Category Archives: Mauna Kea

Community, Mauna Kea

Epic Discoveries

Richard Ha writes:

I attended all seven of the TMT scoping meetings. And I testified at each one, talking about sustainability, togetherness and planning for future generations. Yet, as meetings came to Hilo, where the most passionate of the speakers talked about past injustices, processes not followed, and betrayal – and where I talked about sustainability, education and future generations – a thought started to surface.

It was this: Hawaiians were the most accomplished navigators of their time. How appropriate for the greatest telescope in the world, and the greatest navigators in the world, to come together for future Hawaiian keiki to look up to and take pride in.

History books are full of tales about heroic mariners such as the Norseman Leif Ericson, Christopher Columbus of Spain, Ferdinand Magellan of Portugal and James Cook of England.

Lesser known are the accomplishments of the Polynesians – arguably the most skilled seamen of all – who were navigating the Pacific centuries before any European explorer left port.

From the Marquesas, those courageous pioneers sailed north more than 2,000 miles to settle the islands that we now call Hawai‘i. Amazingly, they made those epic voyages guided only by the stars, winds and ocean currents.

If the TMT folks listen to everyone’s concerns and take suggestions seriously – in, as they say, a new paradigm – there is a good chance we can honor the greatest navigators in the world with the largest and best telescope in the world on the most sacred mountain in the world—all for the benefit of generations of keiki to come.

Not, no can. CAN!

Community, Mauna Kea

TMT Scoping Meeting in Kohala

There was a scoping meeting about the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) at Kohala High School Monday night.

I thought the TMT did a good job going into the community and engaging the people right there where they live. They were considerate and did not presume to know what was best for the people. They said they came to listen and it was evident that they really did want to listen. These folks are a lot like us.

Joe Carvalho, Kohala community leader, welcomed people to the meeting. There were maybe 16 people present.

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This next photo shows, left to right, Anneila Sargent, an astronomy professor from the California Institute of Technology, me, and Mark McGuffie of HIEDB. It is so interesting to listen to Anneila speak about astronomy. She loves the subject and it’s contagious.

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David Tarnas, with his back to the camera here, was one of the facilitators. Here he was talking story with the students who were hired to help set up, sign people up and take down. It was good to have students from the community benefit, participate and get paid.

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Alex Achmat, in this next photo, was persistent in asking questions about possible military applications. At the end of the night, he said he was satisfied that there was no military application. The TMT is being built specifically for the sake of science and discovery.

The photo shows that astronomers are people, too. Anneila and another astronomer, who is pushing a stroller.

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At the end of the scoping meeting, people hung around talking story with each other. I hope that we can keep this tone throughout the discussion about the TMT.

My dad used to say, “There are a thousand reasons why ‘no can.’ I am only looking for one reason why ‘can’!” At this meeting, people were respectful of each other and were looking for common ground. It was very encouraging.

Community, Mauna Kea

TMT – A New Paradigm

Last week Keaukaha Elementary School welcomed some very important visitors: Dr. Henry Yang, President of the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) (he is also Chancellor of the University of California at Santa Barbara) and Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, President of Cal Tech University.

I’ve survived in a very difficult business for 25 years, and one thing I’ve learned is that with some people, you clench your fist and say, “Don’t mistake kindness for weakness.” There are others you can do business with on a handshake. Dr. Henry Yang and Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau are both people I would do business with over a handshake.

Last week’s meeting came about because Dr. Yang asked me if I would arrange a meeting with Kumu Lehua Veincent, the principal of Keaukaha Elementary School.

Kumu Lehua invited Patrick Kahawaiola’a, President of the Keaukaha Community Association, and Luana Kawelu, Director of the Merrie Monarch Festival and daughter of its founder Aunty Dottie Thompson.

I took it upon myself to invite ‘Ahia Dye, the second female Hawaiian astronomy graduate from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo, and Hoku Cody, a Marine Biology major who is in the UH Hilo Keaholoa STEM program.

