Happy Earth Day! However, we all know the earth is not happy.
More specifically, Earth’s ability to support life as we know it is collapsing on our watch. However, this is not another doom and gloom column that leaves us feeling depressed. What this is is an exciting call to action to electrify Kauai quickly and save money along the way.
Before I share how you can save money, just a quick primer on the propaganda surrounding fossil or the spreading of Fear Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD). If I said today tobacco doesn’t cause cancer and it’s not bad for you, you would know this is not true.
However, as outlined in the book “Merchants of Doom”, the fossil fuel industry hired the same scientists as big tobacco did to say fossil fuel pollution does not cause climate change. Unbelievably, these bad players still spend millions of dollars a year to spread FUD about green technology disruption.
For example, I’ve heard people say “Don’t EVs catch fire?” as a reason not to buy them. However, the actual results from a recent study, by AutoInsuranceEZ, show that gasoline vehicles (GVs) catch fire a lot more than EVs. Specifically, there are 1,500 fires per 100,000 GVs and 25 fires per 100,000 EVs. So, please be sure to fact-check when you hear FUD around green energy solutions and progress. In contrast, a study published in the journal Environmental Research, and reported by Harvard, has shown that fossil fuel pollution kills over 8 million people a year and harms many more vulnerable populations by making respiratory illnesses worse, and I’m not OK with that!
Now, let’s talk story on saving! There’s big savings in transportation! Think electric vehicles, cars, trucks, e-bikes, one-wheelers, scooters, e-skateboards and e-boats. EVs are fun, and you can check them out for yourself at the EV ride and drive event on Earth Day on Saturday, April 22, from 9 a.m. to noon on Eiwa Street in the County parking lot behind the Kauai museum.
There will be plenty of electric cars and e-bikes for you to check out. Local Leaders will be speaking at the top of every hour and there will be cool prizes too like a free two-day Tesla rental! If you’re thinking of buying an EV, there’s great news, they just became a lot cheaper with the new EV tax credits of up to $7500 for a new one and $4,000 for a used one, and they are coming down in price.
Now, many EVs are the same cost or less than GVs. And if you don’t like the current offers, just wait a year or 2, as there are many new EVs coming to market. Financially, it’s smart to buy EVs. Morally, it feels great knowing you’re helping to save lives and the ecosystems like our coral reefs that suffer from ocean acidification and ocean heat waves, as reported by NOAA.
The news gets even better. As we quickly electrify Kauai, it grows green jobs via Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC), with lots of electricians and new businesses to support the transition. It also keeps all that green cash on Kauai versus sending all that money off island.
So, I invite you to save money and lives, and to get involved in climate action. If you’re short on time, one of the most powerful things you can do is to testify to the Kauai County Council and Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami.
Say you want them to act and electrify as much as they possibly can, as fast as they can to save money, to save the health of the people, and our fragile ecosystems. Tell them to electrify everything they can. Imagine a clean Kauai free from all that nasty climate pollution.
Thanks to KIUC, it’s starting to move that way and that’s a beautiful thing. But we need to, and we can, do this faster to save ourselves and future generations from the worst effects of climate change.
Here’s the email address to submit testimony: counciltestimony@kauai.gov and mayor@kauai.gov.
It only takes a few minutes. We just need a little push so we can save, save, save. Imua.
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Steve Parsons is a climate restoration advocate, who resides in Hanapepe.
