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Memorial and Investigation Follow Concert Tragedy in Texas; A Bubble Barrier Helps Keep Plastic Out of the Sea; A Loose Moose Covers Serious Yardage. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired November 09, 2021 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Welcome to the show. My name is Carl Azuz. It`s great to see you on this Tuesday in November. At the gates of an
event venue in Houston, Texas, flowers and candles have been placed as a memorial for several people who died on Friday night. They were among the
50,000 who attended the Astroworld Festival, a music concert at NRG Park that was organized and headlined by Rapper Travis Scott.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed against him, the concerts promoter, an entertainment company, and rapper and singer Drake who was also performing
at Astroworld. The Houston Police Department says its criminal investigation will likely take weeks if not longer to determine who`s at
fault, but here`s what we know.
As Travis Scott was getting ready to go on shortly after 9 o`clock, thousands of people rushed toward the stage. Those who were already near
the front were trapped with nowhere to go, and as Scott started his performance the situation got worse. Some people were crushed against each
other and the stage or trampled by the crowd.
Despite a relatively large police presence, people`s calls for help couldn`t be heard about the music. An ambulance made its way into the
crowd to help. Two audience members told CNN that Scott stopped the concert multiple times to point out that people were hurt, but by the time
the show was finally called off hundreds had been injured.
More than a dozen were hospitalized and eight people ranging in age from 14 to 27 years old had died. As of Monday, there were at least five others in
critical condition. Who knew what when? And who`s responsible are questions authorities are trying to figure out. In 2019, three people were
trampled and hospitalized at this same festival, but an operations plan for Astroworld didn`t include a specific strategy for dealing with a surge of
concert goers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so tragic, many of them describing that they were packed in there like sardines. That it was very difficult to breathe
and that now they`re so traumatized by what happened. Some of them saying they`re never going to a Travis Scott concert again. Take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ve never been in such chaos, like, so unorganized and just so many people, like, slamming into me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you could feel, like, everybody pushing up behind you. Like, you couldn`t move your arms. You couldn`t breathe. Like, you
couldn`t see anything. It was like, you were seeing the back of, like, really tall people`s heads. It`s, like, when everybody was moving -- there
was, like, 15, like, 20 minutes we weren`t in control of our bodies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now all this as new questions are surfacing about Houston officials being concerned before this concert turned deadly. The
New York Times reporting that the Houston Police chief went to Travis Scott`s trailer before he performed, because he was concerned about the
energy in the crowd. Here`s what we know about the timeline.
According to the Houston Police Department, about 9:15pm was when the crowd started compressing towards the stage. By 9:38pm, that event had turned
into a mass casualty event according to HPD with one officer describing that there were multiple people on the ground in cardiac arrest, needing
medical attention.
At about 10:10pm, that concert was shut down and according to the fire chief, it took about an hour for all of those 50,000 people to dispurse.
Now Live Nation, Astroworld Festival and Travis Scott issuing statements, all saying that they are heartbroken. That they`re -- they`re devastated,
but that`s not enough for some of the concert goers.
There have been multiple lawsuits already filed. Some of them claiming gross negligence, saying that these concert promoters, that -- that the
organizers did not do a good job. That it was not a safe venue, and -- and that`s why they are now filing a lawsuit. We`re, of course, expecting
probably more lawsuits to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 10 Second Trivia. Which of these places is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands? Belgium, Faroe Islands, Aruba or Bermuda. The islands of
Curacao, St. Martin and Aruba are all part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Environmentalists estimate there are millions of tons of plastic in the Earth`s oceans and millions more tons flowing out to sea each year. As
much as 80 percent of it is believed to come from coastlines and rivers, and there are a number of efforts being made around the world to clean it
up or prevent it from getting there in the first place. One of them is a simple catchment system powered by bubbles, as in whew. Now it can`t catch
everything, but its creators say it has been effective and easy to install in a canal in the Netherlands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIP EHRHORN, CTO OF THE GREAT BUBBLE BARRIER: I think for me, the ocean or water has always been fascinating. To see plastic in our oceans and how
it`s damaging our environment, that hurts, obviously, so I was thinking about (inaudible) of mechanical ways of how we can live more in tune with
the environment rather than to exploit it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According the World Economic Forum, 8 million tons of plastic waste are being leaked into our oceans every year. That`s
equivalent of an entire garbage truck being dumped every three minutes, and the source of the problem, the world`s cities.
