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Divisive giant telescope cleared for construction on Hawaiian peak
Last week, the state of Hawaii gave astronomers a green light to begin to build the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), which would rise on the volcanic peak of Mauna Kea as one of the largest telescopes in the world. Project leaders say they are set to begin construction after a 4-year delay caused by sit-down protests and court challenges from Native Hawaiians opposed to structures on a site they consider sacred. But some astronomers worry the threat of disruptions and even violence will persist.
"These are passionate people," says Richard Ellis, an astronomer at University College London who helped develop the TMT concept. "They know that once it gets going their case is weaker." Others say the project should do more to engage with the protesters. "We need to talk with people who disagree with us," says Thayne Currie, an astrophysicist the NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, who works on Japan's Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea.
Although legal barriers are now removed, opponents say they can still try to block access to the road that leads up to the 4200-meter-high summit. "What other tools do we have, apart from having people arrested in large numbers?" asks Kealoha Pisciotta, founder of Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, one of the main opposition organizations. In 2015, 1000 protesters gathered on the mountain, but "there are way, way more people involved now," she says. The astronomers "may have won in the courts, but they haven't won the moral high ground."
Previously: Protests Temporarily Halt Thirty-Meter Telescope's Construction in Hawaii
Hawaiian Court Revokes Permit for Construction of Thirty-Meter-Telescope
Thirty Meter Telescope Considering Move as Hawaii Officials Open Hearing
Canary Islands Chosen as Backup Site for the Thirty-Meter Telescope
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 27 2019, @02:29AM (3 children)
The US was no angel of mercy to Hawaii, but if we hadn't at least protected them, some other imperialist nation would have come in instead. This was the reality of the 1800s, none of the imperialists were strong enough to declare a Bush style "new world order" and demand that valuable independents be left independent, so as an independent, you were lucky if you got taken over by the imperialist of your choosing.
As an imperial power, the only way to hold a territory like Hawaii was to exploit it as was done with sugar cane, etc. Otherwise, it would need to be sold off or traded away to another imperial power who could exploit it more fully - arbitrage, writ large with cannons and slow ships.
If you think that I think that this was "good for" the natives, you have completely missed the sarcasm. It sucked for the American indigenous, and it sucked for the Pacific islanders, but if any one or two imperial nations had tried to leap forward 100 years in diplomatic posturing, they'd just have been hurting themselves and not significantly helping the lesser (in terms of military power) nations that they might have attempted to protect. The story of Hawaii, from first contact with Europeans through statehood is filled with sadness and injustice, perhaps even more sad than the North American natives because most of the Hawaiians lived through the ordeal and accurately told the tales to their children.
So, now, the Europeans/Americans want another big telescope on the King's nature preserve - and when viewed from the perspective of the world, or even just the state government of Hawaii, building it is a good thing to do. But, when viewed from the perspective of the natives who live in Puna, just down the road, it's just more pissing on their heads - even if we are nice enough to try to tell them it's rain.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Insightful) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday June 27 2019, @02:59AM (2 children)
Oh. Yes I did miss that.
I was answering the A/C above who seems to have swallowed the US history propaganda completely and does even know that the US had a policy of Empire building at all.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by JoeMerchant on Thursday June 27 2019, @02:24PM (1 child)
In one sense, the US was no worse than the rest of the world at the time - perhaps even in the better half.
In another sense, the whole imperialist world of the 1800s were a bunch of nasty bastards - but, given a choice between being one of the nasty bastards or one of the victims, at least by playing the role of nasty bastard the US was able help lead things to a better place.
Assuming civilization survives until 2100, I'm fairly sure they'll be saying the same about this era.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday June 27 2019, @07:57PM
Oh yes, absolutely.
The Hawaiians were bloody lucky Belgium didn't have much of a navy.