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Issue Number One
4-Day Workweek; Green Savings; Answering Your Questions; Quick Vote Results; Green Cargo Bike
Aired July 09, 2008 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to ISSUE #1. I'm Ali Velshi.
From the ISSUE #1 headquarters to the CNNMoney.com news room, we're all over the stories that matter to you.
Your elected officials are back at work on Capitol Hill. They've got their hands full right now. There's the housing bill, reversing cuts in Medicare, and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Plus, it's been years since Hurricane Katrina, and remember those FEMA trailers, the ones that caused a whole lot of controversy? Well, the controversy's back, and we'll tell you why.
And could your star car be stolen? We've got the list of the top 10 stolen cars across the country. Find out if your car is on that list.
But Gerri, the big story today is Capitol Hill and what's going on there. They're back at work.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Ali.
Lawmakers have long been promising housing reform for struggling homeowners. They still haven't passed legislation. And Congress went on the July 4th vacation without preventing a major cut in Medicare.
CNN's Kate Bolduan is live on Capitol Hill right now with the very latest -- Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Gerri.
Well, Medicare is something that hits home to millions of Americans -- patients and physicians. Here's where things stand with Medicare right now.
Right now, about 44 million people receive Medicare benefits. Last year, that cost the government just under $430 billion. But today Congress is set to vote to stop a scheduled 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.
Now, that cut is part of a required cost-containing formula that Medicare has in place. But Democrats say this cut goes too far.
Democrats are concerned that this cut, the 10.6 percent cut, may force doctors to cut back themselves in seeing new Medicare patients because they may not be able to cover their costs any longer. Republicans, on the other side, are against stopping this scheduled cut. Why? Well, that's because Democrats want to pay for this 10.6 percent cost gap by cutting funds in other areas, specifically funds for a separate Medicare program administered by private insurance.
Now, Republicans are big supporters of this program. They say it is key to reforming Medicare, and they say this vote would essentially weaken that program.
Now, this is the second time that the Senate has voted on this measure. The first time it fell just one vote short. And I should mention, Gerri, that the White House has threatened to veto this legislation if it makes it to the president's desk.
WILLIS: Wow. Well, big news there, and I'm sure you'll continue to follow it. But I have to ask you about other legislation pending, specifically the housing bill. We've been following it for weeks now. Where does it stand?
BOLDUAN: For weeks, Gerri. And needless to say, the housing bill right now in the Senate is pretty much -- it's inching along. It's moving, but it is inching along, and that is because there are -- right now it's facing a series of procedural votes as one senator tries to get renewable energy tax breaks attached to the bill.
Now, as you remember, as I'm sure everyone remembers, this is a massive bill that is hoping to help borrowers facing foreclosure to lower, reduce their loan rates. It is also set to offer $4.5 billion in housing focus tax breaks. But the bill could pass, Gerri, by the -- pass the Senate, I should say, by the end of this week. But if it does, as we've said before, it has a long road ahead because it still has to go back to the House to be reconciled with that version.
So we have a little ways to go.
WILLIS: A little ways? A lot of ways to go. OK.
Kate Bolduan, thank you for that.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, Gerri.
VELSHI: Well, members of Congress went home last week and found that politics is personal, if not a little bit painful. Voters complained to them about the pain at the pump, the markets, the economy, and they want Congress to fix things. But the dissatisfaction with Congress goes way beyond the price at gas stations, because as CNN's Drew Griffin reports, politics is personal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The weather in Cincinnati this past Fourth of July weekend matched the mood of voters -- gloomy. This is Ohio's First Congressional District. A Republican holds the seat for the moment. The Democratic challenger here is hoping voters will decide he is the person who can change the forecast. STEVE DRIEHAUS (D), CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: They don't know, necessarily, that the Democratic Party is the party that's going to, you know, bring the change that they want to see, but they know they want to see something different.
GRIFFIN: Democrat Steve Driehaus is a four-term state representative who wants to be the next congressman from here. He hopes the Obama campaign will sweep him and others like him, pushing the measure of change into the office. But his handshakes along the parade route brought tempered responses.
Voters in Ohio want change, but those we talked to said it doesn't seem to matter anymore if a Republican or Democrat is elected. It isn't going to really change anything.
KENTON NEW, OHIO VOTER: I don't see that happening. No, I don't.
GRIFFIN: Kenton New says he has just one main issue, and so far he sees no solution from a Democrat or a Republican.
NEW: Fuel. I'm a small business owner with six vehicles, and it's killing me. Not happy with it.
GRIFFIN: The Bailey family also seems to be puzzled over who to vote for.
DAVE BAILEY, OHIO VOTER: I just don't seem to feel like anybody has a good, solid platform they're running on. They're all saying what the voters want to hear.
GRIFFIN: Michelle Bailey will vote for the first time this year, but for whom?
