coach you said he's turning down the country's highest civilian honor in light of last week's siege of the us capital budgets said he was quote flattered but that his love for the country outweighs the benefits of an individual award. you're watching news from berlin i'm all units of thanks for joining us. the fight against the corona virus pandemic. has the rate of infection been developing what does the latest research say. information and context the coronavirus update 19 special. on d w. children to come to terms. one giant problem and move it in on the beat you do

you. think by the end of the change in lay a flip out. how will climate change affect us and our children. w dot com slash water. the corona virus keeps evolving. as it spreads its mutating taking on new characteristics that can make it harder to fight. variants found in south africa and the u.k. a more contagious straining health services. this mutation has led to more cases than we've seen ever before numbers that cannot be explained away by the meteoric rise in tested. japan is trying to isolate

a new variant from brazil there's no proof any of them are any deadly but the virus is constantly changing and could eventually make vaccines less effective. but watching evolution take place right in front of our eyes the new coronavirus is doing everything it can to survive becoming clever at jumping from host to host the hope is that where doing everything we can to survive many big economies are back in lockdown including south africa. this isn't a waiting room it's the treatment room for coffin 19 patients at the hospital in kylie. one patient calls out to tell us she's been sitting and waiting for 3 days waiting for a bed to become free next door you've been reduced to only 2 we think i'm going to do that and distributed to all. who work for the. dr susan

mccann colet has been working here for 9 years but the pandemic is pushing him to his limits a 3rd of his colleagues here have already had the virus. how do you feel the office building sometimes if you thought it was going to be enough for streets from from we don't know if you didn't want anything you already in your old in the 1.2 with difficulty doing something you drew. do do you 1st be able to do and we should we took that bump on 350. on average one person dies we've covered 19 in the hospital every day. there's a small room next door with somewhat better facilities for acute patients waiting for an intensive care bed at another hospital. but the local health minister admits the not everyone can get an i.c.u. bed most are already full fill it up as

a 55 but then i see. that remember i did it right oh i see you and that is what it is a lot of the house on fire. from south africans are battling a new more infectious variant of the virus the fast spread has led to tighter lockdown measures including a ban on alcohol sales and the closure of beaches the police are struggling with and forcing them. only patients over the age of 45 a. now being tested at the state clinics the demand is overwhelming. here in viral are just both going prizes lebar a treat every 2nd test is positive the peak of the 2nd wave is expected in south africa in mid january but even after that experts expect further waves i fear that neither the current enormous suge that we are experiencing know nor the

arrival of the vaccine sometime in 2 half way through to a g 20 won't for a small proportion of the population will be able to make a big difference. the government has said it's already in talks with vaccine manufacturers but there are no details yet. emma holcroft is a molecular epidemiologist how much hope should we be putting in these vaccines so the good news is that your body learns to recognise many parts of the virus when it's exposed to these vaccines or when you've been infected with sars kovi too so even if the virus changes a little bit the hope is your body will still learn to recognise it and be able to mount a really good protective response however it's going to take some time to get enough people vaccinated so that we can really see this impact on the number of cases and it's important to remember that most vaccines need 2 doses before they're fully effective so we really need people to keep using other non-pharmaceutical protections like hand washing and mask wearing and being aware aerosol transmission

until we're certain that the vaccines are helping us to keep the case numbers low but why all the concern about these mutations considering that there is so slight the boss of buy and take told d.w. that there are only one percent and that wouldn't affect his vaccines effectiveness so why we also worried. i think one thing that is important to keep in mind is that a lot of the fear about vaccines is hypothetical certainly it's possible that the virus could change enough that your body doesn't recognize it anymore and then your protection could be impacted but until we have a reason to believe that some of these mutations are really having that effect on real people who've been vaccinated i think it's important to keep our worry a little bit in check now certainly there are some mutations that have some concerns from early studies but importantly these it all been done in the lab and it's very hard to predict what the impact of a lab study actually means in a full size human and

