Family Gratitude and the Kind Side of Science

SPEAKER 01 : 0:01

Welcome to The Good News with Angie Austin. Now, with The Good News, here’s Angie.

SPEAKER 05 : 0:09

Hello there, Angie Austin here with The Good News. I came across something kind of cool today and I thought I’d discuss it with you. You know how Jim Stovall, you know, our frequent guest of the last decade, talks about the gratitude list and when he was going blind, he would go to his grandmother, you and say he wanted to talk to her about some of the things he was upset about. And she said, I am here to hear all of your complaints. I just want you to go take about five minutes and do your golden list, which is the 10 things that you’re grateful for, and come back and we’ll go over all your complaints. And he said after he did that, he really didn’t have complaints because he realized how blessed he was. And that’s the same grandmother that, by the way, she didn’t understand how eyes and sight work And she wanted to actually give her eyes to him after she watched the flowers bloom one more spring. She’s like, I just want to see one more spring. And then I’m going to let them transplant my eyes into you. And he’s like, Grandma, it doesn’t work that way. But that’s how much she loved him. But that gratitude list, I’m looking for an app right now. And I came across one, but it was too expensive, I thought, for an app. But it’s a family gratitude sharing app where each day you do like three things you’re grateful for, thankful for. And then it shares it with the rest of the family. And I thought, what a cool thing. So I’m looking for that. If you find it, go to my website, AngieAustin.org. If you find one that’s not like $80 a year, I just thought like 80 bucks, like we could just text each other. But I like the app idea because it gives you a reminder. And then I can see like what the kids are thankful for too. And maybe even see like include something like that there also may be concerned about or need help with or worried about, et cetera. I just thought that would be kind of a cool thing to share as a family to kind of keep us connected. I’m sure many of you have the family text threads like we have, where you share all kinds of information on your family text threads. I get a kick out of that. Now, my son, he’s funny because he’s so busy with his business, his job and school. And he does sometimes three events a week, his own events for his own business. And it’s a lot of setup with all of that vintage clothing and setting up racks and hauling the clothing across town and setting up on campus or setting up at a fraternity. Anyway, he’s not always on top of what we send. But if I send him texts myself just to him, he definitely responds. But the family text story, I just like like sharing all that info and keeping that going. We do it with grandma. We have one with grandma and grandpa too, but it’s like a different one. All right, so just an idea to share your family gratitude list every day. Well, I’m grateful for this. My pets are really animal people here on The Good News with Angie Austin. I’ve got the five pets myself, and I’ve done a lot of work with PETA. And you may remember, maybe about a year ago, I talked with them about their Teach Kind Science program. And they launched this kind of frog and it’s a brand new kind of frog model that is more pleasant to use and it’s ethically dissectable. So the kids aren’t like traumatized by having to, you know, you know, dissect an animal and it’s made out of silicone. So it’s very lifelike and it has all the parts, et cetera. And so it’s replacing the millions of living frogs taken directly from their pond and river in nature each year and And it’s designed by teachers for teachers, the Kind Frog. And so we want to check in and see how this Kind Science program is going, Teach Kind Science program is going. And so joining us is Samantha Crowe, Associate Director of Science Education for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, PETA. Welcome, Samantha.

SPEAKER 04 : 3:53

Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I’m super excited about the Kind Frog and what a wonderful introduction.

SPEAKER 06 : 3:58

Let’s talk a little bit about Teach Kind’s pilot program launched last year. Can you describe how it’s gone, the difference between this new method and the old traditional method of dissection?

SPEAKER 04 : 4:11

Yeah, you know, animal dissection support is waning, and rightly so. Today’s students can explore animal anatomy without harming a single animal, thanks to TeachKindScience’s pilot program. So we donate materials to teachers and schools to replace animal dissection, thereby sparing the animals from the dissection tray and also improving student engagement. And that’s really the name of the game, animal-free dissection. It can look a lot like animal dissection in the case of the kind frog. It’s a one-to-one replacement. But the student engagement increases. There’s no formaldehyde. And, of course, it’s shelf-stable.

SPEAKER 06 : 4:54

You know what I think is so neat about PETA and, you know, what you all do? A lot of people have careers that don’t directly relate, you know, to their experience. Like, you might move on and kind of move up the ladder, and all of a sudden, like, once I was in insurance, so I’m a news anchor, so I was making good money, but I was early in my career selling insurance, which had nothing to do with my background. And I love it that you’re a former biology instructor. Well, I understand you use your position to practice what you preach by teaching your You know, not working with animal specimens. So I love that you have such a passion for animals and that you’re able to incorporate into what you do, but also helping others now to do what you do in a humane way.

