Hawaii Supreme Court denies telescope construction

[webfact]

Hawaii Supreme Court denies telescope construction

HONOLULU (AP) — The Hawaii Supreme Court Wednesday invalidated a permit awarded for the construction of one of the world's largest telescopes on a mountain many Native Hawaiians consider sacred.

The court ruled that the state Board of Land and Natural Resources should not have issued a permit for the telescope before it held a hearing to evaluate a petition by a group challenging the project's approval.

The ruling sends the case back to the board for a new hearing.

A group of universities in California and Canada plan to build Thirty Meter Telescope with partners from China, India and Japan. Thirty Meter Telescope was 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.

The group suspended construction at Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island after protesters blocked the road to the summit.

The 13 telescopes already in place on the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii's highest point, have played major roles in discoveries considered among the most significant to astronomy.

All of the highest points in the islands are considered the home of deities, said Kealoha Pisciotta, a protest organizer during an interview in June. In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea's summit.

Astronomers often use many different telescopes in locations around the world to draw their conclusions. But Guenther Hasinger, director of the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, said during an interview with The Associated Press in August that "there is almost no major astronomical discovery where there was not very important input from the telescopes on Mauna Kea."

The University of Hawaii subleases the land on Mauna Kea to Thirty Meter Telescope for the project.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-12-03

[Usernames]

And THIS is why EVERYTHING in the US costs about 10,000 times more than it should.

[Credo]

And THIS is why EVERYTHING in the US costs about 10,000 times more than it should.

It doesn't cost much not build something.

[pookiki]

This has nothing to do with the cost of anything in the US. It is about 'due process' and indigenous rights - plain and simple.

[NeverSure]

I see another side. Someone is going to make the point that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making any laws on the basis of a particular religion.

I don't think that an argument based on a particular religious belief will even be admissible in court. Time will tell.

IMHO the plaintiffs would have a better argument if they made an environmental plea regarding scarring and "littering" that beautiful volcano.

Cheers.

[Scott]

I see another side. Someone is going to make the point that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the government from making any laws on the basis of a particular religion.

I don't think that an argument based on a particular religious belief will even be admissible in court. Time will tell.

IMHO the plaintiffs would have a better argument if they made an environmental plea regarding scarring and "littering" that beautiful volcano.

Cheers.

All they have to show is that their ancestors were buried in the area and then the area takes on a whole different status.

[daoyai]

there are already 13 on mauna kea, why not 14? superstition attempying to stop science yet again.

[IMA_FARANG]

And THIS is why EVERYTHING in the US costs about 10,000 times more than it should.

---------------------------------------

This is a long running controversy for many native Hawaiians as they consider the mountain a sacred site which should not be disturbed.

[h90]

Give the boss of the priests a job of spiritual telescope adviser with 3000 USD salary per month and speak again. (but of course only when it is built)

Maybe after some deep meditation and talk with the ancestors he'll find out that it honors the ancestors if they can look to the stars.

[oneday]

"...In the past, only high chiefs and priests were allowed at Mauna Kea's summit..."

These natives could care less about "deities" or the top of the mountain that probably only a couple have ever visited. They don't believe Deities live on the mountain tops anymore than adults believe in Santa Claus. They just use it as an excuse to stick it to the Haole because they can.

[SOTIRIOS]

....the Native Peoples have long had their lands desecrated....

....this kind of sounds political.....

Edited December 3, 2015 by SOTIRIOS

[DisparateDan]

The head guy of the new James Webb Space Telescope admitted that it may reveal other inhabitable planets.

He should be careful Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake by the Inquisition for claiming the existence of a plurality of worlds and their eternity.