Thomas Stewart
DemocraticQ1 The cost of electricity and water are on the rise with nearby data centers straining current resources in combination with increased energy costs to consumers. How will you navigate the economic, public health, and environmental impacts when considering new data centers and data center permissions, in general?
AI Data Centers are a net negative on humanity. They provide no tangible benefit while consuming inordinate amounts of our most precious resource, water. They serve no purpose other than to inflate the AI bubble further and have no place in the State of South Carolina. The burden of progress should never be placed upon the average American, but on those seeking that progress.
While I will likely have little support in banning AI Data Centers Statewide, establishing energy, water, and noise limits, as well as more stringent environmental protections for the facilities to uphold, is an obvious first step in ensuring that Data Centers do not take precedence over our people or our environment.
Q2 How will you ensure science workforce preparedness in community-based institutions like K–12 schools and community colleges across our state?
I am proud of North Carolina’s progress in Science, and I hope to help bring South Carolina up to par along with y’all. Our Education system is a joke here in SC, one of the worst in the nation. It is not the fault of our students that many do not have the necessary resources to succeed in their education. I hope to be able to pass legislation increasing our school funding to ensure the next generation of scientists can proudly say they came from the Carolinas.
Q3 What steps, if any, do you believe government should take to protect public health and community wellbeing (e.g., vaccine access, environmental health risks such as PFAS or asbestos, disease prevention, or emergency preparedness)?
Have you seen who is in charge of HHS? The bar is low for doing better than the federal government, and while I am limited in my ability to change the reality of the anti-science leadership of HHS, I can still attempt to bring South Carolina onto the side of science. I would love to expand SCDHHS to ensure we are prepared for the next outbreak and continue the fight against regrettably resurfacing diseases. While government action is necessary in fighting preventable diseases, the biggest lesson to gain from COVID is that public education is a far more important tool in fighting disease than previously realized.
Q4 As the world is becoming more information dense, science mistrust has grown. How do you think elected officials can work with scientists to build the general public’s trust in science?
Elected officials have a responsibility to the truth. The largest cause of science denial and mistrust has been those very officials spreading misinformation and lies. The best way to build public trust again is to remove the rot and replace those who have contributed to needless deaths by lying to the public about life-saving vaccines and medication. We regrettably live in a time when millions of Americans treat the words of their elected officials as gospel on subjects they have no background in. Those officials have done tremendous damage to public trust and must be replaced before the next disaster and more people die needlessly.