Colony Collapse Disorder in Domesticated Bee Populations: Finding a way to balance our agricultural system to better accommodate our bees.

"There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance."
~Henry David Thoreau

My last semester of my undergraduate studies at HPU is just around the corner.  I sit here contemplating about how much I have grown and learned about life and myself.  I sit here contemplating with anxiety and excitement about my near future.  Finding a favorite passion in life is a challenge for anyone.  For me, it has been especially difficult to find one specific aspect in environmental studies that I want to focus on during graduate school.  I believe I am getting closer and closer to finding this passion.  The main project for my anthropology class prompted me to study how our society can create a more balanced agricultural system in order to mitigate the phenomenon of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in domesticated honeybee populations throughout the world.  There is a great possibility that I will continue studying this subject in graduate school, and possible write my thesis on this unsettling mystery.

Because CCD is a relatively recent phenomenon (the term was coined in 2006), there is a lot more research that needs to be done as scientists still don’t know the direct causes behind the mass bee die-offs.  Not only do the services that bees provide to civilization have great cultural and religious significance, they are the foundation of many ecosystems, agricultural industries, and the economies of the world.  The USDA states that 33 percent of the food that humans eat comes from crops pollinated by honeybees.  It is no wonder Albert Einstein said, “If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live …” 

CCD has been attributed to the synergistic effects of various factors including viral and bacterial pathogens, lack of genetic diversity, GMOs, stress, malnutrition, global warming, pesticides, and exposure to other agrochemicals and toxins occurring in the environment.  Exposure to the electromagnetic fields created by cell phones and cell phone towers has also been attributed with CCD. 

During my research, it was interesting to be reminded about how the technology developed during times of war and violence is the foundation of our current mainstream agricultural system.  Even though these chemicals have allowed us to grow food on a colossal scale, we are now discovering there viscous cycle.  With pesticides, beneficial insects that used to prey on pests die along with our pollinators.  With herbicides, the weedy flowering plants that bees rely on for pollen and nectar die.  The bees then leave the area because they simply have no food.  The toxic runoff from fertilizers and other agrochemicals impacts the immune systems of bees and other animals.  The pollen from GMO Bt crops is now toxic food for pollinators. 

Domesticated honeybees undergo significant amounts of stress as they are transported thousands of miles across the country in cold containers where they are fed a diet that of high fructose corn syrup pumped up with chemical nutrients.  This would be the equivalent of a significant portion of human’s diet exclusively consisting of power bars.  This physical and nutritional stress, alone, is enough to compromise a bee’s immune system.

So far, France is the only country that has been proactive by banning the import of these lethal pesticides call neonicotinoids.  Now other countries in Europe are working hard to petition to ban these chemicals from being applied to their crops.  The US has passed amendments to the Farm Bill, creating funding for the research of the potential causes of CCD and taking legal action when it comes to monitoring the movement of bee colonies throughout the country.  Unfortunately, many of these funds have yet to be allocated accordingly. 

I am looking forward to continuing my research about bees.  I am also looking forward to raising my own bees.  Now it is just a matter of retaking the GRE, getting accepted into grad school, and finding some way to pay for it.  In the mean time, I hope that farmers and individuals don’t wait for the lengthy processes of politicians and research to take action in how they apply chemicals to their crops and landscaping plants.  I think municipalities should grow more flowering plants throughout the entire growing season so that bees can have a continuous food source.  I think we should make the switch to organic farming and work to de-homogenize our farming system.  

Teaching Gardens

In higher education, so much time, money, and energy is invested in the discussion of problems.  While it is necessary to study the reasoning behind why such complex issues continue to exist in every region of the world in every field of study, I feel that not enough attention is given to the individuals and organizations that truly are making concerted efforts to take action and change things for the better.  By not being exposed to optimism and physically seeing the work of people who dedicate their entire lives to truly honest and humble career paths, today’s students become so overwhelmed and disoriented that they become unmotivated by the disheartening reality that seems to consume their entire curriculum.  So far this semester, there have been two occasions that have deeply inspired me to stay on the path that I am on in terms of my field of study.  These occasions were not lectures by esteemed professors or discussions about complex theories about how to solve multifaceted political and environmental problems.  These occasions were rather times when I got to see average Americans living a truly happy life because they chose lifestyles and careers that are genuinely simple and honest.  These people chose not to succumb to the modern American dream of material wealth which, unfortunately, is slyly permeating through the rest of the world.  These people simply walked their talk of living simply.  After these experiences, I felt a sense of physical and spiritual motivation come over my body. 

