Good column. I've lived in Hawaii since 1970 and spend a lot of time on Maui and Hawaii Island. It's true that the local climate has been changing and the two southern most islands, Maui and Hawaii have experienced most of the impacts of La Nina and El Nino conditions and the Hurricanes that come almost every year now.
What hasn't been reported are the state's efforts to combat global warming by moving more quickly than any other state to adopt renewable energy solutions for the electric grids on the four main islands (all grids are required by state law to be powered by 100% renewable technologies by 2045).
Also, the state and its four counties are expediting green transportation solutions, promoting electric vehicles and building out networks of EV charging stations. Hawaii County already has hydrogen-powered buses in its fleet and plans to have its entire fleet powered by hydrogen by 2035. Other counties should follow suit.
Gravity is not affected by climate change, you say? I have news for you…
“ Gravity describes an object with mass attracting other objects to it. An ice sheet has a lot of mass, and so has a large gravitational pull on the water around it. This means the water level near an ice sheet is higher than it otherwise would be.
As the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets melt, the pull of gravity is reduced. This causes a drop in sea level around the ice sheets. The water has to flow somewhere, so the local drop is then balanced by a rise in sea level on the other side of the Earth.
This change in the Earth’s gravity field results in a higher than average sea level rise at low latitudes, as the ice melts primarily near the poles.”
Do the brain dead numpties who spout that climate change does not exist realize that the effects of "imaginary" climate change will affect them too? How difficult is that to comprehend?
Anthropomorphic Climate change is real. Its effects are being measured daily and the data is alarming. I suspect ACc will kill tens of millions of H. sapiens in the 20 years or so left of my life.
But the horror in Maui is not symptomatic of the 6th Great Dying. You wrote drought conditions set up this disaster but that's not really true. The lee sides of all the Hawaiian islands are usually arid this time of year. In fact it was an unusually wet late Winter and Spring that spurred rampant growth of the non-native grasses that fueled the firestorm.
While hurricane Dora is a big cyclone it is not unprecedented. Winds of a smaller but closer storm would have had the same effect. Then there is the question of the ignition source. Also too, the Hawaiian islands have a long history of fire.
All of this could have been averted with a concerted program of controlled burning and native plant restoration but that would be expensive thus politically unviable. The Burning of Lahaina is a man made disaster; it's just that Anthropomorphic Climate Change isn't the culprit. It's Capitalism.
On a different but related topic American cable news coverage is weird, (and by weird I mean racist) in that the folks they interview are largely white people, business owners in particular, whereas the BBC actually spoke w/ people who to me appeared to be native Hawaiians. But it's never about race is it?
Another factor in the spread of invasive plant species was grazing cattle, according to a UH wildfire expert I heard on the radio. The practice ended years ago, but the non-native grasses spread across the island and became the primary fuel for wildfire, as is the case in California.
Last September 19, we had dinner at the bar in Lahaina Grill, Maui's very best restaurant. We ended up sitting next to a delightful Canadian couple who celebrated their anniversary at the restaurant every year for 20 years. It's the place where they first met. Covid had kept them away for a couple of years and they were so happy to be back. We drank to their happiness and agreed to see them again on Sept. 19, 2023 at Lahaina Grill. Now that's not going to happen. The restaurant is gone. The town is gone. Damn.
Yes, Hawaii Fires Related To Climate Change. What Part Of Earth ISN'T Affected By Climate?
Good column. I've lived in Hawaii since 1970 and spend a lot of time on Maui and Hawaii Island. It's true that the local climate has been changing and the two southern most islands, Maui and Hawaii have experienced most of the impacts of La Nina and El Nino conditions and the Hurricanes that come almost every year now.
What hasn't been reported are the state's efforts to combat global warming by moving more quickly than any other state to adopt renewable energy solutions for the electric grids on the four main islands (all grids are required by state law to be powered by 100% renewable technologies by 2045).
Also, the state and its four counties are expediting green transportation solutions, promoting electric vehicles and building out networks of EV charging stations. Hawaii County already has hydrogen-powered buses in its fleet and plans to have its entire fleet powered by hydrogen by 2035. Other counties should follow suit.
Jesus twerking Christ will be my new swear. Thanks, Dok.
Well, I heard there's still snow somewhere.
Gravity is not affected by climate change, you say? I have news for you…
“ Gravity describes an object with mass attracting other objects to it. An ice sheet has a lot of mass, and so has a large gravitational pull on the water around it. This means the water level near an ice sheet is higher than it otherwise would be.
As the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets melt, the pull of gravity is reduced. This causes a drop in sea level around the ice sheets. The water has to flow somewhere, so the local drop is then balanced by a rise in sea level on the other side of the Earth.
This change in the Earth’s gravity field results in a higher than average sea level rise at low latitudes, as the ice melts primarily near the poles.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2018/sep/12/greenland-antarctic-ice-sheet-sea-level-rise-science-climate
Do the brain dead numpties who spout that climate change does not exist realize that the effects of "imaginary" climate change will affect them too? How difficult is that to comprehend?
I say "tomato", you say "tomahto".
I say "climate change" you say "Jewish Space Lasers".
Sugar cane burns quite well, too.
https://youtu.be/6MfjiKAk9JI
Clearly that photo shows that the fires were due to the Third Impact. Notify SEELE!!!!!
Dok,
Anthropomorphic Climate change is real. Its effects are being measured daily and the data is alarming. I suspect ACc will kill tens of millions of H. sapiens in the 20 years or so left of my life.
But the horror in Maui is not symptomatic of the 6th Great Dying. You wrote drought conditions set up this disaster but that's not really true. The lee sides of all the Hawaiian islands are usually arid this time of year. In fact it was an unusually wet late Winter and Spring that spurred rampant growth of the non-native grasses that fueled the firestorm.
While hurricane Dora is a big cyclone it is not unprecedented. Winds of a smaller but closer storm would have had the same effect. Then there is the question of the ignition source. Also too, the Hawaiian islands have a long history of fire.
All of this could have been averted with a concerted program of controlled burning and native plant restoration but that would be expensive thus politically unviable. The Burning of Lahaina is a man made disaster; it's just that Anthropomorphic Climate Change isn't the culprit. It's Capitalism.
On a different but related topic American cable news coverage is weird, (and by weird I mean racist) in that the folks they interview are largely white people, business owners in particular, whereas the BBC actually spoke w/ people who to me appeared to be native Hawaiians. But it's never about race is it?
Another factor in the spread of invasive plant species was grazing cattle, according to a UH wildfire expert I heard on the radio. The practice ended years ago, but the non-native grasses spread across the island and became the primary fuel for wildfire, as is the case in California.
I assume that BJ Penn will be out here soon blaming the Joos for lazering Maui, if he's not getting knocked out in a bar fight.
Last September 19, we had dinner at the bar in Lahaina Grill, Maui's very best restaurant. We ended up sitting next to a delightful Canadian couple who celebrated their anniversary at the restaurant every year for 20 years. It's the place where they first met. Covid had kept them away for a couple of years and they were so happy to be back. We drank to their happiness and agreed to see them again on Sept. 19, 2023 at Lahaina Grill. Now that's not going to happen. The restaurant is gone. The town is gone. Damn.
"That was back in 1980, when the world could have really avoided almost all the consequence of global warming by transitioning away from fossil fuels"
But we did manage to create immense wealth for the Stakeholders!
Insert Tommy Chong Maui Wowie gif here.
They would rather believe in an attack by a directed energy weapon than the reality of climate change.
non-native vegetation was especially prone to catching fire
see, also, California.
this is a huge problem a lot of people don't even know exists.