(gentle music) (whale spouting) - [Narrator] Tonight, protecting whales with artificial intelligence.

- There's a blow, yeah!

- Yeah!

- [Ross] Oh yeah, wow, we can see it for sure.

- [Narrator] And from Japan to Connecticut, the science of making the perfect soy sauce, - [Bob] It gets too cold, the koji won't grow.

If it gets too wet, the koji won't grow.

- [Narrator] Then, more questions about the Washington Bridge closure and the race for Cranston mayor with Ted Nesi.

(bright music) (bright music) - Good evening.

Welcome to "Rhode Island PBS Weekly."

I'm Pamela Watts.

- And I'm Michelle San Miguel.

We begin tonight in the waters off Southern New England where there are efforts to find a balance between competing environmental interests.

- Alternative energy technology is driving the construction of multiple wind farms in our area, but as more and more ships are needed to bring building materials out to sea, a new environmental concern has emerged.

How to protect the already endangered right whales and other species like humpbacks from ship collisions.

As contributor Elena Mannes reports, some think artificial intelligence could be the answer to balancing renewable energy needs with the survival of whales and other marine life.

This story is part of our continuing Green Seekers series.

- [Whale Watcher] Port side off to the left.

- [Whale Watcher] I think we might have just seen some whale blows in the camera.

- Not sure.

- There's a blow, yeah!

- [Ross] Oh yeah, wow, we can see it for sure!

That's a busy scene too.

There he goes, there he got it.

- Very nice!

- So we just detected blow in the camera from the whales that are right out here in front of the boat.

So it's very exciting stuff.

- Ross Eaten and a whole host of smart engineers and scientists have been working on Awarion, which is an autonomous lookout system.

It's based on AI and machine learning, and it's a computer vision program that is able to detect whales at a distance.

We're actually here to collect data.

We need to have a lot of data of imagery of whales.

We wanna see whales at a distance really far away when we just spot them maybe as the back is surfacing and breaking the water.

(wind whooshing) (waves crashing) We met with Vineyard Wind.

They told us that they really needed to be able to protect marine life when they're out and they're doing their work on offshore wind.

And we said that we had a system that we were interested in performance testing and we came together.

What's cool about that is we use, the Awarion system is based on Flirs cameras.

They're both electric, optical and thermal.

(whale spouting) So because of the whale's fluid is actually warmer than the surface temperature of the water, it really lights up in a thermal camera, so we can detect that blow.

- We take all that data, it goes down to a computer.

The computer can then go train, understand how to pick these interesting things out of the data that it's seeing.

Here's where your boat is, here's where this thing that was detected is, you know, whether it's a whale, a boat, this is the path that it's taking.

Those kinds of things so that a person looking at that can understand what the situation is around the vessel, can react appropriately.

Whether it's to avoid a collision with a boat or whether it's to slow down to let a whale pass.

We are definitely still in the process of training the system.

We know that the system works, but we want to continue pushing the boundaries of where it works.

So we wanna make it, you know, detect whales a little bit further away.

- We came across Awarion because we knew that we were gonna need to have some monitoring at night.

We don't start piling at night If it is to go into night or if we need to transit at night, having the ability to use AI software to help our observers see what might be ahead of us is really important.

So it might alert them and say, "Hey, we see this whale blow ahead by a certain number of feet," and they can review it really quickly.

It's really appealing to us, and I think where we'd like to bring it is to help us to be able to do nighttime pile driving, which is gonna be essential to efficiently, you know, install these projects.

- A system that can reliably detect whales is gonna be useful for survey vessels, vessels that are doing any kind of construction offshore, shipping vessels.

I think what it really becomes is this kind of trade off of, well, the system can make detections out to this range.

So if I can make detections out to that range, then you need to drive a little bit slower because that way you'll have enough time to make a reaction.

- Look at how giant they are!

- On the boat!

- [Whale Watcher] Oh, it's so exciting.

- [Guide] Coming up right now is the mother of this calf.

This is a humpback whale by the name of A-Plus.

Her calf's around nine months old now.

- There's just something about an animal that can really encompass.

They are the poster child for this environment and they really are sort of an animal that everyone can look to familiarize themselves with or are familiar with, but more importantly, they represent this area ecologically.

They're important to the waters here.

It's been home to them for a millennia and we love bringing people out to see 'em.