a full sized population so i think until we really have evidence that these mutations will impact vaccine efficacy we shouldn't be too worried what sort of timeframe are we looking at i mean could it speed up the the rate of its mutations so luckily sars could be 2 has a pretty consistent mutation rate we actually call viruses mutations kind of clock like because they're so predictable in how often they happen so we don't expect the virus to mutate faster but one thing we do want to keep in mind is that while we have high case numbers where maximizing the viruses ability to explore different people different immune systems and maybe be put under interesting and unique selection pressures and this might mean that we see a new taishan start rising in prominence because it's been in one of these unique situations we can never completely eliminate that this might happen but clearly the fewer people that are getting infected the less room the virus has to play in these different environments and hopefully the last chance that we see

a mutation that we'd really rather not see and emma tell me more about what we know about these new taishan is making people's antibodies less effective in neutralizing the virus. so there's been a few studies on some of the mutations that are found in both the 501 y. v $1.00 and $5.00 a one y. v 2 variants those are the variants predominantly found in the u.k. and in south africa and the news has been mixed here so what scientists do in these cases is they take the virus and then they expose it to what we call the say around the antibodies of people who've already had sars coby 2 for some of these mutations it looks like there isn't any impact on how well those antibodies work for some of the other mutations in some cases it seems like it might reduce the efficacy but again these are for single mutations and oftentimes a few people sara so we really need to keep doing studies to find out not only how widespread might this affect to be but does this actually mean that it impacts the

your immunity in a full grown human rather than just in a petri dish and whether this is something we really need to be concerned about the example i tracing or sequencing has become so important. so i do think that one thing that these new variants of really brought to the fore is the importance of ginormous surveillance and sequencing we can only tell that a new variant might be responsible for a rise in cases if we have sequences that tell us that that virus has a different genetic makeup and importantly because that virus has this unique kind of fingerprint of mutations we can track how it's spread around the world as well which is why we know that this u.k. and south african variants are in different places around the world this is really important as not only does it mean that we can identify variants and the mutations that might be impacting things like transmission we can also understand how the virus is spreading and whether we can protect countries from getting it or how we can contain it once it's there now the number of sicknesses countries are

generating is really different from country to country and it would be great to see a more concerted effort to make sure that we have regular sequences coming in from every country around the world and a whole group of molecular thank you neal i just thank you very much for being on the show tonight. and let's bring in our science correspondent derrick williams he's been looking at your questions surrounding code 90. miles and visit the same households not always infected with the coronavirus after one member is infected. this is an aspect of the pandemic that puzzled scientists from the start you know it kind of makes sense to to reformulate this question to something like if this is a novel pathogen that no one had ever been exposed to before then we should have all been equally likely to get it and to get it equally bad right especially in a shared space like

a household but we apparently aren't of one possible reason why is that prior exposure to other coronaviruses might possibly lower risks for some people so their immune systems were maybe a little for armed then of course there are also plenty of people who are asymptomatic even when they do catch the disease they just appear for all intents and purposes to be healthy and they remain undetected even though they're carrying sars cove 2 and could maybe give it to others but we should also flip this question and look at the other half of the equation how contagious someone is so not how come some people don't catch the virus but instead why some of us seem to give it more easily to others there's some scientific consensus that for reasons that remain unclear a subgroup of people often called

a super spreaders or super emitters could be driving most of the transmission some experts think just 10 to 20 percent of people who catch coke at 19 pass it along to up to 80 percent of all subsequent cases so in other words. if your spouse or your child has the piracy but for whatever reason isn't a super spreader they're less likely to give it to you especially if you follow isolation protocols that said there is broad agreement that during lockdowns transmission still happens more within homes than anywhere else simply because sharing a household with someone who has copd at 19 increases your exposure so statistically at least you're still more likely to get it from a family member then you are from a stranger. finally the crisis continues to drive

innovation has a mosque for the hearing impaired which is also eco friendly. juliet now would you wanted to tackle uganda's waste problem by recycling its mountains of plastic rubbish at the same time as using fashion to take on discrimination against people with disabilities regular mosques where preventing her hearing impaired stuff from liberating these one stuck. by. going to africa. these freshly hatched sea turtles in an ivory coast are under threat. or their greatest enemies. but one in geo is working with researchers in the maritime police to protect them. saving the sea turtles the ivory coast. to coast of africa. next on tell. me more so.

