THE THIRTY METER TELESCOPE WILL BE BUILT!

Two months ago I posted on:

     A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR HAWAIIANS

I reported on a Star-Advertiser poll taken on 12 July 2019:

Comparing YES and NO votes, 95% of local people are for TMT.  And native Hawaiians were part of the poll.

Since then, there have been two more surveys:

• 25 August 2019:  What do you think of police issuing traffic citations around the Mauna Kea protest area?
• 93%
• 35%  Good--necessary/practical/effective
• 58%  OK, but want stronger action
• 7%  Bad--oppressive

• 5 September 2019:  What do you think of the structure built on a lava field near the Mauna Kea protest camp?
• 92%  Negative; tear down immediately
•   4%  Positive; let it stand
•   4%  Neutral; don't care either way

The structure was torn down and two activists were arrested.

It's pretty obvious that the people of Hawaii overwhelmingly support the immediate construction and operation of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea.  That is his basic nature, which is a good quality, but Governor David Ige has been too understanding and, therefore, tentative in his decision-making.  Mayor Harry Kim actually has his heart with the Hawaiian protestors, but appreciates the importance of completing this project.

I personally know both individuals, for Governor Ige (left) was a student in electrical engineering when I taught in the College of Engineering at the University of Hawaii, and Mayor Kim is a Hilo High School classmate of my wife Pearl.  They are in office to make decisions, and hopefully have developed a comprehensive strategy to overcome this current impasse, as is becoming obvious.

The University of Hawaii is a key player in this issue, and the front-page title in the Star Advertiser yesterday read:

     If TMT goes, billions of research dollars could go with it

Providing most of the University's viewpoint was Vassilis Syrmos, vice president for research and innovation.  I recall him joining our Electrical Engineering Department in 1991, and not soon thereafter, like me, took an administrative track.

Syrmos indicated that the developers of TMT spent a decade gaining the legal approvals to build the $1.4 billion telescope on Mauna Kea.  He pointed out that the termination of TMT would cripple the Institute for Astronomy and forever taint our reputation with funding agencies and damage the ability of Hawaii to recruit future researchers and technological luminaries.  To quote Rich Wacker, president and CEO of American Savings Bank:

We can’t damage the future as the only price to solve these (protest) grievances,” he said. “There’s got to be another way. There has to be a middle ground that can help address the real grievances but protecting this project that is so important to Hawaii’s future and so potentially damaging if it fails.

When do you ever see the University of Hawaii ranked as #1 in anything.? According to College Ranking, we are at the top, with #35 being the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University.

National Geographic says that the top star-gazing site in the northern hemisphere is the combination of Mauna Kea (13,800 feet) and Haleakala (10,000 ft).  Next is La Palma (7,870 ft) in the Canaries.  The best in the southern hemisphere is the Atacama Desert in Chile.  At Cerro Macon, the Extremely Large Telescope (diameter of 128 ft 11 in) at 9,993 ft, is planning for first light in 2025.  TMT will be the second largest, with a diameter of 98 feet, and hopeful first light in 2027 if the project is soon allowed to proceed.

So back to my posting of 12 July 2019, I quote:

In any case, appreciating the reality of the TMT situation, this is a golden opportunity for Hawaiian activists.  They need a modern-day King Kamehameha to unite them all, but in a progressive manner.  The time is now to have the right leader to magnanimously allow construction to proceed for the good of Hawaii and Humanity.

Then find others to promote instead of prevent, advance as opposed to deflate.  Particularly, this too is important:  work in partnership with others.  Civil rights seem all too focused on oneself.

The rather startling majority of Hawaii residents supporting the TMT on Mauna Kea means that the telescope will eventually be built, soon, and in Hawaii, for La Palma is at around half the elevation of Mauna Kea.  The timing is now for local Hawaiian activists to appreciate the will of the people and with good will work closely with the University of Hawaii and partners to smartly manage the facility for the sake of progress.  There is every reason to believe that worship and watching can proceed in concert on this sacred mountain.

