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Some Buildings In Sothern California Saved By Same Material Found In Baby Diapers;

Aired November 01, 2003 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everybody. I'm Daniel Sieberg. Today on NEXT@CNN, it's been a week of deadly fires in southern California. We'll tell you how some buildings have been saved from flames thanks to the stuff in baby diapers.
Find out what it takes to make America's army. No, not the real one, but the latest military video game. Uncle Sam wants you to play.

What does your kitchen have in common with a horror movie? Jeanne Moos develops into the secret life of germs. All that and more on Next.

You've probably seen the huge walls of flame, piles of charred woods, billows of smoke from this week's devastating wildfires in southern California. You may not have seen the fire lines from a firefighter's point of view. Jeff flock took a walk on the wildfire line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Walking the blazing fire lines with Nick Rich is like going to fire school.

NICK RICH, FIREFIGHTER: Fire's going to run uphill.

FLOCK: He knows where it's been and why. Rich has been a firefighter, fire chief, paramedic, medevac pilot.

RICH: These are just the leaves that were on the ground and they burnt pretty quick.

FLOCK: He notices things. The chopper doing infrared mapping of the mountainside for hot spots, the ground squirrel forced up out of his burrow by the heat, the old growth tree turned into a chimney by the ground fire.

RICH: The roots caught fire. Now it's starting to burn up through the center of the tree. If you follow the burn pattern all the way up the tree, it's actually venting up top.

FLOCK: Rich marks the weakened tree with tape called killer tree to alert fire crews it could fall on them.

RICH: The problem we have here, is we have very limited access in this canyon. FLOCK: Standing on scorched earth, Rich explains how instead of attacking the flames here, firefighters earlier built this backfire down the mountain to burn the fuel in the path of the blaze and choke off the main fire.

RICH: If it came in here and got into the trees, the fire's now crowned, then it's really harder for them to fight at that point.

FLOCK: In his eyes, with a little help from diminished Santa Ana winds, this battle with nature has gone better than it could have so far.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Well, that was an up close look. Now, David Mattingly gives us an aerial view of the biggest of the blazes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secured in its place in history is the largest brushfire ever in California. The enormity of the Cedar Fire in San Diego County can only be appreciated from above.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: Everywhere, everywhere I look is burned.

MATTINGLY: Our guide across the charred landscape is veteran San Diego pilot Ivar Shier (ph), who takes us to the remote area where the Cedar Fire is believed to have gotten its spark. Possibly as a signal fire started by a hunter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people didn't have a chance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. But the winds kicking it -- kicking it up and the heavy growth, you can see the cause of the effect.

MATTINGLY: In the country side these houses were the first of more than a thousand to go as flames raced with Santa Ana winds. For miles signs of fierce firefighting and small victories. Orange flame retardant stains a hillside where the fire was stopped cold. But there were some big victories, as well. This entire neighborhood was spared because of precautions taken by homeowners.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You notice how the properties, they have all of the brush cleared away from the edge of their homes. These people are used to the danger of fire out here.

MATTINGLY: But it's the devastation that produces the most powerful images. Above Scripps Ranch (ph) where several died in and fire destroyed 180 homes Sunday. We see entire streets and cul-de- sacs leveled. Only chimneys standing in the first rays of sunshine since the fire raced through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: So, what can homeowners do for protection from a rushing wildfire? Get some help from diapers. John Kelly of CNN affiliate WPBF-TV explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KELLY, WPBF-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The days when Bill Bartlet helped his son's company by filling, packaging and filling each container by hand aren't far removed. Finally, expensive machinery gives tired hands a break and speeds up the whole process just in time. California homes need protection fast. Few of the people living there know this protective gel even exists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the next day.

KELLY: What isn't shipped tonight...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is air.

KELLY: ...will go out in the coming days.

John Bartlet and his crew are getting 1200 jugs of barricade fire blocking gel ready for the next day's shipment. What is this stuff? As they say at Barricade, the invention came from the bottom up.

KELLY (on camera): Bartlet's idea came to him ten years ago fighting a trash fire. He noticed that one of the only things that didn't burn, is the inside of a diaper. It's super absorbant gel that every diaper has. And absorbs so much water that it doesn't burn.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: It's a simple system. We have engineered it to be user friendly. You use a regular garden hose.

KELLY (voice-over): Simply spray it on your house. It's not foam, it's gel. The protected side with barricade covering it is hardly phased. The blend of chemicals can withstand temperatures up to 2000 degree fahrenheit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want it to appear like a magic trick. You're seeing real science here.

KELLY: Firefighters in Montana who use Barricade to save 200 homes during wildfires 2 years ago say they're ready to help in California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye.

KELLY: Some 30,000 homes remain threatened by the fires, an idea sparked by an unburned diper in Florida could still protect hundreds of houses thousands of miles away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: With the devastating fires in California, demand for a fire blocking gel has risen sharply. Fire departments are investing in it and many homeowners are purchasing do it yourself kits to spray the goo on with regular garden hose. Joining me is John Bartlet. He is the founder of Barricade International, one of the companies that makes this particular fire gel.

John, let's go over how you came up with this idea, first of all. You were a professional firefighter yourself and came across a diaper that hadn't been burned.

JOHN BARTLET, BARRICADE INTERNATIONAL: We realized very quickly that it was because the diaper could hold so much water, that's the characteristic that kept it from burning that day in that trash fire. And that's the same characteristic that we now have in our barricade gel product. As you can see, the gel portion of the diaper simply will not burn at all.

SIEBERG: It's not hurting your hand, as well. You can't feel any heat in.

BARTLET: No, not at all. This is the portion of the diaper that soaks up so much water. As you can see p., it's a gel similar to the gel that we're now using to save homes in California.

SIEBERG: Let's talk about that. A lot of homeownerers are purchasing this type of product. You've got there with you, the type of dispenser you would use. How easy is it for people to do?

BARTLET: It's very easy. It simply hooks up to a garden hose a homeowner can apply this well in advance, well before the fire gets there and threatens their home. They can put this on two, three days in advance, if necessary. Then it's important that they they know to evacuate to a place of safety when the fire officials tell them it's time to leave the area.

But they can do this proactively. They can put this coating on their house and we were happy to report that we've had homeowners call us, they've come back into their neighborhoods after the fires have gone through, many hopes in their neighorbood had burned, but the homes that they had coated with the Barricade gel were still standing.

SIEBERG: You know, we'd just like mention that Barricade is not the only maker of fire blocking gel. Thermotechnologies, BASS Chem Dow Corporation, and a company called No Char all manufacture similar fire retardant gels.

Well, a different kind of fire coming up on NEXT@CNN. A flare from the sun sends shockwaves to earth. We'll tell you about some of the consequences.

We'll also tell you why some U.S. intelligence agencies are worried about China's recent manned space launch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: A new crew is in place on the International Spacestation and the old crew is back on Earth. Russian and American space agencies breathed a collective sigh of relief as rescue helicopters spotted the parachute of the Russian Soyuz carrying the crew over the frigid fields of Kazakhstan.

Back in May the previous crew missed its landing spot by 300 miles, but this time, it was a perfect landing. The Russian cosmonaut and American astronaut had been manning the station since May. The were accompanied by a memeber of the European space agency that had only been in space for ten days.

But China is also celebrating a successful spaceflight. Thousands turned out this week to look at the spacecraft and the suit that carried the first Chinese tyconaught into space this month. China plans to make its next attempt at human spaceflight in 2004.

Not everyone is happy about China joining the space race. Military officials at the Pentagon see it in a different light. David Ensor has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Chinese launch of a manned spacecraft sent a chill down spines at the Pentagon and in U.S. intelligence. Surveillance camera on the orbital module that remains in space will watch targets on Earth, U.S. officials say, the next six to eight months.

