Courts will ultimately solve TMT issue ADVERTISING Courts will ultimately solve TMT issue I was at Puu Huluhulu Oct. 7 with almost 300 of my ohana and kupuna, participating in a potent cleansing and healing ceremony for Mauna Kea —
Courts will ultimately solve TMT issue
I was at Puu Huluhulu Oct. 7 with almost 300 of my ohana and kupuna, participating in a potent cleansing and healing ceremony for Mauna Kea — a peaceful action in response to the Thirty Meter Telescope’s ill-timed ground breaking while appeals of its state approvals are still in the courts.
Not wanting to be tempted to act out of frustration or anger, I chose not to go up to the summit. Some of us have been trying, since before 1995, to correct the land mismanagement practices of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the University of Hawaii on behalf of the University of California, the California Institute of Technology, the international astronomy industry and local construction companies.
No doubt the actions of my more energetic and younger ohana raised strong emotions among the invited dignitaries, Office of Mauna Kea Management staff and rangers, county police and the Rev. Daniel Keala Akaka Jr.
I am grateful to all at the summit that there was restraint, no physical violence and no arrests, despite the ill-advised blocking of a public road by the Office of Mauna Kea Management and county police.
I also chose not to go to the summit because I’m confident our legal appeals in the state Supreme Court and in the 3rd Circuit Court will ultimately halt further industrialization of the mountain’s conservation district.
Astronomy officials and TMT supporters should harbor no illusions. Dubious shortcuts through state and federal laws, judicial rulings made with incomplete records, and risky sleight-of-hand maneuvering with a short-term TMT sublease all leave the proposed telescope on very shaky legal grounds.
Nelson Ho
Sierra Club
