Hawaii Becomes America’s First State To Adopt The Paris Climate Accord

[Guest Nicole]

“It is time for states and governors to lead,” Gov. David Ige said.

Hawaiian Gov David Ige (D) signed two new climate bills into law on Tuesday that adhere to the Paris Agreement.

Hawaii has become the first American state to pass environmental measures that adhere to the Paris climate agreement, just days after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the international pact.

“Truly, in this day and age, it is time for states and governors to lead,” Hawaiian Gov. David Ige (D) said at a press conference on Tuesday, ahead of signing the two bills into law.

Senate Bill 559 and House Bill 1578 commit to expanding methods to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the state. They also target agricultural practices with the goals of improving soil health and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

“Hawaii’s natural environment is under threat,” Ige said. “Climate change is real, regardless of what others say. Hawaii is seeing the impacts, first hand.”

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hawaii-joins-paris-accord_us_5938096de4b01fc18d3f5f64?d2f&ncid=inblnkushpmg00000009

[Guest Nicole]

This Hawaiian mayor is scoring touchdowns for clean energy

Bernard Carvalho might be the least jaded politician in the United States of America right now.

True, it might not seem too hard to keep a sunny disposition when you’re the mayor of a laid-back Hawaiian island that runs on tourism and surfing — especially one thatÂ’s making the transition to clean energy faster than just about anywhere else in the country.

But when President Trump made the announcement that he would pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accord — an international agreement backed by 194 countries, with the goal of forestalling disastrous levels of global warming — Carvalho knew he had to do something.

A 6-foot-5-inch former NFL guard, Carvalho threw his weight behind the international agreement. In early June, KauaiÂ’s mayor joined Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige and other Hawaiian state and county officials to independently sign support for the agreement, making Hawaii the first state to enact laws enforcing the treatyÂ’s commitments in their own communities.

http://grist.org/people/this-hawaiian-mayor-is-scoring-touchdowns-for-clean-energy/