RICHARD HAVER, FRM. PENTAGON INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: The Chinese are telling us they're there. And I think if we ever wind up in a confrontation again with any one of the major powers who has space capability we will find space is a battleground.

LT. GEN. EDWARD ANDERSON, DEP. CMDR.: They can see one of the ways that they can certainly diminish our capabilities will be to attack the space systems. How they do that, who that's going to be, I can't tell you in this audience.

ENSOR: It wouldn't necessarily be China. Any nation with a medium ranged missile might be able to knock a satellite out of low Earth orbit. U.S. vulnerability is real.

Telephones to television to bank transfers, the American economy relies heavily on space satellites and they gave the U.S. military and intelligence a critical technological edge. Both in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

KEITH HALL, BOOZ ALLEN: Steps have been taken to protect our satellites. We'll be doing more of that in the future. This is not something we haven't worried about.

ENSOR: On a converted 747, and in laboratories, scientists are experimenting with laser weapons that could one day be deployed to protect satellites against incoming missiles.

(on camera): There even is talk of one day protecting space satellites and installations with bodyguards in the form of rapid launch military spacecraft. (voice-over): Weapons in space? Critics argue that war games conducted by the U.S. Air Force show they could make Americans less safe, not more.

THERESA HITCHENS, DEFENSE INFORMATION: What they found, in the last three, is that every time someone used a space weapon to take out another person's satellite all of a sudden you had nuclear war, very quickly, because the commanders on the other side, people who lose their space assets and can't see have to assume the worst.

ENSOR: But as more satellites are launched each year, the nation's dependness on them grows. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, for one, is a strong advocate of putting weapons in space to defend them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Japanese satellite could have used a defense mechanism. It was attacked, not by a man made rocket, but by the sun. The huge solar flare disrupted the Earth's magnetic field Wednesday causing the satellite to malfunction with other minor communications and power grid problems around the globe.

On the bright side the space storm also caused the northern lighted to glow in some not so northern places. Check out these pictures taken as far south as Oklahoma.

And speaking of cool cosmic events next Saturday those of us on the eastern half of North America will be plunged into total darkness. The moon will hide in the Earth's shadow for a total lunar eclipse, peaking at 8:18 pm Eastern Standard Time. Astronomer's say, keep an eye out for the reddish color of the moon caused by the Earth's atmosphere acting ike a lens?

ANNOUNCER: Still to come, how the grown nation of Singapore is shrinking neighboring Indonesia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

DANIE SIEBERG: Well, I recently spent some time with the U.S. Army. No, I didn't sign up. My mission was to get the scoop on the latest official miliatry videogame. It turns out, it was the closest I've ever come to a combat zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Once the first door is blown to pieces and the bullets start flying, we quickly realized that this isn't a routine video game development session. The military invited CNN to a site another Mt. McClellan Alabama to witness firsthand what went into creating the latest America's army video game.

MAJ RANDY ZEEGERS, U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES: It's very realistic, to a point where they even capture the breathing when shooting.

SIEBERG: The army considers the game to be the tip of the recruiting spear, a virtual basic training.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, soldier.

CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERS, DEPUTY GAME DIRECTOR: It's meant to be an awareness tool. It's meant to connect with Americans that have not been exposed to other direct interactions with the military or army in specific.

SIEBERG: We prepare for our direct interaction with the military by strapping on heavy body armor and bulletproof helmets. Sergeant First Class John Nettles describes the weapons of choice for the training mission.

SFC. JOHN NETTLES, ARMY: Over here, we have a shotgun, a shotgun retainer. What this is used for, we use this to gain entry to interior doors, destroying the locking mechanism that's holding the door shut.

SIEBERG: The mission is to enter and secure a building. We entered the simulation complex, cameras ready, bracing for what was to come and hoping that no one slips. The soldiers are using real explosives and real bullets, and there's no reset button out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two -- execute. Execute!

SIEBERG (on camera): The newest version of America's army includes special forces operations. To make it as realistic as possible, the developers followed along on simulations including ones with live ammunition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're clear.

SIEBERG (voice-over): As hard as game designers work to immerse users in this military reality, the soldiers say, there's no way a game can re-create the reality of combat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing that the game can't replicate is 104 degree temperature in the mountains, you know in Afghanistan. It can't replicate the dust blowing or much less the 80 pounds of equipment you have your back. Plus the fact you haven't slept for four, five days and bad guys shooting at you for real.

SIEBERG: Those involved in making America's Army are aware of concerns that a video game my glamourize and sugarcoat the dangerous nature of war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are consequences for actions, whether they are positive or negative so we depict those as realistically as we can and within the confines of the teen rating that we have in the game.

SIEBERG: The army also acknowledged that a good virtual soldier will not necessarily be able to make the transition to a real soldier. But they still believe it's money well spent.

COL. CASEY WARDYNSKI, ARMY: We've had about two million sign up the game, about 1.3 million have finished playing through the basic training part of the game. That equals about 23-man hours of game plan and a cost basis, that's pennies per hour, of exposure to young Americans as opposed to what it would cost through dollars for other media.

SIEBERG: The game is free whether as download or as a CD-ROM and in addition to combat drills developers have incorporated basic training, marksmanship and life-saving techniques which, fortunately we didn't have to use on this trip.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Well, there were no serious injuries to report, but I can tell you body armor can be awfully hot. In case you're wondering the new version releases November 6. And parents, if you're worried about the violence of the game, there are controls that let you reign in the amount of bloodshed.

Now speaking of games, later in our program, we'll go one-on-one to mark the beginning of the NBA season. Also ahead, how can radar make a better glass of wine?

And who knows what dangers lurk in the kitchen sponge. Dr. Germ knows. He'll let you if on the secret as NEXT@CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNICAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back. If you've ever been to Singapore you may have spent some time on the beach there, but what you may not have known is that much of Singapore's coast comes from another country, as Atika Shubert explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been decades since Singapore went from colonial backwater to financial power, but if it's to maintain economic growth this tiny city/state requires physical expansion. Its towering buildings constructed on landfill. Its sandy beaches have been shoveled out from the ocean floor.

TOMMY KOH, SINGAPORE'S ROVING AMBASSADOR: Shenton Way, our financial center, is reclaimed from the sea. China in part is reclaimed from the sea (PH), so we have no choice but to reclaim land from the sea to accommodate growth.

SHUBERT: In fact, Singapore's landmass has expanded by more than 10 percent in the last two decades.

(on camera): Hard to believe, but this used to be Singapore's coastline, hundreds of boats used to line up along the beach here, and this temple was especially designed for sailors to moor their boats nearby and then offer their prayers for a safe journey home. (voice-over): Temples that now run up against skyscraper instead of ocean. Officials from Singapore's Ministry of National Development took us to see one of its reclamation projects. They showed us how sand is dredge from the ocean, redeposited and walled with granite to create whole new islands. But, Singapore doesn't have enough sand itself.

CHEONG KOON HEAN, MIN. OF NATL. DEVELOPMENT: This is really no different from any development project whereby you get a contractor and he source for the building materials to delivers the project to you. So, the contractor will source for the sand commercially.

SHUBERT: And the source of that sand is usually Indonesia, which has the cheapest sand in Asia. But, Singapore's appetite is literally eating away at its neighbors. Some estimates say more than 300 million cubic tons of Indonesia sand are scooped out each year, eroding away several small islands. Environmentalists are up in arms. Indonesian lawmakers worry that Maritime borders will recede as islands disappear. So, who's to blame, buyers or sellers?

