The letters and viewpoint articles by opponents of the Thirty Meter Telescope often denounce the project in ways that don’t make sense. They say the TMT is a profit-making development, or that it is part of an obsession with progress. But the TMT is not about progress or development — it is about knowledge. The fact that they do not value the knowledge the TMT will bring says a lot about the protesters.
Subjective characterizations are one thing, but facts are something all people should be able to agree on. The fact that the Hawaiian government was illegally overthrown with the help of the U.S. military in 1893 is not debatable — it is a fact that was acknowledged by Congress and President Bill Clinton in the 1993 Apology Resolution.
But while some proponents of the TMT would like to ignore the illegal overthrow as old news, the TMT protesters themselves are ignoring facts and promoting lies. I have now counted seven easily verifiable lies that are being told by TMT protesters in their attempts to sway public opinion.
1. The aquifer is threatened. This is the “Big Lie” that I see repeated over and over again. The fact is that the TMT will be a zero waste facility. Pushing this lie shows how unprincipled the opponents can be.
2. The telescopes threaten the wekiu bug. Entomologists have studied this issue extensively and say that the telescopes have had no effect on the numbers or distribution of the wekiu bug. This should not be a surprise since Mauna Kea is massive and the telescopes occupy only a tiny portion of it.
3. Lake Waiau is being destroyed by the telescopes. Again, scientists have investigated this and found that Lake Waiau has natural fluctuations based solely on precipitation and have nothing to do with the telescopes.
4. Building is not allowed in Conservation Districts. Building is allowed in conservation districts as long as it does not “cause substantial, significant, and adverse impacts on existing natural resources.”
5. There will be a 5,000-gallon mercury tank at the TMT site. This seems to be a misreading of the environmental report showing the installation of a 5,000-gallon water tank. In fact, the TMT will use no mercury whatsoever.
6. The TMT will be an eyesore for the whole island. The TMT site is about 600 feet below the summit on the north side of the mountain and will not be prominent except in the South Kohala area.
7. The TMT is a profit-making venture that is not giving enough to our community. The $1.4 billion investment by penny-pinching governments and universities to acquire some photographs of the sky make this claim laughable. In addition, the TMT will pay $1 million per year in rent and will give another million dollars per year in scholarships and other community benefits with preferences for people of Hawaiian ancestry.
These lies show that the protesters understand that their only remaining argument — that the mountain is sacred — is not enough to get widespread public support for their cause. But by using these untruths the protesters undermine their credibility and lose public support in the long run. I wish Hawaiians good luck in winning back sovereignty. However, I don’t think they are helping their cause by lying, or by opposing worthy projects like the telescopes on Mauna Kea and Haleakala.
Matt Binder is a resident of Waimea.
Viewpoint articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of West Hawaii Today.