From her home on the Hamakua coast, at the foot of the mountain, Prof. Meyer explains, "Lake Waiau is about 13,000 feet up that mountain. It is where our people have historically taken the piko (umbilical cord) of our babies and hence is one of our most sacred places. Mauna Kea can also be seen from afar during ocean voyages and serves as a trail guide that brings us back home."
Pisciotta also emphasizes that "navigational knowledge comes from Mauna Kea." This gives it tremendous historical and cultural value to this sea-going people whose Polynesian ancestors sailed here centuries ago and whose contemporary navigators are heroes.
Archeologists have documented as many as 90 sacred shrines at the rim of the summit alone, according to Nelson Ho, a Sierra Club activist. Ho admits to a deep love of the mountain and volunteered an entire day to drive this reporter up to share his concern for this unique and threatened environment. He pointed out shrines and indicated where construction had damaged them.
Soft-spoken, knowledgeable, and articulate, Ho was trained at the University of Hawai'i as a photographer and now works as a naturalist. "Scientists have spent half a billion to build cutting edge telescopes, but they do not want to spend money to monitor the environment or to remove their wastes," he contends. Ho asserts that astronomers ignore environmental laws, take short-cuts, and sneak projects in with little or no public review and oversight.
Pisciotta also emphasizes that "navigational knowledge comes from Mauna Kea." This gives it tremendous historical and cultural value to this sea-going people whose Polynesian ancestors sailed here centuries ago and whose contemporary navigators are heroes.
Archeologists have documented as many as 90 sacred shrines at the rim of the summit alone, according to Nelson Ho, a Sierra Club activist. Ho admits to a deep love of the mountain and volunteered an entire day to drive this reporter up to share his concern for this unique and threatened environment. He pointed out shrines and indicated where construction had damaged them.
Soft-spoken, knowledgeable, and articulate, Ho was trained at the University of Hawai'i as a photographer and now works as a naturalist. "Scientists have spent half a billion to build cutting edge telescopes, but they do not want to spend money to monitor the environment or to remove their wastes," he contends. Ho asserts that astronomers ignore environmental laws, take short-cuts, and sneak projects in with little or no public review and oversight.