SARWONO KUSUMAATHADJA, ADVISER TO INDONESIA'S MARITIME MINISTRY: It's only as worse, stupid enough to sell it so cheaply to Singapore.

Oh, I would say greed, ignorance plays a part and then also, this illusion of thinking that our resources are inexhaustible.

SHUBERT: Indonesia's attempts to suspend sand mining have been undermined by the country's weak government and notorious corruption. But, Indonesia's loss is Singapore's gain. It's public housing and lush green parks are now built largely on Indonesian sand. It seems, Singapore's demand for land is simply too lucrative for its neighbors to ignore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, back in the United States, grapes and geophysics are combined to produce a better bottle of wine. Natalie Pawelski reports on a scientific tool for classier cabernets and more winsome whites.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN HUBBARD, HYDROGEOPHYSICIST, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA: This is a transmitting antenna it sends an electro magnetic signal into the ground.

NATALIE PAWELSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ground penetrating radar or GPR, probably not the first item that comes to mind in the creation of fine wine. But, this technology can help winemakers with the centuries old dilemma -- just how much should they water the vines and exactly when should they pick the grapes.

HUBBARD: So, we have a transmit that sends a wave in, we have a receiver that collects that signal and by understanding the velocity of that wave we relate that, quite accurately to soil moisture content. PAWELSKI: It's the same principle as GPR used in combat, but instead of moisture, the military can use the electromagnetic waves to locate buried weapons, equipment, even bodies. This portable device developed at the University of California at Berkley, takes a soil moisture measurement every five centimeters. After the data is analyzed, it can help winemakers practice precision viticulture, in other words, deciding how much to irrigate, and when, row by row, even vine by vine.

DANIEL BOSCH, MONDAVI WINERY: What we're trying to do with precision viticulture is to farm each area so it can produce the best wine. Some of it is to plant the vineyard differently. Some of it is to irrigate one area, but not another. Another one is to have a cover crop in one spot.

PAWELSKI (on camera): Ground Penetrating Radar can also be used to help scope out the best soil conditions for planting new vineyards. Cabernet, other red wine grapes do best in drier soils, while chardonnay and other white wine grapes thrive in moister soils.

(voice-over): Scientists are refining the technology at the Robert Mondavi and Dellinger Winery in California.

HUBBARD: What needs to happen is a real technology transfer so that we can take the equipment ha we've been using it hook it up to the back of a tracker, put our GPS and our computer in the front of the tractor and have it just go up and down the vineyards and automatically read out soil moisture. I would say that's another three years away.

POWELSKI: This tool could also decrease both pesticide and water use, important in drought-ridden areas. But better yet, says a veteran winemaker, Daniel Bosch:

BOSCH: I do think you'll see better wine as this technology starts to be used more and more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead: Are your tax dollars, meant to help farmers, going to big business instead?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA MACHT, MANAGING EDITOR, TIME.COM: Once you have Wi-Fi, set up through your laptop, you're going to want to know where to connect to the internet and spots you can are known as Hotspots. A Hotspot is a place where there's a wireless antenna that allows multiple people to go online to the web for high speed access.

You can go online find where the spots are, sometimes they're just in coffee shops, or hotels, they can be just about anywhere. When you set it up in your home, your home actually becomes a Hotspot. The number of Wi-Fi Hotspot is probably going to start to grow exponentially.

What you're going to see more and more is a reliable nationwide, worldwide network.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: A little more than more than two years after the September 11th attacks, the construction and emergency workers at Ground Zero still suffer health problems. Doctors told a congressional panel, this week, that many of these workers are in dire straits medically and financially. Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): David Rapp used to be a construction worker who could carry heavy steel beams for blocks at a time. Now, he carries an oxygen inhaler just to be sure to walk a few blocks.

DAVID RAPP, CONSTRUCTION WORKER: My life has totally changed. I've -- my life is totally, totally different.

CARROLL: Doctors diagnosed Rapp with severe asthma, a condition he says he developed after working at Ground Zero.

RAPP: When I inhale, I can feel the outlines of my lungs. I know there's a lot of contaminants in my longs and my airways, and I was breathing a lot of stuff in down there.

CARROLL: Health officials say Rapp is one of 8,000, 9/11 first responders suffering ill effects from working in and around Ground Zero. Some, like Rapp, workers comp cover the cost of care. But, many others insurance has run out. Doctors, like Steven Levin say, financial assistance from the federal level has been slow.

DR. STEVEN LEVIN, WTC VOLUNTEER SCREENING: The federal government has the resources and yet fails to come up with a comprehensive plan to make sure the people get cared for. I think that's an outrage.

CARROLL: Dr. Leaven, Rapp and others voice their concerns during a congressional hearing held in New York.

JIMMY WILLIS, TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION: Those of us who responded to Ground Zero are in crisis. The response to that crisis, on a state and federal level, has been sorely lacking.

CARROLL: The hearing, focused on why 90 million federal dollars for screening and treating 9/11-related illnesses hasn't gotten to many who need it.

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: The money's been sitting there for well over six months. Why hasn't it gotten out of Washington and into the hands of the people that are providing the services for the sick first responders?

DAINE PORTER, NATL. INST FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH: This is a new and unique experience that we're going through. There has not been a long-term medical monitoring program set up like this in the country ever before. And we are wanting to ensure that it is as comprehensive, that it reaches as many workers as possible.

CARROLL: Federal environmental officials say that the funding should be released to help care officials by March of next year. But, they also admit that's for short-term health effects. The millions more needed to treat possible long-term health effects has yet to be allocated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: While that congressional hearing was going on in New York, senators in Washington were confirming the new head of the Environmental Protect Agency. The vote was 88-8 to confirm Utah governor Mike Leavitt as EPA chief. The eight nays were all democrats including California Senator Barbara Boxer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: We need an EPA administrator with guts and strength and the ability to stand up and say, he's going to fight for the environment. The fact that he did not answer a number of my questions tells me that I'm afraid that in the room when they're debating these issues, that Mike Leavitt will be a full team player with the Bush administration and not a team player for the health of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: Utah Senator Orrin Hatch objected to criticisms other senators leveled against Leavitt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: Utah's one of the cleanest states in the nation, and in large part due to Governor Michael Leavitt. So, you can imagine my surprise when one of my colleagues comes to the senate floor to call Utah one of the biggest polluters and to blame our governor for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Leavitt will take office November 6.

You know, in the last eight years, the United States has handed out $114 billion in farm subsidies. You might think that small family farms got most of that money. But, CNN's Lisa Sylvester has the true story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Small family farms have been struggling to stay afloat in the last decade. They've looked to the government for help, but it's the agribusinesses and corporations that have collected the most. Since 1995, 10 percent of the largest American farms collected 71 percent of all farm subsidies according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

TOM SCHATZ, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: Farm subsidies represent one of the most egregious wastes of tax dollars in Washington. They're inequitably distributed; they cost a lot of money.

SYLVESTER: The Fortune 500 companies raking in the most include: the Archer Daniels Midland Corporation, and some unexpected names, Chevron, John Handcock Mutual Life Insurance, DuPont and Caterpillar. American consumers get hit twice. It's their tax dollars paying for these subsidies and subsidizing large agribusinesses means American families pay more for products like corn, rice, wheat, and sugar. And, U.S. agricultural policy is not winning friends overseas. The World Trade Organization talks stalled over the issue in September. Developing countries say the U.S. Subsidies drive down global prices, shutting them out of their own markets.

CLYDE PRESTOWITZ, ECONOMIC STRATEGY: Yes, Mexican farmers can't make a living in Mexico, raising corn or sugar or whatever their product is, the easy alternative for them is to come north of the border and become illegal immigrants.