FRANCIS ZOET, CEO OF THE GREAT BUBBLE BARRIER: If you see some of the rivers in the Netherlands, but also in Spain, in Indonesia, you can tell
that this problem in the oceans, its being created by us. And if we can stop it closer to home, it also becomes more visible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here in Amsterdam, a simple solution has been found that could stop up to 86 percent of plastic waste ever reaching the oceans.
A barrier made of bubbles.
EHRHORN: So the way the "bubble barrier" works is basically it`s just a tube that we place diagonally on the bottom of the waterway. The tube has
a lot of tiny holes. We pump air through it, and the air bubbles will rise towards the surface. And then so we bring plastic which is in suspension
toward the surface, and then at the surface together with the natural flow of the river, we also bring plastic that`s already at the surface towards
one side of the river which is our second compartment of the "bubble barrier" system.
Which is where we retain the waste until it`s removed and then taken for processing. I think the simplicity of the system is what is really
appealing. In theory, it`s just a tube and catchment system. If you want to do anything in rivers, ship traffic is going to be dominating, by some
economic drive, and you won`t be able to stop that. So, we will have to find the solution which would be, you know, not hindering all the other
existing activities and of course also a good ecosystem.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The "bubble barrier" does exactly that. While it provides no impediment to water traffic and marine life can pass through
freely, it also catches plastic waste of all sizes. Anything from on millimeter scraps of micro plastic to windsurfing boards and abandoned TVs.
EHRHORN: So with every "bubble barrier" that we`re implementing, we`re trying to work together with the city and, you know, local NGOs to evaluate
what the "bubble barrier" is catching to implement new policies and additional measures on land and upstream. So that collectively, in the
future, we can work towards less plastic entering into the water in the first place.
ZOET: Our next step is a "bubble barrier" within Europe or actually multiple within Europe and we, of course, want to move to Asia, because we
think we can make a lot of impact there and that`s what we`re going for right now.
EHRHORN: "Bubble barrier" is one part of -- of the approach. It`s not going to be (inaudible) to just solve the whole plastic pollution problem,
but we think it`s a significant and very important tool to really, you know, have a pragmatic approach of saying.
We know that we have plastic in our oceans. We know rivers and canals are major pathways. We can stop this today to tackle this problem in a more
integrated approach. That we look at how are things being produced, how are things being collected, how are they being processed and -- and
recycled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: The first ever Call to Earth Day is taking place this Wednesday. It`s part of a new partnership between CNN and Rolex and it highlights what
the companies recognize as a planet worth protecting. If you, your class or your school would like to get involved, please visit
cnn.com/CALLTOEARTH.
South Dakota State University`s mascot is the jackrabbit, but never underestimate the swiftness of the moose. This happened ahead of last
weekend`s rivalry game between South Dakota State and North Dakota State. Police and stadium officials worked to shew the animal out of the venue.
We can`t confirm that the moose had any impact on the game, though he would have scored himself if he hadn`t stepped out of bounds. But South Dakota
State later won.
I think the team needs to recruit him. I mean he could run all day. He`s got plenty of "moosle". Plus, he could follow in the footsteps of "Baker
Moosefield", "Emmose Smith", "Joe Moostana", "Mooka Fitzpatrick", "Joe Namoose", "Mooshall Faulk" and of course "Randy Moose". That`s "moosely"
all for today, but before we leave, we want to give a shout out to you, the students of Gar-Field Senior High School watching from Woodbridge,
Virginia. Thank you for your comment on our You Tube Channel. I`m Carl "Amoose" for CNN.
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