 Welcome to Think Tech on OC16, Hawaii's weekly newscast on things that matter to tech and to Hawaii. I'm Raya Salter. And I'm Carl Kempanya. In our show this time, we'll cover the March for Science held at UH Manoa and around the world protesting Donald Trump's politicization of the war on science. 2700 marchers participated in Manoa and many hundreds of thousands more across the country and around the world. Yes, thousands of people marched in the March for Science in Honolulu on April 22nd, Earth Day at UH Manoa to celebrate science and the role it plays in our lives. Hundreds more marched on Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. In Hilo, the march was part of the Mary Monarch Parade. The march was coordinated with the National March for Science, which took place in Washington, D.C., in hundreds of cities across the country and in 44 other countries. 70,000 participants showed up in Boston and over 150,000 showed up in several cities in California. It was a global coming out together. The march was organized by scientists skeptical of the agenda of the Trump administration and critical of Trump policies hostile to science. They believe that an American government that ignores science to pursue ideological agendas endangers the world. It's not a small matter and it's of great concern. The march is part of increasing political activity by American scientists inspired by the November 2016 elections and the Women's March in January. It was unprecedented in the level of participation by the scientific community and a response to what is perceived as the massive ongoing attack by the Trump administration on essential values of truth and evidence-based learning. Trump has referred to climate change as a hoax and has taken and threatened many actions against science in the environment, including resumption of the Keystone Pipeline project, expansion of coal, cuts to the EPA, pulling out of the Paris Accord, selection of anti-science cabinet appointees, freezing of research grants and a gag order on dissemination of scientific research, among other things. He seems to be at war with science and truth. The march was intended to remind Donald Trump that the scientific community and the public will not tolerate these attacks on science and that they expect and demand that he and his administration and government officials at all levels make policy based on scientific evidence rather than ideology. The Honolulu March on April 22nd started with a rally at 3 p.m. on Bachman Lawn at UH Minoa with speeches by faculty, legislators and others, along with exhibits and of course music and food. So the reason we're gathered here today is to voice our support for science. Science is a cornerstone of civilization. Without science we wouldn't have civilization. We depend on the outcomes of science for almost everything we do. Whenever we use a cell phone or a computer or get in a car or fly in an airplane or take medicine or do almost anything we do in our daily lives, we have science to thank for it. And today we're going to hear a lot of reasons why science is so important and all of those reasons are true. We're here because we share a concern that many people in our country and especially a few of our politicians have forgotten the fundamental importance of science. When science reveals truth that threatens people's beliefs or their power or their wealth, they sometimes respond with denial. They assault the integrity of science rather than rallying to solve the underlying problems. One of the most pressing and conspicuous examples of this is climate change. At a time in history when we need science the most, it's a grave concern that some of our leaders in Washington seem to be supporting at the least. But I actually have a much bigger concern. It's not about our leaders in Washington, it's actually about us. My fear is that we may lose our hope. We may lose our energy and our drive to tackle these problems that we face through our support of science. I was in Washington D.C. this past January and I spoke with a young woman who was despondent after the recent elections and I'm sure many of us were. She felt the obstacles ahead of us for protecting the environment were already enormous, even with an administration that advocated science-based solutions. But now the problem seemed overwhelming. She was on the verge of giving up all hope. She asked me if I still had hope for the future and I said yes, absolutely. But how could I maintain this hope and by extension continue efforts to push forward a science-based policy when there seemed to be no feasible way out? I explained to her that in my line of research, which involves very deep scuba diving and sometimes hours and hours of decompression, I have on occasion found myself in very life-threatening situations. And in those situations sometimes it seems like the solution is not there. There's no way to get out of this and if I had succumbed to that loss of hope, I would have had a self-fulfilling prophecy and I wouldn't be here today. But I did survive those situations and I am here today because in those situations, I confronted the immediate problem first. There was something that was going to kill me in the next 30 seconds and I needed to solve that so I pushed everything else out of my head and solved it. Once I had that