SYLVESTER: But, farm groups insist the subsidies are needed because without them, there would not be a level playing feel between the United States and other developed nations.

MARY KAY THATCHER, AMER. FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: It would be political suicide to unilateral disarm and let everybody else go ahead and have their subsidies or their high tariff rates because we wouldn't pick up any more places to export our goods and yet, we'd open ourselves up to a lot more imports coming into this country.

SYLVESTER (on camera): Small family farmers say the subsidies are hurting them-they've watched their share of the subsidy pie shrink in the last few years, at the same time large agribusiness have been gobbling up more of their small farms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead on NEXT@CNN: Ever dream of shooting hoops with your favorite NBA star? Well, now you can square up with the likes of LeBron and Shaq. We'll show you how, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: Well, the NBA kicked off its regular season this week and -- you know, there was a lot of off-season speculation about some of the big rookie sensations: LeBron James, Carmello Anthony, among them. Not us. We're not -- none -- we are not NBA stars in the making, here. But, Chris Morris from "CNN Money" joins us to talk about some of the new basketball games that are out there. If it's not enough for you to watch on it on TV, you can always play on your virtual hard court.

Chris, let's jump right in with Sega's ESPN. What's different about it this year? Gone is 2K4, I guess. Right? CHRIS MORRIS, "CNN MONEY": Right, well the big thing that's gone is the name, it's ESPN NBA Basketball, instead of NBA 2k4, as you said. The big change this year is actually a new mode which is called "24/7," that's going to let you actually take your proplayers and put them on the street, taking on some of the EA's line that they had, the NBA Jam Line.

SIEBERG: Now, I think our combined vertical leap is about is probably about five inches, so everyone's going to have to forgive us while we're playing, here. But now, is this available on line? Because, that's a big talk with console games, that you can play with someone else online.

MORRIS: It's available online for both the PS2 and for the Xbox, right now. They're playing up the PS2 angle, a little bit more, but you can play it on either.

SIEBERG: All right, I don't know if we managed to any sort of amazing moves in this one.

MORRIS: No when a Canadian and a 5'8" guy start playing basketball, it's I not pretty sight.

SIEBERG: Exactly right, I did play the Toronto Raptors just to be a little bit -- you know have my Canadian allegiance, here.

All right, let's move on to Xbox. That was on the PS2, now we're going to be playing, I guess veteran, we should say, with EA and the NBA Live 2004.

MORRIS: Right. Ten years in the making, actually. This is the tenth one of these that have come out so far. This is one of the best-selling games that's out there. 18 million sold over the course of the game's history 1.4 million sold last year.

SIEBERG: Oh! Off the rim. All right. So, now what makes them stand out, Chris? Why are they a better deal?

MORRIS: Well, it's -- part it is just the EA mastery of the sports line. They have been doing some of the best sports game for a long time. This also has a mode called "Freestyle" which will let you juke and jive a little bit more than some of the other games out there.

SIEBERG: OK. Well, lets move on from this, then we're going break away from this gamers dream of the big board here, and talk about -- let's talk about Sony's own offering, a 989 Sports. How are they trying to compete amongst these other big names?

MORRIS: It's -- they have actually been improving this series over the past couple of years. 989 is an internal studio Sony owns. It's playable only on the PS2, and you can also pull out some of the greats from the past. You can bring out Wilt Chamberlain, you can unlock Magic Johnson, player that a lot of people who maybe don't keep up with it today, are still going to know.

SIEBERG: OK, and it's only going to be for PS2s, though. Is it out -- is it out yet, or is it coming out?

MORRIS: Right. No that one is -- just came out, actually on Wednesday.

SIEBERG: On Wednesday, all right.

And now we're going to move -- again we're talking about Microsoft with its Xbox and they put out their XSN service to play online and they've now got their latest game. Is it out now?

MORRIS: Its not out now.

SIEBERG: OK.

MORRIS: It's not out now. This -- that one is not going to be out until mid-November, it's called "NBA Inside Drive." It's a -- it's third year, they've also been sort of making rapid progress on this. It has not been a huge seller for them so far, but the XSN is going to be a big draw. That will let you play online against your buddies and also will let you sort of scout out the people you're playing against, see if they're any good.

SIEBERG: All right, well we may have struggled a bit with our play here, but Chris and the slam dunk. Slam dunk with analysis.

MORRIS: Thank you.

SIEBERG: All right, Chris Morris from "CNN Money" thanks so much for joining us.

MORRIS: Sure.

ANNOUNCER: Still to come: Jeanne Moos flushes out the secret life of germs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: If you sterilize your toothbrush and, yes, apparently there are people who do that, you'll have a friend in the subject of our next report. Jeanne Moos introduces us to Dr. Germ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's a quiz where a dirty mind helps, which is the dirtiest item in a house? Is it the toilet bowl, the kitchen sponge, the garbage can, the toothbrush? Forget the porno magazines.

DR. PHILIP TIERNO, NYU MEDICAL CENTER: The dirtiest of all thing bar none, is the dishrag and the sponge.

(SCREAM)

MOOS: Scream all you want, but it won't protect you from the germs lurking in your kitchen.

TIERNO: It's worse than the bathroom, because here is where you have all of your road kill. You have your chickens, your steaks.

MOOS: According to a new study sponsored by Brillo, almost half of the people surveyed use the same sponge to wipe the cutting board, the counters, even the dishes. We called the Dr. Philip Tierno "Dr. Germ" because he wrote the book.

TIERNO: "The Secret Life of Germs."

MOOS: Dr. Tierno likes to demonstrate how germs are spread by using a substance you can see under a black light to mimic the way a sponge disperses microorganisms, and watch out for the drain.

TIERNO: It is loaded with bacteria.

MOOS: How often should you change your household sponge? Once a month, every three months, every week or two, when it's so filthy you can't determine its original color? The answer is, every week or two. Dr. Tierno keeps a bowl of disinfectant in his sink.

TIERNO: One ounce of Clorox in about a quart of water. Leave it here, I dip my sponge in.

MOOS: Just when you thought it was safe to go into the bathroom, beware of the flush.

TIERNO: The water aerosolizes up to 20 feet from the point -- the center of that flush.

MOOS: So, shut the lid because who knows where those germy droplets will land which brings us to the next question. How often should you sanitize your toothbrush? Sanitize my what? Once a day, once a week, once a month? Dr. Germ says, rinse it with mouth wash or peroxide every day.

(on camera): Come one, we're not getting sick, we live like this, these people in this apartment aren't getting sick -- the people who live here...

TIERNO: Not true.

MOOS: What the problem.

TIERNO: Not true.

MOOS (voice-over): Dr. Germ say when you get a case of the runs it might be your sponge that has you running. He recommends emptying your vacuum cleaner bag once a month so the motor doesn't spew debris and 28 percent of the those surveys say they don't empty until the vacuum malfunction.

Somehow I almost liked it better when the secret life of germs was kept a secret. Now I feel like the sponge is squeezing me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: All right. We've got to close the lid on this week's show, and you know, I think I might even go sanitize my toothbrush, later. But, before I go, here's a look at what's coming up next week.

New research shows we may be sharing our pharmaceuticals with fish, everything from Prozac to Birth Control pills is ending up in sewers and downstream in rivers. We'll tell you what all those chemicals are doing the fish. That's coming up on NEXT.

Until then, let us hear from you. You can e-mail us at next@cnn.com, and we love getting your e-mails. Also, don't forget to check out our website, that's at cnn.com/next.

Thanks so much for joining us this week, for all of us in the Sci-tech beat, I'm Daniel Sieberg, see you NEXT time.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





Material Found In Baby Diapers; >


Aired November 1, 2003 - 15:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everybody. I'm Daniel Sieberg. Today on NEXT@CNN, it's been a week of deadly fires in southern California. We'll tell you how some buildings have been saved from flames thanks to the stuff in baby diapers.
Find out what it takes to make America's army. No, not the real one, but the latest military video game. Uncle Sam wants you to play.

