About Us

Power Lies in the Collective 

Goals:

• Acting locally, using the best available western science and Hawaiian based traditional knowledge to create an adaptable and replicable model of community resiliency

• Promoting conservation, reduction of unnecessary consumption and a zero waste philosophy

• Advocating for systemic change and legislative action that identifies the roots of the Climate Change and addresses mitigation of greenhouse gases and the impacts of the climate crisis

• Initiating, adopting, or supporting projects that promote alternatives to fossil fuel, contribute to carbon sequestration, and take a pro-active role in planning /preparing for changes related to the impacts of the Climate Crisis

• Providing a range of educational opportunities that are culturally sensitive and relevant in order to inform and bring community together around the issue of Climate Change https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=72&v=m95K7LClIC4&feature=emb_title

Guiding Principles:

• Climate change is a profound and urgent threat to all life on the planet. We are seeing some of the impacts on our own island community now including sea level rise, ocean acidification with reef death, rain bombs with extreme flooding but less water to our aquifers, increase in pestilence, increase in climate refugees from Micronesia and elsewhere, loss of tradewinds, raising temperatures and more extreme weather.

• Kauai is heavily economically dependent on the tourist industry and in other ways dependent on cheap fossil fuels. Around 90% of our food is imported and most of this is grown in unsustainable way that adds to greater GHG and degradation of the land and water. Kauai, pre-colonization, was able to support a larger population than we presently have without resources from outside. We look to the indigenous population and culture for ways to observe and learn and live within our capacity. We seek to empower youth leaders, as well as the widest range of representation from the entire community. And we believe building a people’s movement is the most powerful way to catalyze ambitious and just climate policies.

• We aim for a Just Transition with job development for those who are displaced as economic shifts are made away from jobs that are dependent on fossil fuels. Education on science based responses, innovative planning and action, and legislative strategies is essential.

• It is our gross consumption and unfettered consumerism which has been dependent on cheap oil, and a fossil fuel industry that did not disclose the known catastrophic impacts of greenhouse gases, that are to blame for our present situation. It is every country’s, every state’s, every community’s, and every person’s responsibility to address this crisis, and particularly those who have done the most damage, and yet reaped the greatest benefits. Kaua’i’s impact will not be felt on a global level, yet we must do what we can, and serve as a model for other communities.

• Climate Change is an environmental, social justice and economic issue. It is the biggest challenge humanity has every faced and we are going to have to work together to solve it. This means bringing together students, business owners, faith groups, labor unions, government, environmentalists, the community college and others to build a diverse coalition strong enough to stand up, be heard, and bring change quickly.

Why is CCL and the number 350 in our logo?

• Kaua’i Climate Action Action is affiliated with 350.org, an international environmental organization addressing climate change with the goal of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 ppm from the current level of more than 420 ppm. 350.org was founded by author Bill McKibben with the goal of building a global grassroots movement to raise awareness about human-driven climate change, to confront climate change denial, and to cut emissions of carbon dioxide in order to slow the rate of global warming. 350.org takes its name from the research of Goddard Institute for Space Studies scientist James E. Hansen, who posited in a 2007 paper that 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere is a safe upper limit to avoid a climate tipping point.

Citizen’s Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy climate action organization focused on national and global climate issues and ways to address the crisis.