HILO — The former head of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Monday there’s no political will to deal with the consequences of sea-level rise brought about by climate change.
William Aila Jr., now the deputy chairman of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, made his remarks at a conference about climate change held at the East-West Center on the University of Hawaii at Manoa campus in Honolulu.
“There’s some great plans that are in place. We have the science. … We lack the political will right now,” Aila told conference-goers. “But along with that political will comes what are we willing to sacrifice? Because we are going to have to sacrifice something in order to get the changes that we need with sea-level rise and climate change. … We are the problem. Our behavior is the problem. Our lifestyle is the problem. The models (of behavior) that we grew up with and went to school with, learned about, is the problem. How do we have a sustainable process that leans up against an economic process that requires growth in order for it to be achieved? Those are two diametrically opposed systems.
“What hybrid system are we going to come up with, and what are we going to give up … to do this? Because that’s what’s going to be needed in the future.”
Jennifer Jurado, director of environmental planning and community resilience in Broward County, Florida, who holds a doctorate degree in marine biology, said she’s using a shoreline planning model that predicts “a sea-level rise of 2 feet by 2060.”
Jurado said the sea-level rise also will have an effect on groundwater tables.
Jeff Dack, Planning Department supervisor for Maui County, said planners are trying to adopt projected sea-level rise figures “into our current (shoreline) setback policies.”
“We have a lot of ideas about what needs to be done,” he said. “Now, I think we need to put our attention to how we’re going to do it. … We’ve all got to be part of the conversation and keep the pressure on.”
Steve Long of The Nature Conservancy in Massachusetts said the climate change brought about by greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere means “there are going to be a lot of 90 degree days.”
Long said that despite differences in longitude, latitude and climate, Hawaii and Massachusetts “have a number of things in common.”
“We both have large coastlines. Massachusetts has 1,500 miles of coastline. And the coastlines in Massachusetts are vital to tourism and fisheries,” Long said. He added that Massachusetts, like Hawaii, has to deal with shoreline erosion and coastal flooding brought about by king tides — the informal name given to the highest high tides that occur at predictable points during the summer and winter months.
Dack said citizens “need to be vigilant” and pressure politicians to make sea-level rise a part of planning and building codes.
“We need to hold their feet to the fire, keep the pressure on, keep the conversation going,” he said.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
1 – Idiot politicians think they can do something about nature. (Roll eyes)
2 – Global warming scam….The earth climate cycles, so does all the other planets. Right now our sun is going through a warming phase and every planet in the solar system is getting warmer. If you don’t believe me, check the data.
3 – Carbon Dioxide gas increase is a FOLLOWING symptom of increased temperature, not an INDICATOR. Check the science of the Greenland Ice Cores. Also, FWIW the decreased greenhouse gas emissions from Kilauea will result in lowering emissions more than removing all the cars from roads in Hawaii.
3 – Politicians are just trying to fear monger sheeple into letting the government control more and More and MORE.
Is there global change in climate? YOU BETCHA
You would have to be a fool to not see the climate is changing.
HOWEVER, you are a bigger fool if you believe that man is the primary cause.
A reasoned approach tells us that humans and their activity contribute in a small way to the change, and as responsible Kama’aina we should do our best to protect the Aina. We should plan for growth in a responsible manner, not fear monger the world into believing there is some ruling class of politicians that know what is best.
Reduce waste. Repurpose functional items. Recycle what cannot be re-purposed. Three good first steps that are not only is this good for the Aina, it will be good to your wallet as well and give the politicians less power over our daily lives.
You’re either a Russian bot or serious’y misinformed in your belief systems that denies science and the reality of human-caused climate change impacts now playing out on the planet.
No, you are seriously misinformed and just another koolaid drinker. As I stated, check the facts. 2 million year old Ice cores don’t lie. Climate change mirroring earth on other planets in our solar system is not man-caused. Most independent scientists have agreed that climate change is largely a function of the sun. Even NASA states solar activity is the primary driver of long term climate change
This is directly from the NASA “SORCE” Experiment paper.