What does your kitchen have in common with a horror movie? Jeanne Moos develops into the secret life of germs. All that and more on Next.

You've probably seen the huge walls of flame, piles of charred woods, billows of smoke from this week's devastating wildfires in southern California. You may not have seen the fire lines from a firefighter's point of view. Jeff flock took a walk on the wildfire line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF FLOCK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Walking the blazing fire lines with Nick Rich is like going to fire school.

NICK RICH, FIREFIGHTER: Fire's going to run uphill.

FLOCK: He knows where it's been and why. Rich has been a firefighter, fire chief, paramedic, medevac pilot.

RICH: These are just the leaves that were on the ground and they burnt pretty quick.

FLOCK: He notices things. The chopper doing infrared mapping of the mountainside for hot spots, the ground squirrel forced up out of his burrow by the heat, the old growth tree turned into a chimney by the ground fire.

RICH: The roots caught fire. Now it's starting to burn up through the center of the tree. If you follow the burn pattern all the way up the tree, it's actually venting up top.

FLOCK: Rich marks the weakened tree with tape called killer tree to alert fire crews it could fall on them.

RICH: The problem we have here, is we have very limited access in this canyon. FLOCK: Standing on scorched earth, Rich explains how instead of attacking the flames here, firefighters earlier built this backfire down the mountain to burn the fuel in the path of the blaze and choke off the main fire.

RICH: If it came in here and got into the trees, the fire's now crowned, then it's really harder for them to fight at that point.

FLOCK: In his eyes, with a little help from diminished Santa Ana winds, this battle with nature has gone better than it could have so far.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Well, that was an up close look. Now, David Mattingly gives us an aerial view of the biggest of the blazes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secured in its place in history is the largest brushfire ever in California. The enormity of the Cedar Fire in San Diego County can only be appreciated from above.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: Everywhere, everywhere I look is burned.

MATTINGLY: Our guide across the charred landscape is veteran San Diego pilot Ivar Shier (ph), who takes us to the remote area where the Cedar Fire is believed to have gotten its spark. Possibly as a signal fire started by a hunter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These people didn't have a chance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. But the winds kicking it -- kicking it up and the heavy growth, you can see the cause of the effect.

MATTINGLY: In the country side these houses were the first of more than a thousand to go as flames raced with Santa Ana winds. For miles signs of fierce firefighting and small victories. Orange flame retardant stains a hillside where the fire was stopped cold. But there were some big victories, as well. This entire neighborhood was spared because of precautions taken by homeowners.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You notice how the properties, they have all of the brush cleared away from the edge of their homes. These people are used to the danger of fire out here.

MATTINGLY: But it's the devastation that produces the most powerful images. Above Scripps Ranch (ph) where several died in and fire destroyed 180 homes Sunday. We see entire streets and cul-de- sacs leveled. Only chimneys standing in the first rays of sunshine since the fire raced through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: So, what can homeowners do for protection from a rushing wildfire? Get some help from diapers. John Kelly of CNN affiliate WPBF-TV explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KELLY, WPBF-TV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The days when Bill Bartlet helped his son's company by filling, packaging and filling each container by hand aren't far removed. Finally, expensive machinery gives tired hands a break and speeds up the whole process just in time. California homes need protection fast. Few of the people living there know this protective gel even exists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the next day.

KELLY: What isn't shipped tonight...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is air.

KELLY: ...will go out in the coming days.

John Bartlet and his crew are getting 1200 jugs of barricade fire blocking gel ready for the next day's shipment. What is this stuff? As they say at Barricade, the invention came from the bottom up.

KELLY (on camera): Bartlet's idea came to him ten years ago fighting a trash fire. He noticed that one of the only things that didn't burn, is the inside of a diaper. It's super absorbant gel that every diaper has. And absorbs so much water that it doesn't burn.

UNIDENTIIFED MALE: It's a simple system. We have engineered it to be user friendly. You use a regular garden hose.

KELLY (voice-over): Simply spray it on your house. It's not foam, it's gel. The protected side with barricade covering it is hardly phased. The blend of chemicals can withstand temperatures up to 2000 degree fahrenheit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want it to appear like a magic trick. You're seeing real science here.

KELLY: Firefighters in Montana who use Barricade to save 200 homes during wildfires 2 years ago say they're ready to help in California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be safe.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye.

KELLY: Some 30,000 homes remain threatened by the fires, an idea sparked by an unburned diper in Florida could still protect hundreds of houses thousands of miles away.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: With the devastating fires in California, demand for a fire blocking gel has risen sharply. Fire departments are investing in it and many homeowners are purchasing do it yourself kits to spray the goo on with regular garden hose. Joining me is John Bartlet. He is the founder of Barricade International, one of the companies that makes this particular fire gel.

John, let's go over how you came up with this idea, first of all. You were a professional firefighter yourself and came across a diaper that hadn't been burned.

JOHN BARTLET, BARRICADE INTERNATIONAL: We realized very quickly that it was because the diaper could hold so much water, that's the characteristic that kept it from burning that day in that trash fire. And that's the same characteristic that we now have in our barricade gel product. As you can see, the gel portion of the diaper simply will not burn at all.

SIEBERG: It's not hurting your hand, as well. You can't feel any heat in.

BARTLET: No, not at all. This is the portion of the diaper that soaks up so much water. As you can see p., it's a gel similar to the gel that we're now using to save homes in California.

SIEBERG: Let's talk about that. A lot of homeownerers are purchasing this type of product. You've got there with you, the type of dispenser you would use. How easy is it for people to do?

BARTLET: It's very easy. It simply hooks up to a garden hose a homeowner can apply this well in advance, well before the fire gets there and threatens their home. They can put this on two, three days in advance, if necessary. Then it's important that they they know to evacuate to a place of safety when the fire officials tell them it's time to leave the area.

But they can do this proactively. They can put this coating on their house and we were happy to report that we've had homeowners call us, they've come back into their neighborhoods after the fires have gone through, many hopes in their neighorbood had burned, but the homes that they had coated with the Barricade gel were still standing.

SIEBERG: You know, we'd just like mention that Barricade is not the only maker of fire blocking gel. Thermotechnologies, BASS Chem Dow Corporation, and a company called No Char all manufacture similar fire retardant gels.

Well, a different kind of fire coming up on NEXT@CNN. A flare from the sun sends shockwaves to earth. We'll tell you about some of the consequences.

We'll also tell you why some U.S. intelligence agencies are worried about China's recent manned space launch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: A new crew is in place on the International Spacestation and the old crew is back on Earth. Russian and American space agencies breathed a collective sigh of relief as rescue helicopters spotted the parachute of the Russian Soyuz carrying the crew over the frigid fields of Kazakhstan.

Back in May the previous crew missed its landing spot by 300 miles, but this time, it was a perfect landing. The Russian cosmonaut and American astronaut had been manning the station since May. The were accompanied by a memeber of the European space agency that had only been in space for ten days.

But China is also celebrating a successful spaceflight. Thousands turned out this week to look at the spacecraft and the suit that carried the first Chinese tyconaught into space this month. China plans to make its next attempt at human spaceflight in 2004.

Not everyone is happy about China joining the space race. Military officials at the Pentagon see it in a different light. David Ensor has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Chinese launch of a manned spacecraft sent a chill down spines at the Pentagon and in U.S. intelligence. Surveillance camera on the orbital module that remains in space will watch targets on Earth, U.S. officials say, the next six to eight months.