SPEAKER 04 : 5:37

Absolutely. You know, when I was teaching college bio, I had students like purposely seek out my course section because I’d earned the reputation of not dissecting animals. And these were students who were, you know, pre-nursing students. And anatomy and physiology is a really big course to get through to get into nursing school. And, you know, we don’t want to keep science away from ethical and compassionate students, right? So we want to make sure that what we’re doing in the classroom as educators includes everyone, that it is inclusive learning and it doesn’t distract anyone or desensitize them or take away their excitement for animals.

SPEAKER 06 : 6:20

I’m curious because I’ve learned so much from my interviews with you, Tita. your organization over the last year, some things that I had no idea were even allowed in terms of animals and testing and monkeys in particular that I learned about recently. But where do the animals that are used for dissection, for instance, where do they come from and how many are dissected each year?

SPEAKER 04 : 6:44

Yeah, that’s a great question. So animals used for classroom dissection number in the millions. Every single year, more than 10 million animals are killed for it. And these animals come from the wild. So frogs and other sea animals are stolen from their homes. We have piglets and other animal organs that come from slaughterhouses. And, of course, these animals don’t live full lives. You know, their lives are stolen from them for what amounts to a very ineffective and brief classroom lesson.

SPEAKER 06 : 7:23

Now, I have a question because that’s a huge number, by the way, of animals taken for dissection. kind frog as replacing millions of living frogs. Kind of explain how it works or how cool it is and what the teachers and kids think of it since they’ve been able to use it.

SPEAKER 04 : 7:42

Oh, my favorite topic. So if you imagine what traditional animal or frog dissection looks like, you know, you have the dissection tray, the tools, all the safety equipment, you’ve got your goggles and your glasses or your gloves and your lab coat on and everything. And then. Just swap out that preserved, very, very toxic smelling frog and replace it with a kind frog. It’s just that simple. So teachers can use their existing lessons with the kind frog instead of dissecting real frogs. Or we will provide a free lesson plan for teachers. We have worksheets available online that, again, are completely free. And it’s such an easy way to get teachers excited about animal-free without having to really change much of anything in their classroom practices.

SPEAKER 06 : 8:35

And when it comes to, you know, the old-school way of actually dissecting the animal, I can imagine a lot of animal lovers or people in general would be maybe dissuaded from taking that class or even… In some cases, maybe getting involved in the sciences. Maybe they would avoid a medical career or a vet career or a research career. So is there a reason? And do you believe that animal dissection does steer people away from some of the sciences?

SPEAKER 04 : 9:02

Yes, I do, because it absolutely does. Studies show that forcing students to cut apart animals can actually deter them from pursuing careers in science. And not only do we know this, we hear from these students. PETA hears from high school and college students every single day who are struggling to opt out of a cruel lesson and advocate for themselves to get a humane, animal-free experience. So these students are being told to drop the class or, oh, just do it anyway, or you can, you know, write a 10-page paper. And, you know, that’s really not fair because these students want to learn, and they’re interested in the sciences already. But by putting them off and sort of gatekeeping that learning, you know, we are dissuading them, and we absolutely – It just boggles my mind that we even force students to do this. I have a question about that.

SPEAKER 06 : 10:02

Do parents and students, do they have any rights or any recourse if they are told that they have to dissect an actual animal, not a kind frog, and are being told they must? Do they have rights in that arena? Yeah.

SPEAKER 04 : 10:16

Thankfully, yes. So there are hundreds of districts nationwide that have dissection choice policies, and these policies allow students to opt out of animal dissection and instead be provided with an animal-free method. But even if the state or district wants doesn’t have a policy, you know, like we described, we encourage parents and teachers, pardon me, parents and students to start talking with the teacher. And that’s the first step, right? Talk to them. They need to hear why students don’t want to dissect animals and why importantly, and they would, would absolutely love if we would love if you could share the information about our pilot program with those teachers that you’re trying to get, you know, students are trying to opt out of animal dissection and, Tell them about the pilot program, the Kind Frog, and how they can get all these resources for free. Okay, so give us that info, but I still have another couple of questions for you.

SPEAKER 06 : 11:13

So how do we get the Kind Frog for free and get the information?

SPEAKER 04 : 11:17

Sure. So teachers can sign up for this year’s pilot program for free non-animal anatomy resources at teachkind.org. And students can check out PETA2.com. That’s the number two dot com for help navigating a lack of vegan food at the cafeteria or opting out of animal dissection.

SPEAKER 06 : 11:41

Now, when it comes to the Humane Kind Education Division program, and teach kind science and the kind frog. Is there anything else that’s cool like this that you’re doing or you’re thinking of introducing or that you’ve already introduced that we might be interested in hearing about?

