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President Trump Fires Back to British Ambassador; Democrats Calls Alex Acosta to Resign; Australian Student Freed by North Korea; A Sign of Peace Seen Between Afghan and Taliban Troops; Bees Buzzing Could be Lessen; CNN's Documentary On Going Green. Aired 3-4a ET
Aired July 10, 2019 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[03:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: A special relationship in crisis. The close ties between the U.S. and U.K. are being tested as President Trump slams the U.K. over leaked diplomatic cables calling its ambassador a very stupid guy.
Plus, Democrats are pushing for a Trump administration cabinet secretary to resign after his shocking involvement in a special plea deal for an admitted sex offender is revealed.
And honeybees are struggling to survive. We'll take a look at why they are dying faster than they have now in 10 years, and of course why it matters.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from around the world. I'm Paula Newton. And this is CNN Newsroom.
OK. The diplomatic blow between the U.K. and U.S. is showing no sign of easing and the timing is especially bad for Britain. Now the country is divided over Brexit, and the conservatives are in the midst of trying to decide a new leader. But now that special relationship with the U.S. needs tending, as President Trump goes on the attack over those leaked memos.
Nic Robertson has more.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The fallout continues. Liam Fox, the U.K. trade secretary on his way to meet Ivanka Trump without embattled British Ambassador Kim Darroch. Darroch's leaks cables critical of Trump proving diplomatic dynamite, earning a presidential rebuke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're not big fan of that man. And he has not served the U.K. well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: And getting him disinvited from a diplomatic dinner at the White House, U.K.'s former diplomats closing ranks behind Darroch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER MEYER, FORMER U.K. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: It just shows President Trump's sensitivity, his insecurity which Sir Kim himself bore witness to, and it is a typical reaction by a president when anybody disrespects him as he sees it and I'm afraid that the consequences are entirely predictable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Two big questions now, Darroch's future as ambassador to D.C. and who leaked his incendiary comments. P.M. Theresa May is standing by her man, defending Darroch, but in two weeks she is gone, giving her replacement an opportunity to clean house in D.C. and possibly appoint a more Trump friendly ambassador.
Who dumped Darroch's private thoughts, likely has its roots in Brexit. Britain's top tier civil servants, the oil that grease the government smooth running are finding themselves caught in cross-currents of rivalries crossing through U.K. politics. Darroch, a former ambassador to the E.U. maybe no exception. Perceive at home as pro-E.U. His exit potentially clearing the way for a pro-Brexit ambassador.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEYER: You always have to ask yourself the question, who benefits? And here there is a possible range of villains who come into the frame, I'm not going to name anybody, but it was clearly somebody who set out deliberately to sabotage Sir Kim's ambassadorship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: In the meantime, Trump has flip-flop again on May's handling of Brexit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I believe the prime minister has brought it to a very good point where something will take place in the not too distant future, I think she's done a very good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Replacing recent praise with a Twitter tirade.
"I told that Theresa May how to do that deal, but she went her own foolish way, and was unable to get it done, a disaster. I don't know the ambassador but I'm told he is a pompous fool."
Friends described Darroch as a tough man with a cool head who won't be easily panicked, how quickly the diplomatic damage can be patched up depends a lot on Trump and the next British prime minister likely Boris Johnson who as a friend of the U.S. president will hope to clean the slate fast.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Gibraltar. NEWTON: Now as Nic just reported there, Boris Johnson is the heavy
favorite to become the U.K.'s next prime minister. He met his opponent, Jeremy Hunt, meantime in a televised debate Tuesday.
During one very heated moment Johnson refused to say whether he keep Kim Darroch as the U.K.'s ambassador to Washington in the wake of those leaked cables, Hunt attacked Johnson for sidestepping the issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER CANDIDATE: It is vital that our civil service is not politicized by ministers leaking what they say.
[03:05:03] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will he still in his job, --
(CROSSTALK)
JOHNSON: Whoever leaked that deserves to be eviscerated.
JEREMY HUNT, BRITISH SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS: Boris, just answer the question. Go on, tell us is you'll you keep the ambassador or not. Come on.
JOHNSON: And on whether or --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Hunt.
HUNT: I will keep him until he is due to retire --
JOHNSON: OK.