RICHARD HAVER, FRM. PENTAGON INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: The Chinese are telling us they're there. And I think if we ever wind up in a confrontation again with any one of the major powers who has space capability we will find space is a battleground.

LT. GEN. EDWARD ANDERSON, DEP. CMDR.: They can see one of the ways that they can certainly diminish our capabilities will be to attack the space systems. How they do that, who that's going to be, I can't tell you in this audience.

ENSOR: It wouldn't necessarily be China. Any nation with a medium ranged missile might be able to knock a satellite out of low Earth orbit. U.S. vulnerability is real.

Telephones to television to bank transfers, the American economy relies heavily on space satellites and they gave the U.S. military and intelligence a critical technological edge. Both in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

KEITH HALL, BOOZ ALLEN: Steps have been taken to protect our satellites. We'll be doing more of that in the future. This is not something we haven't worried about.

ENSOR: On a converted 747, and in laboratories, scientists are experimenting with laser weapons that could one day be deployed to protect satellites against incoming missiles.

(on camera): There even is talk of one day protecting space satellites and installations with bodyguards in the form of rapid launch military spacecraft. (voice-over): Weapons in space? Critics argue that war games conducted by the U.S. Air Force show they could make Americans less safe, not more.

THERESA HITCHENS, DEFENSE INFORMATION: What they found, in the last three, is that every time someone used a space weapon to take out another person's satellite all of a sudden you had nuclear war, very quickly, because the commanders on the other side, people who lose their space assets and can't see have to assume the worst.

ENSOR: But as more satellites are launched each year, the nation's dependness on them grows. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, for one, is a strong advocate of putting weapons in space to defend them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Japanese satellite could have used a defense mechanism. It was attacked, not by a man made rocket, but by the sun. The huge solar flare disrupted the Earth's magnetic field Wednesday causing the satellite to malfunction with other minor communications and power grid problems around the globe.

On the bright side the space storm also caused the northern lighted to glow in some not so northern places. Check out these pictures taken as far south as Oklahoma.

And speaking of cool cosmic events next Saturday those of us on the eastern half of North America will be plunged into total darkness. The moon will hide in the Earth's shadow for a total lunar eclipse, peaking at 8:18 pm Eastern Standard Time. Astronomer's say, keep an eye out for the reddish color of the moon caused by the Earth's atmosphere acting ike a lens?

ANNOUNCER: Still to come, how the grown nation of Singapore is shrinking neighboring Indonesia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWS BREAK)

DANIE SIEBERG: Well, I recently spent some time with the U.S. Army. No, I didn't sign up. My mission was to get the scoop on the latest official miliatry videogame. It turns out, it was the closest I've ever come to a combat zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Once the first door is blown to pieces and the bullets start flying, we quickly realized that this isn't a routine video game development session. The military invited CNN to a site another Mt. McClellan Alabama to witness firsthand what went into creating the latest America's army video game.

MAJ RANDY ZEEGERS, U.S. ARMY SPECIAL FORCES: It's very realistic, to a point where they even capture the breathing when shooting.

SIEBERG: The army considers the game to be the tip of the recruiting spear, a virtual basic training.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, soldier.

CHRISTOPHER CHAMBERS, DEPUTY GAME DIRECTOR: It's meant to be an awareness tool. It's meant to connect with Americans that have not been exposed to other direct interactions with the military or army in specific.

SIEBERG: We prepare for our direct interaction with the military by strapping on heavy body armor and bulletproof helmets. Sergeant First Class John Nettles describes the weapons of choice for the training mission.

SFC. JOHN NETTLES, ARMY: Over here, we have a shotgun, a shotgun retainer. What this is used for, we use this to gain entry to interior doors, destroying the locking mechanism that's holding the door shut.

SIEBERG: The mission is to enter and secure a building. We entered the simulation complex, cameras ready, bracing for what was to come and hoping that no one slips. The soldiers are using real explosives and real bullets, and there's no reset button out here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two -- execute. Execute!

SIEBERG (on camera): The newest version of America's army includes special forces operations. To make it as realistic as possible, the developers followed along on simulations including ones with live ammunition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're clear.

SIEBERG (voice-over): As hard as game designers work to immerse users in this military reality, the soldiers say, there's no way a game can re-create the reality of combat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing that the game can't replicate is 104 degree temperature in the mountains, you know in Afghanistan. It can't replicate the dust blowing or much less the 80 pounds of equipment you have your back. Plus the fact you haven't slept for four, five days and bad guys shooting at you for real.

SIEBERG: Those involved in making America's Army are aware of concerns that a video game my glamourize and sugarcoat the dangerous nature of war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are consequences for actions, whether they are positive or negative so we depict those as realistically as we can and within the confines of the teen rating that we have in the game.

SIEBERG: The army also acknowledged that a good virtual soldier will not necessarily be able to make the transition to a real soldier. But they still believe it's money well spent.

COL. CASEY WARDYNSKI, ARMY: We've had about two million sign up the game, about 1.3 million have finished playing through the basic training part of the game. That equals about 23-man hours of game plan and a cost basis, that's pennies per hour, of exposure to young Americans as opposed to what it would cost through dollars for other media.

SIEBERG: The game is free whether as download or as a CD-ROM and in addition to combat drills developers have incorporated basic training, marksmanship and life-saving techniques which, fortunately we didn't have to use on this trip.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Well, there were no serious injuries to report, but I can tell you body armor can be awfully hot. In case you're wondering the new version releases November 6. And parents, if you're worried about the violence of the game, there are controls that let you reign in the amount of bloodshed.

Now speaking of games, later in our program, we'll go one-on-one to mark the beginning of the NBA season. Also ahead, how can radar make a better glass of wine?

And who knows what dangers lurk in the kitchen sponge. Dr. Germ knows. He'll let you if on the secret as NEXT@CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNICAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome back. If you've ever been to Singapore you may have spent some time on the beach there, but what you may not have known is that much of Singapore's coast comes from another country, as Atika Shubert explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been decades since Singapore went from colonial backwater to financial power, but if it's to maintain economic growth this tiny city/state requires physical expansion. Its towering buildings constructed on landfill. Its sandy beaches have been shoveled out from the ocean floor.

TOMMY KOH, SINGAPORE'S ROVING AMBASSADOR: Shenton Way, our financial center, is reclaimed from the sea. China in part is reclaimed from the sea (PH), so we have no choice but to reclaim land from the sea to accommodate growth.

SHUBERT: In fact, Singapore's landmass has expanded by more than 10 percent in the last two decades.

(on camera): Hard to believe, but this used to be Singapore's coastline, hundreds of boats used to line up along the beach here, and this temple was especially designed for sailors to moor their boats nearby and then offer their prayers for a safe journey home. (voice-over): Temples that now run up against skyscraper instead of ocean. Officials from Singapore's Ministry of National Development took us to see one of its reclamation projects. They showed us how sand is dredge from the ocean, redeposited and walled with granite to create whole new islands. But, Singapore doesn't have enough sand itself.

CHEONG KOON HEAN, MIN. OF NATL. DEVELOPMENT: This is really no different from any development project whereby you get a contractor and he source for the building materials to delivers the project to you. So, the contractor will source for the sand commercially.

SHUBERT: And the source of that sand is usually Indonesia, which has the cheapest sand in Asia. But, Singapore's appetite is literally eating away at its neighbors. Some estimates say more than 300 million cubic tons of Indonesia sand are scooped out each year, eroding away several small islands. Environmentalists are up in arms. Indonesian lawmakers worry that Maritime borders will recede as islands disappear. So, who's to blame, buyers or sellers?

