The last week of October is a big week for Climate activism here in Hawai`i

350.org Hawaii on the Big Island is asking people to show support in person and online on Oct. 25.

We're coming together in advance to show our support for youth plaintiffs in the #TrialoftheCentury. Oct. 29 is the beginning of the historic Juliana v. United States court case supported by Our Children’s Trust, as 21 brave youth are taking Trump and the U.S. government to court to stand up for their constitutional right to a safe future.

Also, Oct. 25 is the date of the Hawai`i State Supreme Court Hearing on Oahu of the Appeal brought by Life of the Land regarding the proposed Hu Honua biomass-to-electricity facility on the Hamakua Coast, charging the State Public Utilities Commission (PUC) decision failed in it's mandate to consider climate change and greenhouse gas emissions when granting the HELCO-Hu Honua power purchase agreement.

Oct. 8 was the recent release of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows holding global warming to 1.5C is critical, and failure to do is morally bankrupt.

Our freedom depends on a climate system that will sustain human life.

We're calling for support to give these three major developments the attention they deserve.

So, as these landmark hearings begin, we will personally hand our local policymakers in Hilo the summary of the IPCC report and how it applies to Hawaii, Hu Honua, and our families lives and spread awareness on social media.

Let's show the government that it has a duty to prepare and implement a Climate Recovery Plan to protect our basic and most fundamental rights!

Join us on Oct. 25 as in as we stand in solidarity with both court cases and the UN IPCC call to hold warming to 1.5C.

If you're on Oahu go to support Life of the Land in court on the 25th. Here on the Big Island, some are hand delivering the UN IPCC to our Hawai`i Island Legislators in Hilo, and many of us will be on social media with photos of our delivery, tuning in for court updates, or posting personal photos holding signs of what 1.5C means for us, and why we stand with Youth. More info coming soon on hand delivery times/places.

Spread the word. Together we can change the world.

The science is clear. To keep global warming below 1.5°C, citizens and public officials need to act now to transition to 100% clean energy. Not only do coal, oil & gas need to stay in the ground, but dirty Biomass projects like Hu Honua (Honua Ola) on the Big Island of Hawai`i. need to be stopped immediately.

Burning trees for electricity in comparison with Fossil Fuels per megawatt hour (MWh) emits at the smokestack more than 3 times more CO2 than natural gas, and 1.5 times more CO2 than coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. But tree burning Biomass projects are considered carbon neutral by the EPA in a 100 year long term time span as it is assumed the trees will be regrown over this time, however this assumption relies on timelines we do not have, and too many "if's", especially in light of the dire short term (decades) consequences we face described in the most recent UN IPCC report.

The Science Advisory Board (SAB) of our Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is fighting to change the current EPA policy giving a blank check to Biomass projects as carbon neutral, these scientists insist that policy needs to reflect variations in timespan and feedstock, which will also help account for other pollutants such as nitrous oxide and methane concentrations. We cannot afford to wait for Scott Pruitt and other recent Federal appointed agency heads to come to the table. Not all Biomass projects are bad, in fact some of them are helpful, but Hu Honua is a really bad idea, and science shows that subsidies, tax breaks and investments for these types of poorly thought thru projects need to end.

The fossil fuel industry is knowingly causing the climate crisis, and biomass projects like Hu Honua are knowingly making it worse. We demand that all institutions withdraw their support from the fossil fuel and dirty energy industry — be that investments, sponsorships, subsidies or permits — and stand up to the industry before it’s too late.

Science also shows the type of clean energy we need to move forward with, and how much more economical it is if we account for true costs to everyday people, not just corporations and CEO's. Let's stand up and show our legislators that we are watching.

1.5°C = Zero Fossil Fuels

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