February

With 50 years behind it, Hawaii Business looks back and looks ahead

1966 From Sputnik to Stem Cells

Crestfallen after Sputnik, strained by the Vietnam War and losing commodity market share to low-wage countries, the United States was pouring money into scientific research in the mid-'60s, furiously trying to get an edge on its competitors abroad. The buzz word of the day was R&D, short for research and development. All the while, economists in Hawaii were bemoaning the state"s dependence on tourism, the military and agriculture.

It didn't take long for local leaders to see the opportunity for diversification. As the cover story of the Hawaii Business and Industry February 1966 issue reported: "Certainly, Gov. Burns has made no bones about it, and his instigation of two major R&D conferences within the past year is ample indication of the Administration's official stand on the matter." Any perusal of an economic report or a politician"s stump speech today will tell you whether R&D became that fourth leg on Hawaii's economic table. Our economists are still moaning; diversification remains Hawaii's epic task.

R&D funding fell off after a peak in the mid-'60s, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Only in recent years has it reached Cold War levels, both in defense and non-defense projects, says the group. But spending priorities have changed for Uncle Sam. Space exploration was No. 1 in the '60s, but today health R&D is the largest single share of civilian projects, reports AAAS. Hmmm, did someone say, "Life science park in Kaakako?" Hope the funding holds.

"The central principle of Hawaiian politics is everybody is everbody's brother-in-law. But nobody tells you about it. They let you find it out." Harlan Cleveland, the new University of Hawaii president, about learning the subtleties of Hawaii politics, in the February 1971 issue of Hawaii Business.

1971 When Pigs Fly

Like other industries challenged by Hawaii's geographic isolation, the livestock industry in the early '70s found salvation in improving technology: The Airplane. In the February 1971 issue of Hawaii Business, editors trumpeted the arrival of the now-economical animal airlift as a means to lower production costs and eliminate the long shipping haul that often debilitated the animals.

Ironically, today, our isolation might at long last prove a blessing. The specter of Mad Cow is making grass-fed, organic beef from Hawaii look pretty tasty.

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