Randall Akee, associate professor of public policy, weighed in on protests sparked by the construction of a giant telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii’s highest mountain. Native Hawaiians are attempting to stop construction of the $1.4-billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on the site, which is considered sacred ground. “The sight of some of the most revered and esteemed Native Hawaiian elders being hauled off the mountain in plastic tie bands was appalling to Native Hawaiians everywhere,” Akee wrote in a piece for Real Clear Markets. These images threaten Hawaii’s $16-billion tourism industry, and the cultural and environmental costs of building the telescope would be great, he wrote. Akee was also cited in a Vox report on the protests. “The opposition to the TMT construction is like the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he said. “It represents decades of poor management of Hawaii’s natural resources and prioritizing of economic interests ahead of community interests.”