HUNT: And I think we'd like to know if you would.
JOHNSON: Well, I'm not going to be so presumptuous as to --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
JOHNSON: -- as to I'm --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Let's go back to --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: OK. Johnson and Hunt also clashed, of course, over the fate of Brexit during this debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: I am as keen as Boris and as keen as you to leave by October 31st, but you know, we've had a breach of trust in politics by not leaving at the end of March as we promised you, we would do. And no politician, not me, not Boris, no one should make a promise unless they absolutely know they can deliver it. JOHNSON: I think it's absolutely vital that we come on out on October
31st, otherwise, Tony, we will continue to hemorrhage trust not just in the conservative or in the Labour Party but in politics generally.
And to make our friends and partners across the channel concentrate and to understand our seriousness we must simultaneously prepare to come out without a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The conservative party will reveal its new leader in a little under two weeks' time.
Now President Trump is trying to distance himself from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while defending a member of his administration now caught up in the multimillionaire scandal.
Labor Secretary Alex Acosta is under pressure to resign over a lenient plea deal he struck with Epstein in 2008 when Acosta was a U.S. attorney in Florida.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins has the latest from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's done a fantastic job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump coming to his labor secretary's defense today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I feel very badly actually for Secretary Acosta.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Praising Alex Acosta amid growing calls for him to resign over the role he played as a federal prosecutor 11 years ago in overseeing Jeffrey Epstein's lenient plea deal. A role Trump downplayed in the Oval Office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I do hear that there were a lot of people involved in that decision, not just him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Trump making no mention of the allege victims. And though he once describes him as a terrific guy, Trump distanced himself from Epstein today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knows him. I
mean, people in Palm Beach knew him, he was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I don't think I have spoken to him for 15 years. I wasn't a fan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: His own words tell a different story. In 2002, he told New York magazine, quote, he's a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do and many of them are on the younger side."
Several Democrats are demanding Acosta to step down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: If he refuses to resign, President Trump should fire him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Acosta defended his actions in a series of tweets today, and said he is pleased that New York prosecutors are moving forward with the case based on new evidence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Secretary of labor to say a few words.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: People close to Trump say his future depends on how loud those calls for him to go become.
The White House has faced questions about his role before and claimed they were looking into it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It is currently under review, because of that I can't get into a lot of specifics but we are certainly looking at them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: But they never offered an update on that review. And sources say it was a strategy to buy time until the controversy die down.
Now, the president is defending Alex Acosta but our sources close to him tell us that that could change that support if the coverage over the next days continues to be negative, and whether or not he starts to view him as a political liability.
One thing that could be telling of that is next week's cabinet meeting here at the White House which our source said would be a good indication of whether or not Acosta's standing in the West Wing is still good.
Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.
NEWTON: There has been another legal stumbling block for the Trump administration in its battle over the 2020 census. Now the latest twist comes from a New York judge who denied the Justice Department's request to try and change the legal team handling the case.
CNN justice correspondent Jessica Schneider has the details.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A significant setback for the Department of Justice in its quest to get a citizenship question on the 2020 census. A federal judge out of New York now telling the DOJ that it can't simply switch out its team of lawyers without adequate explanation.
In a three-page order, this judge, Jesse Furman denied the DOJ's request to change its lawyers, at least until they can provide some reasoning for doing so.
Now the DOJ hasn't told the courts nor have they told the public why exactly it wants to swap its team. But their speculation that the attorneys who were previously on the case might have a credibility issue if they tried to stay on, and that's because they repeatedly told this federal judge in New York, as well as the Supreme Court that time was of the essence and they needed to begin printing the census by July 1st.
[03:10:03] Well, that deadline come and gone it would possibly create a credibility problem if those same attorneys now told the judge while they could wait to print the census in hopes of getting that citizenship question on there.
We know that the census has already gone to print without the question. But depending on how this plays out in court there might be some sort of addendum that could be added on if the administration proves victorious here.
But for now, the DOJ and the Trump administration are really suffering a major procedural defeat in the New York federal court with the judge they're saying you cannot yet switch out your attorneys.
