As the developer of the Thirty Meter Telescope prepares for construction atop Mauna Kea, opponents of the billion-dollar-plus project continue to press their case with demonstrations at universities in Hawaii and on the mainland.
A coalition of TMT opponents proclaimed today “Mauna Kea Awareness Day” and have set up a website at maunakeaawarenessday.org to list various events.
A contingent of TMT opponents, including Mauna Kea Hui leader Kealoha Pisciotta of Hilo, will present their arguments to the board of regents of the University of California today. The university is one of the key partners of TMT International Observatory LLC.
The group is also planning a sign waving, demonstration and march on the UCLA campus, where the board is meeting, today.
It is all part of a campaign to bring awareness to the issue, undermine support for the TMT and apply pressure on the project’s developer, said Healani Sonoda-Pale of Ka Lahui Hawaii.
With the Hawaii Supreme Court declining to reconsider its October ruling in support of the giant telescope, opponents are pursuing other avenues, Sonoda-Pale said.
“This is one strategy,” she said. “It’s not the only one.”
Demonstrations are planned for today at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and across the University of California system, including UC Berkeley, UC Riverside and UC Santa Cruz.
Expected to join the California demonstrations are those representing the area’s indigenous tribes, including the Tongva, Ohlone, Amah Mutsun and Chumash tribes, she said.
At UH Manoa a “flash mob” is planned for
10:25 a.m. in the McCarthy Mall and 11:50 a.m. in the Campus Center Courtyard.
In addition, there will be sign waving at University Avenue and Dole Street from
4 to 4:30 p.m. Another sign waving will be at Waimea’s (Hawaii island) Church Row from 3 to 5 p.m.
According to the Mauna Kea Awareness Day website, other events will occur at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, Williams College in Massachusetts and Hunter City College, Columbia
University and New York University in New York.
In late January, Pisciotta and other TMT opponents traveled to California to meet with the Palo Alto-based foundation established by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore and his wife. The Gordon and Betty More Foundation pledged $250 million for the $1.4 billion project.
Meanwhile, TMT officials continue to work on fulfilling the requirements needed to earn a formal notice to proceed with construction from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
TMT spokesman Scott Ishikawa said Wednesday he still doesn’t know when the requirements will be met, when a notice to proceed will be issued or when construction will begin.
TMT officials have been pursuing the advanced telescope in Hawaii since 2006, describing it as likely to revolutionize our understanding of the universe.
The Pasadena-based nonprofit is comprised of members Caltech and the University of California, plus the government agencies of Japan, China, India and Canada.
While supporters say the giant telescope will bring educational and economic opportunities to the state, opponents say it is an affront to Native Hawaiian culture and a desecration of sacred land.