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REFLECTIONS FROM PURGATORY

I began the week with JUST ANOTHER WEEK IN PURGATORY.  One item in that posting had to do with a lanai meal, where I did take-out from the dining room, and enhanced it.  Last night, I repeated (that was the reflection), for I saved most of a spaghetti with tomato sauce order, but fried the tiny meatballs in olive oil and wagyu fat with chopped garlic and morsels of scallops I had earlier fried in a pan to extract the essence of the true taste.

The variation was aglio, e olio peperoncino (with the pepper from my herb garden)...but using capellini, or angel hair pasta.  A perfect capellini al dente is very difficult to pull off.  Carefully place in boiling water for only 3 minutes, washing out and tossing with butter into the pan with those ingredients for one minute.  I had walked 18 holes at the Ala Wai Golf Course, so had a bottle of beer, and one of the best Chardonnays ever, a 2012 Stanford Governor's Selection 14.5% from Knights Bridge, and salad (also take-out) but with  my creation of a special truffles oil and balsamic dressing:

Absolutely a joy.  If you did not know, pasta aglio e olio comes from Naples.  Bolognese?  Sure, Italy, but, surprisingly enough, the term is generally not used in the country.  In 1982, however, the Italian Academy of Cuisine finally registered the dish at the Bologna Chamber of Commerce.  The traditional ragu' bolognese pasta is tagliatelle, the equivalent of chow fun noodle.

On Monday I posted, MAIDEN:  Do You Believe in Miracles?  Regarding the Transpac Race, as the media seemed to have ignored this competition, the first to finish was Argo (right) on Wednesday just before 9PM, followed less than an hour later by PowerPlay Ltd, then the next day by Maserati and Commanche.  Brigadoon at #8 and Bretwalda 3 at #9 are expected to cross the Diamond Head finish line just before 3PM this afternoon.  Four boats had to turn back.

I suggested on Tuesday that at hand was A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR HAWAIIANS.  Friday of last week, July 12, the Star Advertiser showed a poll where 95% of YES/NO votes indicated it is time and overdue regarding building the Thirty Meter Telescope.  Rarely does the public have such a lopsided view on any issue.  But protestors on Monday continued to delay construction.  Wednesday, the Star Advertiser had another poll:  How has the state handled the Mauna Kea Thirty Meter Telescope conflict so far?  Four percent said too harsh, but 96% indicated either "too lenient, get TMT going" or "about right, tense situation."

How has the state handled the Mauna Kea Thirty Meter Telescope conflict so far?

• July 18, 2019 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 

• B. Too lenient; get TMT going (795 Votes)
• C. About right; tense situation (229 Votes)
• A. Too harsh; too much show of force (42 Votes)
  
  

The timing is perfect for a next generation, progressive, King Kamehameha equivalent, one who seeks a brighter future in partnership with the state leadership, to rise.  A few politicians, including Bernie Sanders, have jumped in to support the protestors.  Lee Cataluna of the Star Advertiser, in her regular column, headlined:  Gov. Ige must fear the truth about Mauna Kea.  

My viewpoint sides with the 95/96% surveys indicating support for the TMT.  Hawaii has been regularly crippled by minorities preventing progressive development, like Councilwoman Rene Mansho in 1992 killing Honolulu's rail-transit program when Senator Dan Inouye was in his prime and had secured majority funding from the Federal government.  That system would be in full operation today, without the taxes now faced by local citizens.  Serves her right, but a decade later she was convicted of theft, with a one-year-in-jail sentence.

Then a reflection from this past Wednesday:  THAT CONSEQUENTIAL GIANT LEAP FOR MANKIND.  I selected Apollo 11 as the greatest achievement of humanity.  Sure, exactly half a century ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin planting the American flag on the Moon.  That was monumental.  But more so, the USA finally triumphant over the Soviet Union in space triggered the beginning of the end of the Cold War in 1991, which hopefully forever, ended the specter of a nuclear winter destroying Humanity.

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KING KAMEHAMEHA VI: Potential Candidates

This is my fifth posting since last week on the stand-off between "the Hawaiians" and Governor  David Ige (here with kupuna Napua McShane Burke) about building the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea:

• A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY FOR HAWAIIANS:  A Star-Advertiser poll had recently indicated that 95% of Yes/No votes on this issue sided with "Yes, its time/overdue to begin construction."  I suggested that the timing was ideal for a progressive "Hawaiian" leader to emerge with a solution that would benefit Hawaiians, all stakeholders, astronomers and the State of Hawaii. This modern-day King Kamehameha could thus unite all Hawaiians, but not only for themselves, but to include the entire State of Hawaii and scientific world.  Protests tend to be selfish in objective to only help the griper.  Why can't there be an explication to advance everyone?