MICHELLE BAILEY, OHIO VOTER: My friends and I, we have good conversations and talk about it. We just -- we're all kind of on the -- we don't really know where we should vote sort of thing.
GRIFFIN: Democratic challenger Driehuas says voters he talks to are mostly angry about the economy and gas prices, and he admits while he does tell us Obama is different, and so is he, he's having a rough time convincing voters.
DRIEHAUS: I was going door to door the other night and there were four older folks sitting out on their front lawn. And he's saying, you know, "I just don't know how you can change, you know, what's going on out there in Washington. And I don't trust anybody involved in the process." And, you know, it's disheartening.
GRIFFIN: Perhaps that's why the current congressman from this district didn't need to show up at the north side July 4th parade to understand his constituents are angry.
REP. STEVE CHABOT (R), OHIO: It's understandable, because I think both parties have failed miserably. GRIFFIN: Congressman Steve Chabot is back in Washington today and frustrated himself. As a Republican, he would like to drill for more oil, pass a good housing bill, and cut spending. He could tell you why one side is right and the other is wrong. He says voters no longer care.
CABOT: They don't want people just trying to find the blame game, pointing fingers at the other party. They want us to work together. Unfortunately, Congress doesn't do that very often.
GRIFFIN: The problem for Chabot, people want change in this November in Ohio's First Congressional District. If they vote for change, he's likely to be spending next Fourth of July watching the north side parade on the curb.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: Well, this show is all about you. And it's time for you to get involved and weigh in on our "Quick Vote."
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is here with today's question.
Hi there, Poppy.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Gerri.
Soaring energy costs, it's driving a lot of states to make some pretty dramatic changes, including shifting to a four-day workweek in some states. And millions of Americans have such long commutes to work every day.
So we want to know how you think something like this would help ease your pain at the pump. Here's our "Quick Vote" question today.
A four-day workweek would help me lower my gas bill significantly, lower my gas bill somewhat, or lower my gas bill barely at all?
Let us know on CNNmoney.com, and we'll bring you those numbers later in the show.
WILLIS: Well, Poppy, I can think of other good things that would happen as the result of a four-day workweek.
HARLOW: Four-day workweek? Extra Saturday.
WILLIS: Yes, I love that. Thank you, Poppy.
What do you think, Ali?
VELSHI: I'll take a long weekend every day, never mind even the gas money that I save.
Coming up, built on oil, how the big boom is driving oil prices in the middle of nowhere to levels we see in places like San Francisco.
Then, potatoes. Most of us like to eat them, but one company plans to use them to power homes. I'm not making this up.
You're watching ISSUE #1. We'll have that story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: All right, the question everybody wants the answer to: Is oil still going on, and what about my gas prices?
For that and the rest of today's "Energy Fix," including potato power, Poppy Harlow joins us once again live.
HARLOW: Hey, Gerri. Love this story about potato power. We'll get to that in a minute.
But oil prices, first and foremost, just slightly higher right now, holding below $137 a barrel after tumbling $9 over the past two days. (AUDIO GAP)
No surprise there. We are using less. And that is what the market is focused on right now.
Companies, like individuals, are also focused on using less. An example of potato power, Ore-Ida is going green. The company is working on a plan to convert potato peels into biofuel. Enough, actually, to eat 4,000 homes.
Now, its parent company, Heinz, may not have 57 ways to save the environment, but it does have quite a few. The ketchup maker plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent over the next seven years. They're going to recycle more, use more renewable energy, and use more direct delivery routes.
And you know what, Gerri? They're also going to reduce their packaging by about 15 percent, so the bottles might start to look a little bit different.
WILLIS: Less plastic. I like that.
HARLOW: Less plastic.
WILLIS: Is that good for the environment, or is it good for the company?
HARLOW: I think both, right? It's corporate America. It all comes down to the bottom line. But it's a little bit of both.
Cutting energy use, it's no longer a luxury for a lot of these big companies. It is a necessity.
Companies like Chevron, Google and eBay are all making big moves. And telecom giant Verizon is telling its suppliers to make their equipment 20 percent more energy efficient starting next year. Verizon says its power costs, Gerri, are in the hundreds of millions of dollars every single year.
WILLIS: Well, but what does it mean for me? That's what I really care about.
HARLOW: Of course. What's good for the company can actually be very, very good for the consumer.
When it comes to companies cutting their costs, their shareholders and customers really generally benefit. They're really interested in alternatives like solar power. That could help make that technology for us more affordable, especially in comparison to the rising cost of more traditional energy sources. So that could be a possible fix.
More fixes on our Web site, CNNmoney.com -- Gerri.
WILLIS: Poppy, great stuff. Thank you for that.
VELSHI: Well, our "Energy Hunt" continues here on CNN.