solved, I had five minutes to solve my next problem. And after that was solved, I had an hour to solve the next problem. And through that stepwise process, I managed to get myself out of some pretty harrowing situations. We are now in a harrowing situation with science. We really, truly are. And I have a fear that we may have that self-fulfilling prophecy of giving up hope and not solving the problems. We must solve the problem. So I urge you all, please, do not allow it to become a self-fulfilling prophecy that things seem so bleak. We can solve this problem. We can. We just have to make sure we don't give up hope. Aloha. The science by definition is apolitical. So it's a little awkward talking about this. But the truth is, it's obviously not Republican. It's not Democrat. It's not whatever the heck is going on in DC right now. It's none of that. Science itself is something much more. Because when we talk about these decisions that we question that are being made, that may not be made on sound science, these things undermine the fabric of the interest of the people in this country, the fabric of our democracy itself. And what divides us is not two political sides. It's not ideology. More often than not, what divides us here in this country is education. It is a level of education that not everyone has attained. And that is our challenge and our job to step up to the plate to fix. Everybody wants clean water. Everybody wants safe food. Everybody wants the same good future for their kids. But what we're seeing, what we're seeing in this country are people believing uneducated, often arguments that confound my mind. Right now today, this year, 10% of the American public, 10% of the American public believes that the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court is the honorable Judge Judy. It is our mission as citizens. It is our obligation to stand up and be vigilant, to educate ourselves, to be scientifically literate among many other things. Because in the absence of education, people do believe alternative facts. We've seen that, and we're continuing to see that. We see manipulated data. We see data being hidden. We see narratives that don't support the worldview and the facts that we know to be true. We have to stop and think. Because often the arguments being made are that preventative action is enough. And we can't actually act and do anything until there's 100% certainty that all the data is there, which is another thing that we've seen hold up climate science and forward thinking and forward progress on these big issues in DC. The intersection of science and politics drives decision making in this country and affects us all. But yet, we're letting that go. And I think that's why today is so important, because it's a group of people. It is a citizen, it is a group of committed folks who see that future vision come together and say, we cannot let this happen. No one remembers politicians back in the 1950s and the 60s screaming to cut NASA's budget. But what we do remember is what we were able to achieve in spite of it. This is our task. Make science that foundation on which we all know our country was built. Because ultimately, we were able to cure disease. We were able to expand our economy. We were able to save lives. We were able to go to the moon and back. We were able to do all these things. And yet today, our kids generation, many of whom are here today, face a lifespan that is expected to be shorter than their parents. Here in the most wealthy nation on the planet. That is something that science and education and literacy absolutely can change. It's something we have an obligation to change. Ultimately, that is what made this nation great. It is not the size of any crowd or the height of any wall. It is only the vigilance of the American people, all of us, to be informed. To inform others, to be scientifically literate and hold our leaders accountable to make sure they make the best decisions based on legitimate sound science in the best interest of us all. And thank you so much for being those people. So, the only I share is a traditional prayer of knowledge and enlightenment. And it contains much that is pertinent to science. It speaks about the gathering and wielding of knowledge. In it, there are exhortations to combine efforts and ideas to pursue lines of research, both conventional and counterintuitive, to recognize the flash of insight and to move with it. And the consequences that arguments are clear, strong, and prevail in chiefly counsel and the people thrive. So, two days ago, I put together a long speech. And two hours ago, I threw it all away. I want to, instead, let's do some science. What am I wearing around my neck? Kukui, that's correct. And is kukui an endemic plant when restricted to Hawaii? No, it is not. Is it indigenous then, found naturally here, but also found naturally elsewhere? Yes. Joseph Rapp, the blackness who wrote the Indigenous Trees of Hawaiian Islands, thought so. He included kukui in his description of native lowland wet forests. But is it a canoe plant then? Is it a Polynesian introduction? Yes. Most would say yes. But how do you distinguish between a widespread indigenous species and a canoe plant? Any good scientist would begin with a litany of questions. Could it have gotten here without people? Do viable seas of