The president, though, of course could still issue an executive order, a memorandum as the attorney general hinted on Monday, and that could come at any day as the administration now continues to assist that this citizenship question will appear on the 2020 census so we will wait and see as this continues to play out.
NEWTON: That is our Jessica Schneider there. OK. On the eve of a ticker tape parade for America's World Cup champion women's team it's tar is speaking out. Co-captain Megan Rapinoe tells CNN why she is opposed to President Trump with whom she's feuded on Twitter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: There is a good chance that the president is watching this interview or will watch this interview, what is your message to the president.
MEGAN RAPINOE, CO-CAPTAIN, U.S. WORLD CUP CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM: Message to the president, I think that I would say that your message is excluding people, you are excluding me, you're excluding people that look like me, you are excluding people of color, you're excluding, you know, Americans that maybe support you.
I think that we need to have a reckoning with the message that you have and what you are saying about make America great again, I think that you were harking back to an era that was not great for everyone. It might have been great for a few people, and maybe America is great for a few people right now but it's not great for enough Americans in this world.
And I think that we have a responsibility, each and every one of us, you have an incredible responsibility as, you know, the chief of this country to take care of every single person and you need to do better for everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And Rapinoe says that she has had no change of heart about a White House visit, she is not going if invited.
Now there is an Afghan peace deal yet, but at least the Taliban are talking. Coming up, what they say is off limits.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREG SCARLATOIU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COMMITTEE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA: Alek Sigley is very lucky to have come out unharmed and alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: North Korea releases an Australian student accused of spying. We look at why Pyongyang let him go, that's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: The internet is slowly coming back across Sudan. Now a court order the service restored after a blockade by the ruling transitional military council cut service for weeks.
[03:15:00] Users say the generals shut down the internet to prevent protestors from organizing more demonstrations.
The move comes as pro-democracy leaders reached a deal with the military last week to form a joint council to govern the country for the next three years.
There are signs the Taliban and Afghan government might finally be ready to end their long running conflict. Now the militants have been meeting with prominent Afghans in Qatar that has been over the past few days, they have now agreed to at least keep talking, and what's being called a road map for peace might actually happen.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This meeting was a key moment for peace in Afghanistan where America's longest war is still raging very bloodily indeed. It's the first time really that pro-government Afghans have sat down with the Taliban and fashioned a road map for what a peace agreement would look like, and also agreed to get soft targets, schools, women, children, and things you wouldn't really expect to be a part of the currency of war off the table.
They should not be target as this peace talks continue. They agreed. And it's important to remember that in this meeting the pro-Afghan government people were not there in an official capacity. The Taliban insisted that they have come this simply as individuals to talk.
The Taliban have a lot of conditions for these talks to move forward frankly, because they are, in many ways, in the ascendancy on the battlefield in Afghanistan. It's a bloody war there that continues to be so.
The first Taliban condition have been there before this key moment there been weeks of talks with the Americans in which they've tried to establish the conditions the Taliban would set for an American troop withdrawal.
What kind of guarantees were the insurgency give if the Americans reduce the number of troops they have on the ground? Clearly, those talks went well enough, they move to the next phase bringing in the pro-government Afghans.
There would probably be another meeting between pro-government Afghans and the Taliban at some point during the months ahead, but now continuing are the Americans speaking to Taliban about the nature of that troop withdrawal.
Now it appears possibly there may ought to be a slight reduction in troop numbers. Donald Trump, President Donald Trump gave away in an interview with Fox News, they've gone from 16,000 down to 9,000, something he said not a lot of people actually knew about.
And it's key, this is moving very fast. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there could be a peace deal he hopes by September the 1st, and it's quite obvious the Taliban, according to some analyst, think that an agreement is, for now, the best way for them to get possibly their hands on some parts to the leaves of government, while at the same time retaining some kind of international legitimacy so they can get international aid into the country to keep an Afghanistan afloat.
But we may see some kind of rough timetable for an American reduction in troop numbers in the weeks or months ahead and more meetings between the pro-government Afghans and the Taliban as they move slowly forward towards an agreement.
It's a monumental time frankly, for Afghans tired of 18 years of war, but one fraud with enormous risks if this peace deal doesn't work or folds quickly.
