tv Global 3000 KCSMMHZ January 28, 2012 5:00am-5:30am PST
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our first report has the makings of a low-budget hollywood horror movie. algae eating asian carp were introduced in the us in the 1970s to clean up fish farms and sewage treatment facilities. but it didn't take long before they escaped confinement and infested the entire mississippi river system. and now an outright war has been declared on this swift and slippery invader. >> the illinois river is a tributary of the mississippi. on the surface, all seems peaceful, but down below, a war is raging. >> alright, are you guys ready to start electro-fishing? >> yep! we are ready to go. start electro-fishing. >> the men drop electrodes into the water. they are not out here fishing for sport. the biologists were ready for the onslaught -- but our crew wasn't. the fish jump several feet into the air and more than a few land on the boats.
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or even strike the passengers. but once the fish are out of the water, they're doomed. >> it's their defense mechanism. they feel threatened by a predator or something they think might try to harm them or eat them, that just happens be their response -- is to jump up out of the water. >> the large invaders from asia have been nicknamed "killer carp." they eat up the food supply that native species depend on. the biologists are trying to get the situation under control. but it's a losing battle. >> as you can see, they're kind of taking over our river. it makes it unsafe for boaters. you can be flying down a side channel at 20 to 30 miles an hour, and a carp could jump up, and people i know have had broken jaws, broken noses. >> dedicated anglers can put up with a lot, but they have little patience for this sort of thing.
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professionals and amateurs alike are staying home. >> when they hear the noise of the motor, they jump. they've put people in the hospital when they jump. i mean they're jumping as high as seven-eight feet out of the water. and if your boat is moving, it gets them jumping. people have been hit in the face. broken jaws -- a lot of stuff like that. >> has that ever happened to you? >> i've been hit a lot. i've never broken anything yet, but i've been hit a lot by them. >> seven a.m. the u.s. government has hired several fishermen to help get the infestation under control. they think many of the carp have retreated to this end of the lake. armed with nets, they get to work. they expect to make a good haul today. it's the united states against the asian carp. >> if you can see down their mouth, or not. they're a filter-feeder. they strain the plankton out of the water. you see the gills down through
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there? we're just trying to slow them down. our main job and the purpose here is just to keep them from expanding farther north -- especially controlling them, keeping them out of lake michigan. that's really our bigger goal right here. so far as from here on downstream -- like we were saying, there are estimates of 13 tons per river mile -- of just the one species, you know, and not counting the others, so. there are just far too many here. we'll never remove them. if we could find a market -- >> chicago lies on lake michigan. sport fishing operators at a local marina are worried about the effect the carp will have on business. locals say the fish don't make good eating. >> once the asian carp -- once they're in lake michigan. there is nothing that will stop them from going into all of the
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great lakes and every city that touches the great lakes and the state's will be impacted. there is nothing stopping them. >> in a national emergency, the u.s. often calls out the armed forces. the army corps of engineers has set up electrical barriers, hoping to stop the invasion in the canal that connects the mississippi with the great lakes. >> they will swim upstream, hit that. it will knock them off their rockers a little bit, i guess, and they will stop. it will not kill them unless they continue to move upstream somehow. >> back on the illinois river. the asian carp are firmly entrenched in the waters around the town of havana, 250 kilometers southwest of chicago. biologists from the university of illinois use electro-fishing to try to get some idea of the carp's numbers here. it just so happens. i don't think so.
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with the electricity in the water, we get the huge display. it makes a good tool to show how many are in the river, to show what they do, jumping out of the water. it is kind of -- >> [inaudible] >> so far, i don't think so. >> the region's fish markets offer whatever the heart desires -- but no asian carp, even though plenty are available. we ask a local fish dealer. >> there is no demand it is not in our supply. >> have you ever tried it? >> no,i've never tried asian carp. >> in east asia, the carp is a delicacy. but it doesn't appear on any menu in chicago's chinatown. so our team has one specially prepared for our meal. >> my parents love eating it because of the flavor of the fish, but i personally do not because it is too much work.
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to me, it tastes pretty muddy. they say it is very sweet, but to me, it tastes very muddy. this seems to be one delicacy americans have yet to develop a taste for. the only use local businesses have found for the invader so far is to export it back to asia. in spite of the army's best efforts, the fish continue their march toward the great lakes. >> here at "global 3000" we're keen to have people from different corners of the world share their views on globalization. today we hear from jasujuki kischi, a pensioner in japan. >> my name is yasuyuki kishi. i am 67 years old and i live in yamato in kanagawa prefecture.
