Sunday, April 5, 2020

Connections :: Link with Nature

Oahu landscape © L. Peat O'Neil 2020

Content of this blog Writing Wild::Nature Writing
was  moved  on April 5, 2020 to
http://AdventureTravelWriting.org




Check out this interesting theme about meeting ourselves, knowing our links with the natural world.  After all, we are part of nature.

Discussion with Tina Welling, author of Writing Wild.  




Tasmania © 2020 L. Peat O'Neil


Quebec Winter © 2020 L. Peat O'Neil

© 2020 L. Peat O'Neil

©2020 L. Peat O'Neil


Rabbit Island © 2012 L. Peat O'Neil

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Lava Disaster On the Island of Hawai'i



The Kilauea Lava Disaster of 2018 brought devastation to many residents of Puna, the region south of Hilo, Hawai'i that includes the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano. This is not the first time the region was graced with lava.  USGS topographical maps tell the story of the Puna lava outbreaks of 1955 and 1960.  Kilauea sent a steady stream of lava at various intervals to Kalapana and other areas on the eastern and southern regions of the volcano.  In 2014, a slow moving lava flow passed through a cemetery and stopped at the Pahoa recycling center.  There were eruptions that ran into the ocean between 2015 and 2017.  Then on May 4, 2018 a massive earthquake fostered a major eruption that continued until August, 2018.  The lava is still hot in some areas.

Residents were forced to evacuate under pressure of advancing lava by the end of May.  Many lost everything.  While County of Hawai'i Civil Defense monitoring was robust when the volcanic eruption captured worldwide media attention, County action on rebuilding and recovery could now be characterized as listless.

The county representatives began with a presentation about how they wanted the meeting to proceed. But the group would have none of that and in unison boomed out, "We want to know when will Route 132 be rebuilt! "
Many called out,  "What's the county doing to work with the geothermal plant contractors already pushing through lava to their facility?" Again and again, people spoke out,  "When will we be able to get to our homes and farms?"
I had arrived early for the meeting and spoke with a representative of the County, learning that one of the goals for the evening was to "get people's stories about the disaster." This is part of an effort to reanimate news coverage and tourism after the lava flow that made countless people homeless and consumed acres of productive agricultural land, pastures and public recreational areas.
Individual stories, heartfelt examples of what the disaster has wrought on the community, families, individuals and institutions could be presented to state legislators, the county council or even the U.S. Congress to explain the extent of loss and begin to quantify needs to restore economic viability and human stability.
The greatest need from the perspective of people whose farms and homes were cut off from road access by the lava was repeated often: "We need the public roads repaired and replaced for access to our land and homes!"
The County participated in the talk story meeting with those profoundly disadvantaged by the lava inundation to ask affected residents about how visitors -- tourists -- could better understand the impact of the lava and show respect for local culture and Hawai'ian traditions of respect. The county is gathering thoughts from school-age youth and local residents to create a Pono ethics code for the Hawaii Tourism Authority to convey to tourism industry stake-holders and their customers.
By communicating to visitors the challenges faced by locals during and after the lava flow, officials anticipate that tourists will have a better understanding of local people's priorities and possibly reduce potential conflicts due to lava viewing or lava tours for visitors that stray onto local family land. The County of Hawai'i website now provides facts for potential tourists to the island of Hawai'i (aka Big Island).
I was reminded by a Kama'aina friend today that Pono is not an elastic term or concept, but a specific Hawaiian word meaning 'righteous.' Is this righteous advice to tourists or an expression of the righteous behavior that Hawaiians expect of tourists?
How to finance repairs of the roads and how to best manage the influx of tourists in search of lava viewing thrills are the thorny questions for which no answers were offered during the meeting.

Cacao to Chocolate - Agricultural Commodity Chain


Sunday, November 1, 2015

What is Eco Criticism?

Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology

What we read influences how we interact with the natural world. Ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment,  an earth-focused view of literary scholarship.

The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment  (ASLE) is dedicated to environmental literature and culture.  The organization offers grants, conferences and advocacy opportunities for advancing the protection of the environment, the planet and its creatures through literature and writing.

The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWWP) is a advocacy union of thousands of independent writers, teachers and college and university based writing programs.


Sunday, October 25, 2015

Where the Wild Creatures Roam :: Is It Sustainable?

Wildlife Tourism 





What can we do to prevent the massacre of wild animals?  Do humans actually still get a thrill from shooting wild animals?  What streak of evil condones and continues that practice?
Does wildlife tourism help stamp out the killing of animals in the wild for sport or promote and encourage it by creating tourism infrastructure in remote areas?

Here are a few articles reporting the repulsive human tendency to shoot, poison or terrorize animals and a couple of articles examining the reasons why the polar bear population is in grave decline and whales are beaching regularly.


Elephants Everywhere

Animals Slaughtered in a U.S. Zoo

Tigers in India

Salmon in Kamchatka

Wolves in Alaska

Giraffe Massacre in a Czech Zoo

Polar Bear Population Decline

Whales Dying on Beaches


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Goddess of Travel



Western Hemisphere 



Trivia, a Roman diety, is said to be the goddess of commerce and travel.  She is an aspect of Artemis/Diana with three heads to represent the place where three roads meet or the triune goddess of  earth, heaven and the underworld. During a life cycle, we travel through those worlds.  Her Latin name is  Taurian Artemis.  Another form of the name is Termemina which protects the life and death cycle.


Ayizan, in the Haitian symbolic tradition, is the first ‘mat’ laid on original water represented by a palm leaf.  She takes the form of serpent, protects the marketplace, roads, doorways and gates.  Her alternate name is Ayizan Velequete.









Eastern Hemisphere

Inari of Japan is a Shinto goddess described as a vixen associated with commerce and travel, life and death cycle, sexuality, wealth, hunting and wild animals.  These are also attributes of Artemis/Diana in the Greco-Roman tradition.  And like Artemis, this icon protects prosperity bringing long life.  She is affiliated with rice and fertility.  

Poi-Soya-Un-Mat, from the Ainu province of Japan, is the woman of Poi Soya who raised herself above the gods, dressed like a man to go hunting and sailing like a trader.

Tian-Fei  is the sailor’s goddess of navigation and safe passage.  The Celestial Spouse originates in Chinese tradition to protect travel and commerce.

Doumou, or Toumo is the goddess of the Northstar, and she also originates in China. Buddhists and Daoists invoke her while traveling and for protection from disease and war. It’s possible that she is affiliated with Marichi from India and also Buddhist goddesses Guan yin and Maritchi the Queen of heaven, a Buddhist dawn goddess of three faces, who is not known to offer travel protection. 

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Sacred Sites

So you believe there are places that shelter spiritual energy.  Are these locations protected?



Executive Order concerning Sacred Sites, May 24 1996

Sacred Sites, Contested Rites/Rights, Journal of Material Culture, V.9: N. 3, 237-261 (2004)