Oahu in Depth - Honolulu, Waikiki and Oahu - page 82

had a complex social structure that managed resources and forbid the taking of various re-
sources during certain times of the year, to allow those resources to replenish themselves.
Now fast forward to the 21st century. Today we, the current stewards of the islands of
Hawaii, are just beginning to appreciate just how wise and advanced the ancient Hawaiians
were. In some ways, the state of Hawaii is a pioneer when it comes to the various ways it
protects and saves its natural resources. (For example, Hawaii is second only to California in
the number of marine reserves in the National System of Marine Protected Areas.) And yet
in other ways, modern Hawaii still falls short of the ancient Hawaiians, whose unique system
sustained, without imports, the entire population.
Ongoing Environmental Initiatives
The State of Hawaii has several excellent stewardship programs to preserve the ocean environ-
ment and its resources, such as Marine Life Conservation Districts (an ocean version of parks),
Fishery Management Areas (where what you can take from the ocean is restricted), Fishery
Replenishment Areas, and Estuarine Reserves. On land, there are corresponding programs to
protect the environment from the Soil and Water Conservation District to Watershed Reserves.
In the visitor industry, the majority of hotels have adopted green practices, not only to save
the environment, but also to save them money. Nearly every hotel in the state will have a card
in your room asking you to really consider if you need a new towel or if you can hang it up and
use it one more day. Various statewide organization have numerous programs recognizing ho-
tels which are helping the environment, such as the Green Business Awards Program, which
recently recognized the HyattRegencyWaikiki for its Environmental Management System in
1,229 rooms, which installed 6,000 LED bulbs and fixtures throughout the hotel, re-lamping
every guest room with CFL bulbs, creating a 1,428,325 kWh reduction in electricity use as well
as a 4.5 million gallon reduction in water usage. Over the past 5 years, the Hyatt estimates a
20% reduction in their electricity, gas, and water usage.
Also recognized were the J. W. Marriott Ihilani at Ko Olina and the Kahala Hotel and
Resort. The J. W. Marriott Ihilani has implemented green measures such as lighting retrofits
and recycling, keeping 62 tons out of the landfill. The Kahala Hotel & Resort put the property's
air-conditioning systems on an energy management program and installed ceiling fans in all
guestrooms, which can be used as an alternative for A/C. The property also uses deep water
wells to cool the refrigeration systems, saving them 380,000 kWh of electricity and 4.5 million
gallons of water annually. Their CFL-bulb retrofit in all guestrooms resulted in an estimated
reduction of 180,000 kWh per year. With the installation of high-efficiency water aerators and
fixtures, the Kahala Hotel has estimated a 40% to 50% reduction in water usage.
Every island has recycling centers (varying from collection of recyclable bottles only to
places that take everything); for a list of recycling centers close to where you will be staying,
visit the website of the HawaiiStateDepartmentofHealth ( http://hi5deposit.com/redcen-
ters.html ) .
Restaurants across the state are using more local products and produce than ever. Many
proudly tell you that all of their products were grown, grazed, or caught within 100 miles of
their restaurant. You can support this effort by asking the restaurant which items on its menu