350 Hawaii is the local affiliate of the larger 350.org non-profit. 350 Hawaii has a great timely website for interacting with the Hawaii Legislature on environmental topics. They provide their opinion on which bills to support, and how to do it. Everything below is from a recent 350 Hawaii email:
NEW TO THE TESTIMONY PROCESS?
Take advantage of the wonderful [Hawaii State] tutorial videos available that will walk you through the process of setting up your account, how to search and track bills, receive hearing notices, and how to submit testimony.
Click HERE to get started.
TESTIMONY PROCESS QUICK STEPS
Go to the Hawaii State Legislature website.
Sign In (top right hand corner)
Click Testimony button (left center of page)
Enter Bill number (left toward top)
Click Continue and the rest is self-explanatory.
NOTE: If you are already logged in to [the 350Hawaii] website, you can go straight to the bill to submit testimony.
See below for sample talking points. Making your testimony personal is always most powerful!
-If your house were on fire, would you wait until 2045 to put it out? Please do not be swayed by Climate Delayers who profess to understand the Climate Crisis, yet are curiously immobile on the issue as they protect their special interests. Hollow promises for the future won’t douse the flames of today.
-I support HCR67 and HR55 to declare a climate emergency for Hawaii, requiring we take urgent action, and make climate action a priority across all parts of State government. We are part of the last generation who can stop devastating climate change. We must act now and boldly to stop climate breakdown.
-We need to declare a climate emergency and have government agencies make climate mitigation and resilience planning and coordination a top priority at a statewide level, and have the appropriate financial and regulatory assistance needed.
-My future is on the line if we can’t meet the 1.5 degree cap on warming. We are already in an emergency. We need to start acting like it!
-I urge you to support HCR67 and HR55 for a statewide collaboration toward an immediate, just transition, and an emergency mobilization effort to restore a safe climate. These resolutions provide a framework for the actions that are needed to help work toward a safe climate for our children’s future.
-I am very concerned about the climate crisis. Combating global warming requires collective action on many fronts. We need a statewide action plan as in SCR44 and SR30 for the climate mitigation and adaptation efforts it will take to meaningfully address climate breakdown.
-We are in the midst of a climate crisis. It’s time we act like it. We need a declaration of climate emergency so that the necessary statewide resources can be focused and mobilized.
-I want to have a livable future. We need bold actions to meaningfully address climate breakdown and work towards a safe and stable climate.
-Hawaii can and should be leaders in the fight against climate breakdown. We have made some steps, but not nearly what needs to be done to do our part and keep within our carbon budget.
-We need to declare a climate emergency, not just because of the obvious, but because it will provide for the necessary statewide, coordinated mobilization efforts required to truly address this crisis, and at the necessary scale and speed that are needed.
-Don’t be swayed by those short-sighted individuals that argue that Hawaii’s contribution to global warming is too small to make a difference. As an island community, Hawaii will be hit harder than any other state by the effects of climate breakdown. We need to lead by example and take responsibility to clean up our share of the problem. And as the Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency has aptly stated, “if everyone uses the excuse that their contribution won’t make a difference, no action will occur, ensuring the demise of human civilization.”
-Everyone must do something if we are going to prevent climate catastrophe, and Hawaii can and should be the leader in showing the world the way forward to a better future. We are ground zero for climate change and the sooner we inspire others to take action and lead by example, the better off the future will be for our children. But if we and everyone else just continues to wait for someone else to act, then we are condemning the next generation to a planet that will be uninhabitable. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to prevent that.
– Hawaii is ground zero for change in climate, from sea level rise to shifting weather patterns, which is why it’s even more important we do our part to fight it. HCR67 and HR55 move us in the right direction, and at the scale and speed that is needed. This includes a prohibition on any further public investments or subsidies in projects that will make the climate emergency worse, and redirecting and channeling subsidies toward low climate impact energy projects and workforce retraining. Please support and pass HCR67 and HR55.
-Scientists have made clear that if are to solve the climate crisis, it will require all of us working together. Hawaii can and should be leaders in showing the world the way forward towards a safe and sustainable climate and future.
