Issue Position: Protecting Our Environment

Issue Position

"I am committed to fighting for the protection of our aina and leading the way to a more environmentally minded Congress." -- Stanley Chang

Having been born and raised in Hawaii, I value our community's unique environment and believe it is why Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on earth. As an island state that often feels the effects of climate change first, and that is the most isolated state from any other landmass, Hawaii is both more vulnerable to global environmental forces and more aware of the urgent steps the entire planet must take for all of us to remain secure and sustainable for generations to come. Unfortunately, this Congress has pursued policies that continue to threaten our quality of life and the world as a whole.

Our leadership on the Council reflects this commitment. As the author of the ban on smoking in Waikiki's beach parks, I spearheaded the most important pro-environment movement in our time on the Council. I had been a long-time volunteer with and advocate for Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and have participated in countless beach cleanups. I saw firsthand how much cigarette butt litter threatens our marine life and our keiki, and after hearing from many concerned residents and visitors, I championed the bill that led to a full ban on smoking in all city beaches, parks, and bus stops on Oahu.

I also introduced Resolution 13-140 to support President Obama's climate change plan. Climate change will increase risks from flooding, heat waves and extreme weather event, posing great threats on our health, economy and unique ecosystems. This is why I support urgent use of the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and move America towards a greener, cleaner future.

Climate Disruption

Already, at high tide, sea water is visible exiting Honolulu storm drains in coastal areas like Waikiki--signs of sea level rise, one of climate change's most potentially devastating consequences. To combat these effects, I would support a comprehensive plan for the reduction of carbon dioxide.

I strongly support President Obama's 2013 plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and will help fight to implement this plan. I am committed to supporting and working with fellow members to reduce American carbon dioxide emissions, enter into and uphold international agreements for multilateral carbon reductions, increase funding for renewable energy research and development, commit resources to protect American cities from global warming related natural disasters, expand tax credits for citizens and companies who embrace green technologies and initiatives, and increase the amount of protected public land considered national monuments and wilderness.

I am also in favor of increasing carbon-offset programs and educating the public about how they can have a large impact with even a small effort. I believe most Americans want a cleaner, greener planet and are willing to work for it -- they lack only the knowledge and tools to make that dream a reality. There is much we can do to help that important goal.

Cracking Down on Fossil Fuel Polluters

I support a mechanism to put a price on carbon pollution because climate change is an imminent threat to the future of Hawaii, America and our planet. Climate change exposes our citizens to more frequent and destructive natural disasters, raises sea levels that uniquely affect our island state, and threatens the tourism industry that is Hawaii's economic engine. Worldwide, climate change is responsible for nearly 300,000 deaths and economic losses of $125 billion. Moreover, both carbon taxes and carbon trading schemes have proven successful in other jurisdictions around the world.

The environment is the cornerstone of security -- every parent wants to know that his or her child is drinking clean water and breathing clean air. Unfortunately, under this Congress, that is no longer a certainty. I am committed to fighting to support and adequately fund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including carbon pollution standards for new and existing coal fired power plants.

In recent years, Congress has proposed budget cuts to the EPA by nearly 19 percent claiming that the agency's regulatory actions are being pursued without legislative direction. Even worse, some proposed legislation would remove the EPA's regulatory power entirely. Both of these proposed plans are unacceptable.

Instead of cutting funding or regulatory power, I believe that environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and Superfund are important laws that help the nation's public health. In addition, these laws have bolstered the United State's clean technology sector, which is a $157 billion/year sector that employs an estimated 2.7 million people, up from 489,000 jobs in 2008.

Protection of Streams and Waterways in Appalachia

Furthermore, I am in strong support of legislation that would close the ever-widening loopholes originally implemented during the Bush Administration that allow mining companies to dump their toxic and dangerous mining waste directly into streams and waterways in Appalachia. Allowing coal companies to blast the tops off mountains to reach seams of coal and push the rubble into adjacent valleys and waterways is harmful to our environment, potentially deadly to our public health, and must be stopped.

Unfortunately, this problem is not limited to Appalachia. In Alaska's Tongass National Forest, a new gold mine is pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons per day of toxic wastewater slurry into Lower Slate Lake, killing its fish and aquatic life at the source and wreaking havoc all along this precious waterway. We must never relax our vigilance in the fight to protect waterways anywhere from mining pollution.

