Mauna Kea Observatories
Controversies

Planned new telescopes, including the Thirty Meter Telescope, have attracted controversy due to their potential cultural and ecological impact. The multi-telescope "outrigger" extension to the Keck telescopes, which required new sites, was eventually canceled. Three or four of the mountain's 13 existing telescopes must be dismantled over the next decade with the TMT proposal to be the last area on Mauna Kea on which any telescope would ever be built. With all the controversy, the building of telescopes has led to the creation of the Hawaii Night Sky Protection Act. As artificial light forms a light cloud above the land, the excess light disrupts the clear pictures taken by the telescopes. On July 1, 2013, the Hawaii Night Sky Protection Act was initiated, affecting both the Big Island and Maui. A large difference between the Hawaiian islands and the mainland United States can be observed: street lighting. Almost all streets are dark as the lamps have either not been built, have been removed, or have been dimmed.
oulipo:avoid_letter[e]