Wayne’s Sierra Club World: 2023 - another year for the history books

by Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 3 minutes

As 2023 draws to a close, our hearts continue to ache for the tragic losses suffered by the people of Maui, for the sacred lands and waters contaminated by wildfires and Navy negligence, and for the continually unfolding consequences of our planetary emergency. To say that this was a challenging year would be a gross understatement.

However, in this season of gratitude, we should not forget to also reflect on what our Hawaiʻi community has accomplished this year, in the face of such great adversity. In doing so, we also see much reason for thankfulness, and hope:

Some highlights:

The continued grassroots organizing around the Red Hill catastrophe - including the kūpuna-driven Walk for Water to Shutdown Red Hill - resulted in the successful near-defueling of the U.S. Navy's Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility after years of military denials.

In addition, nearly 2,000 public testimonies to the Environmental Protection Agency secured significant concessions and amendments to its initial and woefully inadequate consent order with the Navy and Defense Logistics Agency, to require regular engagement between Department of Defense officials and the community, among other important changes.

The Public Utilities Commission has opened an energy equity docket, an unprecedented initiative to address community outcry over the disproportionate burdens that energy development has placed on rural and predominantly Native Hawaiian communities.

Public testimonies defeated legislative proposals attacking the Land Use Commission, environmental review law, and other critical mechanisms protecting our food and water security and cultural integrity.

The Governor's emergency proclamation on (unaffordable) housing, backed by some of the most powerful corporate entities in the islands, was amended to no longer suspend bedrock environmental, cultural protection, and good governance laws after widespread objections were raised by a diverse range of citizen stakeholders.

The Maui Komohana community, with the support of residents throughout Hawaiʻi, thwarted attempted government-backed “disaster capitalism” in the wake of the Lāhainā fires, and successfully rallied to reinstate water code protections as well as water deputy Kaleo Manuel, both targeted at the behest of West Maui land developers.

And the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture, after sitting on invasive pest rules for over eight months, finally relented and agreed to give the rules a public hearing, after organizations and individuals from all walks of life decried the department's deference to certain industry representatives in refusing to act.

It has been a true blessing to witness and be a part of these community-driven accomplishments, and I am forever grateful to the Sierra Club staff, volunteers, members, and friends who had a part in helping make such incredible progress - on top of all of our monthly outings and service projects, native tree giveaways, community events and educational panels, and so much more - in a year beset by so many challenges.

And in reflecting more on what made these successes possible, there is reason for hope for 2024, and the years ahead: the coalitions that we have helped to build or been a part of demonstrate that the people of Hawaiʻi are re-remembering how intrinsically connected we all are to our ʻāina, our wai, and to each other. Doctors helping to take a stand against invasive species; housing advocates refusing to sacrifice ʻāina, culture, and our future food security for corporate profit margins; teachers and retirees defending the water their students' and grandchildrens' future life opportunities depend upon: this was a banner year for the realization of the unity we need, in order to take on the existential challenges we face, and to build a truly hopeful future for our islands and our planet.

Mahalo nui to all of you who had a hand in helping make 2023 a year for the history books, and in building the foundation of love and connection that will continue to grow in the years ahead.

Me ke aloha nui,

Wayne