5 Question With: Wayne Chung Tanaka, new head of Sierra Club of Hawai’i

What is the organization’s current stance in the controversy over the Red Hill fuel storage tanks?

The Sierra Club’s stance is that it is insane, absolute insanity, to store well over 100 million gallons of petroleum in 80-year-old, rusting fuel tanks just 100 feet above the drinking water source for 400,000 Oahu residents.

So far, Navy officials have done a good job pointing to a complex, “system of systems” to assure us that we are safe — but recent events have highlighted the plain facts that this system of Band-Aids is full of holes (a hearing officer concluded that “the Navy’s actual performance of inspections and repairs to the Red Hill tanks is sorely deficient,” for example); that the Navy can’t think of everything; and that there are things the Navy simply can’t protect us from — including earthquakes, human error and Murphy’s Law.

When the Navy’s own consultant has assessed an 80% probability of a spill of up to 30,000 gallons of fuel within the next five years — not counting the possibility of an earthquake or fire — we cannot just sit and wait for a catastrophe. These tanks need to be moved.

What strategy would Sierra Club support in pursuing adaptations to climate change?

The Club has advocated for adaptation-focused policies, such as coastal retreat and banning underground storage tanks in coastal areas; however, much of our work involves climate strategies that would both promote climate resilience for Hawaii residents and greatly reduce our carbon footprint.

For example, boosting diversified and traditional local food production is recognized locally and internationally as a key means to ensure regional food security and resilience in the face of climate change. And in Hawaii — where the vast majority of our food is brought in on fuel-burning jets and ships — growing our own food will significantly reduce our carbon emissions.

Another example: When COVID-19 hit and tourists stopped flying in, we were at the brink of an energy crisis. Essentially, the airline industry’s fossil fuel consumption significantly subsidizes our household energy bills, which are typically already extremely high. Transitioning toward environmentally-compatible renewable energy sources in an equitable manner will not only greatly reduce our carbon emissions, but will also help us keep the lights on, without driving residents into poverty.

The Sierra Club of Hawai‘i has supported and will continue to support climate strategies in these and similar areas: advocating for local farmers and better water stewardship, fighting for watershed protection critical to protect our reefs and fisheries and championing laws and lawsuits to expedite our shift to renewable energy, while working with communities to ensure that this transition is fair and just.

How do you see the ongoing concern about water stewardship, as seen in the long conflict over Maui stream flow?

Hawaii law considers water a trust resource that must be protected and shared for the public good, and never wasted. Unfortunately, those with historical and de facto control over much of our water resources have far greater political influence and financial means than the communities and natural resources impacted by their stream diversions. As a result, kalo farmers, fishers, streams and estuaries themselves have had to wait for decades for court rulings to uphold the law, and restore water that should never have been taken from them in the first place.

If state officials would recognize and apply the state’s own laws at the outset, without court intervention, we would have much better water stewardship and far less conflict.

What particular goals and interests do you bring to the job?

For myself, growing up working class, hiking and fishing with my family and friends was both inexpensive and a hugely enriching regular experience. Going away to the continent for college underscored how special a place Hawaii is, how fortunate we are to be able to call these islands home. And attending law school and learning how Western laws and policies have had devastating impacts on our water- sheds, fisheries and the Native Hawaiian communities that helped steward them since time immemorial, highlighted how justice and environmental restoration and protection can go hand in hand.

I would love to bring these experiences and insights to the work of the Club, helping policymakers see the full range of benefits our incredibly unique natural and cultural resources provide, or could provide, for folks from all walks of life.

How would you say the Sierra Club mission has changed in recent years, if at all?

The Sierra Club and the modern environmental movement generally — like many if not most of our Western institutions — have historical roots in racism and white supremacy. On the national and local levels, the Sierra Club has begun to confront and reckon with the racism of its founders, and the resulting legacies that have only hampered our overall mission of environmental protection.

I am glad to say that in recent years, the Hawai‘i Chapter has been a leader in this process, seeking to help uplift the voices and concerns of Native Hawaiian and other communities who have not only borne the brunt of white supremacy in our islands, but who may also hold the key to the environmental challenges we face today.