Punatang - I commend the youths on this endeavor. I would be more impressed if they also, each personally committed exclusively to walking, biking, and/or riding public transportation, cajoling and helping their family and friends to transition from dependence on the CO2 monster tourism industry, buying only locally produced food and clothing, etc. (emphasis mine)
This sort of all-or-nothing expectation is often used to in claims of hypocracy (well, your underwear elastic has plastic in it so who are you to point out the damages from my thrice yearly flights to the mainland to golf, drive SUVs, and eat steak every day) or in creating impossible demands (are there even any sources for clothing made entirely locally? Honestly interested if anyone knows of a "Fiber-to-Aloha-Fridaywear" option :)
But carbon emissions aren't a black or white, once you've crossed the line there is no going back situation (well, I've hit one biker on the way to work, what's a few more matter? Well we've made a few species extinct, what's a few thousand more?). Rather it's tied to many separate choices that each have quantifiable harms, and some actions far outweigh others.
Changes in this area have to both be systemic and personal. For systemic changes, longtime local climate advocate Jeff Mikulina, who was quoted in the SA article on the silliness of choosing LNG, had an interview last year that looks at systems change, and also interviewed one of the youth plaintiffs and their lawyer involved in the Decarbonization Settlement. Worth a listen IMHO.
As for personal choice, as pointed out earlier, there are key lifestyle choices that greatly reduce your contributions to climate change (and yes, I personally engage in these to various degrees, as if that makes any difference)
1) Eating a plant-based diet/reducing meat consumption, especially beef (~0.8 tons CO2). Thankfully, Puna life provides lots of options here, from local and backyard fruits and veggies, to back-jungle smoke meat / kalua pork. Health benefits here as well.
2) Avoiding air travel (~1.2 tons CO2 Hawaii to mainland west coast, round trip): Of course this is not always possible (flying to HNL for medical care is often hard to avoid and indicative of the money-cheap, pollution-heavy math commonly used in determining "efficient" systems), but even after decades there are dozens of new beaches, trails, dining, and entertainment options still remaining to be explored for me. Haven't been to the mainland for several years, probably won't for several more, if ever.
3) Living car free (~2.4 tons CO2, more for the F150, Tacomas, and lifted truck folks ;) - Harder to do in Puna, but consolidating/limiting trips (once a week or less to town is plenty for me, thanks), parking and walking (bayfront & the mall area easy), and carpooling helps. EVs/hybrids help as well, but during the energy transition, if you're charging off the grid, there is still a lot of emissions involved, especially with the inefficiencies of electricity distribution. Some punatics probably do the best here with da Bus and hitching/ride sharing. Again there are 100% gains in emissions reductions by not engaging in polluting activities whenever possible.
4) Having fewer children (~50 tons CO2, but total is highly dependent on future fossil fuel infrastructure) - Antinatalism/Child-free is a fraught subject, but the fact that every life has an impact is inescapable. For our part, when we were making plans decades ago we choose settled on two kids as a conscious effort towards zero population growth. While we could afford to have more, it's hard to justify when so many people's basic needs are going unmet in this highly unsustainable system. Note that the CO2 estimate is based on future fossil fuel use, so rapidly de-carbonizing the infrastructure reduces this cost, along with allowing for a more habitable planet, which hopefully is in everyone's interest.
Other options like adding solar (easy in Puna, even DIY in many cases) and small kine changes such as (hand) washing clothes in cold water & line drying (easy in summer, requires patience for a sunny day in rainy season), buying used (my outdoor work clothes, which is most of them, are from Redemption), changing lightbulbs (helps with the solar), yard care animals (goats - challenging but "fun"? sheep - maybe easier, or just a different flavor of "fun" - anyone have both?), gardening (easy, year round options), recycling (down to metal, aluminum, & cardboard now, but the paperboard boxes make a good weedblock with trimmings as mulch), etc are all part of the mix as well. Basically, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle, in that order of importance. Lots of ways to make an difference, some more impactful than others. Just requires caring enough to make the choice to do so.
Punatang - Right. Someone else has to do something.
Nah, we all have to do many somethings which takes time and effort (even just to post about and provide links ;) It's an all-hands-on-deck situation, anyone who says otherwise is just protecting their own short-term interests. Plenty of "Fuck you, got mine" to go around.
MyManoa - Yep, it would all be so easy but... But no.. freedom and all that.
On paper at least, it is easy. The Hawaii State Constitution says: ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS: Section 9. Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment...
This legal right isn't served by promoting LNG or any other fossil fuel development. These state laws are the backbone for many lawsuits against the oil majors like the one filed yesterday by Chicago with many more are coming down the pike. The history of Big Tobacco and its takedown is the model for understanding these events.
MyManoa - all for some sick MAGA BS.
I wish it was confined to one political stance or another, but many centrist democrats are also deeply attached to business as usual. Normalcy Bias is a hell of a drug, and as you pointed out, greatly reduces our ability to respond to crises of all sorts, of which there are many on the horizon.
But at the end of the day, reality bats last and climate change is just beginning to curb stomp our human-made systems, like insurance, the economy, and our systems of governance. We can choose to adapt or we can suffer the consequences, but it'd be great if some weren't so committed to continuing their highly polluting lifestyles and taking as many of us with them on their way out.
