High above a downtown Hilo courtroom the tallest Pacific peak rises into the thin air and sky beyond the clouds – the beloved Mauna Kea. Polynesians have long been guided, physically and spiritually, by the now dormant volcano that ascends nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. Its far reach from the deep ocean bed makes it one of the Earth's largest mountains, as well as one of its most historically sacred. Together with the nearby active volcano, Mauna Loa, they dominate the Big Island's landscape.
Mauna Kea is not only the Pacific's most sacred mountain. It is also the best place on Earth for certain astronomical tasks, like gazing at the stars with enough light, isolation, and clarity to see them. But with a spreading observatory managed by the University of Hawai'i (U.H.) have come detrimental human activities such as pollution, toxic chemical spills, degradation of the habitat of other creatures, and insensitivity to the cultural and spiritual activities of Hawaiians.