The first occasion was when our anthropology class visited Kevin Vacarello’s home and restaurant in Waimanalo.   I have written about this in a previous blog for this class.  The next occasion was this past weekend at Hickam Elementary School at Hickam Air Force Base here on Oahu.  I had the honor of being invited by one of my environmental science professors to volunteer and represent the Sierra Club in this two day event.  The event was hosted by the American Heart Association’s Teaching Gardens.  This newly formed organization travels around the country planting substantially sized organic raised bed gardens at elementary schools located in concrete jungles and military bases.  The main mission of the teaching garden projects is to promote healthy lifestyles amongst impoverished youth from minority neighborhoods and military children who are constantly moving from base to base.  These children are comparatively more disconnected from the natural environment than most of today’s youth.  One of the members of the organization told me that some young children of inner city LA have admitted to never seeing a tree.  I found this almost hard to believe.

In having the kids build these gardens, not only are they given the opportunity to learn what a healthy diet consists of, they can, in a sense, develop some sort of connection with the earth as they touch the soil and watch how their little seeds turn into strawberries, oregano, and carrots.  Growing up in a rural community deep in the mountains of Colorado, my friends and I lived in the dirt.  Until this weekend, I had never before seen children afraid of touching dirt and getting their shirts dirty.  Thankfully, once they started, they couldn’t stop!  A lasting impression can be made in a child by simply having the day-to-day exposure to food growing during their elementary education. 

Often, the attention span of young people is short, but modern curriculums continue to combat this fact by forcing students to sacrifice a recess for more times-tables.  The curriculum is counterintuitive.  However with active learning of the teaching gardens, students can physically take part in learning how to grow their own, healthy food.  As an adult college student, I felt I even learn more and naturally retain the information about sustainable agriculture during my involvement in the HPU garden and this project better than I do while attending semester-long lectures.  During interactive learning, students feel like they are able to make a tangible difference in the community.  They know what they are doing is right because they are still so sensitive to what is truly pono.  This sensitivity enlivens them and gives not just one, but every single student the most apparent passion to continue and expand their project.  It is so simple and so feasible, especially in a tropical region like Hawaii.  I am so thankful I got these opportunities.

La`au Lapa`au

Da tot of da day, braddah ~ “Go into nature and there you will find all the brains there have ever been”. 

I could just see the earth in Krista Steinfeld.  I could feel Hawaii in her passion for life.  True life.  Not the hustle and bustle of the chaotic life of today’s society, but life.  Her pono recapitulated the life of the wild.  It has been a long time since I met a new person like this, and I am ever so grateful for the sincere message she shared with me and the rest of my peers.  Her message was an important reminder for me to remember my roots, the roots I have been blessed with.  I need to return back to the earth.  Recently, I have become so disconnected with the spirit of the soil.  It is the first time I have ever lived in a concrete jungle.  Up until my senior year in college, I was blessed to call the Rocky Mountains of Colorado my home and the Ko`olau’s of Kaneohe my home away from home.  I am certainly blessed to live where I do now in downtown, Honolulu.  I guess it is just part of the necessary duality of my life that God has brought to me to teach me where I truly belong and to allow me to appreciate and respect how essential nature is when I do return back to her. 

It was refreshing to again hear someone sincerely ask the plant permission to take their life and then thank the plant and God for their gift.  It privilege to learn about the medicinal values of the plants that surround my school.  Ohia Lehua can be used for lethargy.  Ti can be used for fevers, spiritual cleansing, to reduce fevers, and to aid in the development of healthy eyesight in infants.  Ti root even makes a wonderfully sweet candy with a high nutritional value.  We learned about the dualities of the guava tree’s leaves and fruit; the fruit aids in relief of constipation while its leaves relieve diarrhea.  I have always enjoyed eating ulu with honey, but I never knew it could act as a strong bandage to protect severe wounds.  I am also looking forward to someday trying ulu poi and ulu chips.  Hala can be used as an aphrodisiac, to enhance male vigor, to increase energy, or to simply bring a masculine balance of energy to those who are out of balance.  The lace fern mends headaches.  The bumpy fern lessens scoliosis.  And of course, coconut water is high in potassium while it naturally lowers blood pressure while coconut oil is a wonderful oil to cook with because it doesn’t burn and release free radicals at high temperatures. 

