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98901
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
URL: Observatory leaders have assured local emergency officials their public service will continue..
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Observatory leaders have assured local emergency officials their public service will continue, but questions linger about how and where that work will happen. For more than 100 years, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has kept a close eye on Kīlauea and other geologic hot spots to warn Big Island residents before eruptions, while training hundreds of volcano researchers from around the globe. Now, the observatory’s staff faces eviction from their current headquarters at the Ironworks Building in Hilo — where they have been housed during construction of their new, permanent observatory — as part of the Elon Musk-led effort to end hundreds of federal leases early. It remains unclear exactly how that lease cancellation will affect the observatory’s research and public services; no one seems to want to talk about it. Its leaders and the agency that runs it, the U.S. Geological Survey, declined to directly address questions about their impending departure, although they did say they remain committed to the mission of monitoring Kīlauea, Mauna Loa and other active sites across Hawaiʻi. A list obtained by the Associated Press of Department of Government Efficiency cancellations indicates the Hilo USGS could close Sept. 30. The Ironworks Building, researchers say, houses the observatory’s expensive computer and field equipment, as well as its volcanic field samples. It was also included on a recent General Services Administration list of offices slated for early lease termination, circulated by House Democrats in Congress. The end date in that document was the same. The observatory’s previous headquarters, at the Kīlauea summit, was left structurally unsafe to use in 2018 amid earthquakes and the eruptions nearby. The new building in Hilo, officials said, won’t be ready until around 2028. Scott Rowland, a longtime University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa Earth Sciences professor specializing in vulcanology, said the observatory scientists are “really trusted by the people of the Big Island.” People have come to depend on the observatory’s daily updates. On Tuesday, it began by predicting that while the “Kīlauea summit eruption remains paused” it would not be so for long. A “new eruptive episode is likely to begin within the next 1-3 days in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park,” it said, offering a link to a USGS livestream for those who want to check for themselves. The posts are rich with science, history and culture — and warnings to visitors. The most recent includes information about a phenomenon known as Pele’s hair, named for the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire, that is appearing in a currently closed area of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. It explains: “Pele’s hair are strands of volcanic glass often produced by lava fountaining activity … (that) can cause skin and eye irritation.” Rowland commended the staff for its dedication. “There’s certainly nothing frivolous about HVO,” Rowland said. “You know, they’re not living in fancy buildings and driving souped-up Lexus four- wheel-drive vehicles.” “They have the equipment that they need to do their job, and storing that equipment and keeping it up and running right in a decent facility is important.” ‘No Hiccups’ Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge Magno said that when he heard about the impending closure several weeks ago, he reached out to the observatory’s scientist-in-charge, Ken Hon, for an update. Magno said Hon assured him that “there will be no hiccups in their monitoring and reporting.” The island’s Civil Defense Agency relies on observatory scientists for briefings during eruptions, such as the 2018 event in Puna that raged for four months and destroyed hundreds of homes. In an article for UH’s Ka Pili Kai magazine, former observatory Scientist-in- Charge Christina Neal recalled that in the months before the eruptions, researchers had recorded mounting pressure within the volcano, allowing them to get ahead of the moment when the Puʻu ʻŌʻō cone collapsed. “We’re fortunate that the volcano gave us a clear signal,” Neal said in the story. “The county and its community emergency response teams sprang into action and began notifying the residents of lower Puna.” Once the observatory leaves the Ironworks Building, Hon said the team would function similarly to the way it did during the Covid-19 pandemic, when staff had to work remotely. On Monday, Hon, reached by phone, said he could not comment on the observatory’s lease situation but added that “we will continue monitoring the Hawaiian volcanoes.” “USGS as a whole is committed to our mission, and we will continue our mission and to do the best possible job,” Hon said. “Certainly, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is committed to the community.” Still, questions and concerns linger among some of the observatory’s academic partners about how they’ll manage to stay the course. Rose Gallo, PhD candidate in earth sciences at University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa Rose Gallo, a Ph.D. candidate in earth sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, wondered where some of the observatory’s large and expensive equipment would be housed. During the pandemic, Gallo noted, staff could still access that