HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0372.123 2024-2026From: Tanya Anne
Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 8:25 AM
To: Council Testimony
Cc: Kimball, Heather; Kagiwada, Jennifer, Onishi, Dennis; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; Kanealii-
Kleinfelder, Matt; Galimba, Michelle M.; Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; Hustace,
James
o
c-)
Subject: Please SUPPORT Bill 66
CD
==CZ
z
Aloha a Chair Ashley Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Michelle Galimba, and members of the Policy Committee on PlaWing6arad
Use, and Economic Development,
T--'
I am in SUPPORT of Bill 66.
10
If we want a truly sustainable future, we must commit to it in writing. The General Plan should clearly state climate
resilience as a core value and guiding principle. Without this commitment, climate deniers and short-sighted policies give
developers a free pass to prioritize unchecked development over preservation, balance, and the well-being of our
communities. Climate resilience is not optional —it's our safeguard for the people, culture, and environment of Hawai'i.
Please make it a permanent, enforceable point of reference in the General Plan.
I appreciate the inclusion of climate change and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the General Plan Draft Section 3.1.
The County's acknowledgment that transportation and energy are the leading sources of emissions on Hawai'i Island is
critical. However, the climate section leaves out a major contributor to Hawai'i Island's emissions and environmental
degradation: the U.S. military's training, bombing, and fuel use at Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) and other sites.
Pohakuloa, situated in the geographic center of Hawaii Island, is the largest live -fire training area in the Pacific. Its
activities include large-scale bombing exercises, artillery fire, and constant use of fossil -fuel powered machinery, aircraft,
and vehicles... not to mention the effects when we include waste and wastewater, general energy and electricity use and
emissions, which together make the military one of the largest unaccounted-for contributors to Hawai'i Island's climate
and environmental crisis.
Globally, militaries are among the largest institutional emitters of GHGs, yet their emissions are routinely underreported
or excluded from climate action plans. The County has a responsibility to ensure that all major emission sources are
included in our planning. Ignoring the military's climate footprint undermines the integrity of the County's climate
commitments and places an unfair burden on residents, businesses, and local industries to carry the weight of emissions
reduction.
Mahalo,
Tanya
Tanya Yamanaka Aynessazian
Hilo 96720
Freedom lies in being bold. Robert Frost
Comm ko
Ref. To:
Ref. Date ,4UG 2 (1 2025