I worry about our whales out here every day I'm out here.

I often kid with our passengers is why I'm on the largest of allowable dosage of high blood pressure medication because we worry about these whales out here.

There's not much we can do for them, but we can try and role model good boating behavior, and that's the one thing we can really try and do.

It's really not cool.

It's okay to come out here.

Anyone can come out and watch whales, but what you shouldn't be doing is moving a boat around while there are whales there.

The people on that boat have no idea where those whales are gonna come up next.

And this is why about 30% of our named humpback whales have scars that are attributable to collisions with small boats.

- Based on the experts that I've spoken with and some of the data that I've looked at, it looks like the shipping industry has increased in terms of the number of ships that are out there throughout the world.

It appears as though the majority of deaths of whales are caused by vessel strikes.

So that's where we'd like to put our efforts.

Can we detect those whales as quickly as possible, notify human beings and captains of ships so they can get out of the way and leave the whales alone?

(wind whooshing) (wind whooshing) It's devastating when you see a massive, magnificent creature lying dead on on a shore somewhere.

It affects everybody.

I think historically we haven't been very kind to the whales.

When you think about the history of whaling and all sorts of tremendous negative aspects.

I don't know what it is, but I think many, many people share this view that we have to protect and care for them.

(whale spouting) - As Native peoples or Indigenous peoples, we've been the stewards of the lands and waters since time immemorial.

We have the migration of the great North Atlantic right whale that is impacted by this.

We have other migratory species that are gonna be impacted by all this plus with the constant disturbance of the seabed floor kicks up saltation, and that in itself almost can choke the life out of the water.

So what we have been asking for and calling upon the United States to do is have a moratorium on the construction and slow this pace down until we can take what we have in place and really study that.

What are those impacts?

And that's what those questions that they're not answering for us.

- I think that many Indigenous people across the world that live near the coast have a relationship with whales.

The whales have always been sacred.

We see them as our people.

Very special.

We need to really handle them with the care that they deserve so that we can all benefit once they're doing their job for the earth and we need to do ours.

- I think what's important to see here is that our industry, it can help the whales, you know, and it can help all species on this planet, right?

We're facing global climate change and we've gotta do something about that.

Offshore wind is bringing that efficiency, and you know, at a scale that's bigger than solar, and I would argue that that is, you know, a positive impact to all species on this planet.

I mean, you look at what global climate change is gonna do to invertebrates in the ocean, and that's very scary.

When you irritate the food chain in the ocean, that sets up a very scary situation.

(whale spouting) It just struck me as, you know, how can we fix this?

Because this is just, that's just unacceptable.

We can't have that happen.

You know, we can't be out there murdering all these animals.

- There's been so much whale activity today that the map is really busy, which is great!

That's exactly what we want to see because that tells us that the system is making detections.

It's finding things out here.

- If you can imagine a world where all of this data was being collected, not just our data on Awarion, but if we had satellite imagery of whales from the sky, if we had acoustics listening to whales from under the water and we were able to pull all of this together in a common operating platform, we'd be able to triangulate the actual moment of where those whales are or their placements really quickly.

So it's really a solvable problem is really what I'm trying to say.

It's not science fiction anymore.

- I think anything we can bring to help these animals and their survival and sustainability is an important contribution.

I think why not throw everything we can at it and see what works?

- The sort of the holy grail where all of us are working together.

I mean, that's what this is all about.

It's about saving whales.

They're these majestic, astonishing creatures, and we wanna save them.

- I feel that this nation as a whole has not done due diligence in finding alternatives.

Wind power seems to be a good alternative, but where do we put it?

Where's the place of development that comes with the least amount of impact?

Maybe AI and possibilities would be a start, but really to give the space and the care that is necessary to the species that we'd love to see them prosper, then what are the extensive measures that need to be taken going forward mapped out?

- Vineyard Wind is projected to eventually produce power for more than 400,000 households in Massachusetts.

In early January, one of its turbines delivered about five megawatts of power, becoming the first offshore wind power delivery to the state's grid.

Up next, food and science have long been intertwined.

Corporations genetically engineer fruits to be plump and pest-resistant.

Home cooks obsessed with sourdough experiment with fermentation.

Salt, fat, acid, heat, they're all factors that change flavor on a molecular level.

