Wayne’s Sierra Club World: Hawaiʻi needs *YOU* at the State Capitol!

by Wayne Tanaka, Chapter Director | Reading time: 3.75 minutes

On January 17, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature will reconvene for the 2024 legislative session, to once again consider laws and policies that could transform our islands for generations to come.

It is vital to understand that the stakes this year are particularly high, with numerous crises likely to shape legislative proposals: 

Oʻahu’s water contamination crisis is ostensibly top-of-mind for legislative leaders who have recognized the need to heal our aquifer, and secure true accountability for the poisoning of our once-pure water. 

Invasive pests that may impact everything from our cultural and ecological integrity, to our food security, to our overall economy and ways of life have been spreading throughout our islands, while understaffed agencies have been slow to utilize their clunky regulatory authority.  

The weaponization of our housing crisis to scapegoat environmental, cultural, agricultural, and good governance laws - while ignoring the true causes of our housing woes - reached new heights with an executive emergency proclamation, whose short-sighted and now-retracted policies will likely once again be proposed for lawmaking.  

And the Maui wildfires have given rise to shameless attempts at government-aided disaster capitalism, as well as an unprecedented grassroots movement to change the paradigm of how land, water, and housing have been managed and controlled in Maui Komohana - and potentially across the islands.

All of these situations could provide the foundation for positive and truly transformative change, with policies that can help us shed the assumptions and dependencies that have rendered our society ever more vulnerable to corporate exploitation and foreign speculation, food and water insecurity, climate destabilization, and the deterioration of our social fabric.  

They are also ripe for exploitation, as corporate lobbyists have demonstrated their willingness to use local crises to their clients’ advantage, no matter how short-sighted or narrow-minded their “solutions” may be.  

Will water quality standards be lowered for the convenience of the U.S. Navy, whose political and economic clout led lawmakers to turn a blind eye to the Red Hill Facility until it finally poisoned our aquifer? Or will lawmakers continue standing with the community in our demands to require the full restoration of our drinking water supply, and to prevent all “forever chemicals” and other military toxins from being stored on our ‘āina?

Will the housing crisis be used as an excuse to eliminate critical protections for food and water security and public accountability, to fast-track new developments that local folks cannot afford? Or will legislators take a hard look at the many nuanced solutions we need to discourage real estate speculation, hold developers accountable to the needs of local residents, and reserve our limited land, water, and other resources for truly affordable housing?

Will the Lahaina fires be used to roll back water management protections, creating a “wild west” free-for-all that will inevitably concentrate water and power in the hands of profit-driven corporations? Or will we see true investments in the water commission’s capacity to uphold the public trust, and in the restoration of native watersheds critical to our future water security?

Fortunately, recent sessions have shown that your voice CAN make a difference in how these questions will be answered - and guide the destiny of our islands in this critical moment in history. 

However, without engaged community members who care deeply about our islands and our future, discussions at the legislature will be dominated by lobbyists who are paid to look after their corporate clients’ financial interests, and agency officials largely concerned with political optics, and/or their respective departments’ narrow needs. The negative consequences of this could not only impact our own daily lives, but that of our children and future generations.

Please, consider joining the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi as we endeavor to research and track bills, offer policy solutions, and otherwise advocate on the thousands of measures that will be introduced this year. You can stay up-to-date on the latest developments and action alerts by signing up for Capitol Watch e-mail updates here.  

Also consider signing up for the Environmental Legislative Network, the go-to network for activists, community leaders, students, professors, elected officials, and others to share news and calls to action regarding Hawaiʻi’s natural and cultural public trust resources - simply e-mail us at hawaii.chapter@sierraclub.org to be added to the ELN e-mail list (and be sure to join us at the next ELN meeting on Thursday, January 11, at 5 p.m. at 850 Richards Street, Suite 400 in downtown Honolulu).

Mahalo nui for all that you do to protect our beloved Hawaiʻi nei - and hope to see you at the capitol!