Built in 1926, the Hanalei Tunnel was dug on the Hawaiian island of Kauai to transport water from the rain-soaked northern slopes of Mount Waialele to the thirsty sugar plantations of the south. Today, the plantations are mostly gone, replaced by much more profitable vacation homes and tourist resorts, yet the 1.5 km long tunnel remains, its presence and history nearly swallowed by the advancing rainforest.
Not only on Kauai, but in the Valais region of Switzerland, in Xinjiang province of China, and in many other arid parts of the world, centuries-old traditional irrigation systems have been left to decay in the belief that modern diesel pumps, concrete reservoirs, plastic irrigation pipes and computerised water distribution systems are the way of the future. As a result, that which was constructed by hand using local materials is now built with concrete and plastic transported from afar by heavy lorries, all requiring enormous amounts of petroleum and energy to produce. That which was previously maintained and repaired by local craftsmen now requires high-tech skills and a long supply chain of specialised spare parts.
Are modern irrigation systems, and by extension high tech in general, truly advantageous when seen in the big picture, or are we trapped in a never-ending spiral of technological advancement and dependence? Is our modern consumption-driven society merely a house of cards upon which it is our duty and our destiny to advance higher and higher, only to see the entire structure brought down by a slight disturbance? Are we trapped in a positive feedback cycle - an anti-regulating system whereby excesses are not dampened, but rather enhanced?
In mathematics, the basis of modern technological advancement, we learn that exponentially increasing systems are inherently unstable. Yet Nature is by definition a self-regulating system. Therefore, as an integral part of this system, we cannot expect to survive indefinitely if our worldwide energy demand, water usage, land use and pollution levels, among others, continue to exponentially increase. Just as a healthy body fights off the invasion of self-replicating viruses, Nature will find a way to rid itself of the destructive behavior of man.
Unless we transcend the age of rampant consumerism and return to a sustainable lifestyle which meets our basic needs of food, shelter and social contact, Nature will not only reclaim abandoned irrigation tunnels, but perhaps also our entire civilisation.
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