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Mauritius Declares a State of Environmental Emergency; Scientists Name a New Species of Dinosaur After Bones Were Found in 2019 By Three Independent Collectors.
Aired August 14, 2020 - 04:0 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 HOST: Welcome to this Friday`s are awesome edition of CNN 10 like every Friday edition of CNN 10.
I`m Carl Azuz. Today we`re taking you to Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles off the eastern coast of Africa. The
nation has declared a state of environmental emergency because oil from a shipwreck has been spilling into the waters off Mauritius` east coast.
As it sailed from China to Brazil, a Japanese oil tanker reported ran into a reef near Mauritius in late July. Since then, the cracks in the vessels
structure have been expanding and workers have been racing to remove oil from it.
Two small tankers have been pumping oil from the ship. Its owner`s say helicopters have also been helping.
This week the Mauritian prime minister said almost all the oil that was in the ship had been removed but what about the oil that`s leaked out. The
environment group Green Peace says 1,000 metric tons of oil have found their way into the ocean and the spill is close to two protected marine
ecosystems.
That`s the reason for the environmental emergency. Thousands of Mauritian locals have volunteered to clean up whatever oil they can and a number of
charities have been working to save wildlife and plants in the area.
Mauritius has a relatively strong economy with one of the highest per capita incomes in Africa. But it`s asked for help from France, a major
trading partner in part because Mauritius says it doesn`t have the skills and expertise to refloat a stranded ship and because a big segment of
Mauritius economy is based on tourism. That`s already taken hit from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ten second trivia. In U.S. elections is there`s a tie in the Electoral College, who selects the president? Voters in a runoff, the House of
Representatives, the Senate, or the Secretary of State?
In the unlikely event of a tie, the House selects the president and the Senate the vice president.
In recent presidential elections, more than 120 million Americans have cast their votes, but ultimately the person who sits in the Oval Office is
chosen by 538 Americans. These folks are the electors of the Electoral College, a system established by America`s founding fathers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Americans do not vote directly for their president. I`m not talking about a government conspiracy; I`m talking about the
Electoral College, a system that has been around since the birth of our nation.
What is the Electoral College? The Electoral College is not a building or institution, it`s just the name given to a designated group of people who
cast each states` official votes for president.
This group is made up of 538 people. Each state has a different numbers of electors based on their representatives in Congress. So states like
California and Texas have more votes than states like North and South Dakota.
The only exception, the District of Columbia, which has three electors despite not having any voting members in Congress.
How does it work? Each party selects their own group of electors. Each state that empowers the electors who represent the candidate who won the
most votes, except Nebraska and Maine who award electors based on a combination of state wide results and districts won.
The candidate who receives at least 270 Electoral College votes becomes the next president. What if there`s a tie? If there is a tie or if somebody
doesn`t get to 270, the house of representatives appoints the president and the Senate chooses the vice president.
Why does this system exist? In short the Electoral College was created as a compromise of several different proposals by the nation`s founders.
Critics say the system allows candidates to become president without necessarily securing a majority of voter support. Advocates argue it
insures less populated states aren`t completely ignored.
How are these people selected? The electors are chosen by their political parties in each state. The only rule is that they cannot currently hold
office. Can an elector ignore the popular vote? Yes, it`s called a faithless elector but it`s rare and it has never affected the outcome of an
election.
Some states require formal pledges enforced by fines and possible jail time. But historically speaking, members rarely depart from the will of the
people.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TEXT: Scientists say these bones are likely to be from a new species of dinosaur related to the Tyrannosaurus rex.
CHRIS BAKER, PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHHAMPTON: We`ve been working on a series of vertebrae from the Isle of Wight, which we believe belongs
to a new genus and species of theropod dinosaur.
TEXT: Paleontologists have studied four bones that were found in 2019 off the south coast of England. The bones were initially found by three
independent collectors.
ROBIN WARD, FOSSIL COLLECTOR, CO-AUTHOR: Looks like another piece of bone, not too sure. I`m going to pick it up and have a look. Not far from the
last piece.
