Amid controversy, construction of telescope in Hawaii halted
Source: AP
By CALEB JONES
HONOLULU (AP) — After more than a week of demonstrations and dozens of arrests, Hawaii Gov. David Ige said Tuesday that the company building one of the world's largest telescopes atop Hawaii's Mauna Kea has agreed to his request to halt construction for a week.
"They have responded to my request and on behalf of the president of the University and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs have agreed to a time out on the project, and there will be no construction activities this week," Ige said at a news conference.
Thirty Meter Telescope is constructing the telescope on land that is held sacred to some Native Hawaiians. Scientists say the location is ideal for the telescope, which could allow them to see into the earliest years of the universe.
Ige said he hopes the temporary pause in construction will allow the interested parties to have more discussions about the project. Native Hawaiian groups have been protesting the construction of the telescope since its inception last year.
FULL story at link.
Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/2786a8a686994c5fab40881676cc1195/hawaii-governor-says-giant-telescope-construction-paused
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Last edited Tue Apr 7, 2015, 11:29 PM - Edit history (1)
But the claim of volcano gods on the mountain is a non-starter. There has been world class telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea since the first one had first light in the 1960's. So that ship has sailed decades ago.
There are two nearly perfect places for world class observational astronomy on this planet, one in the Northern Hemisphere (Mauna Kea summit) and one in the Southern Hemisphere (the Atacama desert in the high Andes). That is why they build these telescopes there! And that's why Hawaii and Chile have the prestige of hosting the most precise scientific instruments on the planet in astronomy.
Arguing that telescopes should not be built there because the mountain hosts a volcano god is disingenuous. How can anybody say that they know this god would not want astronomical research to go forward? As I stated, the argument is a non-starter. Plus, that ship sailed decades ago. Here is the summit today. Note the telescopes which have been there for years. And note the lack of evidence of flora. Next to no green at those altitudes.
However, there are also environmental arguments. And the Thirty Meter Telescope will be huge, about five acres. Those objections can certainly can be hashed out and reasonable solutions agreed upon. I support that effort even at increased cost to the project. Nobody can credibly claim that the scientists involved with this project would be unconcerned by the environmental impact. I fully support that a dialog be opened to address the issue. But the resolution should be based on the science, not superstition.
But arguing about cultural obstructions when there have been world class telescopes on the summit for decades seems suspect. It seems to me like the Vatican objecting to Galileo.
I would think the volcano gods would be proud to host such cutting edge science. Certainly one could not credibly argue that the tradition of native Hawaiian culture would be to suppress such a great opportunity for learning.
Again, it is one of two places on the planet so perfectly placed. And one needs both, one in the North (Mauna Kea) and one in the South (Atacama). That's why there are so many world class telescopes at those locations.
Once built, there is not much activity at the site. All observing happens remotely, even thousands of miles away. After all it is freaking over 4,000 meters altitude. Not much lives there. For those who work on site, there's bottled oxygen, just in case. So little oxygen is available. And I am sure they will take care that minimal harm will come to what does live there. That's what pure science research does, too.
However, the cultural and political arguments are long since passed. Unless Hawaiians want to tear down the Mauna Kea Observatory or have Hawaii secede. Both seem unlikely. The case seems moot to me.
But I am sure a dialog on the environmental impact would be productive. And I am equally sure that accommodation can be reached.
When an amateur astronomer lives in rural Michigan, it is inevitable that they be frustrated. But I have a nice 10" reflector with lots of cool eyepieces and digital setting circles. It's about as big as I can handle alone at my age. But the weather here is not much cooperative for such adventures. Still, I try to get it out a few times a year, mostly when it's warm these days.
As you can tell, I am a bit riled up about this protest. My education is in physics so I care about this with some passion. The arguments they present seem not to be very cogent. (Not that mine are either, but at least I am not invoking the implied intent of a mythical volcano god.)
As always.
They want the mountain top as a cultural site. And they complain about the USA somehow taking over their kingdom.
Funny. The observatory has been planned almost as long as when the population voted to become the 50th state.
I am not the one saying these things. You'll have to communicate with the protesters about their issues. My feeling is that they just don't want the TMT built and they have several justifications, however apparently not a single coherent one. In the meantime, the observatory has been there for decades.
So no, not apparently taken.
Anyway, what are they going to do? Try t secede? Like that worked out well the last time.
And the observatory is a profoundly significant scientific site which has been there for decades. It is the most important observatory in northern hemisphere. No other site comes close.
But which is it? Stolen islands? Or cultural site?
Both seem to be moot points to me. Hawaii voted for statehood and the observatory has been there for a half a century or more.
But apparently the prestige of cutting edge science isn't important enough to some people. They would prefer ignorance.
Well, I would suggest that the sovereignty movement is going to go nowhere. There is not any do overs on these things. And so they are blocking the roads to the observatory. And they get arrested.
I don't see how this helps their sovereignty case, which is moot anyway.
But the sovereignty movement is stronger now than ever. Not all Hawaiians support it, but the ideology ("You stole our land and we want it back"
is on the rise. A young sovereignty activist once told me, "Don't worry, we'll let you keep your house."
They will never get sovereignty, but they might get a compromise--tribal status and some reparations. This may actually be what they want. I should add, however, that the sovereignty movement is fractious, and there are many different ideas in the movement about what "sovereignty" means.
Only arguments based on people somehow knowing what a volcano deity thinks about world class astronomy. That would not be a rational argument by my thinking.
The other, that the USA stole the kingdom of Hawaii is basically moot and has next to nothing to do with the observatory since it is an international collaboration, not a solely US one. In fact, the TMT itself is also very much an international collaboration. Big science usually is these days.
Maybe I am naive or ignorant about the details of some of the issues here (I confess that) but the arguments I am hearing are not convincing to me. From my perspective it seems that an accommodation could be reached to resolve the dispute. I mean something short of don't build it, and by the way, tear down all the other telescopes too. (Which is what these demonstrators seem to want.)
Plus, I think Pele approves of the telescopes. They are quite beautiful.
The sprawling chain of Hawaiian volcanoes just added another underwater branch.
The new volcano, named Ka'ena, was born in the deep underwater channel south of Kauai about 5 million years ago,
The discovery means Oahu once towered above the ocean with three volcanic peaks, the researchers said. Until now, scientists thought Oahu was built by two volcanoes — Wai'anae on the west and Ko'olau on the east.
Ka'ena volcano is about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) high, but only reached about 3,000 feet above sea level, Sinton said. As Oahu's first-born, Ka'ena is the shortest of the three volcanoes because it had to grow farthest from the seafloor to the ocean surface.
But the researchers know Ka'ena was once an island peak, because the underwater mountain is capped by lavas with textures that only form in air. With a remotely operated vehicle, the researchers also spied a sandy beach strewn with shark teeth.
Oahu's volcanoes died out about 2 million years ago, and like all of Hawaii's islands, their massive bulk is slowly sinking, hiding Ka'ena beneath the sea.
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http://www.livescience.com/45680-new-hawaii-volcano-discovered-ka-ena.html
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Lo`ihi Seamount
Hawai`i's Youngest Submarine Volcano
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanoes/loihi/