crisis that has led to the deaths of thousands of people trying cross the mediterranean this year alone. that's it for had edition of al jazeera america international hour. i'm del walters. "america tonight" is next. >> on "america tonight." >> in the gulf of mexico now we're finding slimples that finding shrimps that have no eyes, crabs that have no claws. >> lisa fletcher with the son of jacques cousteau, sending a strong message. >> it's affecting all marine life crab, shrimp, lobster and

fish. it's not going to be over for decades. >> also tonight behind the crime scene tape. baltimore's vicious spike in violence and the victims aren't always who you might assume. >> if he was out in the street going places every night doing this doing that maybe i can understand. but he wasn't doing none of that man. >> tonight a look at the faces of bloodshed. a young man we first met cleaning up after the riots loses a close friend. >> thanks for joining us, i'm adam may sitting in for joie chen tonight. it's the middle of summer and the temperature is not only thing on the rise. many cities around america are seeing spikes in violent crime but nowhere worse than baltimore maryland. taking a look at the dangerous streets of a city in crisis. his name was kevin jones 22

years old number 123 on blower's growing murder list for this year. another statistic another homicide another father's son. reginald jones carries no pictures of his only boy. just a high school diploma. >> why are you carrying this around? >> it's the only thing i got right knopf now. it's the only thing i got right now. >> just before dawn on the morning of the preakness stakes, kevin was walking to his job acrossatthe pimlico race track.

he was killed in the parking lot. >> i was incarcerated. he came to see me when i was first in prison. he couldn't even walk. >> yes reginald jones was largely absence from his son's childhood. even with his father locked up and his mother out of the picture, kevin jones found way to beat the odds. he graduated high school, worked full time for two years and applied to community college. >> he talked about being an engineer a lot of stuff electronics. >> to hear your son say he wanted to be an engineer, what was it like to hear that? >> for me, it was positive. you know when he said that i looked at him. i said man that's for something

that's what's up. he said, hell yeah! >> it's been a terrible year. may saw 42 killings in baltimore, the deadliest month in decades. in april there were riots protesting the death of freddy gray. it was during those riots that we met peter heyman, a young man armed with a broom cleaning up the city he loves. >> lot of police right there let's clean up our community. let everybody see that instead of us turning it down. what's up man not standing up for ourselves nobody will. >> now we meet up with peter again, kevin jones was his best friend. they both worked security at the race track where kevin was killed. but unlike the riots there's nothing peter can do now. >> can you clean up after a riot but you can't clean up and undo

a murder. >> no, you can't undo that. >> what do we do to stop that in this city? what do we do? >> that's a question mark a lot of people got ask there's got to be an answer. what can we do. it takes the smart things last time, the little things. but it's time to take the little things and make it bigger because right now people is getting murder, it's like my friend his father that was his only son. he's grieving right now. i have two kids of my own i can't imagine losing one of them. >> baltimore has long struggled with violence. murders peaked at nearly 300 in the 1990s. when the police got aggressive implementing a no tolerance policy is the the murder rate dropped. >> the best way to get rid of police brutality and police trauma is for the zones stop

traumatizing each other. me as a black officer, you as a white officer, if you can't see what people are doing in the community what the (bleep) are they going to do? >> leon taylor knows that all too well. he recently retired from the force. >> everybody talks about freddy gray every last person who's coming in from out of town. no matter what organization they were with, you know, they came to say that they were here. not to do a god damn thing. beyonce, jayz they are all people, now what, prince come in have a concert now what? the problem is, you got a cancer patient and we only got band-aid solutions. >> taylor says the murder rate in baltimore is skyrocketing because criminals don't fear being arrested and many officers have stopped risking their lives or careers to get illegal weapons off the streets. >> i think the fact that you had

aggressive policing, the fact that officers would aggressively conduct traffic stops aggressively approach people on the street corners that appeared to not have any business there that might be planning a criminal activity or involved in drug sales or whatever, i think when you take that away in an effort to soothe the jangled nerves of the community you take away an effective crime fighting tool. when you take that away, you open up a pandora's box of evil. >> is that pandora's box already open? >> wide open. wide open. absolutely. >> in this atmosphere finding kevin jones killer may prove difficult. finding meaning in his death may be harder still. >> why was kevin an unlikely victim in this city? >> he was different. he knew what was around him but he wasn't trying to take part in

it and that made him stronger for that because it's so easy to get caught up. what you see right in front of you even though you know it's bad but when you see -- when you know it's bad and stand firm on what you believe in and this be a living example it's hard to see somebody get lost because of the chaos that's going on around them. and if we had more people like kevin that thought the same way maybe there would be less chaos. >> do you think you'll ever make sense of it? >> no. you ain't going to make sense of that because they shot him multiple times. if he was out in the street going places every night doing this, doing that, maybe i can understand and learn about how he is and how he like to hang out in the street but he wasn't doing none of that. he stay in the house man watch the animal channel and (bleep) this wasn't for him man.