SPEAKER 04 : 11:56

Oh, so we are going to continue with the pilot program again next year. We are hoping to reach every single state in the U.S. with kind frogs and animal free methods. So that’s our goal for the future. And we this year, I believe we have 40 of the 50 U.S. states that we have pilot teachers in. So that is very exciting and encouraging. And yeah, we’re going to keep doing that.

SPEAKER 06 : 12:23

That’s really cool. I’m shocked, actually, that it’s that many states. I’m good for you guys. That’s impressive. All right. I have such a cool job that over the last 30 years, I’ve been able to interview so many interesting people. And one of my favorite questions that I get to ask people like you when I’m really interested in what you do is, where did this start, your passion for animals and for what you do? And we’ve got a couple of minutes, so just kind of go back. Was this your family? Did it start after school, your childhood? When?

SPEAKER 04 : 12:51

Oh, wow. That’s a wonderful question. So I’ve always been interested in biology, and I remember I have a very vivid memory of high school biology and dissecting animals. There was a fish who we were dissecting, and I just remember… feeling trapped, like I didn’t want to do it, but I couldn’t articulate that either to the teacher or even to myself. I didn’t understand that. So fast forward then to me getting my graduate degree in biology without harming any animals, I might note. And then I started teaching. And from there, I applied at PETA and I was hired and I’m so excited because that was 15 years ago. And at PETA, my focus has been replacing animal dissection. And what I really, I wake up every morning asking myself this question, how can we end animal dissection in schools? And that’s what I’ll leave you with.

SPEAKER 06 : 13:53

That is so cool. I just thanks for sharing that with us. And thanks for all you’re doing for animals and for others. I really appreciate it. It’s always fun to get to talk about your program.

SPEAKER 04 : 14:05

Thank you so much.

SPEAKER 02 : 14:10

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SPEAKER 06 : 15:07

Akron is tuned to the mighty 670 KLT Denver.

SPEAKER 05 : 15:16

hello there angie austin here with the good news the good news is i wanted to talk about these three thinking errors that can drain a lot of like our energy and a lot out of our lives so the good news is we’ll learn how to not drain the energy out of our lives and i love this first one because my one of my kids um has had some issues with confidence when it comes to their sport And I just love this. It says, number one, so this is the thinking error, okay? Thinking we need to feel more confident before taking the next step. And I think that applies to a lot of us. Like we wait till we have like full confidence. And a lot of people misinterpret how confidence works. And by the way, this is from my favorite website for this kind of info, Mark and Angel. A lot of people think confidence is something they have to have before they can, you know, really do their best. So they wait until they feel more confident before taking the next step. But waiting around, is it really confidence building? I think it sometimes can take away our confidence and like raise our fear level, you know, so. I love the idea that you can really take that first step before you 100 percent feel confident, because part of what raises your confidence is like the falling down and maybe failing and then restarting again or just like going for it and succeeding, you know, and making it. And I think in her case, like I was telling her the other day, I’m like, well, you have nothing to lose. You know, I mean, you know, in terms of, you know, playing your best, you’re going to make this team or this team. So if you don’t try, you’re going to make team B. And if you do try, you’re going to make team A or team B. So what do you have to lose? So worst case scenario, you end up on team B. And if you don’t give it a shot, you’re going to end up on that one anyway. But if you want to make the best team, you have to just go for it, even if you don’t feel your confidence level is there yet. What do I know? You know, I never did well at sports, but I achieved like in the academic world. That’s where I like Excel. That’s where I put my energy. So I can’t completely relate to my kids when it comes to their athletics. But I did put my energy and my competitive nature into something else that wasn’t, you know, a physical sport kind of thing. OK, so these are ways of thinking that can add more energy to our lives, not waiting to feel confident before you do something. Number two, the thinking you’re getting caught up. in big thinking paralysis. Just as you don’t need more confidence to take the smallest next step forward, you don’t need more and more planning and overthinking. Stephen King once said, the amateurs sit and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work. Oh, I love that. Stephen King said, amateurs sit around and wait for inspiration. The rest of us just get up and go to work. And Mark and Angel, Mark says he has that quote taped up in his office. The rest of us just get up and go to work. Okay, number three. This is something like thinking paralysis. Thinking we can still make it in unhealthy and unsupportive environments. Oh, my goodness. This reminds me of one of my really good friends that has been six months in a relationship that is, I mean, when I say not working, like, I can’t even tell you how badly it’s not working. And I’m like, you just have to, like, make a decision because it’s You know, this isn’t working. And so how much longer are you going to let it not work in this unhealthy, unsupportive environment? And especially if like alcohol is involved and destructive, you know, talk to you, you know, talking you down, belittling you and drinking that that that relationship is never going to work. I would tell my kids I’m like alcohol can ruin families and relationships. That’s for sure. You know, depending on your issue with it. All right. We’re totally changing gears now. But again, you know, go for it. Just rather than overthinking things and waiting till you have confidence, just go for it. All right. The Internet, the cloud and AI, they’re not just changing the way we live. They’re transforming our communities, our jobs and local economies. And boy, I’ve been using AI so much. My friends and I’ve been using it to like. I do interior design. I use it to help me with blogs. I use it to create a logo. It’s so much fun. Well, joining us now is Dan DiIorio, Vice President of State Policy at the Data Center Coalition, whose membership includes companies such as Meta that operate data center facilities here in the U.S. And Dan’s here to talk about this innovative industry and how it has become the infrastructure behind America’s digital future. Welcome, Dan. Thanks for having me. All right, so first of all, before we talk about what’s driving the growth of data centers, for those of us who are novices in this arena, what are the data centers? What do they do? What are they?

