The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. At this moment all over the Hawaiian islands, but especially atop Mauna Kea volcano, there are protests against the building of a new Thirty-Meter Telescope (TMT) on this sacred mountain. This interview aired on The Conversation on Sept. The ongoing federal review process is key to ensuring the community has the opportunity to share their views to fully inform the National Science Foundation of the potential effects of the TMT project.” Robert Kirshner, executive director of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory LLC, said in a statement, “Mauna Kea is of great significance to many and it is essential for there to be a thorough assessment of the effects on the mountain's cultural, biological, visual and geological resources. "EPA is a major federal agency that has oversight over things involving the environment, and also the human environment in the way that the human environment is reliant upon the environment itself." "I am very thankful for the EPA's statement and assessment," she told The Conversation. The dormant volcano's peak is sacred to Native Hawaiians, home to their deities and ancestors. Pisciotta says she was happy to hear the EPA's stance on Maunakea. The Thirty Meter Telescope, backed by an international consortium of institutes and agencies, would be larger than any telescope now in existence in an entirely different size class from the 13 other facilities already built on Mauna Kea. The Conversation talked to Kealoha Pisciotta, spokesperson for the Mauna Kea Hui, about seeing Maunakea through the environmental justice lens. The EPA said building TMT as proposed has the potential to result in “disproportionately high and adverse impacts to Native Hawaiians.” The EPA urged the National Science Foundation to consider the cultural impacts of the Thirty Meter Telescope project, possibly considering a smaller footprint, and to weigh the option of other locations. Some are wondering if that is behind the latest filing by the EPA over the future of Maunakea. The Biden administration has made environmental equity in underserved communities a key priority, and Monday announced it is creating an environmental justice office within the Environmental Protection Agency.
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