palestinian territories, that meeting is expected to happen june 6th. those are the headlines. "america tonight" with joie chen is up next. you can always get the latest news on our website. check out aljazeera.com. eera.com. >> you know people are just dropping like flies. all those people that live closest to the plant, they went one after the other. >> we are paying with our lives. >> whenever you have lots of men and lots of money you are going to find prostitution and trafficking. >> you can't produce the most toxic thing on earth and also, protect the public. >> "america tonight" investigates. dirty power in america.

america is blesswith abundant energy. fossil fuels, nuclear energy, powers or lifestyles. but there is a dark side, hidden cost borne by a small portion of the american public, america's cheap energy. our largest fossil fuel resource, coal and the toxic waste it leaves behind. "america tonight"'s sarah hoye reports on a group who took on the energy giant. >> people are dropping like flies. >> vicky says this coal fired power plant is killing her people. >> those who lived closest to the plant, they all went one after the other.

>> nestled down in the basin, the moapa reservation on windy days, the coal ash from the plant moves across the desert like a toxic sandstorm . >> i have to program it to collect samples every six days. >> smith sits on the tribal committee. she and others believe the plant has caused asthma, heart disease, and premature deaths, including her brother. >> he was 31 years old when he passed away. i just realize how many sick people there are, people i work with, my neighbors, the next job and the people that live next to them. so it started having a pattern to me. >> we're not seeing anything from this plant yet we are dying

off, we're paying with our lives. >> i'm proud to say i am payute. and i'm proud of who i am. >> william anderson led a small band of payutes. >> the area down here is where my cousins used to live and they passed away. >> first stop: the health board of southern nevada. anderson said the door was slammed in his face. >> the response was, you have less than a thousand people so we're not going to pay attention to what's happening to the reservation. >> enter the sierra club. >> 8,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides every year, this is a fact. >> they petitioned to close the plant, to force it to clean up the waste. >> our children can't play outside anymore

. we wanted to keep our kids. >> have you and your peep had enough? >> yes, we have and now you see the outcome of it. the outcome is that we're going to shut this plant down and we're going to find other ways to produce energy other than polluting mother earth. >> nearly 500,000 gallons of waste water are sent to nearby evaporation ponds. coal ash which contains mercury arsenic and other tox toxins, force them indoors on ep windy days. waste water from the plant has contaminated the groundwater, resulting in arsenic levels 140 times higher than federal drinking standards. barbara

kolash. >> i if i gave you a glass of arsenic laced well water, i could be charged. when sel selenium and other toxic substances get into them and their children, it's not a crime? >> there's no way to say for certain that it's the plant that's making tribal members sick. >> we can't say this coal ash plant caused aunt mary's cancer. but we'll say this. it wasn't that particular pack of winston cigarettes that caused you your cancer. >> in a statement said, they've always operated the power station in an environmentally responsible manner. >> growing up, i don't remember

going to so many funerals. >> sereta hernandez dpru u -- gw up on the res. she lives in the house her father built. each suffers from respiratory problems and each needs a form of medication. >> this is the one my son has to take to help control the asthma. we have inhalers, we have nebulizers, my son takes a steroid at night to help control it. my daughter has headache medicines, and her headaches don't go away. >> in this david and goliath killing the payutes.

it is no kill. in the united states alone, that's why it's time to close the dirty relic. [applause] >> like many reservations the moapa payute community is plagued with poverty unemployment and alcoholism. >> nobody knows what you go through, i'm a mother, one day be a grandmother and i'm just glad they won't be poisoning the future generations, that hopefully we will be able to overcome it and let our children and grandchildren grow up here and experience the same family traditions we have here as tribe members. >> the tribe didn't stop at shutting down the coal plant. they turned to solar which powers the rest stop and casino. here

on the interstate, saving about $300,000 in energy bills. the tribe broke ground on a solar park. utility scale on tribal lands. the 350 megawatt project, enough to power 100,000 homes, is expected to come online next year. and to provide the tribe with a steady source of revenue. opening the door to financial independence. the payutes also aren't taking any chances with mv energy. >> there's still coal ash and stuff out there that's contaminating our environment. what are we going to do about it? >> once the plant closes the coal ash and other waste are disposed of properly. and for the first time a federal regulation should be released in december. for the small tribe it's a pig win protecting not only their

life. >> this is my home. this is where i grew up. my dad helped build this house. i'm not going to leave. it's my home. it's our tradition. >> coming up, the dark underside of america's domestic oil boom. >> i'm joe berlinger this is the system people want to believe that the justice system works. people wanna believe that prosecutors and police do the right thing. i think every american needs to be concerned about that. we do have the best justice system in the world, in theory... the problem is, it's run by human beings... human beings make mistakes...

i'd like to think of this show as a watch dog about the system... to make sure justice is being served. wrongful convictions happen, we need to be vigilant. with our personal liberties taken away from us, it better be done the right way. is justice really for all?