Then we have a Taliban still for a brutal conflict and heavily armed against a pro-government Afghan groups who were equally equipped and experience in battle after a very savage campaign and what looks like now to be a continuing civil war that violence escalating as they come to the negotiating table. Many Afghans frankly hoping that the bloodshed would simply stop.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
NEWTON: An Australian student held by North Korea is a free man and insists he isn't a spy.
Alek Sigley was attending Kim Il-sung University when he was accused of spreading, quote, "anti-government sentiment."
CNN's Brian Todd has more on his case and how it compares to the fate of U.S. college student Otto Warmbier.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alek Sigley was in the grip of Kim Jong-un's regime, detained for about a week then deported and accused of being a spy. Now the 29-year-old Australian student denies the accusation, tweeting that the charge is quote, "pretty obviously false."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCARLATOIU: Alek Sigley is very lucky to have come out unharmed and alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Sigley had been a student at Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung University studying literature. He ran a tour company in Pyongyang. He was a veracious blogger, posting pictures of his experience seeing sites and visiting restaurants in North Korea.
And he wrote six columns about food and fashion for the publication N.K. News, which the regime cited, "Alek Sigley was spared the final outcome of Otto Warmbier, the American student convicted of stealing a propaganda sign from a hotel in Pyongyang. Warmbier was put on trial, detained for a year and a half and ended up in a vegetative state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCARLATOIU: Of course, the last thing that the regime wants under the current circumstances is another tragedy on par with what happened to Otto Warmbier, another Otto Warmbier case could deal a deadly blow to the regime's attempt to sanitize its own image in the eyes of international public opinion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[03:20:04] TODD: President Trump has said Kim Jong-un told him he felt pretty bad about the Warmbier case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Another possible difference about the Warmbier and Sigley case, experts say, Sigley's spying charge is actually less serious in the eyes of Kim's regime than what Warmbier was accused of doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCARLATOIU: Otto was accused of having committed the ultimate crime and a front to the very honor and dignity of the supreme and the leader, he attempted to take away to steal a poster allegedly, inscribed with the words of the great (Inaudible) leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's worse than spying?
SCARLATOIU: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?
SCARLATOIU: That is worse than spying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: They kept his case in the headlines by trying to collect on $500 million judgment against North Korean for their son's death. Their target, North Korea's second largest ship, the Wise Honest now in U.S. custody on allegations of evading sanctions.
The Warmbier's have filed a claim on the vessel. Analysts say it's possible the Wise Honest could be awarded to the Warmbier's then sold, but they say it would only fetch a fraction of that $500 million.
Will Kim Jong-un ever pay a price that would really hurt for Otto Warmbier's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH ROSENBERG, FORMER U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT SANCTIONS OFFICIAL: It's hard to see how there will be any major financial payout they would agree or be compelled to pay in the future. I think the most likely scenario that will occur is North Korea's price, the price that will be paid will be reputational.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Analysts say that by filing this claim on the cargo ship whether they win any money or not, what the Warmbier's could also be after here is to send a message, a message to people like Alek Sigley, a message to people like their own son that whatever romantic ideas they have about visiting North Korea, whatever diplomatic overtures are going on right now, that this regime is still very dangerous to deal with. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
NEWTON: One Trump administration budget cut is generating a lot of buzz. Research on honeybees is on the chopping block and environmentalists say we could all be stung by this latest move. We'll explain why.
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NEWTON: Human Rights Foundation is applauding rapper Nikki Minaj's decision to back out of a concert in Saudi Arabia. She was scheduled to perform at Jeddah World Fest later this month. Minaj says that she's (Inaudible) hard after better educating herself on the issues specifically because she says she supports the rights of women and the LGBT community.
And now to Sweden where American rapper Asap Rocky is in jail for a suspected assault after a street fight last week. Now his manager says it was a self-defense and claims that Rocky's rights are being violated.
The Stockholm prosecutor's office says the rapper will stay in police custody until the prosecutor decides on his case. It's unclear when he'll return to the United States.
