall; and at its base a new kaulu (ledge) many, many acres in size, falling off into the abyss of Halemaʻumaʻu; walls of the caldera decorated with evidence of numerous hāneʻe (rock falls or landslides) and with colorful new faces; and in recent days, rains and floods and bombastic torrents and more hāneʻe in Hilo Palikū, One, and Hanakahi; Hāmākua, and Puna, and more...and more and more...itʻs dizzying...
At Kawaiʻapapane, my place here at Keaʻau ma uka, I measured 26 inches of rain in the 66 hours from noon Wednesday to 6a Saturday. More or less. Good thing we can handle...
And a phrase that comes to mind, recorded by Mary Kawena Pukui, is
He aliʻi ka ʻāina, he kauā ke kanaka
The land is the chief, man is its servant
We are here at the pleasure of the elementals: pele, winds, rains, earth shakings, tsunami...and are subject to their whim. We must
be outside...pay attention noho i waho...a maliu
And yes, I suppose I keep repeating these things, and sometimes shout, but some people...hard head... Theyʻre either stubborn, or they donʻt pay attention, and some seem incapable of accepting that they screwed up. And that The Government should pay to make things right. Please note, dear readers, that The Government, as stated previously, is Us...
Please think, mull, muse, consider... And another little thing: It seems that these days, in many minds, there is an expectation of Safety. We want to be Safe. The Government must keep us Safe. We put up with a lot so we can be Safe. Rules, laws, ordinances, codes, policies, statutes...of course some, and perhaps many of them are well-intentioned, and I am certainly not advocating anarchy or "AINOKEA: I do what I like"...no...
But when is enough enough? Airport Security Screenings, Building Codes, Food Safety Codes, when are they enough? This is when I long for the olden days, when life was, in my estimation, simpler. Got banged up while backpacking or hiking? Either dig into the first aid kit and improvise, or someone had to hike out for help. Cars had no seatbelts, people (including me) smoked in planes, sunscreen wasnʻt invented, had glass and metal, but hardly any plastic, of course no computers, cell phones or social media. OK OK OK...maybe too much coffee... You get the point. Maybe. I know of many single-wall houses, post-and-pier, with the post on a river rock. Many decades old. They survived all sorts of nature-challenges. They still stand. No building "codes" back then, just Common Sense. Common sense...what a seemingly uncommon concept these days!!!
And it might be common sense to think that after the stupefying volcanic events of May-August, that itʻll take time for things to settle. To reach whatever states are natural. The malolo, recess, still holds. I believe that weʻre still in that place of what we know, was, as we anticipate our uncertain and unknown future. Weʻll always be in that state of uncertainty, but it shouldnʻt cause us to be paralyzed. Remember, study, learn lessons, proceed.
A wonderland of steams...yes, subsurface heat remains. And Iʻve noted a newish webcam in the tower at HVO. Itʻs a thermal one. The scale is relatively low, but allows us to discern the warmer places. 30dC (white) is 86dF, while 20dC (purple) = 68dF. Kinda PeterMax-y:
And note again, there is relatively a tiny amount of SO2, sulphur dioxide, being emitted. In the range of a few hundred tons a day, rather than the several thousands of tons a day when the lava lake on the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu was active. Time to store all those SO2 monitors? Really good Volcano Watch summary, this week from HVO gas geochemists:
Volcano Watch 082318
And Iʻm thinking, hoping, etc., that the rains of Lane, combined with much-decreased fumings may result in cleanly washed airs and a return to that beloved visual, compliments of R. Alex Anderson in "Haole Hula":
"The lovely blue of sky and the sapphire of ocean..."
Haole Hula lyrics
We are ever-optimistic...
And there will be more to read...maybe on Tuesday...
Till then, as always, with aloha,
BobbyC
maniniowali@gmail.com
Aloha e Bobby... Am compelled to raise a point relative to a discussion that surfaced at this month's meeting of the Bishop Museum Association Council (BMAC). One of the Council members that had attended Ka ʻAha Hula ʻO Hālauaola in Hilo in June said that some attendees were debating the possibility of the return of 'Ai La'au. This was of particular interest because the Council member/hula practitioner's spouse is a vulcanologist and had commented that the lava of Fissure 8 was "Old Lava" and not of the same that has been erupting periodically over the last 30+ years... The BMAC is responsible for the Traditions of the Pacific (TOTP) lecture series, held monthly at the Museum. Presently, the series focuses on Hula Traditions (https://www.bishopmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018Hula-Series.pdf). It was suggested that a presentation regarding the possibility of the Return of 'Ai La'au be considered based on the melding of Traditional and Scientific knowledge. Should it happen, it could prove to stimulate some very interesting, if not lively discussions... Mahalo for your continued reports, insights, and prose. Be well and take care... Billy
ReplyDeleteAloha 'Anakala. Finally got to check in with "Dispatches" on my lunch break which doesn't often get taken and pleased to see a most excellent comment from Billy Richards which itself is deserving of comment and consideration. But because I am not sufficiently informed to contribute thereto, I really just wanted to thank you Bobby for chronicling even now. I know, because you have taught me, that we don't know where now is on the continuum of this event, but, even if the event is over for this time, often data from before and after an event reveals as much as the data from the event itself, and even keen observers may be criticized for 'cherry picking' when to start observing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, to your mention of the rules and regulations that abound and compel us to do as others would have done, it seems the best rules are based upon a shared understanding of what is expected of us and of one another and if that understanding is derived through true observation to learn, that is outstanding. But, because two observers of the same event can see it much differently, and urgency abounds in getting things done now, can we at least let the rules be created by those who have a deep observational knowledge, like don't put your slippers there or they wash away at high tide, so don't even think about cesspool - or if the observers among us cannot make the rules, then at least let them inform the rules. How can? One of the lessons of Lane is how smart it was for Hawaii County NOT to develop the fields and parks at Wailoa, which have flooded before and will flood again. That was a sound policy based on experience and observation that we should be able to agree saved us trouble, money, and grumbling - it was a service to we, the future, from the people who had to deal with tragedy and damage in the past. So what can we give to our future selves and those that follow after because of what we know today? For instance, what other areas are not suitable for high density development and what uses can they support, if any? How much room does a stream need to breathe? The ocean? The forest? Surely there is time for these rules in the midst of the rules telling us how to live our lives as individuals. What an opportunity we have to identify how things can be better and to take action to make them that way - and to empower others to do the same. Mahalo nui for the inspiration.