We met in the Keaukaha Elementary School library and sat around a simple table on straight-backed chairs. I brought doughnuts from KTA and we drank instant Sanka coffee. Nothing fancy.

Kumu Lehua talked about the history of Keaukaha Elementary School and how it had underperformed for so long that people thought it was the permanent state of things. He is very low key, but it became clear that this school went from underperforming for as long as anyone can remember to being a “role model school” in just the three years that Kumu Lehua has been its principal.

It also became very apparent that the community is integrated into the school, and that the keiki are supported in many different ways. Kumu Lehua grounds the students in their culture and that gives them a solid foundation from which to go forward. Kumu Lehua, Uncle Patrick, and especially the staff at Keaukaha School are not talkers – they are doers.

Patrick talked about going into the Navy without a high school diploma and some friends insisting that he take the GED test. He passed. Whether or not he has a high school degree is not relevant. Uncle Pat is a true leader. He has common sense and he is clear, articulate and uncompromisingly focused on education for the keiki now and in future generations.

If I had to choose a leader between someone with 10 university degrees but no common sense, and Patrick with only a high school GED, there is no question – I would pick Patrick. The results speak for themselves.

I was the fly on the wall at the meeting, observing everything. Every so often a teacher would drop in to say hello. Some brought a few kids from their class, and the kids introduced themselves with confidence and a sense of purpose.

‘Ahia Dye operates the planetarium at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center. I once sat through a planetarium and was so impressed that I had to go meet the person with that wonderful voice who was running that high tech show.

She was attending UH Hilo and working part-time. I was with my grandson Kapono, who was a junior in high school at the time, and he was fascinated with the gadgets and the computer controls. He and ‘Ahia chatted, and then he volunteered and started working there under ‘Ahia’s wing.

One day I decided to see how Kapono was doing, and I sat in. ‘Ahia taught him so well that he was actually running the planetarium show and doing the narrative. It impressed me and made me realize that ‘Ahia must be a great teacher.

By then ‘Ahia had graduated from UH Hilo with an astronomy degree. I told her, “Do you realize that as a native Hawaiian wahine astronomer, you are a role model for Hawaiian girls?” Since then, I’ve bragged about her to everyone.

Hoku Cody is a Marine Science student at UH Hilo. She testified at the last Comprehensive Management Plan public hearing. She spoke about the conflicts she faced in honoring her culture and her elders and reconciling that with her pursuit of a science degree. She slowly and deliberately described how she struggled, trying to reconcile both pursuits while honoring both.

And then she said, in a straightforward and non-personal way, that the things being discussed about Mauna Kea would have an effect on her generation, not previous ones. I looked around the room and noted that most of the testifiers, including myself, had white hair and were kind of long in the tooth. It hit me that she was right: It is not about us; it is about future generations.

The simple power of her speech made everyone pause. Her one speech weighed as much as 10 of the rest—it was that powerful.

Dr. Yang and Dr. Chameau mostly listened, commenting every so often. They are both engineers, not astronomers. Dr. Chameau told everyone that if they needed a sewer fixed, he could do that. Patrick and Kumu both said that they knew where they could use some help and we all laughed.

Henry Yang said that they came to listen to the community and that they were very appreciative of the opportunity.

It was very apparent that the community might have nontraditional educational needs. Both Dr. Yang and Dr. Chameau said that TMT is committed to funding educational opportunities – but that it would leave the actual administration and direction of the educational funding up to the community. They emphasized that this was a new paradigm. That it is different this time.

By the end of the hour everyone felt comfortable.

We went outside for a welcoming ceremony. Hoku had to leave and tutor some young kids. But Dr. Yang and Dr. Chameau, together with Kumu Lehua and ‘Ahia and myself, stood in front of the class that was assembled on the front steps of the school. We were each given a lei and then the students chanted a welcome. There were so many lessons rolled up into that ceremony. Most of all, it is part of the reason that Keaukaha Elementary School is doing so well.

We went to see some of the classes in action, and it made us understand why Keaukaha Elementary School is doing so well. They have incredibly dedicated teachers who are well organized and do not tolerate disrespect, and the kids know that they are loved.