Moving from Dirty Fuels to Clean Energy Economy

I support clean energy solutions that increase our energy independence and reduce the amount of carbon we emit. I support the Obama Administration's call for generating 80 percent of the nation's electricity from clean energy sources by 2035. To achieve this urgent goal, I support investments in clean energy technologies such as wind and solar. I would support reasonable incentives such as the wind power production tax credit. Hawaii is in a unique position because of the variety of investment in different types of clean energy solutions.

I am committed to fight to continue to secure federal investments in clean energy solutions in Hawaii, such as the $30 million the U.S. Navy recently invested in Energy Excelerator, a Hawaii-based program that funds the development of clean energy innovations. Another great example of a local clean energy project is First Wind, which is the developer, owner, and operator of several wind farms in Hawaii. First Wind's projects produce 210 million kiloWatthours annually from its projects annually, saving 384,000 barrels of oil or 116,000 tons of coal. In addition, the projects annually avoid 153,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

While Hawaii has an expanding photovoltaic industry, for the industry to accelerate its share as a major clean energy solution, energy storage must become cheaper and more effective. I support initiatives for research and investments in providing cheap energy storage, which will help photovoltaic and wind energy solutions to expand.

While at the City Council, I have consistently supported efficiency measures, including co-generation of energy at our wastewater treatment plants. I will continue to support energy efficiency at the federal level and nationwide.

Ending Fossil Fuel Subsidies

We must work hard to attain a meaningful decrease in our dependence on oil, gas, and coal. It is estimated the annual fossil fuel subsidies given by the U.S. government to oil, gas, and coal companies ranges between $14 billion to $52 billion annually. Ending the taxpayer giveaways to Big Oil is the right thing to do -- for our families and America's security. Using tax dollars to subsidize Big Oil keeps us dependent on Middle Eastern oil instead of looking for long-term green solutions to our country's growing energy needs. I believe that the U.S. must start working today to avoid the impeding harmful effects of climate change, we need to make the smart decisions to invest in low and non-carbon energy solutions, which will create new jobs in that sector and allow America to leads the world in the green market of the future.

Support the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act

I strongly support the passage of U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette and Rep. Chris Gibson's Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC Act), a bipartisan bill that establishes common sense safeguards to protect groundwater from risks associated with the fracking. The FRAC Act would require disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking fluids and would remove the oil and gas industry's exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Currently, a federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 contained a provision that has been commonly called the "Halliburton Loophole," which allows for an exemption for gas drilling and extraction from requirements in the underground injection control (UIC) program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This loophole must be closed, and closed tightly.

Extensive investigations by ProPublica and the New York Times have revealed hundreds of cases of water contamination, potential links between drilling and earthquakes and an industry that has been able to sidestep major environmental regulations. I support the passage of the FRAC Act because it would require disclosure to the state or to the EPA of the chemical constituents used in the fracturing process. I agree with Reps. DeGette and Gibson that contamination of our water tables that extend beyond state lines requires federal action immediately.

Fighting to stop the Keystone Pipeline

In addition, I reject proposals to approve the Keystone XL and Trailbreaker pipelines because these are smart decisions that demonstrate that the U.S. is committed to shifting from dirty to clean energy economies.

I also do not support the approval of the pipelines for the following reasons. First, the Keystone XL and Trailbreaker pipelines could contaminate the aquifer and groundwater systems, which 1.5 million people rely on for their drinking water. Second, high emissions are created by extracting crude oil from the sands. Third, proponents of the pipeline are mistaken that the approving the pipeline will reduce our dependence on oil from the Middle East because TransCanada, the company behind the pipeline, has entered into long-term contracts with refineries to re-export the fuel to Latin America, Europe, and other markets.

Protection of Water and Wildlife

I believe that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is an ecological marvel, home to caribou, polar bears, grizzly bears, snow geese and peregrine falcons, should never be explored for oil and gas drilling. If the U.S. is attempting to move forward with a clean energy economy, we should not be exploring new drilling options. Drilling at ANWR would be going backwards, not forward. Instead of drilling at ANWR, I believe the U.S. should be investing in new clean energy technology such as wind and solar.

I oppose new drilling in areas of the Outer Continental Shelf. I also oppose any bills that allow the Department of the Interior to expand the area of the Outer Continental Shelf that is available for oil and natural gas drilling.

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