With oil prices approaching $150 a barrel, America's thirst for black gold has it looking for new resources and new sources of oil in unconventional places. One place is the so-called oil sands north of the border in Canada's Alberta Province. It's turning this little town of Fort McMurray into a boom town servicing just one industry -- big oil.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): This once sleepy little town in northern Alberta, Canada, is surrounded by forests, pristine lakes, with lots of mosquitoes.
(on camera): You don't seem nearly as bothered by the bugs as my people are. Hey, there's one on you right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably not. Oh, no, that's friendly little critters.
VELSHI: Friendly little critters until they bite you.
(voice-over): But what sets this place apart is what's beneath it. Fort McMurray, Canada, population growing fast toward 100,000. It's the rapidly beating heart of the oil sands, the largest known oil deposit in the world. It is a bona fide boom town.
It has a major highway with traffic jams that would shame a city ten times its size. These people are all headed for work in the oil sands, 24/7, and almost everyone works the maximum allowed overtime. It's tough work, long hours, but for really good pay.
JESSE BRETHER, OIL WORKER: You can say all the bad things you want about this town. The traffic is terrible. You know, pollution. It stinks.
You know what? For $50 an hour, I'll deal with it. I'll deal with being stuck in traffic for an hour. I can take it. I'm making over $100,000 a year and I'm 22 years old.
VELSHI: His story is typical. And with so many workers it's hard to find a place to live. The median price for a single family home is just under $700,000, roughly the same as San Francisco. Just buying a little piece of land and dropping a mobile home on it will set you back half a million bucks. Although plenty of people are doing it.
So what do you do with it?
Robert Cree was the chief of a local band of native Canadians whose people once thrived on the abundance of natural resources here -- hunting, fishing, trapping.
ROBERT CREE, GREGOIRE LAKE RESERVE RESIDENT: There's so much development happening. There's a shortage of housing. There's the medical, the health situation is right to the brink.
VELSHI: Problems have followed this boom town. Drugs are readily available. And drinking, lots of drinking. But to the opportunities outweigh the problems?
BRETHER: I come here and every teacher that ever told me -- or you don't do good in school, you're never going to make it. I'm making triple what they make.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: To leave school, but interesting story. It's not bad for an old beaver pelt trading post.
Fort McMurray has the highest per capita income in Canada, as well as the highest median home prices. In fact, it's commonly referred to as "Fort McMoney."
Well, I'm sure you will have a lot to say about the future of energy, as I do. And I'm sounding off on my radio show tomorrow. So tune into CNN Radio at 11:00 a.m. Eastern or listen to it on CNN.com.
WILLIS: Great stuff, Ali. Wonderful stuff, 22 and $100,000. I love that.
Well, one man who has been sounding off about the environment long before gas hit $4 a gallon, former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.
CNN's Dan Lothian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Long before gas shot past $4 a gallon...
MICHAEL DUKAKIS (D), FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And this was not an act.
LOTHIAN: ... before oil topped $140 a barrel...
DUKAKIS: It seemed to me to be just plain common sense.
LOTHIAN: ... and before commuters started parking their SUVs...
DUKAKIS: It was just, you know, the way I operated.
LOTHIAN: ... former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Michael Dukakis was preaching public transportation and energy conservation. And walking the talk.
DUKAKIS: I don't see how you can be a political leader who's telling people that public transportation is important, that we've got to invest big bucks in it, while you're getting driven around in a limousine.
LOTHIAN: While governor of a state with the oldest subway system in the country, Dukakis would often walk and take the train to his statehouse office, refusing to change that habit even when he was a presidential candidate in 1988. Secret Service agents had to keep up.
(on camera): You were ahead of your time?
DUKAKIS: Well, I guess so.
LOTHIAN (voice over): He still rides the train, but Dukakis walks to work every day. I recently joined the governor on his two- mile foot commute to Northeastern University, where he is now a professor.
DUKAKIS: We're going to cross over here.
LOTHIAN: Along the way, Dukakis stops to pick up trash as he delivers a sort of "I told you so" message, criticizing America's failure to invest in a high-speed rail or a better public transportation system.
DUKAKIS: It's embarrassing to go to Europe, to go to Japan, and then come back here and compare what they now have with what we have. It's embarrassing.
LOTHIAN: He's a Barack Obama supporter, but Dukakis says, frankly, he hasn't heard enough from either presidential candidate on this issue.
DUKAKIS: If you don't have a first class transportation infrastructure, then you don't have an economic future.
LOTHIAN: With sky-high gas prices, Dukakis hopes his decade-old message will finally lead to changes and make America less dependent on foreign oil.
DUKAKIS: Well, it's a great country, but sometimes you've got to get hit in the face to wake up to the importance of this kind of thing.
LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: All right. Well, still ahead, the very latest on the wildfires in California, where residents return home to pick up the pieces as the fires continue to burn.
Why record gas prices are putting a different kind of pressure on volunteer firefighters in Pennsylvania. How lawmakers plan to step in and help.
You're watching ISSUE #1 right here on CNN.
