I embrace the inclusion of the words of our island brothers and sisters into the Countywide Plan. Every recommended revision contained in County Communication 21-190 from our three islands supports what I’m talking about today. We are talking about the will of the people. This is what these words mean to me.
Mitigating Climate change to me means reducing our giant carbon footprint which primarily comes from the endless stream of jets landing here. Almost everything we consume is transported here. The more people that move here, the worse it gets. Now there are 460 acres in Central Maui for sale, enough to build 1900 homes..for who? It’s not for residents. That’s more barges loaded with building materials. More jets flying in. The amount of development in the works and planned currently will consume vast quantities of energy. How do we plan to generate that?
Working toward resilience to me means adapting to changes on the horizon. Just about everything we build here contributes to the difficulty in adapting to those challenges. It makes it harder. Once we build something, we can’t unbuild it. Maui isn’t Miami Beach. It’s a tiny, remote island in the middle of the Pacific. Maui probably should be a conservation area. We already know that we can’t even sustain ourselves and now we want to add more people and more buildings that bring ever greater amounts of consumption? It just doesn’t make sense. We’re going backward. Why? For what and for whom? We know that residents want to maintain a rural, small-town identity. That’s already in the Countywide Plan which we are supposed to be following. Why are we fighting our own self-interests?
All this building is short-term gain. It’s a long-term liability. It does nothing for the residents and certainly does nothing for the health of Maui nui. That’s obvious. It creates climate change and makes it harder for us to adapt to it.
A very wise person said:
“Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then.”
This resolution attempts to achieve that.
We are Maui. We are unique. We have a responsibility to this place. Never again, in the history of mankind, will there ever be a place like this. You have the power to create a legacy that could last a very long time. Perhaps, forever. At this very moment, we are at a turning point that’s easy to see if we put ourselves ahead 20 years and more. I think the time will come when we regret what we’ve allowed to be done to this island, on our watch.
Please pass this proposed Bill and put residents and stewardship of this most special place ahead of short-term profit for others, mostly people that don’t live here. Let’s work toward following the goals of the Countywide Plan with these amendments. That’s what we’re already supposed to do.
Thank you for being the hardest working Council we’ve ever had. I’m so very grateful for all that you have accomplished. You amaze me. Keep going. You are trailblazers. Here’s another opportunity to build on that.
I should mention, for those of us at a certain age, you might appreciate the origin of that quote I mentioned. Dianna Ross is the author.
Comment to the Climate Action, Resilience, and Environment Committee
May 25th, 2021
1:30 pm
RE: Recognizing climate change and resilience in the countywide policy plan
Aloha Chair King, Vice Chair Sinenci, and members of the Committee,
On behalf of Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) and its 20,000 supporting members, I would like to support the passage of the proposed bill attached to Resolution 20-170, to add ‘mitigate climate change and work toward resilience’ as a goal of the countywide policy plan, with additions.
Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing the health of our planet, both on land and in the sea. The Hawai’ian Islands are particularly vulnerable to this threat; increases in sea surface temperature will lead to more extreme hurricane seasons, worsening ocean acidification will weaken or kill entire coral reef habitats, in turn reducing shoreline protection for the islands, and sea level rise and erosion will threaten coastal communities across the state, costing millions in damage and relocation.
We support the proposed countywide policy objectives to lower carbon emissions, reduce impacts of sea-level rise, and increase the use of renewables to promote energy self-sufficiency. However, we would like to highlight the great and continuing need to fully understand climate change’s impact on ocean ecosystems, and the life within them.
Under the first objective to lower carbon emissions, we commend the inclusion of tree planting and watershed improvements as implementing actions and would like for marine ecosystems to be a considered inclusion as well. Climate change impacts touch every corner of the planet, and as the ocean covers over 70% of this fragile planet, and surrounds this State on all sides, a better understanding is vital for mitigation and increased resilience.
PWF believes that to tackle a problem, and to mitigate its impacts, we must first understand this problem wholly through dedicated scientific research.
We work to understand and mitigate the major threats facing whales and dolphins today and have identified climate change as one of those growing and evolving threats. As more research is conducted, the vulnerability of cetaceans to climate change, particularly the migratory humpback whale, are becoming better illuminated. The rapid warming of the planet is leading to a loss of habitat and creating greater competition for a diminishing amount of prey species. Although most of these impacts will be felt heaviest in the polar regions of the planet, impacts will also be felt here in Hawai’i, a vital breeding and calving ground for the North Pacific humpback whale.
To fully understand these impacts, we urge the Council to include research on climate impacts to ocean ecosystems in implementing actions for the objectives laid out in the Countywide plan, to increase resiliency to these forces. We look forward to working with the County to support any and all actions regarding the health of the ocean and increasing our resilience to climate change.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comment today.
Shelby Serra
Conservation Advocate
Pacific Whale Foundation
I believe..We the people who have lived, breathed, Malama the ‘Aina, and Aloha Maui should stop/pause the visitor accommodation development and related increase in tourism. And..You, in County Council should refocus on the supporting the people who live on Maui and are trying to survive. Let’s build on sustainable agriculture and lower carbon emissions. Malama Maui. Mahalo
Aloha Chair, Committee Members and Council,
I embrace the inclusion of the words of our island brothers and sisters into the Countywide Plan. Every recommended revision contained in County Communication 21-190 from our three islands supports what I’m talking about today. We are talking about the will of the people. This is what these words mean to me.
