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Wednesday, April 22nd is Earth Day. According to Wikipedia,

Earth Day, celebrated April 22, is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment. It is held annually during both spring in the northern hemisphere and autumn in the southern hemisphere. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries every year.

We recently learned that over at ImaginePeace.com, Yoko Ono has launched a project asking people around the world to plant a wish tree, or to designate a wish tree in their backyards. She asks people to write wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to the tree. We are stoked, considering this is exactly the type of thing that brings people back to nature, reminding them of the importance of trees and gets people wishing for good things to come to them and their loved ones. All-around incredible initiative.

Here on Maui, we have a problem with our forests. They have been clear-cut, they are diminishing more and more, and restoration is greatly needed. Hawai’i’s native trees are meant to be here, and they are gravely needed for wind abatement, healthy soils, and to keep moisture from evaporating in the sun. They even play an important role in healthy reefs and ocean life.

Keep reading after the jump to learn how you can help Maui for Earth Day! click to continue…

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Seemingly overnight, there appears to be mass hysteria among the small family farm and organic food movement about “The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009″, or HR 875. It seems that folks believe this legislation - along with other bills currently alive at the legislature (SB 425, HR 814, HR 759, HR1332) - are intentionally positioned to kill the family farm in America.

In the past year or so, we’ve seen nation-wide food safety scares that included poison peanuts, unsafe spinach, and bogus beef. Much of this is due to the carelessness and negligence of “factory” farming and filthy packaging plants.  Clearly we need a new regulatory focus that keeps our increasingly industrialized food production systems in check.  It makes perfect sense that lawmakers are listening to their constituencies and working to ensure that they can safely consume whatever food they want to. But, therein lies the rub. Can we eat whatever food we want to and still be safe? click to continue…

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We spent last weekend with a bunch of friends who wanted to share their latest masterpiece: restoring an ages-old lo’i (taro farm), and the ‘auwai (irrigation systems) that feed it the nourishing, flowing clean water it needs to grow. Deep in a valley above the Guard Rails surf spot in West Maui, the drive to this area takes you through a development of multi-million dollar homes landscaped with a Palm Springs-esque desert vibe and down dirt roads carved into tall, tan grass.

Following our navigator directing us by phone, we reached a steep driveway that led us into a lush, green valley. This valley is located in the leeward area of West Maui, which is drier because the winds don’t often take storms to the area. All water coming to the area is routed from the top of the West Maui mountains (The Hawaiian name for the mountains is “Kahalewai”, meaning House of Water.). There is a drastic difference between this valley and the areas we had driven through to get there. click to continue…

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Aloha folks,

We’ve decided to migrate our website to a WordPress interface that allows us to get more creative with the site, and more interactive with you.

We’ll be updating more in the coming days, and we intend to make this blog a dynamic place with regular posts.

Happy Holidays!

Sara & Joe

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