Stay with us. We're coming right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
VELSHI: Well, gas today is hovering around $4.11 a gallon. And because of this recent spike in fuel costs, we've all made changes to the way that we drive.
But in just a few hours, Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey, along with Pennsylvania Congressman Jason Altmire, are set to introduce legislation aimed at alleviating some of the pain at the pump for volunteer firefighters nationwide.
Now, many of those volunteer firefighters have reported they're not able to respond to fire emergencies with the number of trucks and equipment recommended under guidelines provided by the National Fire Protection Association. And this is the name to try and remedy that -- Gerri.
WILLIS: Ali, well, it's nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina, and FEMA trailers are still a hot topic.
How an entire state is making the four-day workweek work for them. And what we want to know, what a four-day workweek would mean to your gas bill.
Log on to CNNmoney.com right now for the "Quick Vote." And while you're there, check out all the great tools on that site to help you manage your money.
You're watching ISSUE #1. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: Well, another day and more Katrina fallout. Just this month, CNN's Special Investigations Unit brought to light some $85 million in hurricane supplies warehoused by FEMA that never made it to Katrina victims.
Now on to allegations of sky-high levels of formaldehyde in FEMA trailers once occupied by those Katrina victims. CNN's Sean Callebs has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sixty-year-old Carolyn Salez waited about a year for her FEMA trailer after Katrina. After living in it for about a year, the agency told her it had a dangerously high level of formaldehyde, which could lead to cancer.
Then she couldn't wait to get out.
CAROLYN SALEZ, KATRINA VICTIM: When I heard the word "cancer," you know how everybody feels about cancer. It was just -- you know, you kind of get that little sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach because that's scary.
CALLEBS: Formaldehyde is a substance used in processing wood, plastics and other products in manufacturing trailers. Salez says the time in the trailer made her asthma more severe and left her with a chronic cough, sinus problems, and the possibility she could one day get cancer.
The Centers for Disease Control has advised trailers residents they can reduce the level of formaldehyde gas by cracking the window. Salez has one question for trailer manufacturers.
SALEZ: I'd like to know why they would put out a product that is going to harm somebody who is already going -- anybody, especially people who are already going through a traumatic, you know, event in their life.
CALLEBS: Today, a congressional subcommittee is set to question officials from four manufacturers whose trailers, according to the CDC, have significantly higher levels of formaldehyde than other brands.
REP. NICK LAMPSON (D), TEXAS: Did they know the problems? Did they do it for greed? Did they just have shoddy workmanship?
What's the purpose that led us to doing something as untoward as this to the citizens of the United States of America? And someone needs to pay.
CALLEBS: Makers of the trailers voice frustration, saying after the storm they were rushing to meet a desperate need. And before Katrina, there was no government standard for formaldehyde in trailers.
Not nearly good enough, says Salez.
CAROLYN SALEZ, KATRINA VICTIM: I don't like the fact that someone gave me a place to live that could cause me to have cancer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: Sean, this is outrageous. Is there no standard for formaldehyde in these travel trailers?
CALLEBS: There is none in the travel trailers. And that is really the crux of the problem, what we're hearing today from this congressional committee. Right now the four heads of the various companies that have been targeted by Congress for investigation, they've come out and said, look, we did what we were asked to do. And we gave FEMA an opportunity to check all these trailers. There is no level.
However, there was exhaustive testimony this morning, Gerri, from a doctor with the CDC who says that basically anything above 80 parts per billion is going to harm people. And if you have a sensitivity, then it's going to be that much worse. And some of these people had parts per billions up in the several hundreds, 400, 500, and 600.
WILLIS: Wow. Unbelievable. All right. I've got to assume there are lots of lawsuits out there. People have got to feel that they've been victimized by the government, by the companies who make these?
CALLEBS: Yes, without question. I think that that is really an underlying look at what's going on. There are a number of these lawsuits going on. They say, look, either the manufacturer should have known or certainly FEMA should have known. But, Gerri, history shows, if you're going to sue somebody, do you go after the government or do you go after the company? And that's what a lot of people are suspecting that they want to hear testimony today that can be damming in some way and plaintiffs' attorneys can go back and say, well, they knew that it was a harmful level, yet they allowed residents to live in these trailers anyhow.
WILLIS: Well, Sean, I'm sure you'll be keeping an eye on this. We appreciate your report. Thank you, Sean Callebs.
Well, let's face it, we would all like a four-day workweek. It's happening in one state. But would it work for you?
But, first, let's get you up to speed on the latest headlines. Don Lemon is in the CNN "Newsroom."
Hi there, Don.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Works for me, Gerri, what about you?
WILLIS: Yes. Well, you know, four day -- how about three day?
LEMON: How about a three day? How about just being independently wealthy? That would just work (INAUDIBLE).
WILLIS: Let me know how you do that, OK.
LEMON: OK. We'll talk.