Producer Isabella Jibilian introduces us to a local chemist and entrepreneur who has set his sights on a pantry classic, soy sauce, - [Narrator] A perfectly seared steak, toasted marshmallows, roasted coffee beans.

Why are they so delicious?

You might be surprised by the answer.

Science.

- Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction that's driven by the heating of amino acids and sugars and they combine into fairly complex molecules.

- [Narrator] It's the browning process that gives so many favorite foods their flavor, and it's somewhat of an obsession for Bob Florence.

- I'm a chemist by trade and I like mixing stuff together.

- Florence is a soy sauce brewer in North Stonington, Connecticut.

- Soy sauce is a very slow motion in Maillard reaction.

So think of browning a steak in a pan, that's quick, and where a soy sauce is taking me a year to take those amino acids and sugars and drive 'em together.

- His curiosity for Asian cuisine began decades ago.

- That was my first experience is hopping on a plane to go to Japan in my mid 20s, and I thought it was the most exciting thing that I could ever do.

- [Narrator] He would spend years traveling to Asia for business, and there, a passion for soy sauce was born.

- I started making it in my house.

I was making some small bottles of soy sauce and I started to sample them to local restaurants.

- [Narrator] But he had questions about the brewing process that only an expert could answer.

(K. Iida speaking in Japanese) - [Narrator] K. Iida is the head of his family business, Chiba Shoyu.

His company is located in Chiba province, home to 40% of Japan's soy sauce makers.

- He very generously agreed to meet with me in Japan.

- [Narrator] Iida says that when it comes to making soy sauce, mastering the first step is critical.

(K. Iida speaking in Japanese) - What we do is we take the soybeans and the wheat, and we sprinkle on this mold called koji mold or aspergillus oryzae, where there's probably a trillion little koji spores in here.

All right, well welcome to the koji room.

You'll notice how warm it is in here.

If it gets too cold, the koji won't grow.

If it gets too wet, the koji won't grow.

So you can see how it's got this little dusted white snowy look on it.

And that's actually the koji mold that's starting to grow.

By tomorrow morning, this will be completely covered in mold and it'll actually form a mat that won't be so easily broken up.

- [Narrator] It's a practice with a long tradition.

- There's two great fermentation cultures in the world.

One is yeast fermentation.

Everyone's familiar with yeast in terms of making beer and yeast grew up in Europe primarily 'cause it's cold and wet in Europe.

And so yeast as an organism thrived in that environment.

But the lesser known, at least to Americans, is this mold technology which grew up in Asia.

Asia's hot and humid.

The Chinese have been fermenting soybeans forever.

Around the 13th centuries, monks from China brought this technology over to Japan and the Japanese have then been optimizing their version of soy sauce ever since.

(gentle music) - [Narrator] Today, soy sauce has industrialized.

Most is made from soybean grits, soybeans that have been pressed for their oils.

But Florence still does things the old-fashioned way.

- If you were to start with half the ingredients, you probably end up with half the flavor.

And so by starting with whole soybeans, that oil contributes things like grassy, fruity flavors to the soy sauce.

So much more flavorful.

- [Narrator] Meanwhile, in Chiba, K. Iida that has had to work to preserve these old ways as Japanese tastes westernize.

(K. Iida speaking in Japanese) (K. Iida speaking in Japanese) - [Narrator] So when he heard from a certain American, it was a source of optimism.

(K. Iida speaking in Japanese) (gentle music) (K. Iida speaking in Japanese) - After you've grown the mold, you're going into a barrel of salt water, and then that barrel of salt water ferments for about a year.

- [Narrator] Today, after a year of fermenting, Florence presses his soy sauce mash called moromi.

It's also the name of his company.

He pasteurizes it by heating the soy sauce to kill any bacteria.

The process is a bonus opportunity for a Maillard reaction to make it even more savory.

(gentle music) These final few steps challenge this chemist at heart to take a different approach.

- My ultimate test is not like how much salt it is or how much pH it is.

(gentle music) But it's when I taste it.

It's got this whole character to it that is just a complete story for a flavor.

(gentle music) Okay.

- You can find Moromi soy sauce in restaurants and specialty stores across the state, including Stock Culinary Goods and Hawes Fine Foods here in Providence.

Finally on this episode of "Weekly Insight", WPRI 12's politics editor Ted Nesi and I look into the mayoral races in Woonsocket and Cranston, the latest campaign finance reports, and of course the Washington Bridge.

