Place

Located over 2500 nautical miles away from the nearest continental land mass, Hawai`i is one of the most remote inhabited places on the planet. Consisting of 132 islands, atolls, reefs and shoals, the Hawaiian Archipelago stretches over 1500 miles from Kure Island at its northern most point, to Hawai`i Island in the south, the largest and youngest of the eight major islands that make up the island chain. This unique geographic location has made Hawai`i home to a large number of endemic plant and animal species that have developed in near complete isolation over about 70 million years.

Prior to the introduction of plants and animals by Polynesians and later by Europeans, the first island inhabitants arrived by wind, wing or wave - blown, flown or floated. Even the islands' first human settlers voyaged over open sea arriving on Hawaii's shores on large double-hulled voyaging canoes. Twenty first century travelers arrive daily by the thousands on the wings of transcontinental airlines and the decks of international and nationally owned cruise ships.

Contemporary residents and visitors in Hawai`i no longer relate to the "place" in the way pre-contact Hawaiians did and consequently rely heavily on regular surface and air shipments of food, household goods, fuel and other essential resources. Current estimates suggest that 93% of Hawaii's fuel and nearly 85% of its food resources are imported from international and national sources. In a little more than 200 years, society in Hawai'i has gone from self-reliant to nearly 100% dependent on outside sources for its survival.