• REFLECTIONS FROM PURGATORY:  Now four days into the protest/protector activity on Mauna Kea, the Star Advertiser had a follow-up poll, showing that 96% of the state population indicated that Governor Ige was too lenient or doing just about right.  When was the last time you got any kind of political matter so one-sided?
• PRINCE LOT HULA FESTIVAL:   Forty-two years of the Prince Lot festival, and who knew that he was the last King Kamehameha, #5?
• UKULELE FESTIVAL, MOMOSAN AND MARCH OF THE PROTECTORS:  Having been in the midst of this march in Waikiki, my thoughts were:

Frankly, I think it would be a heck of a lot more productive if they found a cause to promote something good instead of again preventing something from happening.  After going around the world a few times, I'm distressed that while amazing progress is surging in parts of the globe, Hawaii is in this self-imposed rut.

So here we are, eleven days into this affair, and the Mauna Kea protectors have made definite progress, solidifying their intent to totally stop construction.  While those 95%/96% support for TMT polls seem extraordinarily high, previous surveys have generally indicated that more than three-quarters of the state likewise feel the same.  A little more than a year ago Mason-Dixon Polling & Research indicated that support for TMT among Native Hawaiians stood at 70%.

So why is the State and County stymied in this legally approved project?  Thus far, $450 million of the $1.4 billion budget have already been spent.  If TMT is killed, this just adds to the death of the Superferry, geothermal development on the Big Island and wind farms on Molokai.  How did this ever happen, but the Honolulu Rail Transit now will most probably be completed, although the termination of this earlier effort by Councilwoman Rene Mansho in 1992 means that Hawaii residents will this time pay for most of it.  

Regarding TMT, if it never begins construction, that will mean a slow spiral to obscurity for what today is the primary space view site in the Northern Hemisphere.  Again, the continued vaporization of "good" jobs for the next generation.

The protestors are now getting the support of prominent politicians like Bernie Sanders and actors like Duane The Rock Johnson.  Which led me to speculate on potential candidates for King Kamehameha the sixth.  The Rock has been announced to play the role of King Kamehameha I, and his presence yesterday no doubt was a publicity stunt for him.  He had earlier, of course, been panned by Hawaiian leaders for this honor, mostly for being Samoan and not Native Hawaiian.  Heck, he went to McKinley High School, like me.  How much more local can you get?

To quote from Healani Sonoda-Pale, a spokesperson for Ka Lahui Hawaii Political Action Committee:

I am an Indigenous Hawaiian who has Samoan ancestry. I don’t get these things confused. The Rock is NOT a descendant of Hāloa. Only Hawaiians, such as Kamehameha, trace our genealogy back to Hāloa. The Rock is not Hawaiian, he has no kuleana (entitlement and responsibility) to our stories.

So who is Haloa?  A Hawaiian mythological figure who was born of Hawaiian gods, and is the ancestor of the Hawaiian people.  Frankly, I miss the relevancy.

In any case, could Duane The Rock Johnson serve a role in forming a partnership to build TMT with the majority of Native Hawaiians?  Sure he can.  He might need to step back about becoming Kamehameha I on the screen, but thus gain more valuable respect as King Kamehameha VI.

Another individual who has bravely entered the controversy is part-Hawaiian Samuel Wilder King II, one of the leaders of Imua TMT.  Samuel Wilder King was the eleventh Territorial Governor of Hawaii from 1953 to 1957.  King II is organizing a  pro-TMT rally at the State Capitol, 4:30 PM this afternoon.  He already is a King, so just add Kamehameha VI.

King Kamehameha VI could just as well be a Queen Kamehameha VI, so perhaps Malia Martin, also a member of Imua TMT, might grow into that role.  With gender equity today, a female leader might well just be the tonic to bring people together.