Of course a person really needs to make sure that their spirit is in the right place before they make any of this medicine, because their mana (energy) will go into the medicine.  A person should make sure their spirit is in the right place before they do anything.  In today’s society, this is an easy thing to forget.  Even when one performs pule (prayer), they must be sincere because pule is real medicine.  Pule is not just protocol, a chanting performance, or merely wishful thinking.  There is power in prayer. 

Because disease has always had both a physical and spiritual element, traditional Hawaiian La’au Lapa’au focuses on curing the mind, spirit, and body holistically.  The history of La`au Lapa`au has two sides.  While it helped the Hawaiian thrive and live in health, it was made illegal when Christian missionaries started colonizing the islands.  After nearly 100 years of being illegal, it was finally decriminalized in 1965 by the state of Hawaii.  Yet to this day, there is a continued skepticism along with a scientific and spiritual devaluation of the traditional medicine.  In essence, there has been a “deification” of science as people truly believe that Western medicine is the highest form of medicine.  I really hope and pray that the Hawaiian people and the rest of the world can find pono on multiple levels of society from the individual level to the family unit to an entire society.  The rebirth of La`au Lapa`au I know is already and will continue to help move this process forward.

The Great American Brain Drain

“The freedom to think is encroached upon by the encumbrances of money”~Vijay Prashad

I am so proud that my generation is taking its first steps in standing up for humanity by peacefully protesting against our world’s most prominent problem: corporate greed.  The Occupy Wall Street movement is a multifaceted protest with no true agenda other than purely confronting corporate crimes against humanity.  It is intriguing how not having an actual agenda for a specific change essentially strengthens the protest.  By thinking outside of the box and having no plan and no head creates a situation where the opponents (the corporations that are in bed with the politicians) have no idea of what is going on, and therefore cannot come up with a cunning scheme to counteract the mission of the people. 

Thousands of young, hardworking citizens of nearly every state and many countries throughout the world are taking it upon themselves to make a visible statement to society.  Yet for some reason, the sidewalks in front of Hawaii’s banks and big corporations seem to remain the same with no sign of opposition.  How can this be when the state of Hawaii’s public education system is one of the worst in the nation?  How can this be when so many people are forced out of their homes during foreclosure?  The middle class in Hawaii is certainly not becoming more empowered in the job force while their already high cost of living is only increasing at an especially high rate.  Perhaps the reason for Hawaii’s inactivity when it comes to this particular movement is that the state is so small.  Honolulu is a city that feels like a small town.  Everyone knows everyone.  If you protest, there is a chance that you could be standing outside of your auntie’s office (a place that provides her with the most reasonable job in town) and that your uncle is the cop that monitors the protest.  Perhaps this is only a small part of the reason why Hawaii hasn’t joined the protest against greed. 

The “Occupy” movements across the world are multifaceted, taking on an array of issues from the unfair foreclosures of thousands of people’s homes, banks being rewarded billions of dollars in tax breaks, and the various forms of corporate greed.  In Boston, the movement took on America’s education system and the tremendous debt it creates for young people struggling to find jobs.  Student debt in America is now over $1 trillion.  The cost of college is a huge deterrent that keeps great minds and people with determination from even entering the classroom in the first place.  Because of this, a growing number of high school graduates are turning to vocational and trade education.  In Vijay Prashad’s article, The Closing of the American Mind, he quotes John Dewey who states that when vocational education begins to dominate the curriculum, “…“education would becomes an instrument of perpetuating unchanged the existing industrial order of society, instead of operating as a means of transformation.”  Dewey goes onto argue that education founded primarily on the simple act of learning a monotonous trades and skill is “illiberal and immoral [because the graduates] do what they do, not freely and intelligently, but for the sake of the wage earned.”