SARWONO KUSUMAATHADJA, ADVISER TO INDONESIA'S MARITIME MINISTRY: It's only as worse, stupid enough to sell it so cheaply to Singapore.

Oh, I would say greed, ignorance plays a part and then also, this illusion of thinking that our resources are inexhaustible.

SHUBERT: Indonesia's attempts to suspend sand mining have been undermined by the country's weak government and notorious corruption. But, Indonesia's loss is Singapore's gain. It's public housing and lush green parks are now built largely on Indonesian sand. It seems, Singapore's demand for land is simply too lucrative for its neighbors to ignore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, back in the United States, grapes and geophysics are combined to produce a better bottle of wine. Natalie Pawelski reports on a scientific tool for classier cabernets and more winsome whites.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN HUBBARD, HYDROGEOPHYSICIST, UNIV. OF CALIFORNIA: This is a transmitting antenna it sends an electro magnetic signal into the ground.

NATALIE PAWELSKI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ground penetrating radar or GPR, probably not the first item that comes to mind in the creation of fine wine. But, this technology can help winemakers with the centuries old dilemma -- just how much should they water the vines and exactly when should they pick the grapes.

HUBBARD: So, we have a transmit that sends a wave in, we have a receiver that collects that signal and by understanding the velocity of that wave we relate that, quite accurately to soil moisture content. PAWELSKI: It's the same principle as GPR used in combat, but instead of moisture, the military can use the electromagnetic waves to locate buried weapons, equipment, even bodies. This portable device developed at the University of California at Berkley, takes a soil moisture measurement every five centimeters. After the data is analyzed, it can help winemakers practice precision viticulture, in other words, deciding how much to irrigate, and when, row by row, even vine by vine.

DANIEL BOSCH, MONDAVI WINERY: What we're trying to do with precision viticulture is to farm each area so it can produce the best wine. Some of it is to plant the vineyard differently. Some of it is to irrigate one area, but not another. Another one is to have a cover crop in one spot.

PAWELSKI (on camera): Ground Penetrating Radar can also be used to help scope out the best soil conditions for planting new vineyards. Cabernet, other red wine grapes do best in drier soils, while chardonnay and other white wine grapes thrive in moister soils.

(voice-over): Scientists are refining the technology at the Robert Mondavi and Dellinger Winery in California.

HUBBARD: What needs to happen is a real technology transfer so that we can take the equipment ha we've been using it hook it up to the back of a tracker, put our GPS and our computer in the front of the tractor and have it just go up and down the vineyards and automatically read out soil moisture. I would say that's another three years away.

POWELSKI: This tool could also decrease both pesticide and water use, important in drought-ridden areas. But better yet, says a veteran winemaker, Daniel Bosch:

BOSCH: I do think you'll see better wine as this technology starts to be used more and more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead: Are your tax dollars, meant to help farmers, going to big business instead?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSHUA MACHT, MANAGING EDITOR, TIME.COM: Once you have Wi-Fi, set up through your laptop, you're going to want to know where to connect to the internet and spots you can are known as Hotspots. A Hotspot is a place where there's a wireless antenna that allows multiple people to go online to the web for high speed access.

You can go online find where the spots are, sometimes they're just in coffee shops, or hotels, they can be just about anywhere. When you set it up in your home, your home actually becomes a Hotspot. The number of Wi-Fi Hotspot is probably going to start to grow exponentially.

What you're going to see more and more is a reliable nationwide, worldwide network.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: A little more than more than two years after the September 11th attacks, the construction and emergency workers at Ground Zero still suffer health problems. Doctors told a congressional panel, this week, that many of these workers are in dire straits medically and financially. Jason Carroll has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): David Rapp used to be a construction worker who could carry heavy steel beams for blocks at a time. Now, he carries an oxygen inhaler just to be sure to walk a few blocks.

DAVID RAPP, CONSTRUCTION WORKER: My life has totally changed. I've -- my life is totally, totally different.

CARROLL: Doctors diagnosed Rapp with severe asthma, a condition he says he developed after working at Ground Zero.

RAPP: When I inhale, I can feel the outlines of my lungs. I know there's a lot of contaminants in my longs and my airways, and I was breathing a lot of stuff in down there.

CARROLL: Health officials say Rapp is one of 8,000, 9/11 first responders suffering ill effects from working in and around Ground Zero. Some, like Rapp, workers comp cover the cost of care. But, many others insurance has run out. Doctors, like Steven Levin say, financial assistance from the federal level has been slow.

DR. STEVEN LEVIN, WTC VOLUNTEER SCREENING: The federal government has the resources and yet fails to come up with a comprehensive plan to make sure the people get cared for. I think that's an outrage.

CARROLL: Dr. Leaven, Rapp and others voice their concerns during a congressional hearing held in New York.

JIMMY WILLIS, TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION: Those of us who responded to Ground Zero are in crisis. The response to that crisis, on a state and federal level, has been sorely lacking.

CARROLL: The hearing, focused on why 90 million federal dollars for screening and treating 9/11-related illnesses hasn't gotten to many who need it.

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: The money's been sitting there for well over six months. Why hasn't it gotten out of Washington and into the hands of the people that are providing the services for the sick first responders?

DAINE PORTER, NATL. INST FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH: This is a new and unique experience that we're going through. There has not been a long-term medical monitoring program set up like this in the country ever before. And we are wanting to ensure that it is as comprehensive, that it reaches as many workers as possible.

CARROLL: Federal environmental officials say that the funding should be released to help care officials by March of next year. But, they also admit that's for short-term health effects. The millions more needed to treat possible long-term health effects has yet to be allocated.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: While that congressional hearing was going on in New York, senators in Washington were confirming the new head of the Environmental Protect Agency. The vote was 88-8 to confirm Utah governor Mike Leavitt as EPA chief. The eight nays were all democrats including California Senator Barbara Boxer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: We need an EPA administrator with guts and strength and the ability to stand up and say, he's going to fight for the environment. The fact that he did not answer a number of my questions tells me that I'm afraid that in the room when they're debating these issues, that Mike Leavitt will be a full team player with the Bush administration and not a team player for the health of the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: Utah Senator Orrin Hatch objected to criticisms other senators leveled against Leavitt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: Utah's one of the cleanest states in the nation, and in large part due to Governor Michael Leavitt. So, you can imagine my surprise when one of my colleagues comes to the senate floor to call Utah one of the biggest polluters and to blame our governor for it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: Leavitt will take office November 6.

You know, in the last eight years, the United States has handed out $114 billion in farm subsidies. You might think that small family farms got most of that money. But, CNN's Lisa Sylvester has the true story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Small family farms have been struggling to stay afloat in the last decade. They've looked to the government for help, but it's the agribusinesses and corporations that have collected the most. Since 1995, 10 percent of the largest American farms collected 71 percent of all farm subsidies according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

TOM SCHATZ, CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE: Farm subsidies represent one of the most egregious wastes of tax dollars in Washington. They're inequitably distributed; they cost a lot of money.

SYLVESTER: The Fortune 500 companies raking in the most include: the Archer Daniels Midland Corporation, and some unexpected names, Chevron, John Handcock Mutual Life Insurance, DuPont and Caterpillar. American consumers get hit twice. It's their tax dollars paying for these subsidies and subsidizing large agribusinesses means American families pay more for products like corn, rice, wheat, and sugar. And, U.S. agricultural policy is not winning friends overseas. The World Trade Organization talks stalled over the issue in September. Developing countries say the U.S. Subsidies drive down global prices, shutting them out of their own markets.

CLYDE PRESTOWITZ, ECONOMIC STRATEGY: Yes, Mexican farmers can't make a living in Mexico, raising corn or sugar or whatever their product is, the easy alternative for them is to come north of the border and become illegal immigrants.