SPEAKER 03 : 19:47

Yeah, well, data centers are the infrastructure behind everything we do every day. It’s essential services like electronic healthcare records and banking transactions to things like online shopping and streaming video or social media. And as our digital lives keep expanding, data center companies are working to build more of the infrastructure that supports our everyday lives and that really serves as the backbone of the 21st century economy.

SPEAKER 05 : 20:14

Wow, just when you explained it, it sounds like everything.

SPEAKER 03 : 20:18

Very much so. The average household has 21 connected devices. When you start adding it all up and you include things like ring doorbells, smart thermostats, lightning, all of that requires digital infrastructure, and all of those things we use in our everyday lives.

SPEAKER 05 : 20:33

Oh my gosh, it’s so funny you say that about the number of devices, because we just bought a home with our son for him to live in while he’s in college. So there’s four college kids in the house. And they said, how many things will be connected? I said, oh, eight to 10. No, 36.

SPEAKER 03 : 20:45

That sounds about right. Given what we have these days with our laptops, our phones, our smartwatches, everything and anything really requires digital infrastructure. was crazy all right so let’s talk about um what’s driving the growth of data centers right now what what is the big driver or some of the big drivers sure sure it’s the collective computing demands of consumers and businesses nearly all sections of the 21st century economy require digital infrastructure and certainly new technologies like you mentioned that are pushing the bounds of innovation like artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence has a wide range of applications throughout the economy, from detecting credit card fraud to things like healthcare applications to optimizing our utility grid. So it really is innovation across the board, which is driving the growth of data centers.

SPEAKER 05 : 21:38

You know, we don’t have to get into this too much, but I was speaking of, you know, the grid having an impact on, you know, the way that our towns are run. I was watching some 60 Minutes story about how someone had gotten into another country that was monitoring their infrastructure regarding like everything, their water, their power, their etc. And the news anchor asked the guy, the manager, do you have any connection with this country? Would Do they have any reason to be, you know, watching what you’re doing with your city? And if they shut this down, would they impact the whole city? And he’s like, yes. And so they felt that it was just like kind of figuring out how in our country we do these things. And that was like scary to me. So let’s talk about the impact that these data centers are having on local communities and and maybe what we can, you know, what’s being done to protect us, per se.

SPEAKER 03 : 22:25

Sure. Well, it’s important to remember that data centers are an essential component of maintaining our global competitiveness, but also our national security. Again, as digital lives continue to expand, we want our data stored here at home, safe and securely domestically. And the benefits that data centers bring to communities are tremendous. Hundreds, if not thousands, of construction workers are in the construction phase, but they depend on local contractors like electricians, HVAC technicians, plumbers, and pipefitters to keep their facilities running at an optimized level. 4.7 million U.S. jobs were supported by the data center industry in 2023. For every one job, six jobs are supported elsewhere in the economy. And the industry has generated more than $160 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues.

SPEAKER 05 : 23:13

Man. All right. Well, let’s talk about the energy side. Do they use a lot of power?

SPEAKER 03 : 23:18

Well, data centers certainly do use a lot of energy. But, again, that energy is reflective of the demands from the 21st century economy and consumers and businesses. But the facilities themselves are very energy efficient. broader efficiency gains throughout the economy. Again, think of things like smart thermostats in your homes. The industry is also very much investing in clean and renewable energy. Companies like Meta match their energy use with 100% renewable energy, but they also invest in things like advanced geothermal and advanced nuclear technologies. And from a wider industry view, the data center industry is very much investing in the transition to clean energy.