>> and joining us now is jeffrey ian ross, curriculum nomination at the university of baltimore. good to see you again. a lot of cities are seeing a spike of violence but the baltimore situation does seem unique. what do you think is behind this? >> a lot of violence that take place in the city of baltimore are people who know each other. gang violence, a deal that went wrong, there is competition and somebody wants to eliminate that individual. those kind of things spur homicide. >> we don't have all the facts in the case, there is no evidence of, that, but there is evidence of drugs hitting the streets, rioting basing that on the spur in violence. >> the increase in oxy con oxycontin

there are other dynamics that are happening there, that kind of drug would chill people out more than anything else i would believe. >> that's the big question, if the police commissioner is blaming this if that's a scapegoat what are the root causes, is it that mistrust of the police ton community, and therefore could a change in police tactics actually result in a rising homicide result like this? >> there is a belief that police officers can through some techniques like zero tolerance or stop-and-frisk, they can alast the guns in the communities. but what's going to happen is they remove one gun from an offender, a perpetrator, what's going to happen is they will find some other way to kill their competition somebody who they've threatened, somebody they have a beef with, somebody

who has disrespected. getting guns off the street important but not only solution. there's numerous alternatives. >> the former police commissioner used to say bad guys with guns. aggressive in getting handguns off the street. if you have police officers who are not being proactive could that actually lead you to the root cause of there? should police do more to get guns off the streets of baltimore? >> obvious they should, but there's other problems too to reduce the amount of guns from the street, david kennedy's program that the boston gun project, he tried odo this in baltimore. this is second time around and if you have been reading the news you'll understand, lack of cooperation from the police department and also from the private sector. and what we need really is a march. master plan. we need stakeholders from baltimore to come together --

>> does this sound like a master plan? >> i don't see a master plan at all and i find had disconcerting. >> thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> up next going deep into the world we don't know. the amazing creatures of the sea and the unforgettable guide to meeting them. and next week on "america tonight." chicago pd's darkest chapter. >> these men supposed to be protectors of the law knowing they didn't do it is willing to see the city die for this? that doesn't make it any better for the man robbing and killing a prepred take ited murder. >> "america tonight"'s lisa fletcher. inside the police station known once as the house of screams. tuesday on "america tonight." >> we're here to fully get into the nuances of everything that's

going on not just in this country but around the world. getting the news from the people who are affected. >> people need to demand reform... >> ali velshi on target weeknights 10:30p et

>> on al jazeera america >> technology...it's a vital part of who we are... >>they had some dynamic fire behavior... >> and what we do... don't try this at home! >> tech know where technology meets humanity... only on al jazeera america >> in tonight's fast forward the hanford nuclear reactor once stood tall as the nuclear bomb that ended world war ii. now decommissioned, lan ford sitshanford sitsin its own waste. one of the nation's most contaminated sites. lori jane gliha traveled to washington state to hear the words of one environmental bl specialist, who says she was fired for voicing her concerns.

>> tom carpenter through the freedom of information act found hazardous substance he have been been seen at hanford many times. >> mdna, 13 times the oel. >> they found this chemical was emitting 13,000 times what it should be in order to be safe for a human? >> exactly. page after page of these kind of things where there are 3,000 times, 3700 times permissible limit. 2778 times the department of energy itself has done several assessments in the last four years, of the safety culture at the hanford site and has given them a failing grade. >> carpenter says those who talk

out about safety standards are punished. >> they don't get caught talking out of school. >> he points to shelley vos coming forward to point out violations of federal and state rules. >> if we are not following those rules we are falling down we are not keeping the workers and the environment safe. >> voss said they reportedly failed to report violations. >> three would not are reporting that to the state agencies as required. that's required at part of your permit your license. >> doss says regulators blamed her and then took away a her work and fired her. >> it is a horrible feeling to know that you're being laid off for doing your job and doing it right. and it hurt, it was humiliating.

23 years my entire career shot. they just destroyed it in one fell swoop. >> reporter: the company claimed doss was let go as part of a layoff not fired but the federal department of labor agreed with doss calling the be company's claims not credible. the labor department ordered wrps to reinstate her immediately restore her back pay. >> every ruling was in my favor. they even found that they black listed me. >> but the decision wasn't enforced. >> and fast forward to a victory for shelley doss who was granted a settlement in the case she brought forward against wrps, although the terms of the settlement has not been

disclosed her lawyers say she is happy to be moving on. coming up later an unforgettable destination and a legendary name as a guide. "america tonight's" lisa fletcher meets a new cousteau, discover the new mysteries of the deep and what has him furious. what is hot on "america tonight's" website now damaged babies, is the indiana health system endangering babies for profit? find out at aljazeera.com/americatonight.

