RSS Feed
Archive for August 28th, 2015
‘Sacred mountain protectors’ move against astronomers in Hawaii
Posted by Business Times: None Given on August 28th, 2015
Business Times: Mauna Kea, the tallest summit in the world, has been a place for a growing conflict between sanctity and science early in 2015. Scientists have been placing telescopes on the summit because for them it is the best location in the world for space observatory, but some scientific projects have been halted by native Hawaiians as they believe the dormant volcano is the most sacred land in the entire Pacific.
For both parties, the summit is the best point where the sky and earth meet, but each carries...
Posted in 
Hawaii State Supreme Court hears oral arguments Thirty Meter Telescope
Posted by Pacific Business: None Given on August 28th, 2015
Pacific Business: Attorneys representing the state, the University of Hawaii and opponents of the planned Thirty Meter Telescope project presented their cases in oral arguments before the Hawaii Supreme Court in Downtown Honolulu Thursday morning.
Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, Clarence Ching, Flores-Case Ohana, Deborah Ward, Paul Neves, and KAHEA: The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance filed a lawsuit against the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources and University of Hawaii at Hilo, challenging the state-awarded permit...
Hawaii Supreme Court Hears Mauna Kea Telescope Case
Posted by Associated Press: Cathy Bussewitz on August 28th, 2015
Associated Press: Hawaii's Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case involving building one of the world's largest telescopes on Mauna Kea. Opponents, who are against building the Thirty Meter Telescope on land that many Native Hawaiians consider sacred, are challenging a permit that would allow the telescope to be built on conservation land on Hawaii's Big Island. Lawyers delivered opening arguments in the case Thursday, and justices questioned why the state department that issued the permit did so when there...
Science and religion fight over Hawaii’s highest point
Posted by CNN: Rachel Crane and Claudia Morales on August 28th, 2015
CNN: Rising more than 6 miles from the seabed floor, Mauna Kea is the tallest summit in the world.
To native Hawaiians, the dormant volcano is the most sacred land in the entire Pacific. It is the point where the sky and earth meet. They believe it is the site of the genesis of their people, and it is the burial ground for their most revered ancestors. Considered a temple and a house of worship, native Hawaiians believed the gods created Mauna Kea for them to ascend to the heavens.
To scientists,...
Supreme court hears TMT arguments
Posted by Hawaii News Now: Jim Mendoza on August 28th, 2015
Hawaii News Now: Attorney Richard Wurdeman told the Hawaii Supreme Court the situation at the summit of Mauna Kea is out of hand, and the Thirty Meter Telescope would further degrade the sacred mountain.
"Mauna Kea has really become an absolute mess." he said. "This is not an industrial district. This is a conservation district where preserving natural resources is significant, and that's what the legislature has found."
On appeal is the Circuit Court's decision upholding the granting of a conservation district...
Senate hearing wildfires urged help bolster firefighting capabilities
Posted by Reuters: Bryan Cohen on August 28th, 2015
Reuters: Lawmakers were urged to boost federal funding for local wildfire prevention efforts at a meeting in Seattle on Thursday during a summer that has seen scores of major blazes across the drought-parched West.
Fire experts were addressing the field hearing of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held in Washington state, which has experienced its largest cluster of deadly fires on record.
Michael Medler, chair of environmental studies at Western Washington University, said increasing...