All right. Let's talk now about rattling nerves and rattling sabers. Iran state television reports that it has test fired nine new missiles. It is the latest salvo in the rising international tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions. One of the missiles fired today reportedly has a range of 1,250 miles and that puts Israel within striking distance. The White House issued a statement saying Iran should "refrain from further missile tests if they truly seek to gain the trust of the world. The Iranians should stop the development of ballistic missiles, which could be used as a delivery vehicle for a potential nuclear weapon, immediately."
Hours after he was rushed from an Arizona jail to a Las Vegas hospital, we still don't know what's wrong with polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs. But the county sheriff tells a local newspaper it's serious enough that Jeffs was flown, not driven, to get treatment. Jeffs was convicted last year on two counts of first degree felony rape. The case involved the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin.
FEMA under fire post-Katrina. Congress asking questions today about FEMA trailers tainted by formaldehyde. The trailer manufacturers were grilled by members of the House Oversight and Government Committee. Formaldehyde is a toxic substance used in processing plastics, wood, and other products in the building of travel trailers. Manufacturers claimed they rushed to meet a desperate need for trailers after Katrina. They say before the storm, there were no government standards.
Caught in a fire storm. Dramatic video of a drive through in the middle of the California wildfires. We'll talk to the reporter who experienced it straight ahead in the CNN "Newsroom." Can you imagine driving through that fire?
I'm back in the "Newsroom" at the top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon. Let's throw it back to New York and ISSUE NUMBER ONE.
VELSHI: All right. Who wouldn't love a four-day workweek? It doesn't really work for us. ISSUE NUMBER ONE is on five days a week. But if you live in Utah, that dream might be about to become a reality. Next month, Utah will be the first state to mandate a four- day workweek for government workers. So will this be a benefit or a burden to Utah's economy? Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. joins us now from Salt Lake City.
Governor, great to have you here.
GOV. JON HUNTSMAN JR., UTAH: Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: Thanks for joining us.
Tell us what this plan's all about. How does it work?
HUNTSMAN: Well, it's all about basically recognizing the 40- hour workweek. I mean the hours are going to be the same, we're just approaching it a little more intelligently. We have energy efficient goals we're trying to meet as a state and by throttling a thousands state buildings back Friday, Saturday and Sunday, as opposed to just Saturday and Sunday, we get a 20 percent efficiency savings.
Second is customer service. We start earlier and end later Monday through Thursday, which is better for customer service. Three, you have a lot of great public employees in this state who enjoy quality of life and you're giving them the ability on Friday to spend money on gas. We all know that that's a hugely difficult expenditure for a lot of people to make, particularly if they're traveling from long distances to go to work.
And on Fridays they can do whatever they want. They put in their 40 hours, they work hard, they provide great services in this state, and for the younger generation, particularly, that prides themselves on quality of life, I do think this is going to make our state government more effective in hiring the best and the brightest of the next generation to come into government service.
VELSHI: Governor, does it actually save you much money? I know you say there will be some energy savings. Is there a bottom line dollar amount you're likely to save?
HUNTSMAN: We figure there will be several millions of dollars that we are going to save through energy efficiency savings, but also the individual employees. You know, when they can basically spend a Friday not forced to buy extremely high gasoline prices, it's good for them as well.
VELSHI: Yes, it saves 20 percent of the commute, I guess, in the week.
HUNTSMAN: Absolutely.
VELSHI: And you live in a state where a lot of the commuting is done by the car.
HUNTSMAN: That's exactly right. So you want to look at air quality too. I mean we're going to be staggering the traffic flows a little bit earlier and later. And on Friday you're going to have, you know, tens of thousands of cars that are going to be taken right out of the traffic flow. So this is significant on a lot of different fronts. We've crunched the numbers, we've done the analysis and in every single area of importance to this state, this comes up a winner.
VELSHI: All right. Let's talk about resistance to this. I would imagine -- I would love this plan. I think it would work well for me, if my bosses are listening here at CNN. Are there folks who don't like it? Has this caused a problem for both workers or people who would be needing those government offices? Have you had any negative reaction so far to the plan?
HUNTSMAN: There are some issues that have come up, no question about that. There's child care, public transportation schedules that sometimes need to be coordinated. So what we're doing in order to address those, is we're taking the month of July, this month, to anticipate and problem solve on all of the issues that are of concern to people. And then by the first of August, we're going to be ready to launch as a state and do so in a very coordinated fashion.
But you do have to anticipate two or three of those issues that are on some peoples' minds and realistically deal with them. And then what we're doing this month. And then we're going to do it for a year and we're going to use some, you know, quantifiable metrics that are going to undergird (ph) this whole program for a year. Review it a year from now to see if we actually saved on energy efficiency, to see if we better served the customers of this state, the taxpayers, and to see if, you know, we have a higher level of morale among public employees. And if we have basically met our objectives in all three of those areas, we will continue. If not, we'll look at it and see if we can make some course corrections.