equipment at the Ironworks Building under quarantine protocols. “There may be ways that they know how to deal with that,” said Gallo, whose studies focus on vulcanology. “I really hope that they have a solution in mind. It’s something we’re really worried about as people who collaborate with them.” Gallo noted that relocating equipment would cost money. When asked last week how the lease termination would affect the observatory, USGS replied in a statement that “we are actively working with GSA to ensure that every facility and asset is utilized effectively, and where necessary, identifying alternative solutions that strengthen our mission.” The statement further said that “these efforts reflect our broader commitment to streamlining government operations while ensuring that our scientific efforts remain strong, effective, and impactful.” |
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[98913] [98914] [98917] [98915] [98916] [98918] [98919] [98907] [98904] [98902] [98903] [98905]
98913
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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and now this... + The Trump administration plans to pull the plug on the Mauna Loa Observatory, one of the world’s most crucial monitoring stations for atmospheric CO2. |
98914
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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well, he can't figure out how he can skim any money off it...and its a blue state, anyway. And when Mauna Loa does erupt and possibly cause death and/or damage...their fema will be cut, too. He'll claim they should have raked the volcano, or they didn't release the water to put it out..you know, scientific reasons because he's smart..his uncle went to MIT. That's how this works now, right? |
98917
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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Science, the impartial observation of natural law, is a dead horse. Impartial observation itself will be outlawed. And yes the phrase "the truth shall set us free" has never been so poignant.. has never before required with such force that we wonder WTF is going on.. They can stop recording it, and stop telling us that the atmosphere is heating up. But they can not stop the heat from accumulating, and it will burn them just as sure as it will burn anyone. Seemingly, their mission is to kill all life on Earth. Funny how they are fixated on their hate for others. And the result will be they have done this to themselves.. and the rest of us be damned.. What an amazing journey, from our formative years filled with visions of a glorious future to actual hell on earth.. From visions of prosperity to madmen destroying all that we hold dear.. imagine the life a baby is being promised today.. I am more than grateful that in my life I saw the planet before this.. I saw.. we saw.. an incredible miracle.. we literally tried with all our might to love one another. And now this.. What a waste. |
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98915
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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it also keeps putting out those pesky atmospheric carbon dioxide numbers, which glaring show how wrong his assness is about global warming and the rapidly approaching consequences... Carbon dioxide emissions to hit 429.6 ppm in May 2025, highest in over 2 million years In 2025, the annual average CO2 concentration is projected to increase to 426.6 ppm; this is an increase of approximately 2.26 ppm between 2024 and 2025 and ‘unsustainable’ for 1.5°C Goal Carbon dioxide emissions to hit 429.6 ppm in May 2025, highest in over 2 million years The Mauna Loa Observatory in HawaiiiStock Kiran Pandey Published on: 18 Jan 2025, 8:14 am Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, which registered the steepest annual increase between 2023 and 2024, are projected to remain alarmingly high this year as well, according to a forecast of measurements from Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii published by the Met Office, UK, on January 17, 2025. In May 2025, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are forecast to be 429.6 ppm. This will be the highest atmospheric CO2 concentration for over 2 million years. This is an increase of approximately 2.26 ppm between 2024 and 2025 and do not align with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios for limiting global warming to 1.5°C. To limit global warming to 1.5°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, the accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere must first decelerate and then reverse. According to the IPCC, this requires the current CO2 build-up in the atmosphere to slow to approximately 1.8 ppm per year. However, the atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise with no signs of slowing. In 2024, carbon dioxide levels increased at the fastest annual rate ever recorded in the long-standing measurements at Mauna Loa, Hawaii, which began in 1958, exceeding projections by the Met Office. The recorded annual rise of 3.58 parts per million (ppm) between 2023 and 2024 surpassed the predicted increase of 2.84 ppm, with satellite data confirming substantial increases worldwide. The record increase in atmospheric CO2 concentrations was driven by a combination of factors, including record-high fossil fuel emissions, reduced carbon capture by natural sinks such as tropical forests, and massive CO2 releases from wildfires, according to a study by the Met Office. When forests burn, they release vast amounts of stored