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IMUA KAMEHAMEHA

The history of native Hawaiians protesting is linked to the Hawaiian sovereignty movement.  This local melange of locals is unhappy about a lack of opportunity and the need for self-determination, going back to the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893.

They are sincere in their opposition to almost anything that misrepresents and insults their culture, including Gods and especially territory.  I was involved way back in the 1970's when I was a reservoir engineer drilling for geothermal energy in Puna.  With rain forest freaks, marijuana growers and environmentalist, they  (saying goddess Pele was being desecrated) prevailed with a ruling from Judge David Ezra.  In a way, they probably did companies a favor, for all Hawaii geothermal hotspots are over active volcanoes.

Today, there are three active protests:  construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea as an insult to sacredness, Sherwood Forest in Waimanalo and the latest bank of windmills in Kahuku.  However, surveys taken by the Star-Advertiser all show that the great majority of those in Hawaii don't support their opposition, mostly because all these projects went through the formal legal process and make sense for the future of the state.

The TMT on Mauna Kea poll results have previously been summarized here.  Two latest results:

• What do you think about the recent spread of "kapu aloha" demonstrations to block projects in Kahuku and at Sherwood Forest in Waimanalo? (16October2019)
• 80%  They're breaking the law and should be stopped
• 17%  They're legitimate forms of protest
•   3%  Not sure
• Do you think the Thirty Meter Telescope will be built on Mauna Kea? (13October 2019)

• 76%  Yes, eventually
• 16%  No, the opposition is too strong
•   8%  Not sure

I look upon all the above and, while I respect the right of protesters to express their point of view, I'm thinking, everything they're doing is PREVENTING something, or RETROGRESSING to the PAST.  Why don't they promote for PROGRESS?  Why only undercut?  All that effort for what?  Where does it really get you?  Especially when the general populace by a wide margin deplore your efforts.

My preliminary analysis of these recent protests is that those Hawaiian immersion schools focused on teaching their students to protest something happening...not work in partnership with all sectors of the community to accomplish something good for future.  The Department of Education should review what is really happening in those charter school efforts.

IMUA in Hawaiian means to move forward or move ahead toward a goal.  The term was made famous by King Kamehameha I, the one who unified the Hawaiian islands.  Imua Kamehameha is one of my very favorite songs and the fight song of Kamehameha Schools.

One hopes that amidst these troubled times a forward-thinking modern-day Kamehameha can rise and lead Hawaiians and Hawaii to a progressive future.  Kanaloa is the Hawaiian God of the Deep Ocean.

A driving force for progress is required for the Blue Revolution.  Help!

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All signs point to Typhoon Bualoi, now a Category 3, to weaken and ease past the east side of Japan, affecting only scattered islands like Ogasawara and Iwo Jima.  

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KILAUEA VOLCANO vs VOLCAN DE FUEGO

Day 64 of the Lower Puna Eruption, and week 10 begins with activity unchanged.  Local TV stations do not show much these days and the Star Advertiser moved from Kalapana to Kalapana Gardens as the feature.  Here, however, is a very graphic clip of what is happening to Puna as of 6AM this morning.

While there still have been no lava deaths on the Big Island, Guatemala Volcan de Fuego eruption has been responsible for at least 113, with 332 missing.  Mauna Kea is 13,800 feet tall, with Mauna Loa at 13,680 ft.  Mauna Kea last erupted 4,000 years ago, but Mauna Loa is very active.  Kilauea Volcano is 4,091 feet high.  In comparison, Fuego is 12, 346 ft, with Tajumulco at 13,845 ft (and last erupted in 1863), Tacana at 13,320 ft (1986), and Acatenango at 13,044 ft (1972). 

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My Independence Day began with the traditional BBQ with the Lees (that's Harvey in charge of the grill below).  We always get a patriotic quiz designed by Betsy.  One question was:  Which U.S. president was the first to be born in a hospital?  No one got it.  Jimmy Carter.

After I ate this lunch, I was still filled at dinnertime.  Joey Chestnut earlier that day consumed 74 hotdogs.

Fireworks from Boston, New York City and DC:

Renee Fleming's performance of You'll Never Walk Alone was memorable.  The Beach Boys, with Jimmy Buffet, were my highlight of the night.

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