When it comes to climate change, Chip Fletcher doesn't beat around the bush.
As the interim dean of the University of Hawaiʻi's School of Ocean Earth Science and Technology, he believes Hawaiʻi has been lucky to avoid such severe wildfires up until this point.
"This is how climate change operates. It slowly raises the stress level through heating the air, through changes in rainfall, changes in the wind," Fletcher said.
Lāhainā's location downhill from a series of steep watersheds made the area particularly vulnerable to downhill winds from Hurricane Dora. On top of that, dry invasive grass species acted as "fuel for fire."
As devastating as the effects of climate change have been, Fletcher said he's not giving up hope.
"It's never too late," he said.
"We always need to focus on decreasing our carbon production," he added. "We are polluting the atmosphere with gasses that trap heat that would otherwise escape to space, and we need to focus intensely on decreasing that gas project."
Fletcher also pointed out that the world is moving toward renewable energy. People are spending more on renewable energy generation than on oil and gas exploration globally. Although he wants to see even more money invested in renewable energy, he said it's a start.
In the meantime, Fletcher said Hawaiʻi's culture of unity puts the islands at a unique advantage when it comes to addressing climate change.
"By pooling together, by loving our neighbors, by unifying our communities, we can become a very climate-resilient state," he said.
The fires in Lāhainā are a reminder of how important it is to confront natural disasters as one.
"We are isolated off here in the Pacific, and weather events driven by intense climate change means that our community must be more resilient," Fletcher explained.
"We must pull together to not only prepare for these events, but to recover from them afterwards."
This interview aired on The Conversation on August 11, 2023. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1. This interview was adapted for the web by Emily Tom.