Ted, welcome back.

It's good to have you.

We have political news to get to, but before we get to that, let's start with the latest on the Washington Bridge.

The head of the Federal Highway Administration was recently in town touring the westbound part of the bridge.

If ever there was a sign the federal government is taking this seriously, really that was it.

- Clearly.

And I think Rhode Island officials want east federal officials to come up, see the situation, and emphasize to them how important this is to Rhode Island as well as Massachusetts.

I know US Senator Jack Reed is also trying to get transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg to come up as well.

And of course behind all this is the hope that a lot of federal money will follow them to rebuild the bridge or repair it or whatever it is - Right, and the head of the Federal Highway Administration had to deliver news that really no one wanted to hear, which is, look, if we do have to repair this bridge, we don't know.

We're talking about a one to two year timetable.

- Yeah, and I think that's sort of what we are all starting to accept is where this seems to be going.

Again, no one's saying it officially, but he acknowledged himself that he came and made this visit because it's transitioned from a repair to potentially a full rebuild.

So what it feels like to me right now is the administration is kind of buying some time to come up with not just the announcement about the bridge's fate, but a plan for how to replace it.

- All right, we'll be following that.

So before we get to local elections, I know a guy who's already thinking about what's happening locally, but two years from now, right?

- [Ted] Well it's never too soon.

- So you've been looking at recent campaign finance reports.

What is that telling you about how the governor's race is shaping up in two years?

- Well, I found it very interesting.

Helena Foulkes, the former CVS executive who of course had a near miss run against Dan McKee in the Democratic primary for governor in 2022, she raised $114,000 during the fall quarter, almost as much as the governor who raised $140,000.

Clearly she is signaling to everyone she is ready for a rematch against McKee.

She's very serious about running for governor again, especially when she came so close last time.

We are also of course watching Peter Neronha to see what he does.

A lot of time left, but the pieces already starting to move.

- And one of the big races will be the race for mayor in Cranston.

We have state representative Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, who's challenging the Republican mayor Ken Hopkins, of course, she is the wife of former Cranston mayor Allan Fung.

They've had an interesting exchange recently.

Can you tell me a little bit more about that?

- Well, first we have to remember, Michelle, that they were allies just four years ago.

the Fungs endorsed Hopkins to succeed Allan Fung as mayor of Cranston.

Now they're already kind of going hammer and tongs in February for a primary that's not 'til September.

And there were some great quotes that I just have to read 'cause I think it gives people flavor of that race.

Fenton-Fung at her kickoff quoted the "Barbie" movie and said, quote, "Ken, this Barbie has considered all of her options.

I have made my choice and it's time for a change."

Hopkins later in the week shot back at her, "Barbara Ann, you are not in Middletown anymore.

This is the big city."

- The big city is Cranston.

- It's Cranston.

- Someone will get that on a T-shirt or a mug.

And Mayor Hopkins will also face a Democratic challenger.

- Yes, city councilor Robert Ferry, who actually was a Republican until a few years ago.

He switched parties.

He's seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor.

So whichever those Republicans comes outta the primary should have a credible challenger in November too.

- Okay, let's turn to the mayoral race in Woonsocket where we have city council president John Ward announced he's running for mayor as well as state representative Robert Phillips.

Of course that seat was vacated by Lisa Baldelli-Hunt when she resigned abruptly amid a land dispute and her associations with a former business associate.

What are you watching there?

- Well, Woonsocket hasn't had an open race for mayor in a long time, and obviously there's a lot of, you know, hubbub and city politics after Baldelli-Hunt's unexpected resignation.

There's also a little full circle here because John Ward was close politically to Leo Fontaine, the mayor who was ousted by Lisa Baldelli-Hunt.

So politics is a small world in Rhode Island.

- Yeah.

Thank you so much, Ted.

A lot to keep an eye on.

- Thanks, Michelle.

- That's our broadcast this evening.

I'm Michelle San Miguel.

- And I'm Pamela Watts.

We'll be back next week with another edition of "Rhode Island PBS Weekly".

Until then, please follow us on Facebook and X and you can visit us online to see all of our stories and past episodes at ripbs.org/weekly, or listen to our podcast on your favorite streaming platform.

Goodnight.

(bright music) (bright music) (bright music) (bright music) (bright music)