SYLVESTER: But, farm groups insist the subsidies are needed because without them, there would not be a level playing feel between the United States and other developed nations.

MARY KAY THATCHER, AMER. FARM BUREAU FEDERATION: It would be political suicide to unilateral disarm and let everybody else go ahead and have their subsidies or their high tariff rates because we wouldn't pick up any more places to export our goods and yet, we'd open ourselves up to a lot more imports coming into this country.

SYLVESTER (on camera): Small family farmers say the subsidies are hurting them-they've watched their share of the subsidy pie shrink in the last few years, at the same time large agribusiness have been gobbling up more of their small farms.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: Just ahead on NEXT@CNN: Ever dream of shooting hoops with your favorite NBA star? Well, now you can square up with the likes of LeBron and Shaq. We'll show you how, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: Well, the NBA kicked off its regular season this week and -- you know, there was a lot of off-season speculation about some of the big rookie sensations: LeBron James, Carmello Anthony, among them. Not us. We're not -- none -- we are not NBA stars in the making, here. But, Chris Morris from "CNN Money" joins us to talk about some of the new basketball games that are out there. If it's not enough for you to watch on it on TV, you can always play on your virtual hard court.

Chris, let's jump right in with Sega's ESPN. What's different about it this year? Gone is 2K4, I guess. Right? CHRIS MORRIS, "CNN MONEY": Right, well the big thing that's gone is the name, it's ESPN NBA Basketball, instead of NBA 2k4, as you said. The big change this year is actually a new mode which is called "24/7," that's going to let you actually take your proplayers and put them on the street, taking on some of the EA's line that they had, the NBA Jam Line.

SIEBERG: Now, I think our combined vertical leap is about is probably about five inches, so everyone's going to have to forgive us while we're playing, here. But now, is this available on line? Because, that's a big talk with console games, that you can play with someone else online.

MORRIS: It's available online for both the PS2 and for the Xbox, right now. They're playing up the PS2 angle, a little bit more, but you can play it on either.

SIEBERG: All right, I don't know if we managed to any sort of amazing moves in this one.

MORRIS: No when a Canadian and a 5'8" guy start playing basketball, it's I not pretty sight.

SIEBERG: Exactly right, I did play the Toronto Raptors just to be a little bit -- you know have my Canadian allegiance, here.

All right, let's move on to Xbox. That was on the PS2, now we're going to be playing, I guess veteran, we should say, with EA and the NBA Live 2004.

MORRIS: Right. Ten years in the making, actually. This is the tenth one of these that have come out so far. This is one of the best-selling games that's out there. 18 million sold over the course of the game's history 1.4 million sold last year.

SIEBERG: Oh! Off the rim. All right. So, now what makes them stand out, Chris? Why are they a better deal?

MORRIS: Well, it's -- part it is just the EA mastery of the sports line. They have been doing some of the best sports game for a long time. This also has a mode called "Freestyle" which will let you juke and jive a little bit more than some of the other games out there.

SIEBERG: OK. Well, lets move on from this, then we're going break away from this gamers dream of the big board here, and talk about -- let's talk about Sony's own offering, a 989 Sports. How are they trying to compete amongst these other big names?

MORRIS: It's -- they have actually been improving this series over the past couple of years. 989 is an internal studio Sony owns. It's playable only on the PS2, and you can also pull out some of the greats from the past. You can bring out Wilt Chamberlain, you can unlock Magic Johnson, player that a lot of people who maybe don't keep up with it today, are still going to know.

SIEBERG: OK, and it's only going to be for PS2s, though. Is it out -- is it out yet, or is it coming out?

MORRIS: Right. No that one is -- just came out, actually on Wednesday.

SIEBERG: On Wednesday, all right.

And now we're going to move -- again we're talking about Microsoft with its Xbox and they put out their XSN service to play online and they've now got their latest game. Is it out now?

MORRIS: Its not out now.

SIEBERG: OK.

MORRIS: It's not out now. This -- that one is not going to be out until mid-November, it's called "NBA Inside Drive." It's a -- it's third year, they've also been sort of making rapid progress on this. It has not been a huge seller for them so far, but the XSN is going to be a big draw. That will let you play online against your buddies and also will let you sort of scout out the people you're playing against, see if they're any good.

SIEBERG: All right, well we may have struggled a bit with our play here, but Chris and the slam dunk. Slam dunk with analysis.

MORRIS: Thank you.

SIEBERG: All right, Chris Morris from "CNN Money" thanks so much for joining us.

MORRIS: Sure.

ANNOUNCER: Still to come: Jeanne Moos flushes out the secret life of germs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIEBERG: If you sterilize your toothbrush and, yes, apparently there are people who do that, you'll have a friend in the subject of our next report. Jeanne Moos introduces us to Dr. Germ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's a quiz where a dirty mind helps, which is the dirtiest item in a house? Is it the toilet bowl, the kitchen sponge, the garbage can, the toothbrush? Forget the porno magazines.

DR. PHILIP TIERNO, NYU MEDICAL CENTER: The dirtiest of all thing bar none, is the dishrag and the sponge.

(SCREAM)

MOOS: Scream all you want, but it won't protect you from the germs lurking in your kitchen.

TIERNO: It's worse than the bathroom, because here is where you have all of your road kill. You have your chickens, your steaks.

MOOS: According to a new study sponsored by Brillo, almost half of the people surveyed use the same sponge to wipe the cutting board, the counters, even the dishes. We called the Dr. Philip Tierno "Dr. Germ" because he wrote the book.

TIERNO: "The Secret Life of Germs."

MOOS: Dr. Tierno likes to demonstrate how germs are spread by using a substance you can see under a black light to mimic the way a sponge disperses microorganisms, and watch out for the drain.

TIERNO: It is loaded with bacteria.

MOOS: How often should you change your household sponge? Once a month, every three months, every week or two, when it's so filthy you can't determine its original color? The answer is, every week or two. Dr. Tierno keeps a bowl of disinfectant in his sink.

TIERNO: One ounce of Clorox in about a quart of water. Leave it here, I dip my sponge in.

MOOS: Just when you thought it was safe to go into the bathroom, beware of the flush.

TIERNO: The water aerosolizes up to 20 feet from the point -- the center of that flush.

MOOS: So, shut the lid because who knows where those germy droplets will land which brings us to the next question. How often should you sanitize your toothbrush? Sanitize my what? Once a day, once a week, once a month? Dr. Germ says, rinse it with mouth wash or peroxide every day.

(on camera): Come one, we're not getting sick, we live like this, these people in this apartment aren't getting sick -- the people who live here...

TIERNO: Not true.

MOOS: What the problem.

TIERNO: Not true.

MOOS (voice-over): Dr. Germ say when you get a case of the runs it might be your sponge that has you running. He recommends emptying your vacuum cleaner bag once a month so the motor doesn't spew debris and 28 percent of the those surveys say they don't empty until the vacuum malfunction.

Somehow I almost liked it better when the secret life of germs was kept a secret. Now I feel like the sponge is squeezing me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: All right. We've got to close the lid on this week's show, and you know, I think I might even go sanitize my toothbrush, later. But, before I go, here's a look at what's coming up next week.

New research shows we may be sharing our pharmaceuticals with fish, everything from Prozac to Birth Control pills is ending up in sewers and downstream in rivers. We'll tell you what all those chemicals are doing the fish. That's coming up on NEXT.

Until then, let us hear from you. You can e-mail us at next@cnn.com, and we love getting your e-mails. Also, don't forget to check out our website, that's at cnn.com/next.

Thanks so much for joining us this week, for all of us in the Sci-tech beat, I'm Daniel Sieberg, see you NEXT time.

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