Lahaina Wildfires, Corporate Accountability and Mistrust
As of August 28th, there are 115 people dead in Maui, Hawaii as a result of rampant wildfires that swept across the region of Lahaina. The Maui incident therefore is now the deadliest American wildfire in over 100 years, and the search for survivors is not even over yet. News broke about the wildfires as early as August 8th, but nearly 3 weeks later, a 388 person strong unaccounted for list was released by the Maui County police. In the wake of such an environmental tragedy, grieving Hawaiians demonstrated dissatisfaction with how their leaders — both in the community and government — handled the wildfires. In fact, Maui residents heavily criticized President Joe Biden’s response to the events for being far too passive. In general, the people of both Hawaii and the United States as a whole were left with far more questions than answers. How did the deadliest American wildfire in a century occur in an island nation surrounded by water? Do American responses to environmental threats need to be examined and improved upon in the wake of a swiftly changing climate? And why are Hawaiian representatives blaming imperialism as a direct and proximate cause to the wildfires? Today, we will be answering all of these questions, and applying the lessons learned to our own environment here in Miami.
Sources Used:
* Native Hawaiians worry they will be forgotten as Maui recovers from devastating wildfires [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/native-hawaiians-worry-they-will-be-forgotten-as-maui-recovers-from-devastating-wildfires#:~:text=Geoff%20Bennett:-,The%20grim%20and%20grueling%20search%20operation%20across%20Maui%27s%20fire-ravaged,toll%20stands%20at%20115%20people.]
* Angry Maui residents slam Biden, hold ‘No Comment’ signs during president’s fire tour [https://nypost.com/2023/08/21/biden-takes-break-from-vacation-to-tour-hawaii-fire-damage/]
* As hundreds remain missing in Maui, electric company admits evidence [https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/25/us/maui-wildfires-unaccounted-for-list/index.html#:~:text=The%20cause%20of%20the%20fire,2023,%E2%80%9D%20the%20complaint%20says.]
* FEMA Officials Staying at Posh Five-Star $1,000-a-Night Hotels in Maui During Recovery Efforts [https://radaronline.com/p/fema-officials-staying-at-5-star-hotels-maui-recovery-efforts/]
* Stanfard Ballard Dole and His Hawaii [https://books.google.com/books?id=AesuAAAAIAAJ]
* Eric Silagy Info [https://www1.salary.com/Eric-E-Silagy-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-nextera-energy-inc.html#:~:text=Executive%20Compensation&text=Silagy%20made%20$13,524,398%20in%20total,from%20other%20types%20of%20compensation.]
* Largest Electric Service Provider [https://www.fpl.com/about/company-profile.html#:~:text=As%20America%27s%20largest%20electric%20utility,more%20than%2012%20million%20people.]
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