kukui float? Not very well. Do they tolerate salt water? Not very well. Can they germinate on a beach and survive? Not really. The closest you get is where the freshwater streams come down to the beach. So, would there... Oh, where am I? Oh, and two, would there be reason to bring kukui on a voyage? Does it have any uses? Any good cultural anthropologist would tell you, and any kupuna would tell you yes. A source of light, oil, food, medicine, dyes, wood, ornament here and across Polynesia to Malaysia. Does kukui feature in oral traditions? Of course, in places, place names such as kukui ula and pu'u kukui anmawi, in stories such as the great Prophet Lanik Haula of Molokai and his kukui grove there. It's come to that, that we actually have to stand up and fight for the scientific method. I wanna march for fully equipped, hands-on science learning labs in every public school with PhDs teaching, getting all our kids excited about science. I wanna march for a dream team of public health strategizers making us all emotionally and physically well in our wounded world. I wanna march for free college, free library about how they're gonna pay for bills and study for their comms at the same time. But here we are on the front lines for facts. I know of scientists on my campus who got letters from the government saying they're being watched because they've attended a climate science conference. Okay, my father is a World War II vet. He fought against fascism. Nazis are the ones that send monitors into the labs to bird dog scientists, not democracies. So I will march for fact-based inquiry because I believe in nerds, not Nazis. That's more than that. I am a lawyer. I took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution. The preamble to the US Constitution has some very beautiful language about preserving the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity. Like Earth Day, like the Hawaiian value of Malama. It's not just about us. It's our obligation to our grandchildren and their grandchildren and all the generations to follow. Whatever your concept of the sacred, I think you came out today because you don't think it's a good idea that we take whatever we want willy-nilly and leave nothing for the next generation. We will do better than that. We're going to have to dive into the hard stuff. I've seen some beautiful struggle around this march. I heard a feminist challenge a scientist. This science march, is it going to include intersectionality? And I saw the scientist respond with scientific curiosity. I'm not familiar with that. Tell me how I can learn more. The feminist later told me that she was happy and surprised and excited to find out that the scientists organizing the science march are going to really try to make it intersectional. And I see a lot of feminists out here today. I see a lot of people in color. I see Kanaka Maoli. I know we are working, but it's hard work. It's hard work. I'm going to close by saying, I am an intersectional feminist. I'm a critical race theorist. That means I spend time criticizing science. I'm a supporter of Hawaiian sovereignty. That means sometimes I'm going to stand with Hawaiians who are protecting their sacred land. And maybe some of you are going to be on the other side. I am putting my hand out to all of you, every single one of you, because we are allies and we don't have any choice. We've heard from speakers telling us what's at stake. Our life, human life on this planet is at stake. So I'm marching because I'm a grandfather. I have two beautiful grandchildren. And I am scared for their future right now because of the powers that be in Washington, D.C. It has to be said. What we are facing now are too many politicians who hold corporate interests higher than the welfare of the people. Remember the presidential debates? When one candidate spoke something factual, the other would lean into the microphone and go, boom. You remember that? All right, could you do that for me? Okay, so here's some of the stuff that's been going on. The chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has stated flat out that climate change is the largest hoax ever perpetrated upon the American public. The chair of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee has repeatedly harassed climate sciences doing perfectly legitimate work. Wrong. The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency recently stated flat out that carbon dioxide is not warming the planet. Oh yeah, then there's a guy in the White House. So the venerable journal, Scientific American, the editors of Scientific American stated very clearly that this man's knowledge of science is quote unquote astonishingly ignorant. That was right. So think of some of the things we've heard. This is why I am so afraid for my grandkids. He has stated that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese. Wrong. He's stated that energy efficient lighting causes cancer. Wrong. He's stated that fracking causes no public health risk whatsoever. Wrong. It goes on and on. He's stated that vaccines cause autism. Wrong. Okay, the list goes on and on. That's why I'm marching. This has got to change. We must hold our politicians accountable. We've been growing a garden around our place. We don't have much space, but we've been working the soil beneath our feet, watching the