“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” -Cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead Late last year, at the same time the Presidential election results shook the nation, the majestic Laysan albatross started returning to Kaua‘i. They dropped their spatula-like feet and touched…
Category: Mothers of Nature
Malama Monk Seal Voyage #12: Kilo’s Adventures Continue
I stood in the coffee aisle at Costco a few weeks ago with tears in my eyes. It wasn’t the price of coffee that made me cry. It was an email. Ordinarily, I don’t read emails when I’m shopping, but I was on deadline for a story and waiting to hear from a source. That…
Are Hawaiian Monk Seals (Finally) Gaining Respect?
She’s not the prettiest seal. It’s neither the doe eyes nor the Buddha smile that draw you to her. It’s the scars. I’ve always said 17-year-old K30 is the poster child of threats to monk seals. After the events of this week, now more so than ever.
Holy Mōlī: Albatross and Other Ancestors
In the days before Cook introduced Hawai‘i to the world and an onslaught of foreigners arrived. Back in the days before the old religion was abolished and missionaries arrived on scene. I’ve read that winged creatures represented messengers of the gods, because, unlike mere humans, birds can fly to great lengths and heights. Places far…
I Stand with Wooden-Spoon-Toting Grannies and 79-Year-Old Wrestling Grandfathers
I keep reading about the takeover at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as if it were an article in the satirical magazine known as The Onion.
Celebrating Outrageous Diversity.
Last Thanksgiving, after all the turkey had been demolished, football games wrapped, and family members waddled home, someone ventured to a remote beach on Kaua‘i, picked up a large rock, raised it high, and smashed it into the skull of a sleeping Hawaiian monk seal. Or maybe they used a bat. Or tire iron. In the…
For Laysan Albatross Chick, Independence Day Awaits.
When no witty sentence or meaningful anecdote lies ready at my fingers to write about, I generally turn to one of two things: Setting. Or weather. Today, it’s the weather. It’s hot. For Hawai‘i. Highs in the 90s are expected. Now, I know elsewhere in the world that might be considered a break in the…