discounted and inexpensive but animals are suffering and the environment is trying out. a new trend healthy eating and feeding resource at a. price war on the plates how good is cheap. meat in germany. in 60 minutes on t.w. . why did this person. there are many answers. to.

there is a mosque that can be done. make up your mind. had a little everyone good to see you it's a beautiful day here in lagos not sunny but just the way we like it now did you know that too much of its official life can have a negative effect on our health and the world around us i'm sure you didn't think of that we'll have more on that later on on the show welcome to the environment show eco africa a military way and then to visit condo park in lagos now let's see what's coming up

on the show today. we'll take a look at a cleverly designed on hand which turns every street sweeping device in gonna. find out why farmers in the netherlands are big fans of babs. and hear about how people in the ivory coast are protecting baby turtles. an hour after kenya the east african country has a high domestic energy demand i mean many sectors including the t.v. industry people are keen to find alternatives to fossil fuels kenya is africa's leading producer in cary coal country there are several t. processing companies that are using sustainable energy sources from the local area let's go have some tea. when the sun shines the rolling landscape of time to comes to mind the fields are

covered in t.v. . the special climate here makes it kenya's most important grain region. really has a plantation here he's one of hundreds of thousands of small valda farmers who make a living. he is the place to source of income the main source of income i have the bullies who have it completed and i've been to school for financial support use on the. chance. wanted to then to be sunny the factory here walkers divide up the lives into batches and prepare them for the drank process. the truck tree uses a great deal of firewood but because of deforestation wood is becoming us cause for source in the region. so the factory has begun replacing it with

a brick it's made out of sugarcane residue you. compacted more to grow a lot of storage space and very it's also very easy to transport less about and from units you know we talk of crude we're able to you know it's more intimate with them by a. liberal get some made in a nearby fuck tree the end made of sugar can fibers a west product that is left over in sugar can production sugar factories often dump the residue at the roadside where explored and emits the greenhouse gases come on the yolk side and me thin. but in this processing plant it is turned into a funny resource fast the sugar can receive is dried and shredded. then it's pressed into greek hits since the made out of a west product no additional land has to be put under cultivation.

diaz chavez is an expert for sustainable energy and has been assessing the environmental benefits of briquettes. this is human language to recall our economy so this is what we want to promote with bio energy and by quantum how you can really have a rounded cycle for biomass back to the tea factory it has been able to replace one 5th of its firewood with pre-k. . and other t. factories are following suit training their workers on how to make this week the hope is that one day they will be able to face out firewood completely. if they succeed it will help preserve the remaining woodlands and protects the habitat of numerous animals and plants it would also benefit to the tea plantations

in pharmacy. he said when they use the brigades the company. uses the expensive and this is money and the money saved goes to the farmers for the environment and the tea producers in kenya to bring a sustainable solution which potential the potential to make kenya t. even. in germany like in many other places forest fires are a growing problem so understanding how best to help for us recover i regenerate is more important than ever a group of scientists decided to see what would happen if a force destroyed by fire well left more or less change all devices to several yes we may think we are vast in many ways but as is so often the case when given the chance mother nature will heal herself even from damage caused by humans like us.

whether beech trees maples or estens jeannette blue murder and aebischer are always glad to see a new member of the family arrive about 12 months ago the 2 researchers began documenting changes big and small to this section of a forest ravaged by fire. to go after. we got what we hoped for i mean the ecosystem is starting to recover and certain species are quickly appearing and spreading such as these aspens they've now brought about changes to the area that are in turn helpful for other species. don't for a good 6 and in aug 28th seen a forest fire raised almost 4 square kilometers of woodland outside the town of twine pleats in eastern germany an area larger than 500 soccer pitches the usual practice after

a forest fire is to clear the entire area and replant trees as seen on this private land but not in this case thanks to a government funded project here dead trees are left standing with. local forests to d.t. henk it is testing an alternative solution removing most of the dead pine trees and planting other species in their place the idea is to create a mixed forest that's also home to oaks poplars and other deciduous trees. so i can i 1st wanted to see which species of tree i could use and how old they need to be before being transplanted carrying out tests is important to get the full picture 1st. and that's when the forest abroad in the expertise of these researchers they're here to find out the best way for a forest to be able to regenerate and become more climate resistant with or without