VELSHI: Let me tell you, governor, it sounds like a good move. I can imagine that's probably not bad for a politician to say you can have an extra day on your weekend. You have been mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain. Is that something you'd consider?
HUNTSMAN: These days anyone with a pulse is basically talked about. So I would dismiss that pretty quickly.
VELSHI: But would you take it if it were offered?
HUNTSMAN: I'm governor of this state. I will remain governor of this state. I'm running for reelection. I'm a term limits guy, so I might be available in one more term. But this second term will be here in the state of Utah.
VELSHI: All right, governor, we'll keep an eye on how things are going in Utah with this plan. Thanks for joining us.
HUNTSMAN: Thank you.
VELSHI: Governor Jon Huntsman joining us from Salt Lake City.
WILLIS: Up next, we're talking hot property. Find out the most stolen cars in the United States.
And we're tackling green myths. What is really good for the environment and what's just a waste of your money?
Plus, the answer to the age old question, paper or plastic?
ISSUE NUMBER ONE rolls on next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: If you drive a '95 Honda Civic, well don't let it out of your sight. A new report just out says the most stolen car in the U.S., and it's, of course, a dubious honor. It also won last year. Rounding out the top five, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the '91 Honda Accord, '89 Toyota Camry, '97 Ford F-150 pickup truck and the '94 Chevy CK1500 pickup. Now robbers prize these rides because of their reliability, their parts. Officials say the best deterrent is, get this, keep your car door locked.
Ali.
VELSHI: All right. I'm always surprised by that list. Well, listen, here's two cars you want to think about, the Prius versus the Hummer. A couple other things to think about if you want to be green, paper versus plastic. The choices are endless when it comes to your bottom line and the environment. Howard Gould is with Equator Environmental. It's a for profit company specializing in eco asset management. And he has got some surprises for us.
Howard, good to see you again.
HOWARD GOULD, EQUATOR ENVIRONMENTAL: Good to see you.
VELSHI: OK. It would strike me as obvious as the nose on my face that a Prius is a more environmentally friendly option than a Hummer. But there are some people who would suggest otherwise.
GOULD: Well, there are certainly some people that were coming out and saying that the nickel that's in the batteries of the Prius is extremely damaging to the environment. And the fact is that they don't last as long as actually a traditional engine in a Hummer. So they would say that basically you need three batteries to last the distance of one Hummer and that's more environmentally harmful than actually the Hummer is producing in fossil fuels.
VELSHI: Now what's the truth in that?
GOULD: The truth is, that now batteries have become much, much more efficient. Everything inside of the batteries are recyclable. And they actually have a bounty, that they call, where you return a battery and you get a $200 rebate back to, you know, credited back to you. So you've got these new battery systems and they're much more reliable and they last throughout the lifetime of the car and you've got actually new kind of car systems that are much more sophisticated.
VELSHI: Some of us don't have to consider whether we're getting Prius or Hummers, but we do consider plastic versus paper. I would guess that paper is the more environmentally friendly choice?
GOULD: Well, it's kind of a -- it's a question that people have been asking themselves for a long time, even environmentalists. It kind of depends on where you live. I mean when you look at paper, paper produces 70 percent more emissions into the atmosphere, but plastic produces four times the amount of material waste.
VELSHI: So front end or back end.
GOULD: Well, it's kind of -- exactly. It's kind of front end or back end. But the problem is that the material waste from plastics is winding up into the ocean. So if you kind of live in the middle of the country, it's more advisable to use plastic. If you're living on the outskirts, kind of paper is the way to go. But paper also now we're having recyclable paper, but plastic is also going that way too.
VELSHI: And you talk about the carbon emissions from paper, but there's some technology that exists to be able to capture that.
GOULD: Yes. VELSHI: We may not employ it all the time, but we could do that.
All right, here we go. Milk, bottle, even if it's recyclable, versus a paper carton? I would guess the bottle.
GOULD: The bottle is right, as long as you can recycle it. Now if you keep bringing your bottle back and refilling it, it is much, much less impactful on the environment than actually -- than milk. But actually, funny enough, recyclable plastic is actually better for the environment than paper cartons.
VELSHI: Oh, that's interesting. All right. Bottled water. I, you know, no offense to my friends in corporate America who make bottled water, but I just don't think this is a good for the environment at all.
GOULD: It's not.
VELSHI: Yes.
GOULD: It's really not. I mean 30 million bottles a day go into landfill in this country alone. So what's happening is that you're starting to see a big backlash against bottled water and people are starting to go into these kind of refillable bottles like that.
VELSHI: Yes, and this is not a -- you can't be using these plastic bottles for refilling. That's actually hazardous to you.
GOULD: No, you can't. Yes, it's potentially hazardous to you. But what's interesting is, that you see these guys, I mean right here, Poll & Springs (ph) is making this. They call it their eco-shaped bottle.