So, honeybees are dying off at a faster rate than anyone has seen in a decade. Yet, the Trump administration is cutting funds aimed at trying to save them. Scientists and environmentalist, beekeepers say that could have a significant impact on all of us.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bee populations already on the decline now facing an added blow as the U.S. Department of Agriculture suspends collecting data for its annual honeybee colonies report, a critical tool for understanding the plummeting honeybee population.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[03:25:07] BILL BUNDY, VIRGINIA BEEKEEPER: With the eventual loss of the bee population what you would see is more desert than you would see healthy, vibrant, landscapes. Their critical impact is on the food source.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: It's estimated that one third of the U.S.' food supply depends on the bee because they help pollinate many craps we eat, including apples, avocados, almonds, and grapes. Bee population have been steadily declining since 2006, colonies facing threats from parasites, pesticides, habitat lost, and climate change.
In 2014, the Obama administration launched a program to address the plummeting honeybee population. Directing federal agencies to track the problem and work on preserving bee colonies, as well as other critical pollinators including butterflies.
The Trump administration through the U.S. Department of Agriculture now undoing those efforts. Last year, reversing an Obama era rule barring the use of a chemical that is known to contribute to the decline of bee colonies.
The EPA has also granted emergency permission to 18 states under certain circumstances to spray an insecticide considered highly toxic to bees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We will defend the environment but we will also defend American sovereignty, American prosperity, and we will defend American jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A survey which tracked how farmers pay for honeybees to pollinate their crops was suspended in 2018. And another survey on honey production was scaled back. Now a third bee related database aimed at tracking how many bees are being lost is being suspended.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUNDY: Keeping the statistical study going is very important so that we understand what's going on and you can make the resources available to try to solve the problem. You need to have a data, you need to have a database that says in fact, our bees are thriving, or in fact are not thriving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Just part of the Trump administration's rule out of its own environmental plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: My administration is now revising the past administration's misguided regulations to better protect the environment and to protect our American workers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The USDA said the critical data collection suspension was temporary, stating the decision to suspend data collection was not made lightly but was necessary given available fiscal and program resources.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: We created the first ever White House beehive and hopefully our bees are sleep right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MALVEAUX: Saving the bees has typically been a bipartisan effort.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama and current Second Lady Karen Pence both taking up the cause.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN PENCE, SECOND LADY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: One of the reasons we wanted to bring a beehive to the vice president's residence was because we wanted to help our bee population. It's important for us to do what we could, a lot of our crops are highly dependent on bees to pollinate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: That was Suzanne Malveaux there. Thanks for joining us. I'm Paula Newton. Going Green is up next, but I'll be right back with a check at the headlines. You're watching CNN.
[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, I'm Paula Newton and this is CNN News Now, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt clashed over Brexit and relations with U.S. President Donald Trump during a televised debate, Conservative Party members will decide which of the two will be Britain's next Prime Minister later this month, polls show Johnson is a heavy favorite.
Here in Iran, to comply with the 2015 nuclear agreement this after Tehran began enriching uranium beyond those deals limits, now top diplomats from the U.K., France, Germany and the E.U. issued a statement urging Iran to change course.
The sister of the Saudi Crown Prince is being tried in (inaudible), in Paris accused of ordering her bodyguard to beat up a worker who took photos inside her luxury apartment in 2016. A plumber claims he was simply photographing a room, he was scheduled to work on, but attorneys for the princess say, he took pictures which showed her figure.
Richard Branson is taking a space tourism venture public as part of merger that will see new investors taking a 49 percent stake. Virgin Galactic will be in fact the first publicly traded commercial spaceflight company, it will Branson raise money to compete Against Jeff Bezos Blue Origin and Elon Musk, Space X.
That is your CNN News Now. Going Green is up next. You are watching CNN, the world's news leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our planet, incredible and beautiful, but fragile too, and increasingly under threat as mankind interferes. Mitigating the damage requires ingenuity, innovation, and sometimes a green thumb. All over the world, from the forests of Kenya, to the deserts of Dubai, from plastics, to produce, and protecting marine life. Meet five incredible people as they tell you in their own words how they are going green. With sustainable solutions to help save our planet. We begin in Scotland in the United Kingdom, where inspirations taken
from a trip to India is paving a new way to help the plastic waste epidemic overtaking our oceans.
In every turn of asphalt that is used, we would use around 20,000 one time use plastic bottles and around 70,000 one time use plastic bags in one ton of asphalt.