What is even worse than the deterrence created by the high price of tuition, is the amount of brilliant, driven students that have no choice but to quit college because they can no longer afford to finish their degree.  Even though, these students work full time jobs and have parents with full time jobs, they cannot find someone to take out a second mortgage on their home or cosign on a high interest loan so they can at least finish the job they already started.  More and more students are left without a degree and tens of thousands of dollars in debt from a few successful semesters in college. 

Prashad states noteworthy facts that put the US’s approach to funding higher education into perspective when her states how many equally developed and even less developed countries fund between 70 and 90 percent of students’ college costs.  These countries range from Hungary to Mexico to Turkey to Ireland.  Prashad goes onto emphasize the straightforward comparative analysis that shows what the American government gives priority:

         " The tuition and fees to all public institutions of higher education in the United States is somewhere in the ballpark of $25 billion (according to the Labor   Institute). That is a small proportion of the cost of the wars ($7.6 trillion since 9/11) and of corporate tax breaks (of which, deferral on foreign income is by itself $1 trillion). The cost of higher education is a fraction of the $1.35 trillion to $3 trillion, which is range of the cost of the Bush and Obama tax cuts. "

“The world holds enough for everyone’s NEED, but not enough for everyone’s GREED.” ~Gandhi 

Dr. Art Whatley: Culture v. the Planet

“One gallon of gas is equivalent to 25,000 human hours of effort…No wonder we are addicted!” ~Dr. Art Whatley, Professor of Management and Program Chair of the Master of Arts program in Global Leadership and Sustainable Development.

                 Yet again, our Thursday evening anthropology class was presented with the honor to have another brilliant guest speaker.  It was evident that Dr. Whatley empowered the entire class with his passion and his knowledge about how the dominating culture of the world is suppressing the planet.  During the past 200 years after the discovery of fossil fuels 250 years ago, this Western industrial culture has crept up on nearly all cultures and pervaded the world’s way of life.  250 years ago, the world looked unlimited.  All the oak trees were cut down to build ship and explore the world.  The foundations of our Western culture were built with no limitations. For over 400 years, indigenous people in each country have been trying to battle the dominant ways that go against their entire belief systems. 

                Although the beginning of Dr. Whatley’s lecture seemed only to be filled with doom, all of the unfortunately realities had to be put into perspective.  Our world must put the reality we have made into perspective before we will be able to even begin undoing this reality.  We must identify the heart and origins of each major problem.  Among the inconvenient truths discussed was the agricultural revolution, a topic not new to the class. Because we can feed more people, we can make more people.  The world’s population just reached 7 billion people who all need to be fed and who all, instinctually, will reproduce.  It is all of these 7 billion people’s genetic structure to fill every space possible and to use every resource possible.  And humans certainly have shown they have all the power necessary to do this.  It is our evolutionary, biological predisposition.  However, one could say that a strong, sound, and educated human mind can defeat this instinct.  Even a sound spiritual foundation or religious belief system can teach people the value of being frugal with how we consume our resources, how we should be charitable, and the importance of land conservation.  Disappointingly, we are feeding the world’s growing population in an inequitable way.  Dr. Whatley emphasized how “we cannot have sustainability without social justice”. 

                The dominant system the US has adopted made the country the biggest consumer society on the planet beginning in 1980.  America’s leaders have an unconscious addition to economic growth.  But the politicians and business people don’t want to talk about this, even though the world is screaming.  Sometimes I feel that many of these people are simply in a deep denial.  As Dr. Whatley put it, “Ask any economics professor if economy is more important than ecology, and their answer will be, ‘No, society and nature are subsets of the economy’”.  This has become the dominant system in our education system which has made people ecologically illiterate.  Kids and people know about economy than ecology.  At least the 20 young students in our anthropology class know that the undeniable scientific truth is that the economy is dependent on the planet. 

                It is going to be up to us to utilize our people power to overcome the power of the greedy people so that we can work to reverse the completely inverted system.  This is just now starting to happen with the Occupy Wall Street movement.  I found it quite compelling when Dr. Whatley talked about how an annual earnings of $15,000 is actually the threshold for happiness.  We must move away from the system of our industrial economy which takes, makes, and wastes, to a sustainable system that borrows, uses, and returns.  We must teach systems theory and its ideas of limits, feedbacks, and overshoot.  It is indeed possible to sustain human life without harming the planet while being happy and comfortable.  Fortunately, there is a minority of companies whose missions and objectives are to produce zero waste in their industrial processes.  Thankfully, people are taking their own initiative to live in a sustainable way in their personal lives with their diets, purchases, and how much they travel.  

