Construction Of Giant Telescope In Hawaii Draws Natives/ Madeline Boreham 4th period

Astronomers have plans to build a 18 story telescope on what the natives of Hawaii call "sacred ground" The 1.4 billion dollar telescope is said to let the astronomers see 13 billion light years away.  This could lead to new information on star formation and dark energy.  They have already faced opposition in legal battles including two repeals.  This has been the highest level of opposition posed by the natives to date, in only this month alone 31 people have been arrested for protesting. This has also gained national attention from activist groups. The natives have said that they respect and understand what the astronomers are trying to achieve, but they should not have to destroy something in order to achieve their goal.

This has been repeated throughout history some of our biggest achievements has been at the cost of another. When the colonist first came to the New World they began to use the Native American's land and culture as a way to further themselves. Later on the colonists began to prosper while the Native Americans lost a huge part of their culture. In this situation the question posed is are we willing to sacrifice culture to further research? I think the natives have a very interesting point, because they also want to learn more about stars because that is a huge part of their culture it is just all the damage that will be done in the process.  It will be interesting to see how this continues with so many groups getting involved.  From the reaction it is getting, I can't see this telescope being built anytime soon.



 http://www.npr.org/2015/04/21/400390724/construction-of-giant-telescope-in-hawaii-draws-natives-ire