As an educator, I’m deeply troubled to see climate crisis and climate science denial emanating from the highest levels of government. This comes at a time when the need for global awareness and environmental stewardship have never been greater.
I believe the best way to counter misinformation is to bring people together and examine the facts.
In this regard the “Margins of the Sea” speakers series, recently inaugurated by the Honolulu-based Liljestrand Foundation, offers a bright ray of hope. Created in conjunction with the highly regarded University of Iowa International Writing Program, the presenters spoke truth to power on topics ranging from climate change to geopolitics.
My co-writer, Rob Kay, attended the program and was impressed by the array of voices, the depth of wisdom and the spectacular environs surrounding the iconic Liljestrand home. Located atop Tantalus, this architectural gem made an ideal setting for the gathering. The founders, Bob and Vicky Liljestrand, hope to make “Margins of the Sea” an annual international summit where distinguished writers, scientists, cultural practitioners and policy experts from around the Pacific Rim and Oceania can exchange ideas.
They got off to a great start.
The opening salvo of the three-day series was the keynote from New York Times best-selling author Simon Winchester. The prologue to his most recent book, “Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World’s Superpowers,” described the landscape he covered.
Much like the title of his book, Winchester’s talk covered a great deal of territory, ranging from the indefensible radioactive poisoning of Rongelap islanders (following the United States’ 1954 Castle Bravo thermonuclear test on Bikini) to the current Chinese power play in the South China Sea. His message was unambiguous: Distant environmental and political events are coming home to roost in Hawaii.
This theme was further illuminated the second day of the series by University of Hawaii law school professor Maxine Burkett and activist Maya Soetoro-Ng, who tackled subjects such as international climate justice, policy and climate change-triggered human migration. Also on the podium was UH geology and geophysics professor Chip Fletcher, who delivered a sober message of looming environmental disaster. (Part of his talk featured a slide depicting the vast areas of Waikiki and Kakaako that would be flooded with a future 1-meter sea level rise.)
On the final day of the program, thought leaders from throughout the Pacific — Vili Hereniko (Fiji), Takiora Ingram (Cook Islands) and Meleanna Meyer (Hawaii) — spoke passionately about the impact of political and environmental events on their respective communities.
The “Margins of the Sea” program is still in its nascent stages, but the founders have tapped into an archetypal vein in several ways. Hawaiians have traditionally characterized Oahu as “The Gathering Place.” Bringing people together in a meaningful way to solve problems is also an indigenous concept. In a sense, the Liljestrands have channeled the tradition of hooponopono, the Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness.
The need for this has never been more critical.
In this spirit, I’m convinced that face-to-face dialogue in the Liljestrands’ quiet, nurturing setting will foster lasting, new international relationships through discourse, argument, mutual study and breaking bread. I also believe that cross-cultural interchange will heal relationships and act as an antidote to the uncivil discourse that is all too prevalent in the public sphere.
Mike Meyer is chief information officer for Honolulu Community College. Reach him at mmeyer@hawaii.edu.