VELSHI: Right.
GOULD: You've got other guys, like Fiji, who's working with Conservation International trying to make it more environmentally friendly. But the fact is, that still this thing is going to a landfill somewhere if it's not being recycled. We're working on recycling more, but . . .
VELSHI: You want your water in a bottle and your can filter it, you take it around in one of these things, you can wash this out and use it as many times as you want.
GOULD: There you go.
VELSHI: Excellent. Excellent stuff. Hoard Gould, thanks very much.
GOULD: Sure.
WILLIS: Well, it's the airlines again. Find out what one major airline is taking away from its passengers.
And you say the economy is issue number one, so we're going to take a closer look at the topics you're concerned about. The e-mail, issue1@CNN.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Another airline cutting another passenger service. U.S. Airways saying it's removing in-flight movies systems from domestic aircraft starting November 1st. You can guess the reason. U.S. Airways says the move will save about $10 million a year in fuel and other costs, probably related to the weight of these movie systems. Plus, it says the number of passengers willing to shell out the $5 for headsets has "gone off the cliff." You can guess the reason for that too. Passengers are bringing their own headsets on board or they're listening or watching their own electronic devices.
WILLIS: $5 for headsets. That's crazy.
Well, you've got questions, we've got answers. Every day we gather the CNN Money team to tackle your money questions. Let's get right down to it. Stephanie Elam is a CNN business correspondent, Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management, and Steve Hargreaves is a writer for CNNmoney.com.
Let's get right down to it. We've got a lot of gas questions today and I really want to focus a little bit on energy here.
The first question is from Joe in New York who asks,"how much oil that is harvested," I guess drilled, "in America is actually used in America?"
Steve, what do you say?
STEVE HARGREAVES, WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: Nearly all of it. We produce about 8 million barrels a day of crude oil and other oil products. And we import about 12 million barrels. Of that 8 million, nearly all of it is used here. We only export a couple hundred thousand.
WILLIS: So we use everything we make and more.
HARGREAVES: Plus some.
WILLIS: Yes, exactly.
OK. Well, Cindy in Alabama has a question. She says, "what percentage of the price of each gallon of gas is sales tax?"
That's a whole break it down thing, right, Stephanie? Tell me about that.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I actually broke it down to cents, because that's the easiest way to do it. So if you take a look at the federal, it's 18.4 cents a gallon that we're paying in taxes, right. And then the states, they do their own little calculation to figure out what they're charging people. But the average for that would be 21.4 cents a gallon. And since Cindy's in Alabama, I just decided we should figure that out. So in Alabama it's actually 18 cents is their state charge for that. That's the state tax. But the interesting thing is, they're still just slightly below $4 a gallon on average in Alabama. So they're just -- so she's basically paying about 40 cents, so she's figured (ph) out.
WILLIS: All right. OK. Well, that's great information. You know, we look at all of these -- this information about gas prices and there's so many confusing things out there. One, of course, what's going on with diesel? Why is that so expensive, Stephanie?
ELAM: Yes, you know, diesel actually used to be cheaper than a regular gallon of gas. But it's not any more. And part of the reason is the taxes that are involved in diesel gas. That tax is higher than you would pay for just a regular gallon of gas. So you're looking at 24.5 cents that you're paying for that. Also, demand for diesel across the globe has gone up, mainly in China and in Europe. You know, a lot of those cars tend to be diesel. And so that's also factoring into it. The demand goes up, the price goes up.
WILLIS: All right. Good stuff.
Let's go to the next question. And this one is from B.A. in California. "What do you see as a potential effect of cashing in your 401(k) to save your home after losing your job?"
Ryan, this is tailor made for you.
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, first of all, if it's a choice between losing your job, I mean, your job and your 401(k) and cashing out, you definitely have to look at your 401(k). But you also have to worry about your federal and state taxes you'll have to pay. You have an additional 10 percent penalty that you have to pay on top of that. But the most important thing now with this rough economy, we need to find jobs we're passionate about, we need to find jobs we love, we can give 110 percent effort so that when -- I mean in the days of cutback, if you're too bored at your job to give 110 percent, you're going to get fired. So we have to put these things into effect and definitely put all those into account.
WILLIS: A lot of cash goes right down the drain when you rob some money from it. It really hurts your retirement.
MACK: Exactly. I mean that's the last resort option. But if it's a choice between that and losing your home, obviously you have to go for that 401(k).
WILLIS: OK. You mean tap your 401(K)?
MACK: Yes, definitely tap your 401(k), yes.
WILLIS: All right. OK. Unless, of course, what do you think, though, if you actually are in a house that's too expensive? Because that's actually what's going on with a lot of people out there. Maybe they're in a home they really cannot afford.