TOBY MCCARTNEY, CO-FOUNDER, MACREBUR: My names is Toby McCartney and I have worked out how to take waste plastic and mixed it in with asphalt to create a stronger, longer lasting road. We are wanting to solve to world problems on one side we call it the waste plastic epidemic, and on the other side the poor quality of roads that we have to drive on today.
This all started because I was at my little girl school assembly and the teacher had given them the topic of what lives in our oceans. One little girl the put her hand up said, fish, Miss, and my little girl put her hand up and she said, plastics, Miss.
And the teacher kind of stood back and you can see this look of shocked in her face, but the research that we had done actually show that by the time my little girl is my age, the grand old age of 40, it's expected that there will be more plastics in our oceans than fish themselves.
I remembered something I had seen back in India when I was out traveling in India, and what they were doing is they employed people called pickers, these pickers would go to landfill, they would pick up a load of old rubbish, they would take that rubbish put into potholes, they would pour diesel all over it, light it and all the stuff was melting down to kind of formed a seal in the potholes.
[03:35:20] And I thought, when I got back to the U.K., that is what I'll do.
We take the polymers, the plastics that you and I throw away every single day, the bottles, the bags, the nappies, you name it, we then pelletized them and with those pellets, we then sell those pellets on to the asphalt manufacturers, that use them to replace parts of the (inaudible), the black oily stuff that you see on the road, and it's that that forms a stronger seal, just like a super glue, rather than a print stick kind of glue.
We had to go to Ucaster credited lab to meet the British and European standards that was the original mix. What we found with those lab test results when compared to other asphalt, is were not just stronger, were not just longer-lasting, but in fact we were 60 percent stronger than the current asphalt that we see down on our roads today. We were lasting two or three times longer than the asphalt that we drive on today.
And of course these are just lab test results and we have to wait and see in 20 years' time, after our roads are been down all over the world, how long they will last, we now have done trials and tests out in the U.S. In the states, over in Canada, Bahrain, and places like Saudi Arabia, it took us quite a long time, certainly in the U.K., to convince the councils, our local authorities, and the asphalt manufactures that what we have actually does work.
Wonderful to be here, we started in a tiny little place, actually my kitchen in a place called (Inaudible), in Scotland and here we are, this is another road going down, we've got roads going down all over the world, it's great to be part of this journey.
So the road that I'm sitting on today is the first road that went down with this product we called MR6, it was the first mix that we knew would work, that when mix in with the (inaudible), and the aggregate to form this driveway here.
It is now been down for about three years, and it's still, as you can see, other than the mud from the tractors and the trucks that drive on it, it is still in mint condition, no potholes. If you just look, just over there, the council road over there, unfortunately, is full of potholes, our road is still in mint condition, they were laid at the same time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next on going green, we head to East Africa where one woman is having an impact, nit just on the environment, but on the health of her fellow villagers.
[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From plastic roads in Scotland to a village of coffee farmers in Kenya. This is our next stop in our green journey. It began as way to cap down on smoke inhalation in one home has now spread to a village, thanks in large part to one amazing woman.
ZEDY ROTICH, COFFEE FARMER: The biogas is very efficient, it also provides a very clean energy, it is so good, I enjoy and I really like it. I'm Zedy Rotich, I'm a coffee farmer and I also use cow (inaudible), to produce energy, I come from (Inaudible) county from Kenya.
Initially we had so many challenges, struggling in getting firewood and then especially during where, you know, does not produce energy for cooking, we have so many challenges of collecting firewood. We decided to come together as a group, as a group of 300 women and we want to construct a unit, at least 10 every year for the women, because it is a government regulation not to fall down trees. Therefore it is so hard to get even firewood to cook and you have to cook for the family.
Now, I don't even use wood for cooking, because initially I used to wake up early in the morning and collect firewood first and I would consume a lot of time and that also means that I go to my coffee farm very late hours after taking a lot of time collecting firewood.
In the morning, I wake up, I feed my cows and in turn they gave me cow dirt, where I collect cow dirt and then I put it in a mixing chamber, then I mix with water, that's a ratio one to one and then I drain into my digester and from there I can easily get my biogas. It's the fertilizer that I put into my farm. It is tiresome, but in
the long run when you work on the coffee farm you are going to get an income from it, because it is so efficient in terms of time, I cook very fast for my family. My biogas on household had two cooking units, it has two burners. So, I can cook food using both burners.
