Hawai’i And The Battle Against Climate Change

Hawai’i has long been renowned for its luscious tropical landscapes and crystal clear waters, drawing in millions of tourists annually with its enticing natural splendor. However, many visitors fail to recognize the amount of dedication required to maintain the health of the island's splendid flora and fauna.

In order to take the first steps towards global environmental prosperity, Hawai’i has developed approaches and measures that rely on the goodwill (and dedication) of its locals. There are a multitude of organizations in Hawai’i today that are maintained almost entirely by volunteers, who work tirelessly to preserve the islands which they inhabit. 

Though Hawai’i’s eco-friendly reputation has been well established, the recent pandemic has shed light on a multitude of new ways in which both the local government and its citizens can continue to improve the health of the ‘Āina. 

 

Pandemic Measures Staying In Place To Combat Climate Change

When the Covid pandemic first hit, there were plenty of temporary unfavorable results. People were forced to stay inside their homes, interact less frequently, and face unheard-of travel restrictions. However, the compromises demanded during the pandemic actually served to seriously benefit the environment. The measures taken during the pandemic led to a decrease in harmful carbon emissions, and the overall level of pollution decreased as well.

Hawai’i is one of the first states to recognize that positive impact. While the rest of the world continues to open up, Hawai’i actively encourages its citizens to continue working remotely in order to maintain the much lower car-related emission standard created by quarantine. The pandemic has also spurred a steady stream of interest in small businesses around the islands, which happen to greatly reduce overall consumer-related pollution (especially since most small businesses place an emphasis on sustainablity). Hawai’i as a whole is striving to adopt any advantageous Covid related compromises in order to combat climate change, one small step at a time.

 

Government and Citizens Work Together to Make a Difference

Hawai’i’s conservation efforts could only be successful with the help and support of volunteer-led groups, who challenge themselves to independently make a difference.

There are organizations like The Sierra Club that work to craft public policies, ensuring people are provided a way to be a helping hand. This particular organization focuses on facilitating the transition from fossil fuels to clean renewable energy through Hawai’i Legislature. However, the Sierra club also offers smaller scale volunteer opportunities open to all. These program aim to  plant new trees and employ efforts towards trying to protect habitats that are essential to carbon absorption.

These programs had so much success during November of 2021 alone that there were 68 successful planting events held. Volunteers dedicated their time to planting 10,614 trees and other plants in a multitude of different inter-island locations. Planting spots included schools, hotels, golf courses, parks, roadsides, and even backyards!

As more people join the cause to preserve the environment, Hawai’i begins to slowly move towards achieving their many goals regarding the protection of the environment. These goals include:

Hawai’i Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Program

This program was established by the Department of Health to combat the threat of climate change and the rise of sea levels. It plans on using the process of the Air Pollution Control Permit of the Clean Air Branch to regulate GHG emissions throughout the whole state. This program works in collaboration with other Federal and Hawai’i State programs so they can reduce or even mitigate GHGs.


Aloha+ Challenge

The Aloha+ Challenge program is a public-private initiative that has spread in all states so all milestones for Hawai’i regarding the social, economic, and environmental scope will be achieved by 2030. The Aloha+ Challenge began in 2014 and recognized six milestones that need to be achieved that do not have an approach from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Hawai‘i Green Growth Local 2030 Hub is focusing on creating options that are specific to the islands that can finally deliver a real solution through concrete actions. It’s possible to visit the Aloha+ Dashboard to be up to date about the development that is being made in all the sate and how much Aloha+ SDGs have contributed to achieving the environmental goals that have been set for a while and unknown reasons weren’t yet achieved.

 

Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Taskforce

The Greenhouse Gas Sequestration Taskforce works to examine opportunities to exploit carbon sequestering trees and vegetation, reducing urban temperatures and thereby protecting public health. Through the State’s Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission, they have the same goals regarding environmental preservation, providing a formidable force in achieving Hawaii’s climate initiative goals. Moreover, they are focused on eliminating all kinds of energy powered by fossil fuels and obtaining 100% renewable power and carbon neutrality. They are aiming to finalize this by 2045.

 

Hawai’i Clean Energy Initiative

If you don’t know it by now, Hawai’i is a chief in local weather alternate and renewable electricity goals. It has a long history with clean energy initiatives, and if you remember its involvement with the Paris Agreement in 2017, via Act 32, know that Hawai’i has been committed to making a real change since at least 2008. This is once more related to the program above as it is committed to only using clean energy that comes from clean sources by 2045. It may sound ambitious, but they are truly aiming at the one hundred percent.

 

Ground Transportation Emissions Reduction

One clear message that Hawai’i has issued is that there’s an urgent need to tackle the problem of floor transportation emissions. Hawaii wishes to lower emissions that come from this type of transportation and provide ecological alternatives. They also believe that the best and fastest way to do this is by urging the State to take part in it as well.

 

What can we say? Hawaii really is the land of ecological refinement; it’s one of the factors that drives us to helping restore our oceans. With ocean friendly products that leave little to no trace on our environment, we’re proud to help aid our state in reducing our ecologicall footprint. We hope this post helped inspire you to make a few personal changes, or even craft some ideas for your own state or country’s environmental action.

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