July 23, 2014 - Volume 30, Issue 30
The
Molokai Dispatch p T h e i s l a n d ’s n e w s s o u r c e s i n c e 1985
Mana`o
Your
In 2001 the vegetation near the “Mormon steps” east of Hoolehua beack on the Kalaupapa Peninsula showed a lot of non-native grasses. Photo by Patti Welton.
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Kalaupapa Combats Climate Change
Next week is the Dispatch’s annual food issue, Taste of Molokai, in which we celebrate local farmers, restaurants, groceries and good eats. As a preview for what’s to come, the Dispatch asked the community, “What’s your favorite place to get local foods?” Native vegetation have increased since cattle and deer were removed from this fenced area . Ilima, akia, naupaka and others now dominate the area, compared to the image above. Photo by Paul Hosten
Mercy Ritte, Founder of The MOM Hui
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“I shop a lot at The Outpost and they bring in a lot of locally grown foods. I choose The Outpost primarily because they provide good organic food options.”
Only one small population of ‘ihi (Portulaca villosa) exists along the crater rim – more plants are currently being introduced to the area in the hopes of increasing the number of populations and individuals to make the plant more resilient to climate change. Photo by Paul Hosten.
By Bianca Moragne | Staff Writer
A
lthough scientists cannot predict with absolute certainty the universal severity of climate change nor its impacts, the effects are threatening the country’s National Parks with significant risks and challenges. A recent study by the National Park Service (NPS) shows that temperatures from many of the 289 National Parks over the last 30 years are warmer now than they were in 1901, including those of Kalaupapa National Historic Park (KNHP). At KNHP, scientists, researchers and organizations are working together to take develop and implement programs to address climate change. “The Park has the resources to really think about climate change and to act on it,” said KNPS Chief of Natural Resource Management Paul Hosten. “We have to because climate change is a threat.” The national NPS study analyzed climate variables such as temperature, precipitation and rising sea levels and found
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changes in each. “This report shows that climate change continues to be the most far-reaching and consequential challenge ever faced by our national parks,” said NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Our national parks can serve as places where we can monitor and document ecosystem change without many of the stressors that are found on other public lands.”
A Changing Earth For the past two decades, the mean temperature of Earth has been higher than average. The average global temperature of Earth’s surface has increased about 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th Century, according to the NPS study. “When we try and assess the effects of climate change we look at data that’s been collected over a far longer period of time,” Hosten said. “Some of the changes we picked up on are warmer air temperatures, which leads to rising global temperatures. There are a number of concerns here.”
Kilo Au Lani Kaawa-Gonzales, age 17
In Kalaupapa, the annual rainfall has declined on the peninsula over the past 20 years, Hosten said. Molokai residents are supplied with water from higher elevation sources, such as mountain streams. This decrease in rainfall may lead to the increase demand for water extraction from other areas, which may strain water supplies in the settlement, he explained The lack of rainfall will also cause an increase in extremely dry landscapes, which creates an increased fire hazard. With the increasing temperature of the Earth comes the rising of sea levels of the ocean. The projected sea level is expected to rise one to four feet in the next century, Hosten said. This will threaten the habitats of endangered species, historic structures, native plant species, animals and have a huge impact on KNHP, he said. The data NPS has collected reveals that ocean temperatures have increase .9 degrees Fahrenheit since 1956 and are pro-
“Definitely Saturday Market because it’s from people from Molokai. We’re buying our produce from people from Molokai and the money stays on Molokai.”
Xrystina Bicoy, age 18 “In my backyard we have a small garden with beans, bananas, eggplant, lettuce and bok choy and I have my own little herb garden with parsley and oregano. It’s really fun to go out there and get a bunch of vegetables and make your own salad.”
Taylor Tamanaha, age 18 “I’d have to say my family farm, called Kaleikoa Farms, where we grow papaya and strawberries.”
Climate Change Continued pg. 3
College Continues Expansion Plans By Bianca Moragne | Staff Writer
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icture this: a higher learning education center with a spacious auditorium, high-tech computer labs, larger classrooms and a grassy campus pavilion right here on Molokai. This long-awaited dream may become a reality for UH Maui College, Molokai now that the college has completed its Long-Range Development Plan. The college worked with PBR Hawaii –an urban planning firm –to draft the plan which was started in 2012. The plan was approved and finalized in June 2014. This plan will guide the development of the college to the year 2027. The first measure of development will include expanding the current two-acre site to a five-acre campus that will utilize the land to the west along Kamehameha Hwy. “We developed this plan to see what we need for the college,” said site coordinator and professor for the college, Donna Haytko-Paoa. “We want to bring things onto the campus that we don’t already have, but are es-
Image courtesy of Donna Haytko-Paoa
sential, such as an auditorium, science labs and additional instructional classrooms.” The new college development will open up a greater variety of courses in a wider range of degrees, leading to larger educational opportunities for
students, Haytko-Paoa said. The current course schedule offers associate degrees in liberal arts, agriculture, business, early childhood development, Hawaiian studies, human services and nurse aid training.
College Continued pg. 2
Why I Fly with Makani Kai. “The fare is reasonable and the flight schedule is convenient,” says Melva, who grew up in Kualapuu. “We walked a lot back then. Sometimes we’d pick beans so we could go to the movies.” Melva says she likes to sit back and relax on her monthly flights to and from Molokai, sometimes falling asleep during the trip. “I like your folks’ pilots. They’re the best.”
$50 online fare, every seat, every flight, every day. MakaniKaiAir.com | (808) 834-1111
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Melva Naki Molokai Born & Raised