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CNN 10
Solutions to Honeybee Declines; CNN Hero Series; Glass Bottomed Walkway Opens in China
Aired August 16, 2019 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10 and you know what? Fridays are awesome. Welcome to the first Friday broadcast of our 2019
Fall season. We have a CNN Hero lined up for you today. We have something that could keep acrophobics up at night but first we have bees, or more
accurately we don`t. Honeybee populations in the United States have been decreasing dramatically over the decades and a new study suggests that a
certain kind of pesticide could be making things worse.
Back in 1947 there were 6 million honeybee hives in America according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Now there are a little over 2.5
million hives. That number hasn`t changed much over the past few years but the overall picture doesn`t look good for an insect that`s incredibly
important to our food supply. Scientists don`t know for sure why this is happening. Pesticides and parasites are the most suspected reasons and a
study recently published in the scientific journal PLOS One suggests that neonicotinoids, types of pesticides that are widely used around the world
are incredibly toxic to honeybees and other insects.
Part of the reason for that is because these pesticides appear to stick around in the environment and stay dangerous for longer periods of time.
Though they`re deadly to insects, neonicotinoids are not considered dangerous to humans. In fact, they`re a lot less toxic to people than
other insecticides that have been widely used in the past. An ongoing challenge for farmers is finding ways to keep other insects away while
still protecting bees. Pesticides may not discriminate between the insects they kill though one neonicotinoid maker says the chemicals risk to bees is
lower when it`s used properly. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it`s unlikely there`s one magic solution to the problem but there are a
number of organizations trying to help honeybees.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bees are responsible for pollinating one third of all crops worldwide and populations are declining impacting the nearly $20
billion they contribute to U.S. crop production. In fact, this past winter saw the highest honeybee colony losses on record but the company BeeFlow
thinks they can give bees a boost with a special nutrient packed super food formula they say improves their performance and immune system.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people say that we`re doing super bees. We think we are developing strong and smart bees.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Feed the bees the formula and they can work longer and in colder temperatures. Helpful for crops like these almond trees in
California which have short pollination windows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s very close from here. We`ve done a trial where we see that our bees were doing seven times more flights under really cold
temperatures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With no automated way to monitor bee performance, the BeeFlow team spends hours each day staring at trees, counting bees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know how many bees that the flower requires to develop a fruit of excess (ph) size.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Argentina, they`re trials increased crop yields up to 90 percent and made fruit like these blueberries in Oregon 22 percent
bigger. At the moment, BeeFlow knows it can`t address every issue impacting bees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a lot of questions that are still waiting for answers and we think that this is just a start of our journey on
pollination that has been (inaudible) by the agriculture industry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which country occupies the western third of Hispaniola? Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, or Aruba. On the
Caribbean Island of Hispaniola it`s Haiti that`s on the west.
Political instability and natural disasters like a catastrophic earthquake that struck Haiti in 2010 have had a lasting toll on the country. But even
amid violent protests and extraordinary poverty, a CNN Hero is working to transform a dangerous neighborhood into an oasis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Inside of this garden, it`s joy, happiness and peace but behind this wall it`s a different story.
We`ve been trying to get a cool down in Haiti for months but it`s always something. Unrest against hunger, against the waste, the cost of
(inaudible) in the country.
(inaudible) more fighting against each other. Barricading, blocking the streets with fires and fire. It`s hard for the children to go to school.
We can`t let the children of Haiti lose the only thing that they have left which is their hope. Twelve years ago in Seta Soleil, I started a
community center for peaceful alternatives where kids have a safe space to be children. You see an alternative path so all the suffering that this
community is (inaudible).
When we started there was a big landfill next to the little soccer field. We give the kids with their parents to come and help turning it into a
garden where the children would feel, that`s beautiful contrary like to the streets.
We collect tires that burn in the streets for a purpose and we use them as planters. People eat from what they actually grow. We open our community
library to all the schools. We have an anger management program where we try to (inaudible) support to help kids manage their anger. The whole
program is all about youth development. Many people in Haiti refer to Seta Soleil as the trash place where all the dumps are but I see angels where
people see this. I see these kids with potential with their wings hiding in the back waiting like to fly. I started this to provide a voice to the
voiceless. The new Haiti will start in Seta Soleil and we can`t wait to see this happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: People have written about walking on eggshells, air, sunshine, how about walking on glass, hopefully not broken glass when it comes to this
1,800 foot long walkway in southern China. It`s a new part of a tourist attraction that also features scenic waterfalls and a restaurant in a cave
which "stalagmite" be pretty good if you know what I`m saying. The walkway cost about $1 million to build in case you`re thinking about putting one in
your backyard. Even if you could foot the bill, it would be a "jaunting" task right out of the gate.
You wouldn`t want to ramble on too long once you got your marching orders. To keep pace and hit your stride, you`d have to be willing and "amble" to
take steps to raise the money and stretch or even "hike" your budget for plans to "crystallize" and "carriage" the project across the finish line.
But hey, at least you wouldn`t have walked away from a challenge. I`m Carl Azuz and that`s CNN.
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