But you should really do yourself a favor and do some actual research. It takes time and effort, but the feeling of accomplishment and knowing you are no longer a pawn for the Uber power hungry will make it worth the time you invest.
The most miss quoted statistic these days is “99% of scientist agree on man made global warming” However that is not true. The statement should read “99% of scientists studying global warming agree….”. Of course they say that, otherwise their funding goes away. It is all BS. Soon they will be charging us a carbon tax with no evidence what so ever that this is the cause or that we caused it. Volcanoes spew so much CO2 that mankind’s efforts to restrict it are negated in just three days
The true BS you failed to note is the taxpayer subsidies that prop up the false and failed economics of the fossil fuel energy sector. Big Oil, Gas, and Coal rack in over $5 trillion dollars a year in global taxpayer funded subsidies (IMF-World Bank reports 2016-17). As for the US, that translates into nearly trillion USD per year — from ground, to pump, and out the tailpipe, the entire supply and consumption chain is fully subsidized and the environmental and climate costs as not even factored in this total taxpayer giveaway.
The Koch brothers now mostly own the GOP (certainly the so-called party leadership), and it’s no wonder the dirty energy sector on whole, with its massive subsidized profits can buy influence in both parties, and fund massive disinformation campaigns (start with Exxon for the past 20 years), all the while normalizing the denial narrative as to the consequences of burning fossil fuels and their connection to human-caused global warming. As for climate science, the findings and the facts are overwhelming and undeniable — period.
I totally agree with everything you say. Yes we are polluting this planet badly and that is due to over population, the only problem that we can do something about. If we don’t, mankind will starve itself to extinction in the next century.
For 10s of thousands of years man has made the same mistake. That being: He
builds things along the shoreline, only to discover what he calls
“beautiful”, the ocean, will be the very thing that consumes his works
in the end.
It’s always about the evil white Europeans and their bad habits they have transferred to the rest of the world.
STORY: Two cavemen were sitting by a campfire at the end of the last Ice Age.
One of the caveman said, “I’ve noticed the glaziers are melting”.
The other caveman answered,
Just because AAAS in Science Magazine notes that the oceans were 5-8 meters higher 120,000 years ago
doesn’t mean YOU aren’t responsible!!
So, the 40,000 votes from food stamp folk
….that the mayor has YOU pay for
doesn’t mean he, should he not die, can’t give away YOUR money!
So, kick back, have a toke (or 5) and “retire” in that great Hawaii!
Conflating science with public policy…never a good idea
Let me put it in simple terms.
20,000 years ago, the sea level was 400 FEET lower… and these buffoons are worried about at the absolute most, a few inches?
And they are surprised no one is taking it seriously?
Everyone alive today is experiencing the initial stages of a carbon emissions feedback loop we humans began to set in motion 150 years ago with industrialization (the widespread burning of fossil fuels) and combined with accelerating global population growth and its compounding effects – in short, global warming is a train that has already left the station. The best we can do at this point to prepare and mitigate as possible the warming impacts now underway.
Hawai’i is in a unique position to prepare itself for the changes already happening. Energy and food independence are well established must do’s for our island state and should be immediate (not future) priorities – how we get there from here is the primary challenge for the state, commerce, and for individual residents.
Based on climate change impacts on the jet stream and corresponding weather patterns along with the generation of frequent normal super storm events, there is no place to hide (including the mainland) from global climate consequences now underway. Hawai’i however, if properly prepared, may be able to weather the changes now underway better than most places – provided we do not stick our heads in the sand, like ostriches, ignore the threat, and pretend everything is just fine.
Computer models, based on the most recent data indicate (no guarantees) indicate that Hawaii’s mid-Pacific location may mitigate some of the effects from temperature rise. Unfortunately, impacts to the island chains fishery is already happening, ranging from coral bleaching to dwindling fish stocks – also a global trend.
This is all true and I am going to fly around the world to prove it.
“Idiot politicians think they can do something about nature. (Roll eyes)”
I believe the liberal concept is “Never let a crisis go to waste”
They see this as a lever to gain more control over out lives. Control of all aspects of your life is a core driving force in modern liberalism.