A majority of Hawaii residents support building the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, according to a poll commissioned by TMT International Observatory. ADVERTISING A majority of Hawaii residents support building the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, according to
A majority of Hawaii residents support building the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea, according to a poll commissioned by TMT International Observatory.
The poll, conducted by Honolulu-based Wade Research Inc., surveyed 613 residents statewide in October.
Sixty-two percent said they support construction continuing on the mountain. Another 29 percent were against the $1.4 billion project resuming, and 10 percent were unsure or didn’t provide a response.
Of those surveyed, 428 were from Oahu and 93 were from Hawaii Island. The remaining 92 were from either Maui or Kauai counties.
Opinions appeared to be the most polarized on Hawaii Island, where 41 percent of respondents were strongly supportive of the project, while another 23 percent were strongly opposed.
In total, 59 percent of Hawaii Island residents were somewhat or strongly supportive of TMT. Only 2 percent had no opinion, by far the lowest of any island.
TMT construction remains on hold following several protests on the mountain that blocked contractors. Opponents object to the 180-foot-tall observatory being built on the mountain, seen as sacred ground by many Native Hawaiians.
TMT spokesman Scott Ishikawa said there are no plans for resuming construction at this time.
Hawaiians and part Hawaiians made up almost a quarter of the people surveyed and were nearly evenly split on the issue statewide. Responses from different ethnic groups weren’t broken down by island.
Forty-nine percent of Hawaiian respondents gave the project a thumbs down. Another 44 percent said they support it, and 6 percent were unsure.
Hawaiians were more likely than other ethnic groups to say they are strongly opposed to the project. Thirty-four percent provided that response, while another 26 percent said they strongly support it.
Of the survey group, 88 percent said they agree science and Hawaiian culture can co-exist on Mauna Kea.
“The public believes there can be a middle ground for the two sides on this issue,” Ishikawa said.
TMT opponent Kealoha Pisciotta criticized the survey for not addressing the ongoing legal challenge of the project before the state Supreme Court.
“I think the important thing is the poll, and the way the questions are constructed, basically is sending a message that they are above the law,” she said.
Seventy percent of respondents were reached via their cellphones. The rest were contacted through landline phones.
The poll had a margin of error of 4 percent.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