green sprout over the concrete, watching the vines rewrite the graffiti on the walls. And we know that this garden is a simple symbol, that there is so much more to be done in this world. And sometimes it gets overwhelming, but we're taking responsibility for what we can control. And so we're starting by planting seeds and caretaking, making the ecosystem thrive, watching our earth come alive, reflecting on the way we're living our daily lives. See, we've been growing a garden over time, so we can step outside, we can visualize what green energy looks like, to remind ourselves that we know different from the trees, that all the energy we need can cover the sun, the wind, the sea, and the infinite worth of geothermal heat. And we know that another world is possible, that no matter how hopeless anyone else feels, this movement is real, that our convictions lead to conservation, lead to innovation, that technology must serve ecology. And so this garden is how we redefine the boundary lines between us and the global community. We've come to learn that there was no separation, that every nation on this blue planet is hibernically fused, that everything we do affects some part of you, so you've been inspired to limit our impact. Leave our surroundings better off than when we arrived, we have vowed to reverse the destructive tide before we die. See, we've been growing a garden for our children, leaving a better role for them to live in, showing them some caretaker they've been given, show them to take a stand for sustainability, how to find the balance between progress and preservation, guide the way to a self-reliant revolution. You see, this garden is for our children. This garden is our pledge to them. At 4 p.m. to make their demonstration, participants marched down University Avenue through Mo'il-Ili to Stadium Park, and then back to the campus. UH was there in force, but there were many others too. The march was also supported by many local organizations, including HPU, Shamanad University, the high tech community, and the public. The march was intended to encourage people to appreciate science as a way to care for and make our world more sustainable, to advocate for political decision-making based on scientific evidence, and to ensure that scientists are allowed to communicate their results freely and without misrepresentation, distortion, or fear of retribution. The marchers said that the march is just the beginning of a long-term effort of sustained advocacy for science. They said they will advocate for pro-science policies in education and government, and to ensure that science is open and free from prejudice. There's more to come and there will be more marches. Want to join the movement or find out more about the march for science? Visit the national website at satellites.marchforscience.com or the Hawaii website at marchforsciencehawaii.info. And now let's take a look at our ThinkTech calendar of events going forward. There's so much happening in Hawaii. Sometimes things happen under the radar and we don't hear much about them, but ThinkTech will take you there. You can watch ThinkTech on OC16 several times every week to stay current on what's happening in government, industry, academia, and communities around the islands and the world. ThinkTech broadcasts its daily talk shows live on the internet from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Then we broadcast our earlier shows all night long and on the weekends. If you missed a show or if you want to replay or share our shows, they're all archived on demand on ThinkTechHawaii.com and YouTube. The audio is on ThinkTechHawaii.com slash radio and we post all our shows as podcasts on iTunes. See our website for links. Visit ThinkTechHawaii.com for our weekly calendar and live stream and YouTube links or sign up on our email list and get the daily docket of our upcoming shows. ThinkTech has a high-tech, green-screen, First Amendment studio at Pioneer Plaza. If you wanna join our live audience or participate in our shows, write to Think at ThinkTechHawaii.com. Give us a thumbs up on YouTube or send us a tweet at ThinkTechHI. We'd like to know how you feel about the issues and events that affect our lives together in these islands. We wanna stay in touch with you and we'd like you to stay in touch with us. Let's think together. You can call in to our talk shows live. While you're watching any of our shows, you can call in to 415-871-2474 and pose a question or make a comment. We'll be right back to wrap up this week's edition of ThinkTech, but first we wanna thank our underwriters. Okay Carl, that wraps up this week's edition of ThinkTech. Remember, you can watch ThinkTech on OC16 several times every week. Can't get enough of it just like Carl does. For additional times, check out OC16.tv. For lots more ThinkTech videos and for underwriting and sponsorship opportunities on ThinkTech, visit ThinkTechHawaii.com. Be a guest or host, a producer or an intern and help us reach and have an impact on Hawaii. Thanks for being part of our ThinkTech family and for supporting our open discussion of tech, energy, diversification and global awareness in Hawaii. You can watch this show throughout the week and tune in next Sunday evening for our next important weekly episode. I'm Raya Salter. And I'm Carl Campania. Aloha everyone.