UH Better Tomorrow Speaker Series and the Hawaii Book and Music Festival presented Paul Hawken discussing Ending the Climate Crisis.

He said that all change begins with one individual yet admitted that the best policy is carbon pricing.

Katharine Hayhoe in her book “Saving Us” a climate scientist’s case for hope, suggests joining Citizens Climate Lobby which makes it easy to contact elected representatives to declare support for this policy. In Hawaii, it has passed our Senate but not the House one year and vice-versa the following year. Sen. Rhodes recently wrote a bill like CCL’s Carbon Fee and Dividend to charge fossil fuel emitters the price of its effects, then returning fees to residents.

Hawaii’s economy is flush now, so carbon fee and cash-back could pass, making us the first state to implement it, again being a leader nationally. This revenue-neutral tax, a vital market-based solution to meeting our state and federal emission lowering goals, is endorsed by state, county (including Maui County) and city resolutions, thousands of economists including Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen and several past secretaries, plus faith and business leaders.

After November mid-term elections, please let your representatives and senators know that you support this policy both on the federal and state level.

Also, I heard that Maui News may eliminate local journalists. This is quite disturbing. If there’s any way readers like me can help, please tell us.

Bobbie Best

Wailuku