11-26-2018, 08:14 AM
Glinda: "Or have they been whittled down to something a little less consequential?"
OK, I'll retract my original "environmentalists...the major force" statement. I still consider environmentalists (obstructionists) a significant force in the TMT opposition, and environmentalism gets further weight in the TMT debate when native Hawaiians use it as a tool to boost cultural infringement arguments.
Native Hawaiians certainly have deeply felt environmental concerns--probably more so than the average mainland arrival--but arguments such as the destruction of Wekiu bug habitat are, to the extent that argument comes from native Hawaiians, somewhat contrived, IMO.
This 2015 Smithsonian article notes the collaboration between the two groups:
"As OHA Trustee Peter Apo points out, Hawaiians are joined by ecological and environmental watchdog constituencies with natural resource management concerns about stewardship issues in the state’s management of the geo-cultural landscape of plants, native birds, rare insects, historic sites, and so forth."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsoni...180955057/
The pigs that Hawaiians originally brought to the islands, now multiplied, do far more ecosystem damage than will construction of TMT. Native Hawaiians largely oppose feral pig control. This opposition raises questions about fidelity to environmentalism.
OK, I'll retract my original "environmentalists...the major force" statement. I still consider environmentalists (obstructionists) a significant force in the TMT opposition, and environmentalism gets further weight in the TMT debate when native Hawaiians use it as a tool to boost cultural infringement arguments.
Native Hawaiians certainly have deeply felt environmental concerns--probably more so than the average mainland arrival--but arguments such as the destruction of Wekiu bug habitat are, to the extent that argument comes from native Hawaiians, somewhat contrived, IMO.
This 2015 Smithsonian article notes the collaboration between the two groups:
"As OHA Trustee Peter Apo points out, Hawaiians are joined by ecological and environmental watchdog constituencies with natural resource management concerns about stewardship issues in the state’s management of the geo-cultural landscape of plants, native birds, rare insects, historic sites, and so forth."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsoni...180955057/
The pigs that Hawaiians originally brought to the islands, now multiplied, do far more ecosystem damage than will construction of TMT. Native Hawaiians largely oppose feral pig control. This opposition raises questions about fidelity to environmentalism.