I also get to my coffee farm as compared to my old energy where it would take a lot of time -- it would take a lot of time to ignite, what inspired me to start this biogas project was to cut down the costs like biogas is a renewable resource, it regenerates. Number two, it is also safe and very clean, and number three, I also get a (inaudible) from bio gas units from the digester, it is also environmentally friendly.
If you look at my call, that all the element should have bio gas units, because it is so efficient and the advantages is outweighs the advantages from using wood, and just like all the women made possible to get bio gas units and to start using the burners.
[03:45:10] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are now headed from Africa to Asia, when it comes to farming and agriculture, people usually think large rolling fields with rows of crops, but what happens when that is not an option. In Beijing known more for braise smog and fresh greens, an investment banker turn Stuart Oda is hoping to change the future of farming.
STUART ODA, FOUNDER, ALESCA LIFE: I think a lot of people when they think about agriculture technology and urban farming they think about farming on rooftops or farming on balconies, and we are trying to show that you can take any space in this city whether it is an underground unused parking structure like our farm here in Beijing or a second hand shipping container or even an office or restaurant corner.
My name is Stuart, I'm from Alesca Life and we turn a news shipping containers and parking structures into urban sustainable farms. I am a former investment banker turned urban farmer, so I've had a very big career change. One of the people that I respected most when I was an investment banker was a woman who used to recycle all of the paper that she used.
She told me that she didn't want her children to have to go to a museum to see what a tree looks like and really a lot of the ideas that she and many others around me have really made me want to make my most productive years spent developing technology and innovation for the agriculture industry.
One of the biggest inspirations for me is that agriculture is a very big industry, almost a third of the entire global economy is related to the agricultural supply chain, the agricultural industry is incredibly archaic, it is very much driven by tradition, it is one of the most subsidized industries on the planet, so it makes a very challenging for us to introduce a new kind of technology and despite the efficiencies that it might have and a lot of the benefits there can be a lot of pushback from customers in terms of the perception of the food, and also even from potential corporate customers who view this form of food production as very nontraditional. The current agricultural industry is incredible resource intensive and
it requires a lot of logistics in order to get the food that's produce to the consumers that can enjoy them and so our hope is to be able to grow food more localized and also be much, much more efficient in the process. So this is the seeding area were all of our plants start out their journey.
Our technology is actually quite simple, it is something that has been integrated in the past decades, we use hydroponics system that allows us to recirculate the water, and by controlling the environmental parameters it allows us to grow 365 days a year, 24 hours a day and we can accomplish all this without the use of any chemical pesticides.
This is the second stage of growing, this is called the nursery area. Everything you see here is two to four week old lettuce, so after the seeding area, they come here, where they have a little more space and different nutrition and then in the final phase of growing our remain lettuce moves to the finishing area and then they spend another two weeks here before everything grows to full height and then we can deliver all the produce to our customers.
Beijing and China in particular is very unique in that the consumer base here is becoming more educated, becoming more wealthy and they are becoming much, much more sophisticated and we are finding that healthy food and healthy lifestyle trends are becoming a very big business here. Some of our big champions include Married Hotel, Westin, as wells as Shangri-La and the big hotel brands currently are really trying to find ways in which they can integrate green sustainability, healthy lifestyles into their operation, into their building directly into their menus.
So here we have micro greens growing, this is a radish for some of our hotel customers, they want really flavorful colorful nutritious product so that they can use this in sandwiches and salads, these are incredibly nutritious as well and all these plants believe it or not grows in less than 10 days.
From China we head to the Middle East for a solution to saving water is both local and beautiful.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In desert nations around the world, it is no secret that water is a precious commodity. In the United Arab Emirate rapid development is changing the landscape every day, now a landscape designer is hoping to harness the power of local, sustainable plants to save water in the process.
KAMELIA BIN ZAAL, LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, UAE: What these native and indigenous plants will do is basically just use less water, because they are desert plants, these plants really do have to hold any nutrients that there are in the soil together, but they live happily in the heat.