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volunteer work. i hope people who work hard can earn a decent living and have a happy life. >> here in europe there are generous public subsidies to encourage private households and businesses to install solar panels to provide electricity and heating. but there are still many home owners who shy away from the high initial investment. in nicaragua, solar panels are, of course, also expensive, but sometimes there's no sustainable alternative. and that's why farmers in the small town of leon are willing to invest their life's savings. >> these juicy ayote squash are
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ripe in mid-january. it's dry season here in western nicaragua -- but farmer juan de dios garcía rodriguez is ready to harvest. today's lunch menu includes a summer soup made of ayote and mimbro fruit, with eggs and onions. the delicious variety is made possible by this solar panel. and it has made life easier for juan de dios. the power generated by the solar unit drives a water pump, which operates whenever the sun's shining. the water is supplied by a well eight meters deep. this is the hose. it transports the water directly to the plants in the field. it's really great to have water throughout the year. we small farmers benefit a lot. the water allows us to work -- we couldn't do without it. our cattle would die of thirst,
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and we couldn't farm. if we didn't have a solar pump to constantly supply us with water, we wouldn't be able to send our two daughters to university. thanks to the pump, we are now able to earn money year-round and are able to pay for their studies. >> his wife ada antonia sommarriba martínez fetches a few more eggs. she's preparing the summer soup for the afternoon meal. >> everything's fresh. the vegetables, the beans, the eggs -- our lives have improved since we got the pump. >> the family runs a large farm -- but now, none of their livestock die of thirst. five years ago, the farm got a new irrigation system from hamburg, germany. engineer josé benito rodríguez from the company enicalsa helped install it.
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since then, he pays regular visits to juan de dios. he also fixes the unit when necessary, but luckily it requires few repairs. forty farmers in the leon area now get their power from solar panels -- and josé benito rodríguez is their point of contact. some of the funding for the initiative also comes from germany. in the afternoon, josé benito sets out for an appointment with the local farmers' collective. he wants to get more of them interested in the new technology. but the farmers have to help pay for the solar panels themselves -- and they're more expensive than normal diesel pumps. >> each of you can plant maize, watermelons and white beans and all at the same time. >> the farmers are skeptical -- is it a good investment? josé benito hears the same questions time and again: how much will all the equipment
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cost me -- this pump and the solar unit? >> the answer is 48-hundred dollars. it's a big investment -- but it starts to pay off in just in two years' time, since the farmers save money on expensive diesel fuel. >> the farmers are starting to realize just how important this technology is -- and for two reasons. first, because there's less and less precipitation during the rainy season because of climate change. and secondly, for technical reasons. the solar units increase productivity, and give the farmers hope for a better life someday. >> leon is the second largest city in the country -- home to some 160-thousand people. the cathedral here is the largest and oldest in central america. the national autonomous university of nicaragua in león has a long history -- today, it's a hub for research and innovation in the country.
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new solar modules are being installed on the roof of this building. this unit is from germany, others have been delivered from spain. the intensity of sunlight in the equatorial region is double that of germany. that's why here at the university, there's a real sense that solar energy is the future. >> nicaragua has great a potential in respect of solar power. the sun here is especially strong in the dry season. it's a thousand watts per square meter when it's not raining -- that's a lot. but unfortunately the units are still much too expensive. at most, individual houses, farms or small businesses can use them -- but we still can't afford actual power plants.