Mitigating Climate change to me means reducing our giant carbon footprint which primarily comes from the endless stream of jets landing here. Almost everything we consume is transported here. The more people that move here, the worse it gets. Now there are 460 acres in Central Maui for sale, enough to build 1900 homes..for who? It’s not for residents. That’s more barges loaded with building materials. More jets flying in. The amount of development in the works and planned currently will consume vast quantities of energy. How do we plan to generate that?
Working toward resilience to me means adapting to changes on the horizon. Just about everything we build here contributes to the difficulty in adapting to those challenges. It makes it harder. Once we build something, we can’t unbuild it. Maui isn’t Miami Beach. It’s a tiny, remote island in the middle of the Pacific. Maui probably should be a conservation area. We already know that we can’t even sustain ourselves and now we want to add more people and more buildings that bring ever greater amounts of consumption? It just doesn’t make sense. We’re going backward. Why? For what and for whom? We know that residents want to maintain a rural, small-town identity. That’s already in the Countywide Plan which we are supposed to be following. Why are we fighting our own self-interests?
All this building is short-term gain. It’s a long-term liability. It does nothing for the residents and certainly does nothing for the health of Maui nui. That’s obvious. It creates climate change and makes it harder for us to adapt to it.
A very wise person said:
“Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then.”
This resolution attempts to achieve that.
We are Maui. We are unique. We have a responsibility to this place. Never again, in the history of mankind, will there ever be a place like this. You have the power to create a legacy that could last a very long time. Perhaps, forever. At this very moment, we are at a turning point that’s easy to see if we put ourselves ahead 20 years and more. I think the time will come when we regret what we’ve allowed to be done to this island, on our watch.
Please pass this proposed Bill and put residents and stewardship of this most special place ahead of short-term profit for others, mostly people that don’t live here. Let’s work toward following the goals of the Countywide Plan with these amendments. That’s what we’re already supposed to do.
Thank you for being the hardest working Council we’ve ever had. I’m so very grateful for all that you have accomplished. You amaze me. Keep going. You are trailblazers. Here’s another opportunity to build on that.
I should mention, for those of us at a certain age, you might appreciate the origin of that quote I mentioned. Dianna Ross is the author.
Mahalo nui, team!
Nick Drance
May 24, 2021
Comment to the Climate Action, Resilience, and Environment Committee
May 25th, 2021
1:30 pm
RE: Recognizing climate change and resilience in the countywide policy plan
Aloha Chair King, Vice Chair Sinenci, and members of the Committee,
On behalf of Pacific Whale Foundation (PWF) and its 20,000 supporting members, I would like to support the passage of the proposed bill attached to Resolution 20-170, to add ‘mitigate climate change and work toward resilience’ as a goal of the countywide policy plan, with additions.
Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing the health of our planet, both on land and in the sea. The Hawai’ian Islands are particularly vulnerable to this threat; increases in sea surface temperature will lead to more extreme hurricane seasons, worsening ocean acidification will weaken or kill entire coral reef habitats, in turn reducing shoreline protection for the islands, and sea level rise and erosion will threaten coastal communities across the state, costing millions in damage and relocation.
We support the proposed countywide policy objectives to lower carbon emissions, reduce impacts of sea-level rise, and increase the use of renewables to promote energy self-sufficiency. However, we would like to highlight the great and continuing need to fully understand climate change’s impact on ocean ecosystems, and the life within them.
Under the first objective to lower carbon emissions, we commend the inclusion of tree planting and watershed improvements as implementing actions and would like for marine ecosystems to be a considered inclusion as well. Climate change impacts touch every corner of the planet, and as the ocean covers over 70% of this fragile planet, and surrounds this State on all sides, a better understanding is vital for mitigation and increased resilience.
PWF believes that to tackle a problem, and to mitigate its impacts, we must first understand this problem wholly through dedicated scientific research.
We work to understand and mitigate the major threats facing whales and dolphins today and have identified climate change as one of those growing and evolving threats. As more research is conducted, the vulnerability of cetaceans to climate change, particularly the migratory humpback whale, are becoming better illuminated. The rapid warming of the planet is leading to a loss of habitat and creating greater competition for a diminishing amount of prey species. Although most of these impacts will be felt heaviest in the polar regions of the planet, impacts will also be felt here in Hawai’i, a vital breeding and calving ground for the North Pacific humpback whale.
To fully understand these impacts, we urge the Council to include research on climate impacts to ocean ecosystems in implementing actions for the objectives laid out in the Countywide plan, to increase resiliency to these forces. We look forward to working with the County to support any and all actions regarding the health of the ocean and increasing our resilience to climate change.
Thank you for the opportunity to submit comment today.
Shelby Serra
Conservation Advocate
Pacific Whale Foundation
I believe..We the people who have lived, breathed, Malama the ‘Aina, and Aloha Maui should stop/pause the visitor accommodation development and related increase in tourism. And..You, in County Council should refocus on the supporting the people who live on Maui and are trying to survive. Let’s build on sustainable agriculture and lower carbon emissions. Malama Maui. Mahalo