There was a child on the porch taking a test with an adult supervisor. Kumu Lehua explained: “Frequent evaluation. That’s how I keep kids from falling through the cracks.”

At the end, while we were chatting, Dr. Yang told ‘Ahia, “You should go on to grad school and become an astronomy teacher. If you do, I’ll give you a letter of recommendation.” Dr. Chameau told her the same thing: “If you go on to grad school, let me know and I’ll give you a letter of recommendation.”

I walked back to my truck thinking about what all took place. This is indeed a new paradigm.

Food Security, Mauna Kea

What Is Our Plan?

What is our plan for the future?

Recently there have been headlines about building a giant new telescope on Mauna Kea. It’s called the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), and I have written before about some of the unprecedented benefits we may see if the telescope is built here.

I look upon this telescope within the context of food security.

Does that angle surprise you? I’m a farmer, and this is a subject I know about.

I also know that we built our whole society on cheap oil, and assumed it would last forever. It will not, and we need to come to grips with this reality. The history of oil is only 150 years old. It is only a small blip in the history of human kind.

This past October I attended the Peak Oil conference – the only person from Hawai‘i to do so – in Houston. The Association for the Study of Peak Oil is a non-partisan organization whose objective is to bring accurate information to people about the subject of Peak Oil (the point where oil has reached its point of highest production, after which production will decrease at an increasing rate).

As oil production decreases, demand from developing countries will increase at an increasing rate, and that means higher prices for all things associated with oil. It also means that oil will go to the highest bidder worldwide. Others who depend on oil might starve.

It’s important to realize, too, that oil supply and world population stats are tied together. Oil has allowed us to grow more food, and more food equals more people.

So what will happen when there is less oil? Less oil equals less food, and less food means fewer people. This is inevitable.

What will we do, sitting out here in the middle of the Pacific? Will we try to feed all our people? Or will we send some of the people away to look for new lands?

For those of us who are over 60 years old, it’s really not about us. We have lived our lives already. We can stash cans of spam and corned beef for a few years.

It’s about the youngsters now, and future generations. Let’s help them.

We are at a tipping point, and the Thirty-Meter Telescope gives us a real option. It is a much better option than tourism.

What is our plan for the future?

Community, Current Affairs, Mauna Kea

TMT – It’s Not About Us Anymore

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Seeing the powerful play Kamau recently was gut wrenching, and very emotional for me.

I knew that it was my grandson Kapono up there, acting. But it wasn’t him. It was the character Alika. And it was me.

Sitting in the audience, I absolutely identified with the family losing the only home they knew. And the conflicts within one’s self – that is real, too.

I went through all that myself when I was younger. I had no direction. I flunked out of school and got drafted. I volunteered to become an officer and then went to Vietnam.

There, we were 100 people in an infantry company walking through the jungle. No one could easily come and help us if we needed. It was real – people were shooting and getting shot.

There was no room for feeling sorry for oneself; not even a little bit. You used every bit of skill and cleverness that you had, fought and took care of each other to survive.

As in the play, there was loyalty. Every single one of the people in our company in Vietnam absolutely knew and there was no doubt – not even a little – that leaving someone behind was not an option.

When I came back from Vietnam, I was a changed person. I had direction. I majored in accounting because I wanted to run some sort of business and I needed to keep score.

Now, everything is simple and very clear to me. It is not about us anymore – it is about the future generations. Leaving someone behind is still not an option. We live in the here and now and must use every bit of our skill and cleverness so that we can create the best environment for the following generations.

This is why I am for building the Thirty-Meter Telescope on Mauna Kea. If we concentrate on what we can develop for future generations, instead of wallowing in past mistakes, it can help us transition to a future of sustainability for the next generations.

Thinking about sustainability shapes everything I do. It’s why we do everything we can to make our farm energy-self-sufficient. It’s why we started the Adopt-A-Class program – to take care of our own. It’s why we are putting on the E Malama ‘Aina festival – so people know they are not alone.