>> if the ocean had a royal family it would definitely be the cousteaus. remember back in the 1950s the films of jacques cousteau

and later his tv series who made him a family standard. now his son. something else was on his mind. >> jean michel, how bad -- >> what's troubling jean michel cousteau is santa barbara's worst oil spill in 50 years. a pipeline ruptured and dumped oil oant beaches. >> whaton the beaches. >> what is the residual? >> it's long long term ultimately it's affecting all marine lives crab, shrimp, lobster, fish it's not going to be over in decades.

like the gulf of mexico, we're finding shrimp that have no eyes, crabs that have no claws. you are dealing with animals like dolphin that the have given birth into the oil. >> so the idea of a cleanup is really a misnomer. there is no cleanup. >> you have to do it but that means it's a solution. >> the problem doesn't go away? >> handily. >> it doesn't go away. >> it's affecting life, plants and animals. >> nonetheless cousteau believes in crisis lies opportunity. every time things like this happen, it's a chance to change minds inside the big oil companies. faced with the prospect of paying more and more settlements for sliernl damage, he believes they can be convinced in investing in renewable and safe forms of energy. >> that money could be used for new technology for a way for these companies to switch to

renewable energy whether it's the sun whether it's the wind whether its the currents. the all new technologies that are being put together by pioneers. >> i want to believe that about youbut you know, we're sitting in santa barbara it just experienced the worst oil spill it's suffered if 50 years. and in light of the gulf be horizon. how do you penetrate that? >> we need change we will sit down with these people, they have families, they care. we're not there to point fingers or to blame them. we're there to come up with solutions. >> the urge to seek common ground not confront, that's a trait jean michel learned growing up cousteau. i proudly calls himself a

deployment for the environment. traveling the globe meeting with 9 u.s. presidents and the first person in 2002 to represent the environment in the opening ceremony of the olympic games. >> this grouper who became my friend -- >> like his father he has become an accomplished film maker. essentially to raising awareness about the importance of protecting the environment. >> i'm a lucky kid. when i see this. >> my father said all the time people protect what they love. and i kept saying, how can you protect what you don't understand? is. >> his latest film is called jean michel cousteau's secret ocean. filmed in super-slow motion.

often for hours at a time at the bottom of the sea. he believes this new technology could revolutionize our understanding of the ocean. >> what's amazing is normally we swim right by and we don't necessarily see anything. but we start to see something arrow crabs are amazing little creatures and you see him he's going to jump. >> am orous crabs? >> why not. >> beit never gets old does it? >> i can see it 20 times and never see the same thing. >> be who might not make the connection. >> plankton is the foundation of our life. without the plankton, there would be no life on the planet. there are bigger creatures that are eating plankton. a lot of creatures that are

eating plankton. secret ocean is unbe veiling secrets. >> cousteau's first underwater dive was at the tender age of 7. nearly 70 years ago. it's said he has logged more time underwater than any other person on earth. to this day he exudes a boyest enthusiasm. he gets great joy when working with children. >> to come to my show, kids. i've never seen 40 kids silent for 40 minutes. and they are totally taken by the emotions the beauty the excitement of making discoveries, and then i open it for q&a. and i could spend an hour, two hours, three hours. they have questions nonstop! those are the decision-makers of

tomorrow. and they're going to make many many better -- much much better decisions than we have made. >> what does 70-year-old jean michel say to seven-year-old jean michel? >> that what? >> you would never get to school, you could would get to the ocean and stay. >> i was getting in trouble. one of the things i would do is catch octopus. i would sell them. and my biggest client because the chief of police. he loved octopus and he was buying all my octopus because i needed money to go and buy marbles to play with my friends. >> so you're still diving all the time. you're 77. >> oh yes dive dive dive. >> how many dives have you done in your life? >> thousands and thousands. >> 10,000?

>> maybe. >> how many others are there in the future of jean michel cousteau? >> many, until i get switched off. >> until you get switched off? >> yes but that's going to be 107. >> and 107 because -- >> i want to celebrate 100 years of diving. >> you're going to celebrate your 107th birthday diving? >> yes. >> i'll be a kid. >> lisa fletcher, al jazeera. >> later this month you can see more of lisa fletcher's interview on "talk to al jazeera." be sure to tell us what you think, at aljazeera.com/americatonight. you can talk to us on twitter or our facebook page. be sure to come back. we'll have more of "america tonight," tomorrow.

>> he was electro-shocked and tortured. >> decades of corruption abuse, and torture, by chicago police... >> you think people make a distinction between cia, black ops sites, verses torturing a thirteen year old kid from the south-side? >> people realize that torture is torture. >> lisa fletcher brings you an in depth report chicago torture only on al jazeera america >> i'm ali velshi. "on target" tonight hard to swallow, why some believe a fertile report down playing the damage fracking does to our drinking water is all wet. plus showdown in texas oil money and power pitting people against their own state government. fracking the world itself