human assistance. the researchers take a hands off approach limiting their work to observing which plants and animals settle in the habitat it's a rare opportunity. it's now standard procedure to see to it that we repair the damage that humans have done all too frequently we do not give nature the time or space to do that itself and that deprives us of the chance to learn from nature to forgive them for all the false. among the things they have learned is that in addition to providing shade dead wood also in the hands of the soil when it falls to the ground it creates more humans which gives the soil more moisture the work is carried out on his test areas is on a smaller scale and is common in conventional forest management they're barely

accessible by car and he's a wreck did a fence around the forest to keep larger animals at bay he left a number of dead trees standing leaves have also been spread to keep the soil moist and protected during drought year we're seeing large scale forest fires in the region and that's going to continue so we need to learn how to respond to. that and that's why researchers in that blue murder is here she's been collecting data on soil humidity and temperature which plants and animals settle there and how all these factors impact on the ecosystem 8 other research institutes are also involved in the project the data gathered over the project's 5 year time frame is being collected at her university and has filed a near bilin but it happened habits like death data shows that natural reach even nation far exceeds the number of trees planted by humans.

we've seen up to 3 times the amount. naturally resettling can head to the rhine or oak trees that were planted on the area that i sent it off to after i think a flounced wooden. the researches are also part of an international network there we get to hear about the experiences of colleagues in the us and mediterranean countries and to learn if and how forest ecosystems can be made more robust. starts. to go and starts cooling our work is really important it can help us to compare biomes or large ecological zones so that we can discuss common patterns or and also told. one thing the number of studies show is that even the remains of trees killed or damaged in severe fires help the forest ecosystem rebound which supports the argument of letting nature be.

now we are equal africa love people will take initiatives to help protect the environment our next report looks at a young innovator gonna who has a truck with a view of finding cost effective solutions and sustainable wants to the problems facing his community his latest show will bring jobs a bicycle that doubles as a little sweet but here's this week's doing. this is no ordinary thought i can trade on. this weeping bicycle collects trash as it travels the streets but. its inventor frank darko is on a mission he wants to help clean up gun of capital. and that's what i'm not happy when i go outside. and i see so many robberies and going to so sad i'm going to see someone east from another country walking around i feel like hiding but i want to

feel very same so will is my new invention i am i believe i come if i can build a country all i can put an end or come to something to do that to restrain the risk on the streets. he puts his sweeping bicycles together from discarded bikes and scrap may so. it takes the south to engineer around a month to complete one. it's just one of several inventions he's working on. from dhaka and hopes he will one day own a factory and his eco bike idea will sweep across the nation. and how about you if you're also doing your bit tell us about it visit our website or send this or tweet. after doing your bit. sharing your stories. pollution is

a problem all over the world and comes in a range of forms some obvious like plastic waste in our rivers and oceans all of a cloud of smoke billowing out of factories but even some things we consider useful can be the souls of pollution and have their own kind of impacts on our wellbeing we shed a little light on the issue in a new segment called eco chick. gazing at a sky resplendent with stars. something many people around the world are sadly no longer able to enjoy. and vance thanks to artificial light while there are no up to date figures available in 24 team the skies over hong kong were already 2 times brighter than they might be naturally. we suffer sleep deprivation from too much artificial light including back and bit by

smartphones. it also just ramps the orientation of nocturnal birds and insects. our energy consumption could also be cut drastically by ensuring responsible outdoor lighting. for starters it would help if advertising signs and building facades weren't illuminated on my lawn. and if nighttime lights were used only for the places where it's really needed. some cities have already committed to minimizing artificial light such as fulda in germany it's among the $29.00 places so far to earn recognition as international dark sky communities. cities like these make it possible to see the starlit sky again and. set the body clocks of us creatures below to their natural

day and night rhythm. darkness not only helps us get a better night's sleep it's crucial for maintaining a balance in nature light pollution poses a serious threat to nocturnal species like bats however scientists in the netherlands seem to have found a solution to this by creating special refuge areas for the flying mammals in addition to keeping the bats safe they also make sure they are rolled in the local ecosystem is preserved. and there's one. and the educational line a figure at least 5. far away from the bright lights of amsterdam dock to commute.