All of our people’s stories were in that play. It really hit me hard.

Community, Mauna Kea

Kanaka Council

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Last night I spent some time bringing the Kanaka Council up-to-date about the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT). I primarily gave them an overview, explaining that the TMT asked the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board to develop a procedure where funds could be administered for the benefit of educational programs for the people.

I explained that the HIEDB, of which I am vice-president, made clear that it would not be involved if there was insensitivity toward the Hawaiian culture.

We all need to know what is going on so we can make good decisions, and yesterday was the fourth time I have brought information to the Kanaka Council. By now we have a healthy respect for each other. I completely share many of their sentiments. I don’t think that we differ very much at all.

They are passionate and very articulate about the differences between Western culture and Hawaiian culture. It looks to me that they are the Keeper of the Flame. Someone needs to do it! I have enormous respect for all of them.

And, I have to say, I am very comfortable around them. I know that I can come and go as I please. And the feeling is mutual.

There was a very lively discussion yesterday and the temperature rose a few degrees. But after a little bit we realized we were not that far apart.

They asked me what it was exactly that I wanted. I told them nothing; I was just bringing them current information. Rocky Jensen said, laughingly, “You’re just the messenger, right?” I laughed and said, “I hope everybody knows that.” It was serious, but good fun at the same time. No sense being too tense for too long.

The first person I brought to the Kanaka Council was Dawn Chang of Kuiwalu, which is the group charged with doing Mauna Kea’s Comprehensive Plan. Judge Hara had ruled that this was required before any more construction could occur on Mauna Kea.

The Kanaka Council dismissed Kuiwalu as a hired gun of the University of Hawai‘i. To her credit, Dawn Chang was a real trooper. A weaker person might have dissolved in tears. From where I sat, it was great spectator sport.

Next I brought Gail Tverberg, the keynote speaker at a recent energy forum, to the Kanaka Council.
I brought her from the Hilo Hawaiian’s Moku Ola Room to the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center for the Kanaka Council to hear her presentation. I was very impressed that they all had been at an important County Council meeting, and came back at 2 p.m. to listen to Gail and then went back to the Council testimony.

They treated Gail, who is from Atlanta, like a kupuna. Gail’s message resonated: “Sooner or later the boat will not arrive.” Tonight they told me that Gail could fit right now into their community. I agree.

After that I arranged for them to meet with the president of the TMT, Dr. Yang. I was impressed with the passionate testimony several of them delivered in a very eloquent way. And I was really happy that Dr. Yang made the effort to meet with them. Dr. Yang wants to be hands-on, not operating from a distance. I think that meeting was very beneficial to both sides.

After I talked with them last night, someone came to plead for the Kanaka Council’s help regarding a neighbor on conservation land who was applying for a variance to zoning rules. The Council is going to evaluate the circumstances around that application. They are going down to walk the land tomorrow to see exactly what was being discussed.

They are doing a very important function. I was very impressed.

Community, Education, Mauna Kea

Reaching For The Stars

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Richard Ha writes:

I’ve written here before about the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), a “new generation” telescope that may be sited here on Mauna Kea.

And I’ve written about how this project, unlike previous telescopes, is being discussed. I’m on the board of the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board, and we’ve made it clear that this can only happen if, unlike with previous telescopes, our people clearly benefit from it.

What I haven’t mentioned yet are the types of extensive benefits we are discussing:

• What if the TMT coming here meant disadvantaged Hawaiian (and other race) students can attend Hawai‘i Community College and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo for free?

• What if we develop a pathway for local people to fill jobs during the extensive construction and operating of the telescope?

• What if we collect all the funds attributable to astronomy and have that money administered by a group of wise people who are chosen specifically to allocate it to the education of this island’s keiki?

• And what if these credible people fund education programs about the Hawaiian culture and Hawaiian language, and about traditional ways of sustainability, the sciences, job skills and other subjects that prepare our children for a new world where we, living on the island of Hawai‘i, might have to survive on what exists here on our island?

