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Home My WebLink AboutINDIVIDUAL COMMENT EMAIL - 129490Mori, Ashley From: Sent: Thursday, November 21, 2019 8:24 AM x Al To: Planning Internet Mail Subject: Council members hear bleak presentation about greenhouse gases- Hawaii Tribune'k Herald 4;: t•4tt{ ai f To Michael Yee, Director, Planning Department a I'm sending this to you hoping all of the County agencies take heed when making decisions that would impact climate change. As the most isolated land mass on earth, we are particularly vulnerable. https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/2019/11/20/hawaii-news/council-members-hear-bleak-presentation-about- _ • greenhouse-gases/ Mahalo for your service, D M1 7.1 1 129490 Councilmembershearbleak presentationaboutgreenhouse gases ByMICHAELBRESTOVANSKYHawaiiTribune-Herald | Wednesday, November20, 2019, 12:05a.m. Americaandotherdevelopednationshave10yearstoreducegreenhousegas emissionstozerotopreventarunawayclimatecatastrophe, aUniversityofHawaii professortoldaHawaiiCountyCouncilcommitteeonTuesday. CharlesFletcher, UHprofessorofearthsciences, madeapresentationbeforethe council’sCommitteeonAgriculture, EnergyandEnvironmentalManagementthat enumeratedthedangerspresentedbyclimatechange. Thepresentationwasbleak. By2045 — ayearthestatetargetedasitsdeadlineto transitionentirelytocleanenergy — globalaveragetemperaturesareexpectedtohave risenbynearly4degreesFahrenheit, morethanhalfwaytothethresholdidentifiedby climatologistsasthepointofnoreturn. Ifglobaltemperatureswarmbymorethan4degreesCelsius — about7.2degrees Fahrenheit — thatincreasewilltriggeranirreversiblesnowballeffectthatwill continuetoreleasegreenhousegasesandwarmtheplanet, Fletchersaid. Inordertoavoidthat4degreesCelsiusthreshold, Fletchersaidglobalcarbon emissionsmustbereducedtozeroby2050. However, hesaiddevelopingnationsare lesscapableofrejectingfossilfuelsastheybuildnecessaryinfrastructuretoimprove theirstandardofliving. Therefore, Fletchersaiddevelopednationsmustreducetheircarbonemissionstozero withinadecade, givingdevelopingnationsmoretimetobuildnecessaryinfrastructure andthentransitiontogreenenergythemselves. Iftheworldfailstodoso — which, consideringrecenteffortsbypetroleum companiestoincreaseproduction, isnotunlikely, Fletchersaid — theconsequences willbedire. Asglobaltemperaturesrise, thedifferenceintemperaturesbetween tropicalandtemperatezoneswilldecrease, leadingtoslowerwindspeeds, whichin turnwillleadtodroughtsandstrongerstorms. Ultimately, Fletchersaidwarmertemperatureswillincreasetheamountofwater vapor — agreenhousegas — intheair, exacerbatingwarmingstillfurther, untilthe planetgrowswarmenoughtomeltpermafrostatthepoles, whichwillcausefrozen deadorganicmattertothawandreleaseevenmoregreenhousegases. Eventually, foodshortages, droughtsandheatwillcausemassextinctionssoseverescientistsare usingtheterm “biologicalannihilation” todescribethem, Fletchersaid. FletcherpointedoutthatHawaiiisalreadyundergoingeffectscausedbyclimate change. Already, 10% oflandinthestateisafflictedbydrought, andrainfallhas decreasedby6% eachdecadeforthepast30years. Shiftingwindpatternshavemade tradewindsapproachfromtheeastinsteadofthenortheastmorefrequently, leading towarmerairandunpredictableweatherastheairapproachestheislandsatodd angles. Hawaiiissusceptibletoclimatechangeinotherways, aswell. Astheplanetwarms, foodshortagesanddroughtswillleadtorampantrefugeecrisesaroundtheworldand giverisetoextremistgroupsandauthoritariangovernments, Fletchersaid, adding currentunrestintheMiddleEasthassomerootsinclimatetension. Againstthis chaoticbackground, Fletchersaidglobaltradewilldecrease, whichisofparticular concerntoanislandstatethatimportsabout80% ofitsfood. Fletcher’sreportwasnotentirelygloomanddoom, however. Herecommended plantingtreesasaneasywaytoremovecarbondioxidefromtheatmosphere, aswell asimprovedfarmingmethodsthatkeepcarbonfixedinthesoil. Reducingtheamount ofmeatinone’sdiet — particularlybeef — isoneofthesinglemosteffective methodsforanindividualtoreduceemissions. Thepresentationspurreddiscussionamongcouncilmembersafteritsconclusion. Mr. Fletcher, you’vemademefeelverydepressed, butalsoveryhopeful,” said CouncilwomanAshleyKierkiewicz. CouncilmanAaronChungagreedwithFletcherthattheoverpopulationoftheplanet isinextricablylinkedtotheincreaseinglobalemissions. Chungpreviouslysaid humanityhasnochanceofsurvivinganinevitableclimatecatastrophe. FletcherwaslessfatalisticthanChung, sayingheexpectstheclimatethreatwillbe impossibletoignoreinthecomingdecadeandthatwarmingmightbehaltedbetween 2and3degreesCelsius. Buteventhen, hesaid, manyoftheplanet’sspecieswillhave goneextinct. EmailMichaelBrestovanskyatmbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.