Suzanne's Mom's Blog

Photo: Trilogy Captain’s Log.
“Lahaina Strong Paddle Out” expresses the determination of young Hawaiian climate activists after the fires in Maui.

I am so relieved to see young people taking charge of some of the issues that have messed up our planet. They focus on goals and don’t get distracted by the usual specious arguments for not upsetting the apple cart or for taking more time. Good things do happen when you don’t realize your goal is “impossible.”

Consider these young people in Hawaii.

Dharna Noor and Lois Beckett write at the Guardian, “Hawaii officials have announced a ‘groundbreaking’ legal settlement with a group of young climate activists, which they said will force the state’s department of transportation to move more aggressively towards a zero-emission transportation system.

“ ‘You have a constitutional right to fight for life-sustaining climate policy and you have mobilized our people in this case,’ Josh Green, the Hawaii governor, told the 13 young plaintiffs in the case, saying he hoped the settlement would inspire similar action across the country.

“Under what legal experts called a ‘historic’ settlement, announced [in June], Hawaii officials will release a roadmap ‘to fully decarbonize the state’s transportation systems, taking all actions necessary to achieve zero emissions no later than 2045 for ground transportation, sea and inter-island air transportation,’ Andrea Rodgers, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case, said at a press conference with the governor.

“ ‘This is an extraordinary, unprecedented victory for the youth plaintiffs,’ Michael Gerrard, the faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University, told the Guardian.

“While Hawaii has long embraced a progressive climate change agenda, with 2045 as a target year for decarbonization, the new settlement is ‘as big a deal as everyone said it is,’ said Denise Antolini, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Hawaii Law School, who has followed climate change litigation for decades. …

“The June 2022 lawsuit, Navahine F v Hawaii Department of Transportation, was filed by 13 young people who claimed the state’s pro-fossil fuel transportation policies violate their state constitutional rights. By prioritizing projects like highway expansion instead of efforts to electrify transit and promote walking and biking, the complaint says, the state created ‘untenable levels of greenhouse gas emissions.’ As a result, state officials harmed the plaintiffs’ ability to ‘live healthful lives in Hawaii.’ …

“It named the Hawaii Department of Transportation and its director, as well as the state of Hawaii and its former governor David Ige, as defendants.

“The plaintiffs, most of whom are Indigenous, alleged that by contributing to the climate crisis, the state hastened the ‘decline and disappearance of Hawaii’s natural and cultural heritage.’ When the case was filed, the plaintiffs were between the ages of nine and 18. …

“Navahine, whose name is on the lawsuit, is a 16-year-old Native Hawaiian whose family has been farming the land ‘for 10 generations.’ Drought, flooding and sea level rise were all having immediate effects on her family’s crops, she said. ‘Seeing the effects, how we were struggling to make any money for our farm, kind of pushed me to this case,’ she said.

“Officials said the legal settlement brings together activists with all three branches of the state’s government to focus on meeting climate change goals, including mobilizing the judicial branch. The court will oversee the settlement agreement through 2045 or until the state reaches its zero emission goals, Rodgers said.”

More at the Guardian, here. No paywall. Donations sought.