• And what if this organization exists far into the future and benefits many generations to come?

What if, not at the summit though on Mauna Kea, the world’s finest and most powerful telescope looks back in time to the beginning, seeking the answer to the question, “Are we alone?”…

…while on the ground, the people have learned how to restore the ancient fish ponds, and are supplementing that with modern aquaculture methods that don’t require oil? And the people on the island’s windward side are using their abundant water to again grow kalo, and growing food with hydroponics, and as in pre-Western times they are able to feed everybody without depending on foreign oil?

It would be the best of the future and the best of the past. What if?

From the TMT:

May 15, 2008

 PASADENA, Calif.–After completing a worldwide survey unprecedented in rigor and detail of astronomical sites for the Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT), the TMT Observatory Corporation board of directors has selected two outstanding sites, one in each hemisphere, for further consideration. Cerro Armazones lies in Chile’s Atacama Desert, and Mauna Kea is on Hawai’i Island.

The TMT observatory, which will be capable of peering back in space and time to the era when the first stars and galaxies were forming and will be able to directly image planets orbiting other stars, will herald a new generation of telescopes.

To ensure that proposed TMT sites would provide the greatest advantage to the telescope’s capabilities, a global satellite survey was conducted, from which a small sample of outstanding sites was chosen for further study using ground-based test equipment. This ground-based study of two sites in the northern hemisphere and three in the southern was the most comprehensive survey of its kind ever undertaken.

Atmospheric turbulence above each candidate site, and wind characteristics, temperature variations, amount of water vapor, and other meteorological data at some of the candidate sites, were continuously monitored for up to four years. Based upon this campaign, the TMT project will now further evaluate the best site in the northern hemisphere and the best site in the southern hemisphere.

“All five sites proved to be outstanding for carrying out astronomical observations,” said Edward Stone, Caltech’s Morrisroe Professor of Physics and vice chairman of the TMT board. “I want to congratulate the TMT project team for conducting an excellent testing program, not only for TMT but for the benefit of astronomical research in the future.” In addition to the “astronomical weather” at the sites, other considerations in the final selection will include the environment, accessibility, operations costs, and complementarities with other nearby astronomy facilities.

The next step in the site analysis process is the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will thoroughly evaluate all aspects, including environmental, cultural, socio-economic, and financial, of constructing and operating the Thirty-Meter Telescope in Hawai`i. An environmental impact statement for Cerro Armazones has already been completed and submitted to the Chilean government for their review.

The community-based Mauna Kea Management Board, which oversees the management of the Mauna Kea summit in coordination with the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, concurs that the Thirty-Meter Telescope should proceed with its EIS process. Regardless of whether Mauna Kea is selected as the Thirty-Meter Telescope site, information generated from the EIS will be useful in the management of Mauna Kea.

Henry Yang, TMT board chair and chancellor of UC Santa Barbara, expressed the gratitude of the board. “The selection of these top two candidate sites is an exciting milestone in the Thirty-Meter Telescope’s journey from vision to reality. We are grateful for the tireless efforts of our project team and the tremendous vision and support of the Moore Foundation and our international partners that have brought us to this point. We look forward to moving ahead rapidly and with all due diligence toward the selection of our preferred site.”

The TMT is currently in the final stages of an $80 million design phase. The plan is to initiate construction in 2010 with first light in early 2018. This project is a partnership between the University of California, California Institute of Technology, and ACURA, an organization of Canadian universities. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation has provided $50 million for the design phase of the project and has pledged an additional $200 million for the construction of the telescope, and Caltech and the University of California each will seek to raise matching funds of $50 million to bring the construction total to $300 million.

“We look forward to the discussions with the people of Hawai’i and Chile regarding the opportunities to open a new era in astronomy in one of these two world capitals of astronomy,” says Professor Ray Carlberg, the Canadian Large Optical Telescope project director and a TMT board member. “Canadian scientists have partnered in the extensive site testing carried out by TMT and we are very pleased to see that it has led to two great options for TMT.”

