Return to Transcripts main page
CNN 10
Are We Headed for a Recession?; Earth-Friendly Rocket Fuel. Aired 4- 4:10a ET
Aired October 14, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, lovely people. We made it to the weekend and you already know Fridays rock. I`m Coy. This is CNN 10 and I am pumped
to be with you to finish this week strong.
Lots to get to so let`s get to it.
One big question on many people`s minds is whether or not we`re headed for a recession or if we`re already in one right now.
President Biden said this week he doesn`t think the United States will enter a recession because of the strength of the job market but some
economists disagree. Biden recently passed legislation such as the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act citing those measures as
reasons why we might avoid a recession, but experts are sounding the alarm and pointing to the surge in inflation which is now at a nearly four-decade
high at eight and a half percent as one indication that we are indeed headed toward a recession. On top of that, some experts argue we`re already
in one.
Let`s take 10 to break it all down. A recession is categorized as two consecutive quarters of economic decline during which trade an industrial
activity are reduced. On the positive side the current job market in the United States is particularly strong. In September, the economy added
263,000 jobs but high inflation could be indicative of an impending recession as businesses react to higher costs by reducing production and
increasing prices.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new gauge of how Americans are being pinched in the wallet a government report on the inflation that
businesses are feeling says those prices are still rising really fast, even if they rose not as fast in September as in August.
CATHERINE RAMPELL, WASHINGTON POST OPINION COLUMNIST: Some of that cost growth will get passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices for
food, higher prices for energy, higher prices for the services that they purchase as well.
TODD: It comes as President Biden tells CNN he doesn`t share the gloomy outlook of some top economists.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don`t think there will be a recession. If it is, it`ll be a very slight recession. That is we`ll move
down slightly.
TODD: What might a slight recession look like in America?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: People are going to lose jobs. Unemployment is going to rise. We`re not going back to 10 percent
that we had during the pandemic, but the labor market is hot and interest rates are designed to cool it down. And that therefore means there will be
an increase in unemployment. It won`t be huge but it will be there.
RANA FOROOHAR, GLOBAL BUSINESS COLUMNIST: The cost of a home that is going up dramatically I think that it`s going to be harder to ask for a wage
hike.
TODD: Two of America`s most respected economic voices disagree with President Biden`s prediction that there won`t be a significant recession.
Economists telling Americans don`t panic and be patient. High prices at the store may take longer than you expect to level off. And even though it may
not last long, gas prices are on the uptick.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
Which of these layers of Earth`s atmosphere is the highest?
Troposphere, thermosphere, stratosphere or mesosphere?
Extending from 53 miles to 372 miles, the thermosphere is the highest of these particular layers. And the temperature here gets hotter the higher
you go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Next up, we`re headed to Brunswick, Maine, where we`re getting exclusive access with a company hoping to launch rockets into space using a
fuel they say is so earth-friendly we could eat it. Now, this could be significant because with the establishment of the United States Space Force
in 2019, and individuals like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos pushing the limits of recreational space travel, the number of space launches is skyrocketing.
More now from CNN correspondent Rachel Crane who visits with Blushift founder Sasha Dairy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASCHA DERI, CEO, BLUSHIFT AEROSPACE: That structure is what we`ve affectionately call rocket hinge, and what you`re seeing here is the engine
test site, it`s a horizontal engine test site.
RACHEL CRANE, CNN INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That`s Sascha Deri, the founder of a company called Blushift. Sascha and his team
are getting ready to test fire an engine that they hope will one day launch rockets into space.
We`re in Maine, far from NASA`s more commonly used launch pads in Cape Canaveral. The company`s rocket fuel isn`t typical either.
DERI: It`s a fuel that can be made not only in farms across America but across the world. It`s a solid substance. It`s benign. It`s not toxic. You
can literally eat. It it`s not calorically beneficial to humans, but it won`t do any harm to you.
CRANE: If blue shift can get carbon neutral bio-derived non-toxic fuel to work, it could be a far more earth friendly way of getting to space. But
first, they have a long series of engine tests ahead of them, one of which we`re here to hopefully see.
DERI: This is just one of dozens of tests we will have. But if all goes well, this burn will last for about 12 seconds and shut down. And if we`re
really lucky, nothing will catch on fire.
CRANE: Can you walk us through how you make your biofuel and what this process is like?
DERI: To produce the fuel, we have to liquefy it, and it`s basically poured into a mold. It`s actually put into sort of a centrifuge of sorts.
CRANE: But it`s edible so is it made of food?
DERI: It is not something that you would normally have in food. You know, I can`t say it`s the most delicious thing in the world to eat.
CRANE: I`m going to sit here and make sure you swallow that.
Blushift wouldn`t say exactly what`s in the fuel but told us that the core of the fuel is derived from common agricultural processes on farms around
the world.
DERI: I really wish I`d take a much smaller bite.
CRANE: Historically, the environmental impact the space industry makes is small compared to other industries. But rockets can be particularly harmful
to the environment. They can emit large amounts of CO2 and black carbon or soot among other pollutants, and with the number of rocket launches
expected to increase dramatically in the coming years, science experts say it`s important we find a solution involving carbon neutral sustainable
fuel.
Of course, Blushift has to get to space first from Maine.
DERI: Yes, here comes the sun.
All right. All right. It was for sure. So something clearly happened. I don`t know if it was a system automatic shutdown or one of the guys shut it
down because they saw some anomaly happening.
All right, guys, was that a manual shutdown or an automatic? What we just saw happen was a successful ignition. We saw the oxidizer ramp up. We saw
some initial instabilities and then the system shut down automatically.
However, in that very short period of time, we saw -- it looks like about 50 kilonewtons of thrust. Not bad. Not bad. In fact, it`s the most powerful
engine test we`ve had yet.
CRANE: The old third time`s a charm didn`t hold up this time, but two months after CNN`s visit to the company`s test facility, Blushift`s team
figured it out and had their third successful engine test. There`ll be plenty more to come if they were to get to space. After all, it is rocket
science.
DERI: There`s a lot of talk about getting off this planet and changing other ones. If anything, let`s work on fixing this planet, treat it right
before we can worry about dressing up other planets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: For today`s "10 out of 10", we`re heading to a meeting of British politicians. Why you might ask? Because the speaker was the world`s first
ultra realistic humanoid robot artist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AI-DA, ROBOT ARTIST: Technology can be both a threat and an opportunity for artists creating art. I do not have subjective experiences despite
being able to talk about them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: I`ve bot to admit, that`s pretty impressive. This robot called Ai-Da spoke to UK politicians about the effects of technology on the creative
industry. Not only can the bot give speeches, it can write poems and sketch drawings, too.
At one point, the robot`s computer went to sleep though and needed to be reset by its inventor. Nobot is perfect. None of you ever fall asleep in
the middle of class, right? Right.
Okay. Wake up now. It is time to get rolling. But before I go, I want to give a special shout out to San Miguel Middle School in Providence, Rhode
Island.
From me and my team, have a wonderful weekend, everyone. I`m Coy. This is CNN 10. It`s been a blessing to share this week with you.
END
