Yesterday's news
msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-telescope-will-destroy-sacred-ground-and-hawaiians-are-outraged/ar-BBk5Jid
It's no different from how dredging the Ramarsethu is considered meaningful/fruitful to some and is (or was) objected to by Hindoos, and even some nationalists and de-heathenising.
But all heathens would feel solidarity with the heathen Hawaiians. (Maybe Hindu heathens on twitter are expressing their solidarity, don't know.)
msn.com/en-us/news/us/this-telescope-will-destroy-sacred-ground-and-hawaiians-are-outraged/ar-BBk5Jid
Quote:This telescope will destroy sacred ground and Hawaiians are outraged
Business Insider
kdickerson@businessinsider.com (Kelly Dickerson)
The summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii is arguably the most perfect spot in the world for a telescope.
But some native Hawaiians who believe the mountain top is a sacred site and are worried about the ecological impacts of building a huge telescope there, may disagree.
The peak of the mountain is nearly 14,000 feet above sea level, looming high above any light pollution and most clouds. It's a crystal-clear window into the cosmos.
Astronomers want to build a new telescope, called the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), to take advantage of the pristine view on Mauna Kea.
If it's built, TMT could reveal parts of the universe we've never seen. And the dry and cold air on Mauna Kea will produce the sharpest images yet of the parts of the universe we've only glimpsed.
The problem is that Mauna Kea is sacred ground to native Hawaiians. It's home to hundreds of culturally significant and sacred sites. And while you'd think an observatory wouldn't be that destructive, the impact of the construction project on the fragile, remote mountain top could have consequences.
Construction of TMT was slated to start in March, but a series of protests by native Hawaiians brought the work to a grinding halt.
This is not the first time Hawaiians have fought to keep telescopes off Mauna Kea. There are actually 13 existing telescopes in the area. But this is the first time protestors have captured international attention, and they did it by using twitter, creating petitions, and publishing photos and videos documenting the protests:
Desecrating sacred ground
Hawaiians believe that Mauna Kea is where the sky father Wakea married the Earth mother Papahanaumoku and together they created the Hawaiian islands.
(HindOOs and Japanese Shintos etc can readily relate.)
So now Mauna Kea is considered the "region of the gods," and it is believed that benevolent water spirits live there. It's considered sacred ground.
Maintaining reverence for the mountaintop is not the only concern. Natives have also pointed to the environmental impact of the telescope. At 18 stories high, TMT will be the largest telescope on the mountain. At that size it will also be the largest building in Hawaii.
Building a telescope like that will require lots of power and new roads up the mountain. It will also require drilling down about two stories into the ground.
These activites could impact two endangered species that make their home on Mauna Kea: the Nene Goose and the Silversword plant. Some natives are concerned about the potential environmental cost.
One of the cards in the video below reads: "As an island with finite resources, we cannot afford further mismanagement."
[...]
It's no different from how dredging the Ramarsethu is considered meaningful/fruitful to some and is (or was) objected to by Hindoos, and even some nationalists and de-heathenising.
But all heathens would feel solidarity with the heathen Hawaiians. (Maybe Hindu heathens on twitter are expressing their solidarity, don't know.)