Sweet Home Waimanalo

Unfortunately, I had to miss anthropology class this Thursday, Oct. 13^th, because I had to sing with the International Vocal Ensemble at the induction dinner for the new president.  So this week, I will blog about the field trip that our class took a few weeks ago to Waimanalo. 

It was such an honor and a great treat to be welcomed to the several-acre farm beautifully settled directly at the foot of the Ko`olau’s.  I cannot remember the last time I had the opportunity to stand outside and not hear the noise of the highway.  The stillness was almost eerie to me and is something that I will forever remember about this sacred space.  I will always remember the sincere Hawaiian chant from my fellow class-mates asking for permission to enter onto the property that Kevin Vaccarello leases from the government.  Kevin’s lecture and welcoming us into his home and his restaurant was a truly eye-opening experience.  Even though his mission is something that I have been studying for several years now, actually seeing it put into practice with so much genuineness spoke to my mind, my heart, and my spirit. 

In his lecture, I could see that Kevin has such a strong mind that he rarely puts to rest.  His in-depth ideas about how to evaluate environmental, socio-cultural, and socio-economic problems were arranged into quite complex models.  While the one of the main answers to solving many of our world’s problems is seemingly straightforward (people must only take what they need and leave the rest), it is necessary to be able to evaluate and diagram how society, the environment, and the economy interrelate so that problems may be more easily understood and acknowledged.  He emphasized how one of our greatest modern problems is that our economic system gives so much weight to externalities.   In a truly sustainable system, the concept of externalities shouldn’t even exist as it is erroneous and dishonest to assume that there are unlimited resources.  Kevin showed us how the studies of psychology, biology, ecology, sociology, and anthropology go into depth in evaluating the non-physical and physical components of individual and collective concerns. 

And at the end of his inquisitive lecture filled with multifaceted intellectualism, Kevin stopped.  He stopped to remind himself of the fact that what truly matters in life is the spiritual health of one’s heart and soul.  A society is healthy when its individuals wholeheartedly abide the divine laws of the universe which happen to be very basic.  He showed us how the spiritual realm encompasses all aspects of life.  When the richest and most glamorous businessmen are not honest in the careers, their whole life is miserable.    

The following week, our entire class and any of our friends had the honor to go to Waimanalo to see that it is possible to run a successful business and live a life of true abundance while being honest and frugal at the same time.  Kevin lived on land hundreds of times more beautiful than anyone with their monstrosity mansion in Kahala.  And the land and the spirits on that land accepted him because he is there to only do good.  I know that the love, warmth, and welcoming provided by the land and the spirits was felt by every student that set foot onto that property. 

Our adventure continued on into the evening at the quaint restaurant, Sweet Home Waimanalo.  It was the first time that I ever ate food that was grown on the rooftop above me.  By far, was it the most delicious produce that I have tasted in Hawaii.  When Kevin told us that every couple weeks, only 500 square feet of roof space would produce 20 pounds of greens, I know many students were inspired.  It was a sweet feeling to see a compost-bin, let alone a recycling bin at a restaurant.  Yet, at the same time, a feeling of dismay shaded my spirit.  It boggled my mind that Kevin is one of the only people on Oahu that dedicates his life to this way.  I couldn’t figure out why more people don’t have green gardens on their roofs.  It would be so much cleaner, cheaper, tastier, and certainly, more nutritious than shipping our food at least 5000 miles from the mainland or other countries to our plate.  I couldn’t figure out why more businesses in our beautiful island state didn’t provide recycling bins to their customers. 

Nevertheless, I must remember how vital it is to focus on the progress that has been made.  Five years ago, I know a field trip like this would have not been possible as there was not a strong environmental studies program or a business like Kevin’s.  Five years, and a change for the better.  I change that hundreds of students will see in the next few years.  A change that thousands of costumers see every few months.  It can be done, and thank God, people can now see it with their own eyes!

