Science blooms in the springtime. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) high school robotics competition was recently held at the Stan Sheriff Center. This past week, the Hawai'i Science Fair was held at Blaisdell. They're both great extracurricular programs, and they motivate kids to make their careers in science and have a better life.

These and other such programs are in line with Gov. Linda Lingle's stated desire to improve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education in the schools. This is part of her "Innovation Economy," and the question is whether these programs are helping to build that economy.

The answer, regrettably, is no.

POPULAR PROGRAMS

The STEM programs reach throughout the state. There are many heroes, including my sampling of teachers Aaron Dengler and Hugh Moser at Punahou; Alan Ing (a McKinley mentor — the kids named their robot "IngBot"); Ka'iulani de Silva at HECO (a big sponsor); Alex Ho at DBEDT; and Hawai'i Science Fair officials Christine Trustee, Neil Atebara (who won at the fair 27 years ago), Celia Smith, Ivan King, Bob Campbell and Gareth Wynn-Williams. They brim with enthusiasm about the kids. And, of course, the kids, the dedicated and delightful kids, including stars like Randall Hunt at FIRST and Lucia Mocz of the Hawai'i Science Fair, are our champions. Their energy is visibly infectious.

Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, started FIRST about 10 years ago. It's a "first" step to encourage kids to solve science and practical problems and work in teams. It's structured as a highly organized sports competition. It's lots of fun, and it teaches kids "gracious professionalism" and other academic and life skills. Some say it's not so much about kids building robots but robots building kids.

The Hawaii Academy of Science started the Hawai'i Science Fair 52 years ago. It's less structured and encourages science projects across the board with broad-based support from science faculty at the University of Hawai'i. FIRST is funded by sponsors that include NASA, BAE and HECO. The Hawai'i Science Fair was getting $250,000 per year from the Legislature, but next year it will have to rely on other sources.

EXPEDITING EXPORTS

In one of her appearances for FIRST, Lingle said: "I face issues every day that I'm just waiting for you to help solve. You are going to be the ones who will help us solve these great challenges through the skills you are learning here."

Sure, but only if they're here. Most of these kids leave and aren't coming back.

We're grooming our kids for export. It's like one hand clapping or, better put, waving goodbye. The sequence plays itself out every year when we send a bountiful crop of our finest to the Mainland. They have that special Hawai'i quality, not unlike Barack Obama, and find themselves welcomed on the Mainland, where they get good job offers. They can't count on getting good offers here because there are not enough jobs here. And that's because we haven't paid attention to building the industry here.

We are told STEM is good for our kids, and us, because it builds a workforce for an Innovation Economy. But that's not true. We are building a workforce for the Mainland, not Hawai'i. While we go along with this emperor's new clothes deception, preoccupied by our kids' achievements on the Mainland, our leaders do pretty much nothing to build an industry that can bring them back. It has a cruel irony about it.

KEY CONCERNS

First, although the administration embraces robotics as a pet project, the state is not providing any funding for these STEM programs. But tech education is critical and we should be making sure they have sufficient funding. If we have to cut in other areas, or raise taxes to support them, let's do that.

Second, the administration is standing in the road on the development of a tech industry. While it regularly extols the benefits of an Innovation Economy, that's largely smoke and mirrors. Doing special favors or catering to outside interests doesn't build an industry, it just builds political relationships. Instead, we need to focus on supporting local industry associations and entrepreneurs. The best thing the administration can do is get out of the road.

Third, the administration has been involved from day one in a relentless campaign to destroy Act 221, the one stimulus package we have that can raise investment capital to start tech companies and build the tech industry. The administration's policy is penny-wise, pound-foolish and inexplicable. Instead of building the industry, it has made itself an adversary of the industry.

TIME FOR PLANNING

To make a life for these promising kids, to create rational policy for the development of our state, we need to incentivize entrepreneurs to start local companies. The legislature has been distracted by the administration's continuing attacks on 221, even in this Year of the Lame Duck, and the act is now in serious jeopardy.

Doing a Frankenstein on 221 will cripple our tech industry and undermine the benefit of the STEM programs. Now, after the Hawaii Superferry debacle, investors will write us off, yet again, as a banana republic.

It's a time for planning, consistency and moderation, not brain surgery in the shopping mall. Everything we do, everything our government does, must be directed to saving the human capital that we are educating and then so rapidly exporting.

SUPPORT TECH

We could rely on the administration to build a diversified economy, but it has demonstrated that it is not capable of doing that. Just look at Kaka'ako makai and all the tech ghosts there — JABSOM II, the Regional Biosafety Lab, the Cancer Research Center, all abandoned. Behold the deafening silence.

Or, we could trust our STEM kids to build the economy for us. Why not use 221 to incentivize investments and startups, and tell the kids that now they'll be able to come home. If anyone has a better idea, let's hear it.

Perhaps we could encourage some of these kids to switch to social sciences and public policy, and then come back, run for office and fix the system.

In any event, the administration and legislature need to stop undermining tech. It's never good policy to cut us off from our kids. If 2009 becomes a tech requiem for Hawai'i, the parents and public will be asking what happened, and will have special thoughts for those politically responsible.

Or we could throw graduation lei out to sea and sing a fond aloha to our future.

Jay Fidell is a business lawyer practicing in Honolulu. He has followed tech and tech policy closely and is a founder of ThinkTech Hawaii. Check out his blog at www.honoluluAdvertiser.com/Blogs.