Since I was a little girl, growing up in the California Bay Area, my family would take frequent road trips to Yosemite. I still remember driving into Tunnel’s View, basking in the magnitude and sheer size of the valley. I still remember the hike to Artist Point, both arduous and rewarding. And I still remember the respite that the widespread shade of the giant sequoia trees provided from the sun.
The natural beauty of Yosemite National Park has awed generations of visitors. Yet, although they were meant to be preserved forever and unimpaired, the iconic evergreens of Yosemite — giant sequoia, ponderosa pine, white fir – are now facing the unrelenting adversity of climate change. And that is killing them.
Climate change has contributed to a 22-year megadrought in that part of the country, which is worse than any other in recorded history. The average temperature is warmer now than it was a hundred years ago. Summers are hotter, and winters are shorter. As a result, trees have been drying up because of warmer temperatures and less precipitation. Some trees send out a lower branch that will become the tree’s new trunk, but others simply die. Tragically, that is what has happened to millions of Yosemite’s trees.
But what about Hawaii’s forests? According to a University of Hawaii study, water shortage will be the biggest issue that Hawaii’s forests will face in the future, especially because of higher temperatures resulting from climate change.
Already, climate change is affecting Hawaii’s forests by making wildfires more extreme and frequent. For example, wildfires can now occur year-round. Furthermore, wildfires burn grassland and forests alike. From 2001 to 2021 alone, Hawaii has lost a whopping 265,000 acres of tree cover due to these fires.
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In Hawaii, climate change is often related to sea level rise. But now, we know how climate change degrades forests as well. It is vital that we recognize how climate change degrades Earth’s entire ecosystem, making the planet significantly less livable for humans and other living creatures.
Climate change is the result of burning fossil fuels that emit greenhouse gases. Controlling climate change requires a quick transition to clean, renewable energy to power everything from our homes, schools, and cars.
In the upcoming state legislative session, perhaps the most consequential bill to reduce the burning of fossil fuel involves “carbon cashback.” This bill not only shifts the entire economy toward clean, renewable energy but also creates a climate rebate in the form of a refundable tax credit that all Hawaii residents would qualify for. This would be funded by a fee on fossil fuel paid by distributors, which would incentivize businesses and households to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels and hence greenhouse gas emissions.
A UH study finds that the majority of Hawaii’s families would experience a net benefit from the carbon cashback bill, as their climate rebate would be larger than the higher prices they pay from the carbon fee. The study estimates that the average family in the lowest income quintile would experience a $900 net annual benefit in the early years of the program.
Carbon cashback is only one of the bills that must be passed for Hawaii to transition to a green future. Today, I write this commentary to maintain these beautiful opportunities for the future — and simultaneously, honor the work done by our ancestors. I hope that generations to come can forever find beauty in their homes, just as I have. As a high school student, I believe that I speak for the youth: We need real change. Our futures depend on it.
Audrey Lin, an ‘Iolani School sophomore, is a youth leader from the Youth Action Team of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapter in Honolulu.
