A person may drive past the beach and encounter a truly awful odor–aerosol sunscreen. This writer has been angry at the inventor of the product for a long time and now there may be a way to end it. For the air, the reefs and Hawaii, there’s a little hope.
On July 1, Hawaii will officially have an Environmental Court, the second in the United States after Vermont founded the first Environmental Court in 1990. “The goal of the Environmental Court is to ensure the fair, consistent, and effective resolution of cases involving the environment,” said Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark E. Recktenwald in a June 29 news release. “We are excited to be part of this new initiative.”
It was all made possible in Hawaii when former Governor Neil Abercrombie signed Act 218 in 2014.
“With the Environmental Court, Hawaii will be better positioned to safeguard one of the most treasured environments in the world,” said Associate Justice Michael D. Wilson in that same June 29 press release. “By organizing the technical and legal environmental issues under the Environmental Court, the State Legislature’s intention of promoting and protecting Hawaii’s natural environment will be realized through informed, efficient and consistent application of Hawaii’s environmental laws.”
The next step for the Environmental Courts is to accomplish something. While their jurisdiction is statewide and the possibilities are endless, we can only hope that these new Courts will take the smell away.
Image: FDA/Wikimedia Commons
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