TMT gratefully acknowledges support for design and development from the following: Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, National Research Council of Canada, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, and the National Science Foundation (USA).

Mauna Kea

Mahalo A Nui Loa

Soon the Thirty Meter Telescope people will publicly announce that they are exploring the possibility of siting their immense, $750 million Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on Mauna Kea.

The reason the TMT people are approaching us with such respect – most importantly, they are asking what they can do for our people in exchange for using our excellent astronomical site – is because a lot of people have worked very hard for what they believe in, for years and years, without giving up.

People like Kealoha Pisciotta. Kealoha has spent many years of her life following every detail of every happening on the mountain, attending hearings, speaking up and holding people accountable to the mountain’s Master Plan, and much, much more.

To say that the history of modern day astronomy atop Mauna Kea is full of contention is, of course, to state the obvious. You don’t have to look far at all to find people on the ground with heartfelt distress over what they say are ruined archaeological sites, endangered ecological habitats, desecration of, and blocked access to, religious sites, dangerous spills, damage to the water table and a general lack of respect for the mountain.

In addition, I’ve mentioned before that when I look at, for instance, Keaukaha – a mostly Hawaiian community in Hilo – I see zero benefit to the community from those million dollar telescopes atop Mauna Kea, which is an important and even sacred site in the Hawaiian tradition.

But there is a profound difference in how this TMT project is being proposed for Mauna Kea.

And it is because of Kealoha and some others, and the ones who came before them, that we are where we are today.

• They fought to bring control of the mountain back to the Big Island where it belongs. Now the mountain is managed by the Office of Mauna Kea Management, which is under the control of the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

• They fought for the requirement that there be a Comprehensive Management Plan in place before there was any more development on the mountain – and won.

• They fought to make sure that the Comprehensive Management Plan was sensitive to cultural issues. Because of all the opposition, the people managing the mountain have had to look to the Big Island community for solutions. This is a huge change.

• Most of all, Kealoha and all the others have fought for respect. And because of them, we are finally being respected. We all need to acknowledge that.

We are controlling the process now.

This only came about because of Kealoha and others who have fought so long and so hard for what was right.

We, and future generations, owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude, no matter what takes place with this particular project.

Dr. Henry Yang, the new president of TMT who is also the president of UC Santa Barbara, is a “people” person, not a “timeline” person. I am very impressed with him and glad he is in charge. He speaks our language.

But if it weren’t for Kealoha and the others, we would never have gotten to this place where we speak the same language.

Before the TMT begins the process of considering siting their new telescope atop Mauna Kea, I want to take this time to mahalo the people who are responsible for getting us to this point.

Mahalo a nui loa.

Mauna Kea

HIEDB & the Thirty Meter Telescope

The Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board, of which I am Vice Chair, has been asked to work with the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) people and help in their efforts to do community outreach as they develop their project.

In this role, we will try to work with all the different stakeholders in a collaborative manner.

Several months ago, I met Dr. Henry Yang, who  is Chancellor of the University of Santa Barbara. He is the incoming President of the TMT and was in town trying to see for himself what was going on.

I liked him immediately. One could tell that he is a people person. I knew that if Hawai‘i was chosen as a site for the TMT, and if Dr. Yang was in charge, the people would be heard.

I was very, very encouraged by this.

Since then, he has been in town on numerous occasions in order to familiarize himself with the situation. That Dr. Yang is not just going to sit in his office on the mainland impresses me very much.

This afternoon I called Kale Gumapac of the Kanaka Council. I told him that I wanted to give them an early “heads up” that we may be working with the TMT people. He was appreciative of being put in the loop. I told him: “You know me. I’m more interested that this project be done in the right way than I am in just trying to sell more tomatoes.”

Bob Saunders, Roberta Chu and I, who make up the Thirty Meter Telescope subcommittee of the Hawai‘i Island Economic Development Board, also met with Sandra Dawson and Mike Bolte of the TMT team. We listened to them explain to us how committed they are to doing the right thing.

They come in a respectful way. Now we can talk about the rest of it.