Photo by Josefa Holland-Merten

Before reading, this assignment was done on paper but was never put on this blog until now. The date in which this was written was on November 6.

    Balance is essential to sustain a limited resource. In today's world, such a concept is difficult to grasp; and this is especially true for the life on Earth's waters. Due to a heavy amount of demand from people all across the globe, populations of the most popular fish people eat are depleting. The scarcity of marine life is becoming more apparent than ever, and it's taking a harsh toll not only to the fish themselves, but also to the environment and the people. Overfishing is a severe issue that has led to the struggling sustainability between people's demand and the environment.
    Satisfying the increasing demand in the short term is certainly going to mean a problem in the long term, especially with fishing. Stephen Columbia, a Stanford University marine biologist, lays out that long term concept, that "None of us regular folk are going to be able to afford seafood". This is the problem that the average consumer of seafood is going to face, given the current overfishing practices. It's clear that scarcity of a resource--fish--will lead to the price of it increasing. Not only this, but places such as Hawaii, where the reliance on seafood is strong, can suffer consequences. Molokai activist Walter Ritte, whose island is being faced with the introduction of Oahu fishers, explained that "...people are coming to Molokai because their resources are depleted on their island...where we've been working really hard to...managing the resource..." This conflict affects fishers too through situations like this. It is comparable to that of homeless sweeping; taking them out of the community will only make it a problem for another (except in this case, the environment suffers.
    However, no other group apart of this problem suffers more than the fish and the environment itself. According to a study, "at least 29% of fish species have collapsed, and the trend is accelerating." The way in which they collapsed stems from overfishing. By losing the biological diversity of an ecosystem, that ecosystem becomes more susceptible to collapse. Due to that reason, destructive overfishing has caused "about 90% of the ocean's big predators--like cod and tuna--have been fished out of existence." This is huge, especially due to how much bigger the fish export trade has become. The deprecation of marine life can be traced to overfishing since it causes such an imbalance to the marine ecosystems.
    Thus far, all of the sustainability and environmental issues that marine life currently face are direct consequences of overfishing's destructive force. Overfishing has in turn created those issues that both the environment and people struggle to face. A continuation of such practices would mean a lot of problems in the future of fishing.

Photo by Josefa Holland-Merten

Photo by Ivan Slade

    Beautiful beaches, luscious mountains; Hawaii is a paradise--or so it seems. It is simply a mask for the other side of paradise that Hawaii deals with; homelessness. Being without a home may just seem like a problem that only the individual is affected by, however, it is a problem that the whole of Hawaii shares. It stems from the premium cost of living--the housing market. It is among the main catalysts of the growing homeless population. The side effects of it not only affects Hawaii socially, but also the industry that is arguably Hawaii’s main source of income--tourism. The homelessness problem is a huge burden in which it affects all aspects of Hawaii leading to its’ struggling economy.

    Ground zero for many on the brink of becoming homeless is of course the housing market. Finding a home to reside in especially in Hawaii is often met with difficulty due to how costly it is. According to a report by the University of Hawaii, “The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu is around $1,200 a month, which is out of reach for around 30% of Hawaii’s families, even on two adult incomes.” Keep in mind that this is just the bare minimum to live; excluding all other expenses. Because the housing market has such an immense impact on the economy, higher prices also mean a harder struggle for that 30%. An article on homeless by NBC puts it best; “...Honolulu’s homeless problem is rooted in the pairing of one of the nation’s highest housing costs with below-average wages...” A low wage not only means that it’s more difficult to find a place to live that meets that wage, it also means that there would be a miniscule amount of room left for anything other than a home because of Hawaii’s high cost of living.

    A rising homeless population also means more difficulties for some other industries that rely on having clean streets--specifically tourism. Those homeless have very few places to go and thus will often “...spend their days and nights on the beaches, parks, and streets of Waikiki…” with nowhere else to go. Waikiki, which is essentially the center of tourism located in Oahu, is affected through the visually degrading look that the displaced brings. A look in which is obviously undesirable because of the effects it has on how well the industry performs. For example, Calgary, Alberta visitor Ivan Tandberg commented that though the homeless weren’t bothersome, “...it wouldn’t look good to have many people living on the streets.” Being an industry that relies quite a bit on having a visual appeal, ruining it would bring down the economic status of tourism as well. It doesn’t end there though, as it would have a potential domino effect that leads to a less successful economy for Hawaii.

