By now, most of us know that the supply of oil is not endless.

• Oil provided the energy to build this incredibly complex society.
• And oil supplied the energy to grow our food.

Now it’s like an inverted pyramid – only a few farmers are needed to feed all the people.

As oil supplies decline though, we will have to use more human brainpower to maintain our lifestyle. We need the pyramid to flip right side up again, and have as its base more farmers and other smart people who can build and fix things.

Local craftsman, and those who can avoid the oil input costs, will be in demand. There was an article in the Honolulu Advertiser last week about Joe Pacific Shoe Company. Its business is growing by leaps and bounds, because in a world of declining oil supplies, those who can build and fix things are increasingly in demand.

Our community colleges are a locus of education that will be more and more appreciated. Whatever we can do now for keiki education will help future generations survive out here in the middle of the ocean.

The TMT subcommittee of the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board, on which I serve, is now working on developing a non-profit entity to capture funds, from the astronomy community and others, that will be used to educate Big Island students. It will be broad-based rather than just science-based. We want it to be relevant to the changing world.

And we are striving to make sure that the committee members who decide where the funds go are people who are looking out for the greater good – as well as being people with a special awareness of the host Hawaiian culture and that we all live out here together in the middle of the ocean.

It is very encouraging that a school like Keaukaha Elementary here in Hilo, a school that was underperforming for as long as most people can remember, could turn itself around and become a role model of exceptional performance. This proves that we can do this for all K through 6th grades. And also that we need to connect the dots for the kids in 7th through 12th grades, to help them get into the community colleges and the university. If kids believe they can, then they will.

The Thirty-Meter Telescope is a powerful force that can help us to connect the dots for these students. For eight or nine years, as the telescope is being built, there will be 300-plus construction and other jobs. After that there will be approximately 140 steady jobs, mostly support-type work that will be performed by local folks. These jobs will be steady – not affected by recessions, etc.

And the Thirty Meter folks are also committed to helping develop the workforce they need when “first light” takes place. Although there will be astronomy-type jobs for those who are so inclined, most of the jobs are other types of work.

I’ve been talking about these being changing times for quite awhile now, and I think most people see it by now. I think times will get harder than they are now, but it’s clear to me what we have to do to “connect the dots.” Much of it is about education, so that we are preparing our children and their children for a different type of future.

The TMT is one avenue that can substantially move us forward toward these goals. If we do it correctly, the whole island could become an educational role model, not just Keaukaha Elementary School.