Poka Laenui in Hawaiian Justice

It was such an honor to be in the intimate classroom setting and have Mr. Poka Laenui passionately speak to us about how societies are constructed while showing us how this relates, in essence, to the Hawaii Sovereignty Movement.  His reading of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s eloquent speech about how religion relates to society was so fitting for the introduction of his presentation.  This inspired me to research more about Tutu’s humanitarian efforts in South Africa and other parts of the world throughout history.  Tutu’s words made me want to learn more about his political views surrounding modern world issues such as poverty, minority rights, and environmental concerns.  In the last year, I have been blessed to be presented with many powerful leaders that share the same belief system as me.  Studying these figures helps me to further justify my belief system and become a better student and leader, myself. 

I am so blessed to have the opportunity to pursue my education in Hawaii.  I remember my first month living in Hawaii.  So many strange things happened to me that are unexplainable.  Not until the last year have I been able to understand these incidences.  I remember running through the forest in Kaneohe near the Pali Golf Course.  Growing up in the middle of the nowhere in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, I have always had an inviting and intimate relationship with nature.  But when I was running in Kaneohe, I didn’t feel welcomed by the soil, the trees, and the ferns.  The birds would just ignore me.  This was completely foreign to me.  The only thing I could do was tell them, “I am here to learn to do good for the world…to help you.  I am not here to be dishonest or to live a frivolous life.  Please, please welcome me.  Let me see the beauty of Hawaii so I can be happy.”  Soon, I felt welcomed, thank God.  But there were still some places I would go that would literally make me vomit.  Three years later, I found out that these places were where graves were dug up by huge companies and put in shoeboxes for storage. 

 Immersing myself as much as possible in the traditions of the Hawaiian people, especially Hula, has allowed my relationship with the earth to grow tremendously.  Carefully observing the relationship that people of Hawaiian descent have with the Western world has fascinated me as much as it has saddened me.  I have always found myself drawing a parallel between the situation in Hawaii and what has happened with the indigenous culture that I am most familiar with, the Lakota Nation.  There are parallels everywhere ranging from the Christianization of the locals, to the new, cheap, unhealthy diet of salt and sugars, to the sedentary lifestyle, to the poverty, to the environmental destruction, to the racism, to the alcoholism, to the Westernization, to the materialism.  Because the story of the Hawaiian people has been kept from them, many cannot help but assimilate with the Western world.  Fortunately, their ways are making a comeback, and people are adopting them back into their lives with great pride. 

Although I still have much to learn about the history involved with the overthrow of Queen Lili`uokalani, the US military occupation of the islands, the annexation of Hawaii, and the US government’s role in the islands since then, I know that what was done was wrong and that something needs to be done about it.  What should be done and how this should be carried out has always baffled me.  Poka Laenui has so far, presented the most reasonable steps to attain justice and bring the Hawaiian people a peace of mind. 

Laenui’s model of the formal system in Hawaii and the rest of the US which specifically emphasizes domination, individualism, and exclusion (DIE) revealed so much truth so simply.  Things were really put into perspective when he revealed to us the informal system in Hawaii which upholds `olu`olu (being comfortable with), Lokani (community), and Aloha (inclusion with a sense of humanity and compassion).  The acronym for `Olu`olu, Lokani, and Aloha is OLA, which means life in Hawaiian.  Somehow, both of these systems exist simultaneously.  Yet this does not negate the unfortunate fact that the DIE model has become dominant in these beautiful islands.

In order to change from the DIE to the OLA model, we must first recognize DIE and all that it entails.  The transition from DIE to OLA is one of the main objectives that the people behind the Hawaiian sovereignty movement are fighting for.  First Hawaii must go through the process of decolonization before any true contentment and reparation can begin.  Laenui’s steps toward appropriate decolonization certainly made a lot of sense.  The first step is recovery and rediscover.  If, in this case, the true Hawaiian culture is not recovered and rediscovered, the years of colonization and its ways that have become engrained in society will just continue.  The second stage is the mourning phase; this society is more than justified to mourn for the story of their people that has been kept from them.  But society must move on to the dreaming phase and explode the system from the inside by revealing the truth.  Great consideration has to be given to identifying the deep values we want to live by in Hawaii.  Consensus then must be achieved.  All of these steps will prepare the society for appropriate action.  I truly hope that one day, all races can come together and bring Hawaii the justice it deserves.