Well said OF. The ancient Polynesians were masters of navigation and managing the resources of each island. They also realized that each island held a finite amount of resources. Exploration became a necessity. The late great Stephen Hawking stated that due to our exponentially growing population the human race has 100-200 years left before we start to kill each other over the ever dwindling resources. Once this begins it will be too late to find another planet. We can easily envision our planet as an island in the vast universe.

The dinosaurs did not have a space program and we all know how that ended. The sooner we can locate a planet killer asteroid and deal with it, the better our chances of survival. The TMT will give us a better chance of finding a planet killer at a far enough distance that it can deal with it. If the human race goes extinct, then all cultures and religions will be lost and gone forever. No one will be left to carry on or care.     

I never disagreed with this premise, as this is a valid argument.  I guess those in-control value the Hawaiian vote? 

In the long-run, TMT is inconsequential to the economic survival of Hawaii and to proceed with TMT at this point might be a pyrrhic victory.  If I were Ige, cut Hawaii's losses and ties with TMT and start looking for other ways to bring money to the islands.

If the US was really serious in this regard, it should lead the way, cut their military spending, stop creating military bases all over the World, and devote more of its resources to this effect.  Having one more telescope will do nothing, if there is no additional resources to combat that killer asteroid.

Did you miss the movie?

miss?
I don't want to miss a thing

Did anyone see Moana? They also created a Hawaiian dialogue version (including Dwayne Johnson).

We potentially found one.  We call it "Mars."  Trump has the gov't working on a mission to get there using the Moon as a base of operations.

So, once again, Trump is busy solving the hard, critical problems in spite of the Swamp and Liberals who are more afraid of Climate Change than realistic problems we can actually solve/impact like depleted resources.

I believe California is working on the over-population problem, too.  Their solution is to ignore homelessness to the point where the plague wipes out a good percentage of residents.  Rather than working it from the supply side, they're focusing on demand.   

Mars is a good first planet to inhabit, but I still believe we should look beyond Mars. I remain skeptical of Elon's Mars One project.  You are right that if anyone can do it, Trump would be the best bet. Hey maybe we can even build a more powerful telescope than the TMT on Olympus Mons. It is over twice the height of Everest. Hopefully no one will try to block it.     

Sometimes it's close to Mars, when it's making a pass, and other times it's far away, at the other side of the track.

The minimum distance from the Earth to Mars is about 54.6 million kilometers.

The farthest apart they can be is about 401 million km.

The average distance is about 225 million km.

Looking beyond Mars is a good endeavor, but we have to be realistic about our goals.  The technology to travel beyond our own solar system doesn't yet exist.  The trip from Earth to Mars is about 7 months.  Imagine the logistics of sustaining humans for 7 months in space: oxygen, food, water, etc.  We can pre-ship supplies to Mars so food, shelter and oxygen generation equipment is already there.  The smart people planning Mars One are looking at using robots to build shelters and storage units in preparation for human arrival.  That mission is a one-way trip.  No way to have the resources and equipment needed to survive as well as launch a return mission.

https://www.mars-one.com/

I'd personally like to see us use Phobos (one of Mars' moons) as a base of operations.  It orbits closer to Mars than any known moon orbits around its planet.  In fact, it orbits Mars 3 times each day.  Phobos has 1/1,000th the amount of gravity as Earth.  A 150 lb man would weigh 2 ounces there.  That would make launching and landing space vehicles more efficient and safer, both toward/from Earth or Mars.  In fact, humans could live on Phobos and send robots they operate remotely to  Mars to do much of the work needed to explore and prepare for inhabitants.  Operating them from Earth is inefficient due to the time lag between transmission and receipt of communications across millions of kilometers:

Phobos is "only" 3,700 miles above the surface of Mars.


Baby steps.

If the US was really serious in this regard, it should lead the way, cut their military spending, stop creating military bases all over the World, and devote more of its resources to this effect.  Having one more telescope will do nothing, if there is no additional resources to combat that killer asteroid.

Refresh my memory Flapp. Didn't the Soviets send a failed probe to Phobos decades ago? I heard all sorts of weird theories about why it failed including alien intervention. I know its a little off the subject but the stories about Phobos stuck in my memory.

Yes, you are a part of Hawaiian history.  You are residents who are residing in an illegally occupied nation.

Now we have some well known surfers joining the TMT protests.  I think the state should register and tax surfboards like they do boats.

https://bigislandnow.com/2019/08/12/surfers-for-mauna-kea-unite-in-solidarity/

Now we have some well known surfers joining the TMT protests.  I think the state should register and tax surfboards like they do boats.

https://bigislandnow.com/2019/08/12/surfers-for-mauna-kea-unite-in-solidarity/

If this were ANY other country, it would have ended weeks ago with tear gas and batons

Tell that to those arriving and departing Hong Kong's airport.


Those protester are enjoying the benefits of living in a country that they want to secede from....hmmm let's think about that

What is there to think about?

No more direct threat of foreign missile attack, no more Jones Act, no more republican and democratic party nonsense, no more US gun restriction, no more sanctuary cities, etc...

Wow, how much better Hawaii can be!