    It is also worth mentioning that those without a roof also mean that they are sometimes without social order--a danger to society. It’s certainly not a representation of all of homeless individuals, but it is often seen that way, how “Poor health condition creates difficulty for those trying to assist the homeless population as many are unwilling to accept help in any form.” Mental illnesses, for one, can be a big difficulty to deal with. Their social disconnect would hinder their ability to properly communicate and in some cases, can make them violent. In other cases, it may also be that they simply don’t want help. Sherri Watson, 43, and homeless, stated that “I love it; free rent, free electricity, who wants to stay in a bed-bugged shelter?” This means that some, like Watson, like the advantages that come with being homeless. The environment, being somewhat unique to Hawaii makes it easier for homeless to sustain themselves out in the open. Watson also gave a small gibe towards public shelters for homeless individuals in her statement, which goes to show just one of the opinions that the homeless have on these homeless relief methods.

    In essence, the cycle of having a high cost housing market/living has resulted in quite a bit of homeless in Hawaii, which does take its toll on the society. Having a large population of homeless has had a domino effect that has led to a struggling economy. Leaving the problem as is will only put Hawaii’s economy in a deeper hole that it is already dug itself into.

Photo by Ivan Slade

Photo by Nicholas Swanson

    Beautiful beaches, luscious mountains; Hawaii is a paradise--or so it seems. It is simply a mask for the other side of paradise that Hawaii deals with; homelessness. Being without a home may just seem like a problem that only the individual is affected by, however, it is a problem that the whole of Hawaii shares. It stems from the premium cost of living--the housing market. It is among the main catalysts of the growing homeless population. The side effects of it not only affects Hawaii socially, but also the industry that is arguably Hawaii’s main source of income--tourism. The homelessness problem is a huge burden in which it affects all aspects of Hawaii leading to its’ struggling economy.
    Ground zero for many on the brink of becoming homeless is of course the housing market. Finding a home to reside in especially in Hawaii is often met with difficulty due to how costly it is. According to a report by the University of Hawaii, “The average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Honolulu is around $1,200 a month, which is out of reach for around 30% of Hawaii’s families, even on two adult incomes.” Keep in mind that this is just the bare minimum to live; excluding all other expenses. Because the housing market has such an immense impact on the economy, higher prices also mean a harder struggle for that 30%. An article on homeless by NBC puts it best; “...Honolulu’s homeless problem is rooted in the pairing of one of the nation’s highest housing costs with below-average wages...” A low wage not only means that it’s more difficult to find a place to live that meets that wage, it also means that there would be a miniscule amount of room left for anything other than a home because of Hawaii’s high cost of living.
    A rising homeless population also means more difficulties for some other industries that rely on having clean streets--specifically tourism. Those homeless have very few places to go and thus will often “...spend their days and nights on the beaches, parks, and streets of Waikiki…” with nowhere else to go. Waikiki, which is essentially the center of tourism located in Oahu, is affected through the visually degrading look that the displaced brings. A look in which is obviously undesirable because of the effects it has on how well the industry performs. For example, Calgary, Alberta visitor Ivan Tandberg commented that though the homeless weren’t bothersome, “...it wouldn’t look good to have many people living on the streets.” Being an industry that relies quite a bit on having a visual appeal, ruining it would bring down the economic status of tourism as well. It doesn’t end there though, as it would have a potential domino effect that leads to a less successful economy for Hawaii.
    It is also worth mentioning that those without a roof also mean that they are sometimes without social order--a danger to society. It’s certainly not a representation of all of homeless individuals, but it is often seen that way, how “Poor health condition creates difficulty for those trying to assist the homeless population as many are unwilling to accept help in any form.” Mental illnesses, for one, can be a big difficulty to deal with. Their social disconnect would hinder their ability to properly communicate and in some cases, can make them violent. In other cases, it may also be that they simply don’t want help. Sherri Watson, 43, and homeless, stated that “I love it; free rent, free electricity, who wants to stay in a bed-bugged shelter?” This means that some, like Watson, like the advantages that come with being homeless. The environment, being somewhat unique to Hawaii makes it easier for homeless to sustain themselves out in the open. Watson also gave a small gibe towards public shelters for homeless individuals in her statement, which goes to show just one of the opinions that the homeless have on these homeless relief methods.
    In essence, the cycle of having a high cost housing market/living has resulted in quite a bit of homeless in Hawaii, which does take its toll on the society. Having a large population of homeless has had a domino effect that has led to a struggling economy. Leaving the problem as is will only put Hawaii’s economy in a deeper hole that it is already dug itself into.