RSS Feed
Archive for May 1st, 2015
Controversial US telescope’s website down
Posted by News.com.au: None Given on May 1st, 2015
News.com.au: THIRTY Meter Telescope spokeswoman Caroline Witherspoon confirmed that the company's website suffered a disruption. She said the website was unavailable for about two hours on Sunday. "TMT today was the victim of an unscrupulous denial of service attack, apparently launched by Anonymous," said Sandra Dawson, a spokeswoman for the project. "The incident is being investigated." Native Hawaiians consider the land on top of Mauna Kea to be sacred and have been opposing the telescope project. Hawaii...
Posted in 
Trustees weigh in telescope loses key supporter
Posted by Pacific Business News: None Given on May 1st, 2015
Pacific Business News: The Office of Hawaiian Affairs board of trustees voted Thursday to withdraw its resolution supporting the Thirty Meter Telescope project on the Big Island's Mauna Kea. The trustees, including Colette Machado, Peter Apo, Carmen Hulu Lindsey, Lei Ahu Isa, Haunani Apoliona, Rowena Akana. John Waihee IV,and Dan Ahuna, (in place of Chair Robert Lindsey,) voted 6-1 to rescind the agency's approval after hearing testimony from more than 60 people. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees originally...
OHA Rescinds Support Thirty Meter Telescope
Posted by Hawaii Public Radio: None Given on May 1st, 2015
Hawaii Public Radio: The Office of Hawaiian Affairs have rescinded their support for the development of the Thirty Meter Telescope atop Mauna Kea, changing their 2009 stance on the controversial project. But the board stopped short of opposing the telescope entirely. HPR’s Molly Solomon explains.
In a statement from the TMT International Observatory Board, Chair Henry Yang says “We are naturally disappointed that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has changed its position. However, we are by no means discouraged.” The...
Science Needs a New Ritual
Posted by Slate: Ben Lillie on May 1st, 2015
Slate: A massive debate has erupted about whether to build a giant new $1.5 billion telescope on the summit of Mauna Kea. Native Hawaiian protesters have blockaded the site, claiming that the 18-story--high structure is being built on one of their sacred spaces. The governor has temporarily halted construction.
Among astronomers, there is a great deal of confusion about how this conflict could have come about. There is confusion about why the mountain matters so much to people. There is confusion about...
Study: Global warming to push 1 in 13 species to extinction
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 1st, 2015
Associated Press: Global warming will eventually push 1 out of every 13 species on Earth into extinction, a new study projects.
It won't quite be as bad in North America, where only 1 in 20 species will be killed off because of climate change or Europe where the extinction rate is nearly as small. But in South America, that forecasted heat-caused extinction rate soars to 23 percent, the worst for any continent, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science.
University of Connecticut ecologist...
Fracking Wells Could Pollute the Air Hundreds of Miles Away
Posted by ThinkProgress: None Given on May 1st, 2015
ThinkProgress: Air pollution from hydraulic fracturing operations can likely travel hundreds of miles, even into states with little or no fracking, a new study has found.
The study, published in the journal Atmospheric Environment, looked at hourly measurements of air pollutants like ethane and methane - gases that are found in natural gas - in Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. between 2010 and 2013. It found that ethane measurements increased by 30 percent between 2010 and 2013 in the region.
The...
Pres. Obama Unlikely to Unveil Keystone Move During Canada Election
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 1st, 2015
Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama is unlikely to deliver his verdict on TransCanada Corp's Keystone XL pipeline between mid-June and mid-October for fear of being seen as interfering in Canada's upcoming election, said three Ottawa-based sources familiar with the matter.
Two of the sources said Obama - whose relations with Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper are generally cool - realized there was a risk that a decision before the election could be seen as a bid to influence the Oct. 19 vote....
Majority of Americans No Idea What the Keystone XL Pipeline Is
Posted by Washington Post: Juliet Eilperin on May 1st, 2015
Huffington Post: The majority of Americans have no idea what the Keystone XL pipeline is, but among those who do, support for its construction is firmly split along partisan lines, according to a new poll released Wednesday.
The University of Texas at Austin's Energy Poll surveyed more than 2,000 adults, and found that less than half -- 42 percent -- were familiar with the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada's oil sands to refineries in Texas, has proved controversial...
Church of England divests from coal and tar sands
Posted by Blue and Green: Charlotte Malone on May 1st, 2015
Blue and Green: The Church of England has committed to divesting from two of the most polluting fossil fuels, thermal coal and tar sands. The organisation argues the Church has a “moral responsibility” to assist in the transition to the low-carbon economy. The religious institution will no longer make any direct investments in any company that derives more than 10% of its revenue from the extraction or the production of thermal coal or tar sands. The announcement coincides with the adoption of a new climate change...
Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees rescind TMT support
Posted by KITV: None Given on May 1st, 2015
KITV: Acting OHA Chairperson Dan Ahuna was the sole trustee to vote against the resolution to rescind support for the $1.5 billion project, but only because he wants OHA to also oppose it. Ahuna said regulatory approvals issued by the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the University of Hawaii over the past seven years were flawed.
"This is not about science," said Ahuna. "We need to make the UH and DLNR accountable to our community."
The resolution to rescind, but not oppose construction...