My name is Kamelia Bin Zaal, I'm a landscape designer in the UAE. I have been practicing landscape design for the last 15 years. The environmental issue for me that I really want to help solve is water scarcity, we are in a desert ultimately in the UAE so our water is obviously a priority, the government have strategies in place even to the point of dictating to landscape architectural practices, what type of plants they should be using and how efficient plants should be in terms of water consumption.
So that's the plants, plants that comes from outside of the country that usually consumes more water, so my strategy is basically to push in the private sector and these indigenous plants for a landscape design, but in a beautiful way, with the use of indigenous plants you are at least saving 50 percent of your water on a daily basis.
Plus, if you want to add organic matter or molecules that actually retain water then of course you would be saving more, so it really has a huge impact. In order for people to start appreciating indigenous planting it is going to be a slow process, to be honest the challenges with using indigenous plants is two things, the two major problems, one is the production of the plant is very difficult because they're actually quite sensitive plants.
The second is that we are trying to reeducate clients as to the beauty of indigenous plants and that they can be used in a different way, it doesn't have to be a desert landscape, these plants can be used in a typical guarding setting. One of the most exciting achievements in my career was of course being honored and get a medal at a flowers show.
{03:55:04] My inspiration again for that really came from the heart and I really want to give a different perspective on Islam and Arab culture to the rest of the world. Ultimately I'm Emeriti and I'm proud to be Emirati, I'm very proud of my country and I'm very aware of the world issues that we have from an environmental perspective. So, for me it is really important to do my part, for me, its heart based.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the UAE to the African island nation of Mauritius, where a boost in eco-tourism is also putting a big part of the environment there at risk, specifically the dolphins though integral to the waters around the island, but a group of conservationist is working with everyone from the top levels of government, to the drivers of the boats to protect some of the most important residents of Mauritius.
Shakti Teker, project officer, MMCS, the most important thing is I think is to educate people, because like me, a lot of American people are not aware of the treasures we have here, like for example the dolphins and the whales.
My name is Shakti Teker, and I work for the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society, the MMCS is an NGO working in the marine conservation and it has been involved with marine mammal's protection for about 50 years now. MMCS works with my conservation in a lot of projects, so we have been working with marine turtles, with octopuses and a large part of our job was with dolphins.
In 2006, we -- the rapid growth of dolphin watching activity, the MMCS started a project for the sustainable development of the dolphin watching through training, many of the Mauritius, and public awareness. So we had awareness sessions where we would inform the people about the presence of these marine mammals in our waters and their behavior.
This project was innovative for Mauritius, because we included all the stake holders involved in the dolphin watching activity and we work together with them to lobby for the implementation of a law that regulates the dolphin watching activity. It was not easy at the beginning of the project to get all stakeholders involved, we had to be very convincing that we were here to help them in the sustainable development of the activity, rather than putting an end to it.
On a typical day of (inaudible) for the dolphin project, we go out on the boat, three times a week when the weather is good, we monitor the dolphins, we identify the species and the size of the population and we analyze their behavior, then we go back to the office and we analyze all the data that we have taken.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one is good.
TEKER: We look at the picture to see if we know all these dolphins or if we have new individuals in the groups.
This is a level indicator for the health of the population.
People should be aware of what is in the sea and how to behave and how to live in harmony with the marine biodiversity, we can help with education and when we know something we should tell to the others and also we need enforcement, because sometimes we can have very bad behavior in the sea and it can be because we don't know or it can be because we don't care. So now it is time to care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time to care is something we have heard from all our green heroes despite the challenges ahead from rising levels of plastics in the ocean, the water scarcity and dry climates, but they are optimistic for the future.
MCCARTNEY: My hope for the future --
ROTICH: My hope for the future --
TEKER: -- is a world where conservation is an extension for self.
ODA: Agriculture and urban livestock can co-exist.
ROTICH: It's a world that uses green energy.
BIN ZAAL: My hope for the future is a world were each one of us recognize the importance of looking after nature.
TEKER: Where we don't have to think about it. It is just natural.
MCCARTNEY: I would like to see us clean up our oceans and make the world a better place for the next generations and the generations to come from there.
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