Hawaiian Celestial Skies
It is no surprise that Hawaii is one of the most popular places to view the night skies. Astronomers worldwide have been coming and observing the stars and planets for years. Have they taken it too far? In July of 2009 the federal government selected the Big Island of Hawaii to be the home of a thirty-meter telescope. This telescope would require the flattening of the last original plateau on top of Mauna Kea at an elevation of 13,796 feet.
Local Hawaiians and environmental groups are against this decision. There are now over 13 international telescopes on the volcano’s peak. Native Hawaiians view the mountaintop as a sacred place with at least one confirmed burial ground. When completed in 2018, the telescope will enable astronomers to detect and study light from the earliest stars and galaxies, analyze the formation of planets around nearby stars, and test many of the fundamental laws of physics.
<Taken from an article in Tribune> http://www.tmt.org/news/index.html
“Others were less enthusiastic about Tuesday's decision. Kealoha Pisciotta, a former telescope operator and president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the University of Hawaii that forced cancellation of the Keck "Outrigger" telescopes and the creation of the Mauna Kea CMP. She and others, including representatives of the Sierra
Club and the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, are prepared to go to court again to block the CMP and the land board's issuing of a conservation district use permit.
Kealoha said she was "disappointed" that the TMT board made its decision based on a draft environmental impact statement, rather than waiting for the final document to emerge, and said the federal government should have completed the study.
Kealoha planned to challenge constitutional issues in the CMP relating to public access. A public access sub-plan is being developed for the CMP.
"Those (constitutional issues) can go all the way to the Supreme Court," she said.
Speaking of the announcement, Pisciotta said "it's an unfortunate decision, it's a disappointing decision, and quite frankly it's a bad decision because if science is their goal, then they should go where they can do the science the fastest, not burden the taxpayers by hiring lawyers to fight the people who are going to fight 'em for their basic rights, like public access."
The Sierra Club is also "disappointed," at the decision on TMT, said Nelson Ho, speaking for the club. "I would say that this choice continues what the lawyers call a 'pattern of practice,' which shows that the UC, the University of California system, Caltech, and the University (of Hawaii) have a record of disregard for the resource constraints of Mauna Kea. And that's the natural resources and cultural resources."
Photo Credit: Copyright 1991-2008, Richard J. Wainscoat, All Rights Reserved.
Local Hawaiians and environmental groups are against this decision. There are now over 13 international telescopes on the volcano’s peak. Native Hawaiians view the mountaintop as a sacred place with at least one confirmed burial ground. When completed in 2018, the telescope will enable astronomers to detect and study light from the earliest stars and galaxies, analyze the formation of planets around nearby stars, and test many of the fundamental laws of physics.
<Taken from an article in Tribune> http://www.tmt.org/news/index.html
“Others were less enthusiastic about Tuesday's decision. Kealoha Pisciotta, a former telescope operator and president of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the University of Hawaii that forced cancellation of the Keck "Outrigger" telescopes and the creation of the Mauna Kea CMP. She and others, including representatives of the Sierra
Club and the Royal Order of Kamehameha I, are prepared to go to court again to block the CMP and the land board's issuing of a conservation district use permit.
Kealoha said she was "disappointed" that the TMT board made its decision based on a draft environmental impact statement, rather than waiting for the final document to emerge, and said the federal government should have completed the study.
Kealoha planned to challenge constitutional issues in the CMP relating to public access. A public access sub-plan is being developed for the CMP.
"Those (constitutional issues) can go all the way to the Supreme Court," she said.
Speaking of the announcement, Pisciotta said "it's an unfortunate decision, it's a disappointing decision, and quite frankly it's a bad decision because if science is their goal, then they should go where they can do the science the fastest, not burden the taxpayers by hiring lawyers to fight the people who are going to fight 'em for their basic rights, like public access."
The Sierra Club is also "disappointed," at the decision on TMT, said Nelson Ho, speaking for the club. --> Share this Subscribe to Newsletter