This sort of all-or-nothing expectation is often used to in claims of hypocracy (well, your underwear elastic has plastic in it so who are you to point out the damages from my thrice yearly flights to the mainland to golf, drive SUVs, and eat steak every day) or in creating impossible demands (are there even any sources for clothing made entirely locally? Honestly interested if anyone knows of a "Fiber-to-Aloha-Fridaywear" option :)
But carbon emissions aren't a black or white, once you've crossed the line there is no going back situation (well, I've hit one biker on the way to work, what's a few more matter? Well we've made a few species extinct, what's a few thousand more?). Rather it's tied to many separate choices that each have quantifiable harms, and some actions far outweigh others.
Changes in this area have to both be systemic and personal. For systemic changes, longtime local climate advocate Jeff Mikulina, who was quoted in the SA article on the silliness of choosing LNG, had an interview last year that looks at systems change, and also interviewed one of the youth plaintiffs and their lawyer involved in the Decarbonization Settlement. Worth a listen IMHO.
As for personal choice, as pointed out earlier, there are key lifestyle choices that greatly reduce your contributions to climate change (and yes, I personally engage in these to various degrees, as if that makes any difference)
1) Eating a plant-based diet/reducing meat consumption, especially beef (~0.8 tons CO2). Thankfully, Puna life provides lots of options here, from local and backyard fruits and veggies, to back-jungle smoke meat / kalua pork. Health benefits here as well.
2) Avoiding air travel (~1.2 tons CO2 Hawaii to mainland west coast, round trip): Of course this is not always possible (flying to HNL for medical care is often hard to avoid and indicative of the money-cheap, pollution-heavy math commonly used in determining "efficient" systems), but even after decades there are dozens of new beaches, trails, dining, and entertainment options still remaining to be explored for me. Haven't been to the mainland for several years, probably won't for several more, if ever.
3) Living car free (~2.4 tons CO2, more for the F150, Tacomas, and lifted truck folks ;) - Harder to do in Puna, but consolidating/limiting trips (once a week or less to town is plenty for me, thanks), parking and walking (bayfront & the mall area easy), and carpooling helps. EVs/hybrids help as well, but during the energy transition, if you're charging off the grid, there is still a lot of emissions involved, especially with the inefficiencies of electricity distribution. Some punatics probably do the best here with da Bus and hitching/ride sharing. Again there are 100% gains in emissions reductions by not engaging in polluting activities whenever possible.
4) Having fewer children (~50 tons CO2, but total is highly dependent on future fossil fuel infrastructure) - Antinatalism/Child-free is a fraught subject, but the fact that every life has an impact is inescapable. For our part, when we were making plans decades ago we choose settled on two kids as a conscious effort towards zero population growth. While we could afford to have more, it's hard to justify when so many people's basic needs are going unmet in this highly unsustainable system. Note that the CO2 estimate is based on future fossil fuel use, so rapidly de-carbonizing the infrastructure reduces this cost, along with allowing for a more habitable planet, which hopefully is in everyone's interest.
Other options like adding solar (easy in Puna, even DIY in many cases) and small kine changes such as (hand) washing clothes in cold water & line drying (easy in summer, requires patience for a sunny day in rainy season), buying used (my outdoor work clothes, which is most of them, are from Redemption), changing lightbulbs (helps with the solar), yard care animals (goats - challenging but "fun"? sheep - maybe easier, or just a different flavor of "fun" - anyone have both?), gardening (easy, year round options), recycling (down to metal, aluminum, & cardboard now, but the paperboard boxes make a good weedblock with trimmings as mulch), etc are all part of the mix as well. Basically, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle, in that order of importance. Lots of ways to make an difference, some more impactful than others. Just requires caring enough to make the choice to do so.
Punatang - Right. Someone else has to do something.
Nah, we all have to do many somethings which takes time and effort (even just to post about and provide links ;) It's an all-hands-on-deck situation, anyone who says otherwise is just protecting their own short-term interests. Plenty of "Fuck you, got mine" to go around.
MyManoa - Yep, it would all be so easy but... But no.. freedom and all that.
On paper at least, it is easy. The Hawaii State Constitution says: ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS: Section 9. Each person has the right to a clean and healthful environment...
This legal right isn't served by promoting LNG or any other fossil fuel development. These state laws are the backbone for many lawsuits against the oil majors like the one filed yesterday by Chicago with many more are coming down the pike. The history of Big Tobacco and its takedown is the model for understanding these events.
MyManoa - all for some sick MAGA BS.
I wish it was confined to one political stance or another, but many centrist democrats are also deeply attached to business as usual. Normalcy Bias is a hell of a drug, and as you pointed out, greatly reduces our ability to respond to crises of all sorts, of which there are many on the horizon.
But at the end of the day, reality bats last and climate change is just beginning to curb stomp our human-made systems, like insurance, the economy, and our systems of governance. We can choose to adapt or we can suffer the consequences, but it'd be great if some weren't so committed to continuing their highly polluting lifestyles and taking as many of us with them on their way out.