families ripped apart... >> racial profiling >> sometimes they ask questions... sometimes they just handcuff people... >> deporting dreams... destroying lives... >> this state is literally redefining what it means to be a criminal alien fault lines al jazeera america's hard hitting... >> they're locking the doors... >> ground breaking... >> we have to get out of here... >> truth seeking... award winning investigative documentary series fault lines the deported only on al jazeera america >> there's an energy revolution

going on in america's heart land. crude oil is flowing from the planes of north dakota at a record rate thanks to frack be ing. that is bringing big problems to america's boom towns. christof putzel, sex trafficking on the prairie. >> how did this look when you were first mayor? >> i wouldn't say dead, but probably dying. >> the sign says it all, williston, north dakota. the mayor has seen it come back from near death. >> it's amazing what oil can do for you, black gold. >> reporter: the race to extract that black gold from the prairies of north dakota is evident

around williston. lirchl and you can hear -- listen and you can hear liquid money filling up tanks. trucks haul it to tankers in the nearest train depot. and trucks roll through williston all day long. >> it is a great quantity of oil. they've had a huge reply successful rate of getting it. it's changed our whole economy. >> all of a sudden, boom. >> all of a sudden, boom. >> united states is supposed to overtake saudi arabia. at the largest producing country in the world. >> highest production in the upper midwest. >> bob is a lifelong north dakota farmer. >> you're able to lease some of your land and you're making a little bit of money, right? >> i'm not complaining. >> but not everyone likes what

black gold has done to williston. >> well you know, a lot of people yeah you hear a lot of them wish it wouldn't happen, that the money isn't worth it. >> what would you say the biggest impact is? >> there's a lot of fighting amongst people here. when you start putting a lot of money out there them jealousy starts and it's neighbor against neighbor. >> and the influx of people have called caused the highest rent increase in the nation. man camps. >> what do you pay here? >> $700 a month plus electric. >> and you supply the trailer? >> yes. >> is there much to do around here? >> the only thing i do is go to the gym stay out of the bars. >> what about you? >> do the same thing. come up here, work and stay out of

trouble. >> can't happen to notice the ankle monitor. >> i couldn't help but get in a strap and get in trouble. >> mostly dudes. >> a lot of testosterone going around. >> andrew and fabio now avoid the bar scene. d.u.i. arrests in williston are up 15 fold, drug abuse is on the rise and there's a spike in domestic violence. the mix of men and money is bringing another playing to williston. this undercover footage reveals the underbelly of the oil boom. >> wherever you have lots of men and lots of money you're going to find prostitution and you're going to find s courts.

>> wendy says the influx of women has formed amassive influx of prostitution, backpage.com. >> this looks like dozens. four pages. >> but she's not just looking for prostitutes. >> often the underage girld she will have her face covered. >> underaged girls trapped in a place like williston. >> a lot of girls under pimp control are branded. >> branded? >> with their pimp's name. >> when she came seven months ago to fight the sex traffic, as a result of the oil work. >> why are you so passionate about the work? >> first of all i'm a human being, a woman, i'm a survivor of human trafficking. i was trafficked as a young child. started

start run out with a friend and i was sold to a pimp that night. >> how many girls have you helped? >> since i've been here, ten. word's gotten out and people trust me. >> how often do you travel at night? >> quite often actually. >> to build relationships and help in any way she can. shelter, sympathy, even a ticket home. >> so this right here is a huge area for prostitution. and i would assume trafficking. >> right here at walmart. >> uh-huh. >> that seems so surprising. >> wherever the money is and wherever the men are. >> next stop: nearby hotels where she says most of the text trafficking occurs. >> some of these hotels along the strip actually have floors that are bought out by pimps. and girls are in those rooms. >> how dangerous is it for these girls?

>> a girl shows any sign of wanting to exit, they'll be, you know, there's consequences for that. >> north dakota officials admit that women and children are being caught up in trafficking. but their chance he s of escape are slim. only one fbi agent is assigned and their shelves are overflowing. >> hopefully we'll be able to offer help. >> where are we headed now? >> down to the strip clubs. we're holding a self-defense class, i want to remind the girls the class is tomorrow. >> until reenforcements arrive she continues her drive to protect the victims of north dakota's oil boom. north dakota's black gold will continue to flow for decades to come. fueling america's drive for energy independence. but the boom has brought big

city problems to these small farming towns and life here may never be the same. >> when we return: the unlikely come back of a form of energy many consider too radioactive to touch. real reporting that brings you the world. giving you a real global perspective like no other can. real reporting from around the world. this is what we do. al jazeera america.

the performance review. that corporate trial by fire when every slacker gets his due. and yet, there's someone around the office who hasn't had a performance review in a while. someone whose poor performance is slowing down the entire organization. i'm looking at you phone company dsl. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice.

