The Internet connection in Hawaii is very much like the general mentality of Hawaii: easy going, chill, not in any rush to get going. So with that said, I’m going to give you a sneak peek into a few of the good people I have met over the course of the last week at the [re]think Hawaii conference. Couldn’t help but notice and enjoy a refreshing perspective that gamers are bringing to the “so, how are we going to deal with these environmental problems?” conversation. Thinking outside the box and the pixels.
The first is Henk Rogers, you may know him as the founder of Tetris, I now know him as the guy who speaks about passion, purpose, and big ideas about saving the planet with Blue Planet Foundation.
The second introduction is to Jill Buck of the Go Green Initiative who shared about an inspiring collaboration that blossomed over the weekend (with another gamer no-less, @adamontherun):
Guy Toyama, executive director of Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii Authority gives an introduction to the sustainability issues and innovations on the big island. It’s a fascinating weaving of science, innovation and “techno-tourism” (aka eco geek vacation destination)
Where does Hawaii stand on the sustainability? It’s all about geothermal on the Big Island:
This week’s photo was sent to us by Ted Rheingold, founder of Dogster. We can’t stop laughing about this one:
You know the drill, think of a creative, fun and hilarious caption to accompany this dog in a coat, and we will pick the one we like the most on Friday.
So, leave your ideas in the comments sections and we will choose a winner by the end of the week! Have fun!
(and of course…submit a photo for next week). The prize? No prize! Just the thrill of the game (oh, and you know we’ll feature the caption we fall in love with on the Green Page)
A few reflections after a busy day on the Big Island. I went out on the boat with Captain Nancy of Dolphin Journeys with high hopes to swim with a dolphin but came back with reflections on relationships:
This footage is not from Dolphin Journeys, but it is of dolphins swimming in Hawaii, so enjoy!
Video footage of dolphins swimming with the boat:
A brief intro to sustainability efforts on the Big Island at the Hawaii Gateway Energy Center:
Earlier this week we posted our first ever segment of Green Captions.
We got such a huge response! Thank you, all of you, for submitting such great captions! It was very hard to narrow it down, but we came to a consensus the one we liked the best.
And the winner is: “Don’t look to your left, but I think we might be standing in a field of beehives.” - by John Lesier
The Runner-up: “My god, bee sweaters? That’s sooooo 2008.” - by Mud Baron
Every friday we’ll announce the next weeks “Name this Picture”! We have already picked it out and can’t wait to throw it up on the blog to see what you all come up with! And remember, if you see a photo you’d like to see in this contest, send us a link in the comments section and you just might see it on our blog in the coming weeks.
On a daily basis we are bombarded with information that tell us that we need to heal the planet. And yet, I find one of the reasons I have come to love the wilderness is because it (the natural world) heals me. So while in Kauai, I wanted to take some time to connect in with some of the local healers and learn about their relationship to healing and if their is a practice of healing with the land. I ended up getting introduced to Kahuna Valley and aqua craniosacral therapy.
The I worked with Kristen Lukus who worked in a natural salt water tub, who describes the technique below:
So how did it feel? What did Krsten do? She had me wear floats so I floated on the surface of the water and gently moved my body through the water. It was very different, and incredibly relaxing. We had been rushing around at full speed trying to interview as many people as possible about sustainability issues and I had wound myself up into a little anxiety ball and the next thing I knew I was grounded and had a deep sense of calm. I think the thing I remember most was this moment when I was breathing and all of a sudden I was taking a deep breath in and I could continue to breathe in and in, and in, and in, and it seemed like was no limitation to the amount of air I breathe in, it’s hard to explain to be true.
At the end of session, we talked about her teacher, Rebecca Geoff, who has special permits to work out in the open ocean and practice this healing technique in the presence of whales and dolphins (it is usually required that you leave the location and are not within a specific distance of whales). She authored the book, Kissing Whales Healing Dolphins. I was fascinated by the idea, and later met an amazing woman on the big island, who takes people out to swim with dolphins. The stories she told me were amazing stories about the healing abilities of dolphins (more on that soon).
Steven Colbert continues to shine his light on climate change. “The market has spoken. Climate change is real.”
Al Gore went on the Colbert Report last night, and am I left laughing, speechless, and fully knowledgeable about the publisher and price of his new book. It’s fun seeing Al Gore camp it up with Colbert…and practice….(was that waterboarding?) to prove the point that it’s not going to be very comfortable if we all end up under water:
Little known fact is that Amanda Rose (aka @amanda) was doing her masters thesis on Twitter when she started Twestival water.
I’ve been in awe of what she managed to accomplish with the organization she founded, Twestival. We just met at [re]think Hawaii conference, a high tech conference with an eye on sustainability. In case you were asleep at your computer screen and didn’t catch Twestival, it’s volunteer organizers put together “tweet ups” that raise money for charities. They’ve raised….drum roll…three quarters of a million dollars and donated 100% of the profits.
Here’s Amanda chatting about Twestival, using tech for good, and answering Twilight Earth’s question about how to get involved in local events:
In case you missed their first event, check out this video on Charity Water:
Yesterday was sustainability day at the [re]think hawaii conference. While the majority of the conference is tech focused, it was interesting to bring in local people working on sustainability issues to explore and discuss the issues they are addressing. I’m going to introduce you to one of the panelists, Ramsay Taum, who spoke on the panel.
One of the things I am learning to love about the culture of Hawaii is that people answer questions through stories. Ramsay speaks about sustainability and tourism by talking about the tradition of giving and receiving when visiting, and the difference between being a guest and tourist.
On a daily basis we are bombarded with information that tell us that we need to heal the planet. And yet, I find one of the reasons I have come to love the wilderness is because it (the natural world) heals me. So while in Kauai, I wanted to take some time to connect in with some of the local healers and learn about their relationship to healing and if their is a practice of healing with the land. I ended up getting introduced to 