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>> at the market in leon, the farmers get a real sense of whether their investments in solar are worth the money. juan de dios visits the city every couple of days to negotiate prices -- they tend to vary with the time of year and the amount of water available. since the pacific and caribbean regions see little rain in january, juan de dios is in a position to negotiate a good price. >> fifty centavos and no less! i still have to pay the bank, what's left for me? i can't accept. let me find out how much ayote cost in managua, then we'll talk. >> juan de dios isn't worried --
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he knows there are more vendors than farmers. >> summer produce is expensive because it's the dry season, and the farmers benefit. but we're also subject to the vendors' prices -- except me. i'm able to produce so much with the solar unit that i don't care what mood the vendors are in. i can choose who to work with and set the price. >> few farmers have that luxury at present -- but if solar units start becoming more affordable, nicaragua will be better equipped to make use of a free resource -- and one of its biggest assets: the sun. >> the arab spring was sparked by a tunisian street vendor who was fed up with the political situation and lack of opportunity in his country. in december 2010, mohamed bouazizi set himself on fire in protest after he was harassed and humiliated by authorities. this desperate act resonated
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with millions across the region. a new generation of entrepreneurs is determined to make a change for the better. /// in our series young global leaders habib haddad, who heads a digital platform for entrepreneurs and soraya salti, who works to promote business oriented youth, share their visions for development in the region. >> if you take the arab world...it's comprised of 350 million arabs. 200 million of them are youth below the age of 25. so youth unemployment today is at 33% across the arab world. and in some countries it can reach 49% amongst the youth. and hardest hit are the females actually. so the numbers -- and i think we've been hearing them for the
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past few years - and the reason why it annoys me to repeat those numbers is because, we keep on repeating the same exact numbers. nothing changed. the core reason of the unrest in the middle east is unemployment. >> how we can enable them to create jobs for themselves and others? i think its a smarter way, rather than trying to give away free money, rather than trying to give away free jobs and create a safety nets in governments. i think a sustainable approach would be how we can spear an entrepreneurship revolution? i'm habib haddad, originally from lebanon. i've been a tec-entrepreneur for the past ten years. i've been particularly interested about creating an
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entrepreneurship eco-system in the middle east for the past three years. >> we turn classrooms into entrepreneurial ventures. and these are public school classrooms. and we showcase in that experiment that entrepreneurship is a skill. you're not born with it but you learn it. >> soraya salti and i'm the regional directive for injaz al arab. we are an education organization that work with youth and ministries of education as well as the private sector. so we're bringing volunteers from the corporate world into classrooms. we don't talk about
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entrepreneurship. the volunteers walk into the classroom and say: we are starting a company today and we have 15 classrooms from start-up to liquidation. >> we assist entrepreneurs through mentorship-coaching and through you know even complimenting the skill-gaps they have. because unfortunately in emerging markets, entrepreneurs are not usually very well rounded. that's because they haven't had the interaction with all elements that they need around them. so we need to be able to fill that gap until they get there. a volunteer from the private sector is mentoring that group for a semester or six to 7 month. and then at the end of the cycle then we have a national competition in every country. and then we select a winner for the arab world.
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>> our company specializes in evaluating the services of kuwaiti restaurants and we hopefully win the competition and bring the prize to kuwait. >> because of the problems we face like global warming and more ozone in the layer, we want to reduce that problem by doing recycled products. we use used picture frames and convert them into trays, to be used for service. it's the most incredible thing because its a moment when you see a human being come to life. when you see that an energy and a life force that was dormant all of a sudden it is at it's full fruition of activity, of engagement, of building their companies.
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>> entrepreneurship in some parts of it has to have luck. but that luck is not something that comes. it's something that you create, that you go for. and we're trying to create that for our entrepreneurs. by setting up the right events, by setting up the right channels, networking with angels, angels-investors, networking with mentors, networking with expat community. >> we made a product you put in your home, in your factory or in your office, that you can control the electricity in your home. like if you went out of your home and you forgot to turn off something that works on electricity, so you can simply call your home and decide which machine you want to turn off or on. >> it's not important who takes the trophy home tonight because we know each of you will end up with a hustling, bustling startup!
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[applause] >> i am proud, because now i know that arab women are gonna take a big step forward within the next ten years. they gonna be leading it. so we've reached a million, but what's a million in 100 million that are looking for employment. >> so one thing that keeps me optimistic is the youth and their ability, their uncanny ability to adapt to changes and to take whatever they have and do something better.
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>> many thanks to those of you who wrote in to tell us about your favorite snack-on-the go. some of these taste-bud ticklers have been presented here on the show or on our face- book page. please do keep them coming -- you may even receive a gift for your effort. >> savory or sweet, heavy or light, what is your take away of choice? send us a total of your favorite snack and when a global snack apron. send your photo by post or e- mail to global300@dw-world.de. good luck. >> on this edition of "global 3000." you can find more information and background on our reports online: at dw- world.de/global3000. thank you for watching and do be sure to tune in again next time.
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