this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. >> in our final story tonight we take a second look at a form of energy many americans consider dangerous and obsolete. particularly after the triple melt down at the fukushima daiichi melt down. the atom can face us from global catastrophe many feel. michael okwu has the story. >> three years after the fukushima daiichi

disaster, the california plant is the only one left in the state. >> do you want this plant shut down and every nuclear plant shut down tomorrow? >> i want every plant in the united states shut down today. >> i traveled to fukushima last year and found out firsthand what happens when nuclear energy goes wrong. >> 3.2 microseverts per hour, that's the largest level be since we've been here in japan. >> the eary on going disaster an ocean away has level many americans skittish about nuclear power. the accident at two mile island had already eroded support for a form of energy that had been popular with americans after the 1973 oil embargo

. and the film "china syndrome" in spheres. >> can you not promote a technology that produces the most toxic substance on earth and also protect the public. >> polls show that more than half of americans oppose increasing nuclear energy and nearly 75% don't think government should help build new plants. but now a growing and unlikely movement thinks the american public is wrong. michael is a former antinuclear activist whot no longer sounding -- who is no longer sounding the alarm. we caught up with him. >> i associated nuclear plants with nuclear weapons and we just thought it was something sinister. something to be feared. >> reporter: but a more

sinister threat, catastrophic climate change caused him to reconsider. >> the thing that really snaps out of it is to figure out how do you power a world of 7 billion people without also dealing with climate change? >> he doesn't believe renewables are up to the task. >> you got to look for ways to produce large quantities of energy in smaller amounts of space. with a smaller footprint. so that's where i kind of came back to nuclear a little bit grudgingly at first a few years ago. >> shellenberger is one of a small but influential group of nuclear opponents climate scientists and innovators who were coming out in favor of nuclear energy. >> how big a counter-movement would you say this is? >> well it's definitely growing. last fall four of the country's most prominent climate scientists wrote an open letter

to environmental group calling them to support the next generation of nuclear power. president obama is certainly pro-nuclear power. >> what helped shellenberger's conversion is how much the world has learned from nuclear disaster. >> after 37 mile island, after the fukushima disaster, you saw a reaction all around the world to take a second look at earthquake and tsunami risks. >> many of us in the nuclear industry have fought for some time to have nuclear acknowledged as green energy. it is a very benign source of energy generation. >> i can see people rolling their eyes saying, mabel, did you hear what he just said?

>> i would encourage mabel and her partner to do some more homework on this. >> a new generation of reactors like the westinghouse ap 100, its backup system doesn't use regular source of power to cool down. >> helping mitigate the issues we had at fukushima. >> westinghouse, even the new design requires a constant flow of water to the reactor core to prevent melt-down. the next generation of reactors will make things even safer. >> why could you not divine a reactor that had no

notion to release nuclear material? i set out to save the world with nuclear power. >> taylor wilson is part of a new generation of nuclear enthusiasts, call them nuclear environmentalists. at 14, wilson became the youngest person ever to create nuclear fusion. >> you keep yellowed cake in your lab because -- >> well i process the stuff. i collect all sorts of nuclear things. pieces the government lost out of airplanes. some people collect baseball cards, i collect yellow cake. >> small scale modular reactors that simply can't melt down like today's designs. >> for example earthquake. you break in your primary loop, where does the cooling water go? goes out the break. what's cooling this? nothing. reactor melts down. >> but

because wilson's reactor uses molten salt as a cooling agent -- >> in no situation, properly engineered, should the system release radio activity into the environment. >> the government recently gave half a billion in financing to companies developing similar modular technology. wilson believes list design could be on the market in five years. >> nuclear power has a lot of innovation, a lot of life left in it. if we could go forward in the future saving lives and saving the planet using nuclear energy, that in a way you could redeem the atom and i think that it deserves that. >> but for many, nuclear energy remains beyond redemption. >> what would you say to those activists who may have changed their tune, now?

>> i'd say they're sellouts. >> sellouts? >> absolutely. >> without question? >> without question. when we produce something that is so toxic and so lethal as nuclear waste, it's a foul deed against our living mother earth. and it's wrong. >> one critic told us directly, said those who've changed their minds about nuclear energy are sellouts. what would you say to that person? >> we're saying the same thing. trying to create a world where all human people could live safe prosperous lives on an ecologically safe planet. which risks are you going to choose? >> for a growing group of environmentalists, the nuclear option is the lesser risk. >> as america looks to its energy future it faces new opportunities and new dangers.

thank you for joining us for "america tonight"'s special investigation, dirty power, good night. >> fragile children far from home. >> nursing homes are not an appropriate place for any child. >> segregated and isolated. big money, big power. >> if you follow the money you'll see the influence it's incredible. >> heartbreak. >> my daughter when they took her away, next day she was dead. >> i'm sheila macvicar and this is an "america tonight" special investigation. invisible children. nursing homes may not be the kind of place where you would