And then once I got them in my hand, did a little bit of a jig, you know, because I knew they were something special.
TEXT: Paleontologists argue in a forthcoming study that the fossils are very likely to be from the same individual dinosaur.
Scientists determined that the bones were from the neck, back, and tail of the dinosaur.
They named the new species of dinosaur Vectaerovenator inopinatus.
NEIL J. GOSTLING, LECTURER IN EVOLUTION AND PALEOBIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHHAMPTON: We called it the air-filled hunter, the unexpected air-
filled hunter from the Isle of Wight.
TEXT: Scientists say the species lived about 115 million years ago and would have been about 4 meters, about 13 feet, long.
GOSTLING: The thing that`s unusual about the deposit that they were found in is it`s a marine deposit and dinosaurs are terrestrial animals. So
somehow a dinosaur died and ended up in an unexpected deposit.
TEXT: The bones will be displayed at the Dinosaur Isle Museum on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: From the past to the future. Space tourism in which ordinary people will be able to pay for a ride into orbit has been the goal of companies
like virgin galactic for years. Though the technology has been moving forward, the launch date has been delayed repeatedly.
The first trip, which was expected to take place in the middle of this year was pushed back to at least 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic and
the new safety measures its requires.
Once more test flights are completed; space tourism could finally get off the ground, at least for those who have the money for a ticket.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to space, Scotland.
TEXT: This is the cabin of Virgin Galactic`s spaceship that will fly tourists to space for about $250,000 each.
RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Tell us about the process of designing the cabin. You know what are some of the unique elements that
you guys had to keep in mind?
GEORGE WHITESIDES, CHIEF SPACE OFFICER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: You know we start with three basic propositions; safety, comfort, and the space experience,
right. So you have super safe seats that also provide tremendous comfort but then we fill the space with a dozen windows and customized lighting and
a huge mirror. Our space mirror in the back of the vehicle so people can see themselves in space.
And I think something like 16 different cameras all over the cabin to capture it all.
CRANE: And are there any specific design elements that you`re particularly proud of? Anything that was particularly hard to solve for?
WHITESIDES: You know placing that number of cameras in the environment in a way that`s non-obtrusive and safe but also that captures every single
thing that`s happening in that experience because that`s what our customers want, we want to capture that whole experience was really a challenging but
really I think effectively done design problem.
CRANE: Now, Michael, you recently joined Virgin Galactic as the new CEO of the company. And before that you worked at Disney as the president of
Disney Parks International. What does this design reveal mean for the company.
MICHAEL COLGLAZIER, CEO VIRGIN GALACTIC: It`s such an important part of the experience as our customers or future astronauts make it to space. And
I think it shows the attention to detail that Virgin Galactic will be putting in to each and every part of this experience from the time you sign
on with us, all the way through your preparation up to this amazing perspective in flight and then afterwards.
CRANE: Aesthetically, what is your favorite part of the cabin?
COLGLAZIER: It`s designed for when you`re weightless and having this unbelievable perspective of our planet. And so everything about that gets
out of the way so that you can kind of take that moment in. The seats come down; you open up the space (ph).
The windows actually work (inaudible) wherever you are. But it`s recognizing that you are going to be in angles that you`ve never been in in
your life as you capture this moment that is so majestic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: If you sports car fans were to close your eyes and envision something called the Hyperion XP1, this is probably close to what you`d
imagine. It`s a prototype for a super car that would go from zero to sixty in just over two seconds and travel up to 1,000 miles on a single tank of
fuel.
That fuel would be hydrogen. The car maker hopes to fuel interest in it. Its only emission is water but hydrogen gas is more expensive and harder to
find than gasoline.
But could it fuel a new hydro-generation of vehicles. Anything with 1,000 horse`s power it would be a gas to drive. And for racing, hydrogen`s
already atomic number one, yo. I`m Carl Azuz. Today`s show goes out to the Tennessee School for the Blind. It`s in Nashville, Tennessee. We hope you
and everyone in our audience worldwide has a wonderful weekend ahead.
END
