I will be proactive with efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and sea level rise. In college I took courses in climate science and learned about climate adaptation and mitigation.
When it comes to accepting grants and opportunities for support I will absolutely accept and seek out federal and state support to plan for and mitigate expected impacts to our resources and communities. I believe we need to establish site specific plans for low lying areas and ensure that we are protecting and or planning a retreat for critical infrastructure.
I will work with state agencies and nonprofits to create plans for the restoration of coastal native ecosystems and indigenous land management practices that will give us more resilience from rising sea levels.
I do not support coastal hardening or sea walls, unless absolutely necessary, and understand that this defers and relocates the problem, but does not fix it. In fact, it may make it worse in some areas.
I will be a proponent of green energy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
Reducing imports and expanding the agriculture sector, if done correctly can be a part of how Hawaii addresses our contribution to climate change. It has become clear in recent decades that our agriculture practices and system can either hurt our climate, or help save it. Industrial food systems are energy-intensive and fossil-fuel based. Shipping food in, rather than producing it here, is also a major factor in how we, in Hawaiʻi, impact the climate. Addressing the combined impacts to the climate from ecosystem loss and destruction of environmental services, CO2 production due to transport of food through programs that support local food production and access are critical. This also makes us more resilient to climate disasters elsewhere.