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Local residents and representatives from international advocacy organi- zations will protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership at a Wednesday event on Maui across the street from negotiations of the trade agreement that would tie together 40 percent of the world’s economic output.
The event, Stop the TPP, by LAND & SEA, will begin at noon at Kaanapali Beach near the Westin Maui Resort & Spa where the trade negotiations of the United States and 11 other Pacific nations will meet as they work to finalize the largest regional trade agreement in history.
The agreement would affect “protections for public health, the environment, local jobs, and indigenous rights in order to enrich a few major corporations,” the Sierra Club of Hawaii said in an announcement.
“Hawaii is one of the most uniquely beautiful places on the planet. To protect this amazing natural beauty, Hawaii has some of the strongest environmental laws on the planet. But if the TPP is adopted, these protections would be gutted,” Marti Townsend, Sierra Club of Hawaii director, said in a statement. “The TPP is a fundamental threat to our clean water, fresh air, and fruitful lands. It would set back our progress on clean energy and do nothing to prevent environmental degradation across the Pacific region.”
The organizations attending the event include Kakoo Haleakala, AiKea, Hawaii SEED, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Babes Against Biotech, Unite Here Local 5, Pacific Alliance to Stop Slavery, Ohana o Kauai, KAHEA: Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, Occupy Wall Street Maui, Sierra Club, Public Citizen, Flush the TPP, Friends of the Earth, Popular Resistance, MoveOn, CREDO and SumOfUs.
At 5 p.m. participants will attempt to break the world record for the largest number of conch shells blown at one time.
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