Mauna Kea, the Sacred

[silverpenny10]

"On Friday, February 25, 2011 the State BLNR will be deciding whether to issue a permit for construction of a Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) atop Mauna Kea. Send testimony to: Adaline.F.Cummings@hawaii.gov Below is Jim Albertini's testimony in opposition.

I am opposed to any and all permits for the TMT on Mauna Kea. I believe the issues of expanding military training and industrial development on Mauna Kea is a microcosm for our fragile world. Our planet is now facing profound life threatening climate change due to the cumulative effects of global industrial development. No single, particular, industrial development can be said to have caused the global tipping point. But it is clear our planet's ecosystem is now in dire straights due to the cumulative effects of industrial development, and the crisis is accelerating.

As we all know, Mauna Kea is sacred. It is a revered temple by the Kanaka Maoli, the native people of this place, and native people around the Pacific. It is a fragile environment that already has suffered from extensive industrial development. We give lip service to these facts but then we go forward with more industrial development on Mauna Kea. Today, we have the lure of TMT -- bigger-is-better, more jobs, world class astronomy status, major PR efforts, and community pay offs by the vested economic and scientific community. But all of this has not stopped the growing tension of science vs the sacred, industrial development vs environmental preservation.

It is time for Hawaii and our world to affirm the sacred over science, environmental preservation over further industrial development. It is time to restore our balance with nature, to become pono. We have become so far out of balance that it is difficult for us to see clearly, to see ourselves as we truly are. In many ways, we have become military/industrial drunks, believing that one more military/industrial drink won't hurt us, one more for the road. One more for jobs, one more for "full spectrum dominance" and world class astronomy.

One more industrial drink on the road to global military/industrial destruction is not the answer. TMT is not the answer. More industrial development is not the solution to the problems of industrial development. To find our staggering, drunken, way home to what is pono, is not an easy task. But one thing is clear: the means we use must be in line with the end that we seek. The means and ends must cohere. Industry can no longer dominate the temple and the fragile environment. Those days are over, long gone. Non-violence is a sacred principle we better relearn quickly if we are going to survive as a species.

The meaning of non-violence is clear for those who have eyes to see our present situation. No more military/industrial drinking on Mauna Kea! It is time for clear vision and clear speaking, followed by clear action. Honor and protect Mauna Kea. Deny the TMT permits.

Send the military/industrialists to Rehab!

1. Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties. 4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, etc.
5. Seek peace through justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu `Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box AB Kurtistown, Hawai`i 96760.
Phone (808) 966-7622. Email ja@interpac.net http://www.malu-aina.org
Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet (Feb. 25, 2011 - 493rd week) - Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office"

[MarkP]

We are stuck with technology. None of us softies would want to live without it. Strip mining, the industry of war, and the like should be minimized whenever and wherever possible, but the TMT is on the opposite end of the spectrum. We would be foolish to turn up our noses at it. I am for the TMT. The ancient Hawaiians had an industrial use for Mauna Kea, an adze quarry at 12,000 feet elevation large enough to supply all of the Big Island and trade with other islands.

[PaulW]

I'd have more respect for the anti-science lobby if they didn't spread their message through the internet!

[TomK]

Wondered how long it would be before someone posted something about Mauna Kea and the TMT. Not too many surprises but associating the telescopes with the military is a new one, and about as intellectually dishonest as you can get. But it's a free-for-all post. Global warming, sacred places, drinks, the environment, discrimination, ecosystems, you name it, it's there, and not one piece of evidence to back any of it up.

But it's a hodgepodge of thoughts and poorly constructed ones at that. It starts of with the TMT and then immediately goes onto military training. Maybe the poster could start with a connection between those two things because the rest of the post means nothing without that connection.

Tom

http://apacificview.blogspot.com/

[Greg]

Astronomy is a good technology for our island. It and other technology have been historically important to the Hawaiian Culture. It would be nice if old scopes were removed to keep the science footprint small, however.

[Peter Epperson]

After I read all of the bad news on the web each morning I go to www.sciencedaily.com . There you can read about some of the incredible scientific discoveries that are happening these days. Astronomy news is always my favorite and it really puts our trivial problems in perspective. Research money seems to be the only money that is well spent these days. I remember a conversation with a friend where he demanded to know how the space program ever did a bit of good. I reminded him that we wouldn't have photovoltaic panels if it weren't for the space program. He walked away in a huff.

Hawaiians were scientists. They relied on astronomy to get here. I consider Mauna Kea to be sacred too. We should cherish all we have and continue to look outward for better understanding. TMT will be money well spent.

[macuu222]

I agree with the majority here. We need the telescope. Turning it down would send the wrong signals to future business investors

[robguz]

Totally in favor of it. Throwing around the word "sacred" is totally meaningless. Personally I consider the ocean around these islands sacred but I don't see anyone demanding a moratorium on fishing, when all fishing by definition impacts the naturally occuring marine environment here. More environmental damage goes on daily here simply due to fishing than will ever happen from another telescope on Mauna Kea. You could say the same for ranching but I don't see many activists demanding that all cattle ranching end immediately, as there is a heck of a lot more aina impacted in areas that are now essentially devoid of native species. I also don't buy into the idea that because some Native Hawaiians deem something sacred it must be off limits, especially when other Native Hawaiians are in favor of TMT. I was reading in a textbook on Hawaiian ecological history that in pre-contact times fully 80% of all the islands from the coast up to the 1500' elevation level was intentionally altered for human occupation and activities, much of it by mass burning of areas to allow agriculture. The environmental arguments against TMT fall pretty flat and any argument based on religion has no validity in a secular country. Nothing is actually "sacred", that's just a word humans have made up along with the concept of god. If something is archaelogically, historically, or environmentally sensitive and important, that actually means something, and those are things on which I support or oppose TMT. For me the trade off is in its favor. Of course the impacts on those should be taken under important consideration and plans modified to minimize impact. Widening Saddle Road has had far more impact in every regard on Mauna Kea than the TMT ever will.
Oh, I think you forgot to add "Free Mumia" to your list. I write all this as a far left vegan progressive, so I do appreciate your good intentions despite my sarcasm. I just think there are far more appropriate targets for your efforts than the TMT.
Love sciencedaily.com too!

[Kelena]

I did a legal internship at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. in the summer of 1986 (Challenger summer). I worked really hard and the General Counsel took me aside for a special talk in his office overlooking the mall. He appreciated my gung-ho approach to the very mission of NASA. I was, and am, a true believer. He and I were on the same wavelength. Ultimately, he said, our mission is the search for God. While my feelings about God have evolved since that time, I still agree with what he said: human exploration of space is the search for our very origins, for knowledge, and a plunge into unfathomable mystery. That search brings us closer to God and to enlightenment. There can be nothing more sacred than that.

Science and the sacred mix beautifully. Some might argue they are one.

Get the telescope. Cows have been munching and defecating on Mauna Kea for years.

[GinaB]

Aloha,

While I read (or visit) this blog from time to time, this is my first comment. Is it just me or does this Silverpenny person never have anything good to say about our island/state/country?