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Gaza Devastated in Aftermath of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; Kurdish Fighters Defeat ISIS in Fighting Over Largest Dam in Iraq; New Solutions for U.S. Trash Problem Help Save Money in Philadelphia
Aired August 21, 2014 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN ANCHOR: As your week winds down, we are glad you`re taking ten minutes to get up to speed on world events. I`m Carl Azuz with CNN
STUDENT NEWS. Today`s show starts in the Middle East. Rockets launched across borders, airstrikes. This is the ongoing violence between Hamas and
Israel. Hamas is a political party that controls the Palestinian territory of Gaza. The U.S. and European Union consider Hamas as terrorist group.
In the latest conflict that began in July Hamas has been blamed for firing 3500 rockets toward Israel. 67 Israelis have been killed, most of them
Israeli soldiers. They`ve been involved in a ground operation to destroy secret tunnels that Hamas used to approach and attack Israel. Israel has
also launched airstrikes aimed at suspected terrorists. More than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELISE LABOTT, CNN ANCHOR: Here`s the question facing Israel, Hamas and the international community. How do you prevent a repeat of the conflict? The
reconstruction of Gaza seems to hold the key. The destruction is massive. Satellite images show entire city blocks and neighborhoods wiped out. The
U.N. estimates about a quarter of all Gaza`s population has been displaced. Nearly 60,000 people lost their homes. Schools, hospitals, factories, all
part of the rebel. And the sewage system is totally destroyed.
Palestinians in Gaza say life there is a prison, and to keep the peace Hamas is demanding an end to what it calls the blockade of Gaza. Now,
Israel controls three of Gaza`s borders. But remains very wary of goods coming into Gaza without strict monitoring of the border with Egypt. They
don`t want Hamas using materials brought into Gaza like cement to rebuild those tunnels and stage attacks against Israelis. If that were to happen,
Israel would undoubtedly respond and we would see yet another cycle of violence.
That`s why Israel wants the Palestinian Authority run by President Mahmoud Abbas to take control over Gaza 7.5 mile border with Egypt. To prevent the
smuggling of weapons. It also hopes that that could strengthen President Abbas`s hand in Gaza and help with their ultimate goal of full
demilitarization of Hamas. And that could stop the rocket fire, which by now can reach almost anywhere in Israel. This all on the table at ongoing
talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Cairo into the long term truce, up to ten years. Now, that`s how long the U.N. says it will take to
rebuild Gaza to the tune of $4 to $6 billion. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon set a permanent solution must be found. Because this is the
last time the said that the international community will rebuild Gaza only to have it torn down again by another war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: We`ve been talking a lot about ISIS or Islamic State this year. This is a murderous terrorist organization that`s been taking over parts of
Iraq. ISIS wants to create a theocracy in the Middle East based on its strict interpretation of Islam. The group has been killing people who
don`t share its extreme beliefs. That includes James Foley. He was a 40- year old American journalist. He disappeared in Northwest Syria in 2012. ISIS released information this week that it had brutally murdered James
Foley. It said any U.S. attempt to fight ISIS would result in American bloodshed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West,
but the fact is they terrorized their neighbors, and offered them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision. And the collapse of any
definition of civilized behavior. And people like this ultimately fail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: ISIS had taken over a dam near the Iraqi city of Mosul last month. It`s a strategic place on the Tigris River. If the dam were to fail, it
could cause catastrophic flooding in a huge part of Iraq. A group of Kurdish fighters, people from northern Iraq were battling to regain control
of the dam. And with support from U.S. airstrikes they did it. The Kurdish fighters are known as the Peshmerga.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time for the Shoutout. Every year, the U.S. produces about 250 million tons of what? If you think you know it, shout it out!
Is it soybeans, garbage, paper or cheese? You`ve got three seconds, go!
Environmental Protection Agency says Americans produce about 250 million tons of trash in a year. That`s your answer and that`s your shoutout.
AZUZ: The EPA says a little over a third of that garbage is recycled, a lot of what`s left is compacted and shipped off landfills. Of course, it
takes workers to get that done. And there`s a new type of trashcan being tested that aims to help make the process more efficient. Comes at a cost,
though, in both the price of the cans and the jobs of those who manage them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trash is a problem that`s plagued humans since we moved into cities. And dealing with it is messy and expensive. America
spends approximately $55 billion a year of managing waste. But in Philadelphia, a trashcan is revolutionizing waste management cutting down
on air pollution and potentially saving the city millions in the process.
MICHAEL FELDMAN, VP OF ENGINEERING, BIGBELLY SOLAR: The concept was to marry solar technology, some wireless technology and some trash compaction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The BigBelly Solar compactor automatically crashes down its trash, allowing it to hold five times the amount of garbage as a
standard waste basket. When it`s full it sends its alert to website indicating it means to be empty. That little alert makes a bit difference.
DONALD CARLTON, DEPUTY CHIEF COMMISSIONER: Before BigBelly we have wide baskets (INAUDIBLE) city. They were serviced 17 times per week. The
installation of the BigBelly units have allowed us to now only service the BigBelly four times a week, which is approximately a million dollar saving
for the city of Philadelphia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of that savings has come from cutting the size of collection crews.
FELDMAN: In Philadelphia`s case, they took a crew of 33 trash collection staff. And reoriented it into approximately nine guys now collecting trash
and the rest of the guys have been working on the recycling effort.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A single compactor can operate for an entire year on the energy it takes to drive a garbage truck one mile. The city showed
that a total of $4.7 million for the smart trashcans.
CARLTON: Well, you are talking about spending $3500 to $3900, one of (INAUDIBLE) that is sound. That great at first, but when you see the
savings in reduction of the crew cost, you always want to pay for themselves within five years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Major cities across the world from New York to London are also using these smart trashcans. But the Philly experiment is the
largest. Trash will always be a part of our lives, but with smart technology it doesn`t have to be a total waste.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: "Roll Call" is all about you. Who is watching? The three schools on today`s show were chosen from Wednesday transcript page at
cnnstudentnews.com. We`ll start in a heartland. Manhattan, Kansas is where you`ll find Susan B. Anthony Middle School. Their mascot is the
tornadoes. In Covington, Louisiana, say hello to the Hawks. They are watching tat Archbishop Hannan High School. And in Romney, West Virginia
we`ve got the Trojans (ph) online. Hello to everyone at Hampshire High School.
You are probably watching this sitting down. I`m anchoring it sitting down. But chairs take up space. So, a company based in Switzerland came
up with this: the chairless chair. People would wear it strapped to their wastes and legs. The company says you can walk in it, run in it, climb
stairs in it, but when you need to have a sit, you`d already have one strapped to your seat. Probably, more useful on the job like in an
assembly line than it would be at school, but if you are somewhere careless and you`re looking to get a leg up on tired people, this invention might
sit the bill. Assuming your self-consciousness isn`t deep-seated. That`s something you`d have to take up with the chairman. I`m Carl Azuz. We hope
you`ll have a seat again tomorrow for ten more minutes of commercial free CNN STUDENT NEWS.
END
