User:Leilani Fonoimoana/Maui solar telescope protests

The Maui solar telescope protests are a series of protests and demonstrations attempting to block the construction of the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope on the summit of Haleakalā on Maui, Hawaii.

Destruction of many habitats, extreme pollution, and overuse of resources are concerns that Telescope builds bring. These environmental issues are overlooked when building new observatories. Human health, ecosystems, and native monuments are at risk when Telescope structures are built. However, observatories are still built, covering sacred land that is important to the native Hawaiians.

Beginning in 1958, telescopes began to be built atop Maui's Haleakalā summit becoming the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, owned and managed by the University of Hawaii. In 2010 the Hawai'i Department of Land and Natural Resources issued a permit for the construction, but that permit was revoked because it was granted before a required contested case hearing. Two hearings had to be held because the hearing officer of the first meeting was disqualified for ex parte communications with representatives of Daniel Inouye. The second meeting resulted in the new hearing officer recommending the permits. Groundbreaking took place in 2012. Construction was well underway even with a lawsuit to the Hawaii Supreme court. During an appeal of the second permit, one of the justices was concerned about the disconnect between an environmental impact study that showed a major impact, and the board's decision that there would be no substantial impact.

2014 Protest
Mauna Kea, Hawaii's largest volcano, has not been active for over a thousand years. The idea of The Thirty Meter Telescope developed after scientists realized these acres of land are now able to be used for a new observatory. Native citizens to the Hawaiian islands took action against this project. Each protestor stood at the entrance to the Mauna Kea summit, preventing anyone from making their way to the planned ceremony for the introduction of such a large project. Few scientists, along with some officials, made it through to the construction site, but the ceremony organizers were forced to eliminate all speeches and celebratory ceremonies that would have commenced the start of construction. The construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope was postponed because of the interruption, but was said to continue the following year in 2015.

Protestors continued their plans to completely eliminate the Thirty Meter Telescope project by making an appearance at The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation in Alto, California.

2015 Protest
In June 2015 protesters blockaded the base yard at the foot of the mountain that served as a staging area for construction. They succeeded in turning back the convoy delivery. They attempted the delivery again in late July.

In the early morning of July 31, 2015 activists, protesters and demonstrators showed up to block the Maui Baseyard. Aware that protesters were planning a demonstration, Maui police put out a statement saying: "Maui Police Department respects the rights for people to demonstrate peacefully," and, "We will respond in an appropriate manner." Protesters lay on the ground attached to PVC pipe and chains in an attempt to stop the construction of the telescope. Police arrested 20 people ranging in age from 19 to 60. One of those arrested was a Hawaiian Studies professor at the University of Hawaii, Maui, Kaleikoa Ka‘eo, who stated, "Fundamentally, we are asserting our human rights". Activist Trinette Furtado was not arrested but said, "We are not anti-telescope, we are not anti-science... We are for the mountain, we are for preserving our culture. We stand for the conservation, desecration, archaeological and Hawaiian access laws which protect Haleakala." Maui Police released the photos of 18 of the 20 arrested later that day.

On August 19, 2015 approximately 150 protesters attempted to block the convoy of construction trucks from its base yard. Eight people were arrested when they refused to move from the roadway. Once past the first group of protesters, the convoy was again blocked at Haleakalā Crater road with debris scattered on the roadway. Police in full riot gear carried protesters away. Among those arrested was Joshua Lanakila Mangauil, a leader of the Thirty Meter Telescope protests.

2016-2017 Protests
In October 2016 the Hawaii Supreme court upheld the BLNR permit.

On August 2, 2017, protesters attempted to block the equipment convoy containing the primary mirror for the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope. Six protestors were arrested, two women and four men, for their attempt. Over 100 protesters had converged at the intersection of Kula Highway and Old Haleakalā Highway on the evening of August 1.

Despite the effort of the protestors' interruption, the four-meter mirror system was delivered successfully.

As the construction continued, Mahealani Ahia and Kahala Johnson, a couple from Honolulu, O'ahu, flew to Maui in an effort to defend Haleakala from a new telescope (Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope). They joined the other protestors in connecting their arms to PVC pipes and laying in the road.

The Thirty Meter Telescope
A plan to create a new telescope on the Big Island, the mountain of Mauna Ke a, has created controversial emotions toward the topic. The Thirty Meter Telescope will be built on a new site, occupying 5 acres of land. The structure's dimensions will be 180 feet high by 14 feet below ground level. Because of the constant environmental issues caused by previous observatories, protests have begun in hope to at least find solutions to the environmental concerns that are inevitable with the same build plan as previous projects. Scientists are creating solutions to the many complications that were brought to their attention by these outside sources and those who helped to work on the new plans for the telescope. Unlike previous telescopes and observatories, scientists have decided the Thirty Meter Telescope will not use dynamite to be built or mercury. However, underground at Hal Pohaku there are three storage tanks filled with gasoline and diesel fuel. These storage tanks are permanent regardless of the new telescope or not, but they are in support of new observatories to come. Chemical spills are one large concern for observatory projects, and a main reason for consistent protests against observatories.

2019 Protest
Similar to the 2014 protest, activists fought for their native land in 2019 against the same plans for construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope. Hundreds of people gathered in protest of this action. On the day of construction for the Thirty Meter Telescope, hundreds of people chained themselves to the ground at the base of Mauna Kea. The protestors used their bodies to act as a barrier to prevent the continuation of the observatory being built. Other native protestors sang sacred Hawaiian songs, prayed, or shared stories of Mauna Kea to express its natural importance. The last of the protestors flew Hawaiian flags in the sky upside to symbolism "a nation in distress".

Mauna Kea is seen as a "gateway to heaven" to the native Hawaiians, but to scientists it is seen as an opportunity for future research. The non-profit group TMT (The Thirty Meter Telescope) International Observatory LLC, consisting of Caltech and University of California members, established Mauna Kea as their new location for the Thirty Meter Telescope in 2009. The protests immersed to protect the geology of the volcano, as well as its ecosystem. Scientists did not just choose this location for its height of 13,796 feet above sea level, but its critical position in the middle of the pacific ocean, necessary solar radiation levels, ideal cloud formation, and consistent stable climate. Since every required factor for researching space is found at Mauna Kea, researchers have overlooked the effects the Observatory would have on the environment and local residents.

Mauna Kea is a sacred mountain to nearby Hawaiians, but it is not only the mountain itself that holds importance. For hundreds of years, native Hawaiians have come to Mauna Kea's summit to perform rituals and use its land resources for healing. As years passed, these traditions were ignored; since 1967 there have been 13 telescopes built, either directly on the mountain or surrounding it. The Thirty Meter Telescope will be the largest out of all the telescopes built at Mauna Kea, being 18 stories tall.

2020 Protest
Activists of The Thirty Meter Telescope continued to protest from July 2019 until late March of 2020. There was a standstill protest that took place starting in December 2019 and remained consistent until March 2020. They refused to allow any worker involved with the Thirty Meter Telescope to proceed. Later in December, the governor of Hawaii, David Ige, instructed law enforcement to not remove the protestors from the work site, since the telescope was not ready to be built yet. The activists continued to stay in their positions in case construction did begin, despite the governor's news.

However, as the pandemic was an increasing issue, the protest in 2020 was much calmer. Protestors from the Pu'uhonua o Pu'uhuluhulu community camped on the side of the entrance road for construction on March 14, 2020 again. With respect to the COVID-19 pandemic, the native Hawaiian community asked the elderly and at-risk individuals to stay home.

The Thirty Meter Telescope was said to be completed by 2021, but is now postponed to 2023.