MACK: Well, that's why we have to have more proactive mentality about -- in terms of looking at homes we can afford. Do you have three to six months of living expenses actually that's saved up? Are you budgeting? Sixty percent of America is spending more money than they earn every single month. Disposable income is stagnant, I mean aside from the economic stimulus package. But once that effect wears off, we're just -- they're going to have a lot of individuals who are actually living in a deficit on a day-to-day basis. So we have to be more responsible in our day-to-day spending habits.
WILLIS: All right. Well, I'll take your advice on that one.
Let's get to the next e-mail. John asks, "what is causing the depreciation of the dollar?"
Stephanie. I feel like I'm in class 101.
ELAM: I get all the class questions. It's like, you know, theoretical, take to the gentlemen. But this is one of those things where there's a lot of things that factor into the depreciation of the dollar. I mean, we've got the weak economy. That's a huge part of it. Interest rates are low. We've gone from 5.25 percent in September to 3 percent now. So that also draws it down. Also things that are denominated in U.S. dollars. Anything that's priced in that way, it makes it less attractive to people to invest in. So that also brings down the value of the dollar. There's also the trade gap. Anything that's related to how the dollars go out into the world.
WILLIS: I've got a long list here.
ELAM: There's a long list of things. And then the other thing that's happening too, a lot of other governments across the world are diversifying how their money is allocated as far as their savings. And so they're taking a lot of it out of U.S. dollars and putting it into other currencies. And when that happens, it hurts.
WILLIS: All right. Well, thanks for that.
We're going to have to wrap it here. Great panel. Thank you so much. Ryan, Stephanie, and Steve, we really appreciate your help today. Thank you.
VELSHI: All right, coming up, green deliveries. The story of one company making deliveries on two wheels.
And exercise your right to vote. How would a four-day week work out for you? That's what we want to know in today's Quick Vote question. It is not too late to be heard on CNNmoney.com. The results are coming up next.
Stay with us. You're watching ISSUE NUMBER ONE right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WILLIS: How would a four-day workweek help you? Hmm, let's see. More sleep, more fun, more -- OK, that's not what we're talking about. But it is today's Quick Vote question. So let's check back in with Poppy Harlow for how you voted.
What did people say?
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Other than e-mailing me and begging for a four-day workweek. No. Here's what you said. Forty-five percent of people said it will lower their gas bill somewhat. Twenty- seven percent says it will barely lower their gas at all. Twenty-nine percent said it will lower their gas bill significantly. So those people with long, long commutes, it will help them out a lot.
WILLIS: All right. Well, that's good. And maybe some day, when we're old and gray, we'll actually have a four-day workweek.
Thank you, Poppy.
HARLOW: I know. But then we couldn't do this show every day, so it's (INAUDIBLE).
WILLIS: Good point.
VELSHI: Forget it. Cancel my request for a four-day workweek. I'm staying because ISSUE NUMBER ONE is five days a week. That's how it is.
Sky-high gas prices are driving many companies to come up with solutions to save energy. Now one local company is putting all of its energy, literally, into using bikes to deliver its product. CNN photo journalist Bob Crowley brings us this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WENZDAY JANE, MANAGER, NEW AMSTERDAM PROJECT: It's a delivery company. We're a courier service.
JEFFERY SCHMALZ, SILVERBROOK FARMS: Well, it's pretty exciting. They distribute in a way that we couldn't possibly distribute. Hopefully it's something that will catch on and lower our energy consumption.
JANE: What's unique about us, is we use human-powered vehicles. We do it with pedal power rather than with gasoline.
Going down Washington Street to Summerville Out (h). We're going to cover a fair amount of ground. We'll go anywhere. Wherever there's a need and where it's cost-effective for us to make the deliveries. Sometimes it's hard going up hills, carrying a heavy load. It's a workout.
This is our first stop. We really make deliveries in a comparable time frame that a car or a truck. Sometimes it would be even faster. In the congested areas of the city where there's gridlock traffic or maybe the streets are very narrow, there's nowhere to park, these are all problems that don't affect us quite so much.
On a day like this, I'd probably go about 20 to 25 miles.
ANDREW BROWN, CEO AND FOUNDER, NEW AMSTERDAM PROJECT: These bikes are actually imported from England. It rides no different from a bike. The only distinction up here, there's a little throttle here. And this is what drives the electric assist. The price of gas has gotten so difficult for people economically, so our business has groan accordingly. This is an example of a solution that we can do ourselves.
It's about much more than simple picking up and delivering goods. It's about providing a healthy and secure life for ourselves.
JANE: I think it's a good thing. It's fun for me. I would hate to be doing this in a car. That looks like it right there. Keeps me healthy. Keeps me breathing. And makes me feel alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIS: The economy is issue number one and we here at CNN are committed to covering it for you. ISSUE NUMBER ONE will be back here tomorrow, same time, 12:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
VELSHI: Time now to get you up to speed on other stories making headlines. CNN "Newsroom" with Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips starts right now.
