With the hard financial circumstances we are all facing, this Earth Day I'm drawn to thinking about the relationship between Hawai'i's economy and the health of our natural resources. Having grown up in the islands, I know how important our environment is to our health and quality of life. Our mauka forests capture rain and cloud moisture that ends up in our aquifers for daily consumption. Our rich soil yields wonderful food and harbors unique native species found nowhere else on earth. And our oceans provide recreation and sustenance.

We enjoy the resources from our natural world, but with very little awareness of the connections between a healthy environment and our economy. Vibrant natural resources create jobs, encourage tourism, support irreplaceable plants and animals, and supply clean air and fresh water. Indeed, they enable our survival.

In Hawai'i, the environment is the economy.

Today's strained fiscal resources require us all to tighten our belts; it's also a time for creative thinking, innovation and commitment. Every organization in the state is striving to do more with less. As our legislators work to balance the budget and get our economy back on sound footing, we are grateful the Senate and House leadership understand that our economic health is directly tied to the quality of our environment.

They applied innovative thinking and commitment last week to craft a new version of House Bill 1741, which will allow the state to ease the shortfalls affecting conservation of our natural resources, and continue to co-invest in our environment — protecting our forested watersheds, coastlines and coral reefs, and preventing the introduction and spread of dangerous invasive pests.

Another important need is preparing for the impacts of global climate change on our sensitive environment. Small changes in climate can immediately affect plants and animals, even wipe them out entirely. A relatively small rise in sea level will have a huge impact on our shorelines statewide. Research and planning today can help us protect our forest and ocean resources — as well as our coastline dwellings and businesses — tomorrow.

Often I ask myself, what can any of us do individually? At the Conservancy, we have been looking for ways to reduce our use of petroleum-based fuels — to do our part and walk the talk of reducing our carbon footprint. We've begun "greening" our facilities and operations statewide, starting in Honolulu. We've installed solar photovoltaic panels on our roof, changed travel procedures and light bulbs, installed low-flow toilets and switched to a janitorial service that uses only non-toxic cleaning products. Taking even small steps to shrink our own carbon footprint will make a difference in the long term.

Each person in Hawai'i can make a difference in the challenging years to come. Limited resources mean we have to work together ever more closely to protect our environment, and one another. We can all work to reduce our own carbon footprint by sharing rides, inflating tires, changing light bulbs to CFLs, flying less often, recycling, even eating less red meat. Specifically for Hawai'i, you can help by taking only what you need from the ocean, buying locally grown fruits and veggies, volunteering to clean up the beach or remove weeds from the forest, planting only native plants in yards and gardens, or participating in your local government to share your thoughts and ideas.

We can all take tangible, meaningful steps to safeguard our natural environment and protect this treasure that is our economy, for today and for generations to come.

Reach Suzanne Case at (Unknown address).

Born and raised in Hilo, Suzanne Case is the executive director of The Nature Conservancy of Hawai'i, www.nature.org/hawaii. She wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.