The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) Battle for the Mountain Rages On - Big Island Hawaii

The Hawaii Supreme Court green lighted the construction for the $1.4 billion project for the Thirty Meter Telescope 4-1. The opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope say they plan to meet Monday to discuss their legal options. But options are limited and the outlook for reversal is highly improbable, according to attorneys who have been following the case closely.

On Tuesday state Attorney General Russell Suzuki said the challengers have a couple of legal options: File a motion within 10 days to the state Supreme Court asking for reconsideration, or petition for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court. Both avenues apparently come with long odds.

The issue in question was whether the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources had properly granted a permit to use the conservation district for construction and operation of the largest observatory, the Thirty Meter Telescope. Although the snow-capped volcano is revered in Native Hawaiian culture, the area is also considered one of the best places in the world for astronomical observatories and hosts numerous facilities, despite the summit’s status as a conservation district.

We have mixed feelings about the TMT. We are distilling it down to the following arguments.

We support the construction because the building of the Telescope can help all of mankind as it will allow us to explore the deep reaches of space.

We agree that Mauna Kea is a sacred place to the Hawaiian people, however, there are a number of places in the State of Hawaii that are sacred as well, and there are not protests to stop the rampant building of housing and commercial structures all over the Islands. This rapid expansion of humanity is consuming, and destroying, the limited and fragile resources of Hawaii.

We firmly believe that the efforts of the protesters would be better directed at the development noted above before looking at the TMT.