HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0372.105 2024-2026Aloha a Chair Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Galimba, and the members of the Policy Committee
on Planning, Land Use, and Economic Development:
I am writing in support of Bill 66, an ordinance adopting the County of Hawai'i General
Plan 2045.
As the County of Hawaii [COH] prepares for the next twenty years with the adoption of
the General Plan (GP), this is a critical time for public health advocates to speak out
because environmental changes are impacting human health.
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Environmental change leads to poorer health outcomes, increased mortality, and
significant health inequalities (Filiberto at at., 2009). These health impacts fall ca
disproportionately on our kupuna and keiki. The environmental threats intersect with -o
myriad other threats to well-being and health, including poverty and disadvantage
associated with cultural and historical trauma. As an example, rising temperatures —
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exacerbate diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, known to be common in older people
and in communities with health disparities (Vallianou at at., 2021; Zhu at at., 2021).
Our growing population and consumption habits have pushed our systems to the breaking
point. Without careful consideration for ecological determinants of health (life sustaining
resources such as water, air, and food), decades of progress in human health will
backslide. The current GP revision has carefully reviewed private and public investment
and infrastructure in areas vulnerable to sea level rise, extreme heat, flooding, and drought.
The GP also proposes reasonable land use regulations designed to protect life sustaining
resources and consider the compounding effects of social AND ecological determinants of
health in areas already designated by the State or COH for conservation, recreation or open
uses.
As a public health professional, I humbly ask you to support the policies in the General
Plan reflecting sound conservation science to protect our natural resources and
wildlife as we strive for a more sustainable future. I'll end with this quote:
"When we talk about old age, each of us is talking about his or her own future. We
must ask ourselves if we are willing to settle for mere survival when so much more is
possible" -Dr. Robert Butler, Gerontologist, Psychiatrist, and first director of the
National Institute on Aging
Mahalo for your time and attention,
Shelly Ogata, RN, MPH
Comm. No 311'
Ref. To:
Ref. Date IJG 2 6 2025