SPEAKER 05 : 24:00

All right. Let’s talk about beyond tech, what other benefits these projects are bringing to our local communities.

SPEAKER 03 : 24:07

Well, yes. Of course, they generate significant state and local tax revenues that community leaders use to reinvest in things like schools and infrastructure and public services. But data centers invest in the community members themselves. They support workforce development programs. They help to support skilled trades training. as well as other community programs where they operate. They’re really focused on creating career pathways for members of the community to get into a 21st century economic growth driver.

SPEAKER 05 : 24:36

We’re talking to our kids. I’ve got three kids that are college age-ish, two in college and one going soon. um and they talk about you know what’s next and my daughter wanted to be an attorney and my husband’s like you know ai is going to take over a lot of that you know contract writing etc maybe not arguing in a courtroom but you know and so we’re talking about new ways for the kids to get you know involved in the future uh let’s talk about how people can learn more get involved and is this an area that we can like steer our children into for the future because you don’t want to put them in something now that’s going to be obsolete in three or four years

SPEAKER 03 : 25:11

Well, yeah, I certainly think that this is very much a growth field, and certainly on the career pathways, I would definitely encourage individuals to explore pathways here, whether it’s through the skilled trades or the technology field itself. Data centers are continuing to expand to meet our collective demand, and there’s no signs that that demand is going to slow and data centers will need to continue investing. And to learn more about the data center industry and our members of the data center coalition, you can go to datacentercoalition.org.

SPEAKER 05 : 25:41

Now, let’s talk a little bit, too, about – and I’ll have you repeat that at the end of the interview. Let’s talk a little bit more about what’s next, what makes these data centers so innovative. So what’s next for them, for you?

SPEAKER 03 : 25:54

Well, data centers are powering innovation and they thrive on innovation. They’re supporting new innovative technologies like artificial intelligence throughout the economy, but they’re also reinvesting in innovative technologies in their facilities. They’re deploying technologies to advance their energy efficiency, advanced cooling technologies and automation to help them increase their water efficiency, and they will continue reinvesting and deploying innovative tools to ensure that they use resources wisely.

SPEAKER 05 : 26:23

And I always, you know, I feel like I’m really blessed that I, being in news for 30 years all over the country and working for big organizations like NBC, etc. I think I’ve worked for them all now. I feel blessed that I get to talk to people like you because It’s fascinating to me to talk about things that really I don’t have any background in. I guess that’s the cool thing about journalism. So how did you get into this area? What gave you a passion for this area of expertise? What made you qualify to become a mucky muck in this arena?

SPEAKER 03 : 26:52

Well, certainly as I looked at the industry. industry and found its essential role in supporting everything we do every day. I felt compelled to get involved in the industry and figure out ways that I could help support it and ensure that it continues to advance and invest in communities throughout the country. This is an industry that brings significant state and local tax revenues, significant career opportunities, and significant innovative technologies to the forefront. And so I think as this industry continues to expand, I wanted to do my part to help support it and help to keep the U.S. really a global leader in data center development.

SPEAKER 05 : 27:30

Okay, so I like to learn new things. You have to tell me, I was reading a little bit about your background, that you were involved with a startup advanced manufacturing company. What does that mean?

SPEAKER 03 : 27:42

Well, yeah, it was very much an interesting startup company that took roofing shingles and then broke them down and then were able to break them down into their components, which were essentially a petroleum product and then sand and fiberglass, and then recycled those back through. So it was very much in the startup phase, and unfortunately it didn’t quite work out, but it was successful. very much an interesting technology that was being utilized out there, figuring out ways where you can take a product that, you know, at the end of its useful life is an asphalt roofing shingle that goes into a landfill, and, you know, it’s not adding anything of value back. So the ability to recycle that, bring it back through the process, and break it down into those components that can be used throughout the supply chain there, I think, was really valuable.

SPEAKER 05 : 28:33

Oh, I love that reuse, repurpose. And, you know, just speaking of, you know, roofs, just the innovation there. And we have a stone coated steel roof and we’re like the only home in our like area that didn’t get a new roof during like the hail and everything. And then also they’re doing so many cool things now with like fires, you know, how to keep a fire from taking over your whole home, depending on how you do your roof. I don’t know. I just think innovation is so cool. So again, give us the website so that people can get more information regarding everything we’ve talked about in the interview.

SPEAKER 03 : 29:03

That is datacentercoalition.org.

SPEAKER 05 : 29:06

datacentercoalition.org. Dan, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us on The Good News. Thank you.

SPEAKER 01 : 29:13

Thank you for listening to The Good News with Angie Austin on AM670 KLTT.