CO2. For instance, global wildfires in 2023 emitted 7.3 billion tonnes of CO2, as per the EU’s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). The global carbon emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high in 2024 and are estimated to be 41.6 billion tonnes in 2024, up from 40.6 billion tonnes in 2023. While the annual average CO2 concentration is projected to further increase to 426.6 ppm this year, it is slower as compared to last year’s record increase. But even this slower rise will still be too fast to track the IPCC’s scenarios that limit global warming to 1.5°C with little or no overshoot. What this means Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere acts as a heat trap, with higher concentrations trapping more heat and gradually raising global temperatures. This leads to increasingly severe impacts, including rising sea levels, more extreme droughts, storms, and floods, as well as harm to wildlife and essential natural systems. The accumulation of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has already pushed global climate to dangerously high temperatures. In 2024, global temperatures surpassed those of 2023, making it the warmest year on record. According to the World Weather Attribution’s annual analysis, extreme weather events reached unprecedented levels in 2024, highlighting the escalating risks of climate change. The record-breaking temperatures in 2024, fueled unrelenting heatwaves, drought, wildfire, storms and floods that killed thousands of people and forced millions from their home. In India, at least 3,200 were killed due to extreme weather events as per the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) Annual Climate Summary, 2024. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) predicts that global temperatures will keep rising through 2025, making it likely one of the three hottest years on record. This trend is expected to intensify the effects of extreme weather events, which are ranked as the second most severe global risk for 2025-2027. The risk also appears in the top five across 28 countries, up from 24 last year. Professor Richard Betts, who leads the forecast production at the Met Office, stated, “The long-term warming trend will persist because CO2 continues to accumulate in the atmosphere.” He added, “While La Niña conditions are expected to result in forests and other ecosystems absorbing more carbon than last year, temporarily slowing the rise of atmospheric CO2, halting global warming requires a complete stop in the buildup of greenhouse gases followed by a reduction. Significant and rapid cuts in emissions could help limit how much global warming exceeds 1.5°C, but this demands urgent international action.” |
98916
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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Funny.. and I followed the link to actually see the pic you added to your post came from there.. That pic is on the summit of Mauna Kea, not Mauna Loa, and is a picture of the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility.. about which info is here... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Infrared_Telescope_Facility Whereas info about the actual solar observatory is linked at the top of the page.. |
98918
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
| i had a quick realization that the observatories are on mauna kea when i read that but it didn't register in my addled brain... |
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[98919]
98919
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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btw.. when the feds started laying off people willy nilly our governor started a new state government hiring program and swore to absorb every federal worker that was fired into the state's workforce. I am hoping he'll do that with these losses as well. Just absorb them into the state's affairs. After all we need them.. HVO especially because we haven't a state alternative like you all do. But keeping the solar observatory open should be a no brainer as well. |
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98907
From: eaamon, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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stupid is as stupid does. DOGE department of government eliminations! |
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98904
From: Redhart, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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This is insane. Canceling the lease on the observatory with one of the most active volcanoes is mind blowing. Doge is insane and irresponsible and risking lives. I don't believe them. They're a menace to our country and all Americans. |
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98902
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
| WOW!!! that is absurd... |
98903
From: ao, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
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Considering that Hawaii, unlike the other (Western) states that have geologic concerns, has no state geology department, nobody doing the monitoring of our volcanoes locally, it's over the top ridiculous, and a clear demonstration of the absurdity of the current administrations slash and burn policies. |
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[98905]
98905
From: jordan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Is Being Evicted Amid Federal Cuts
| wow. with all these cuts wonder what the know we dont |
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