tonight on "nightline," teen plastic surgery. how young is too young to get nipped or tucked? and what do parents have to say about it? we go into the operating room as these teens go under the knife. equal opportunity offender. he's made a career writing best selling books against religion and infuriating believers, but now he's going after atheists, as well. and, earth ships fred the foundations, to the walls, tonight, energy efficient homes built almost entirely out of garbage is a "sign of the times." >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden

and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," december 29th, 2010. >> good evening, everyone, i'm bill weir. thanks for staying up with us. more people than ever is now seeking beauty with the help of a really sharp knife. according to the american society of plastic surgeons, the number of operations has jumped nearly 70% in the last decade. among that surge is a controversial new clientele, teenagers. last year, an estimated 200,000 teens, mostly girls, were nipped or tucked in one way or another. young patients electing to reshape breasts or noses before they are fully grown. and for more on this, here's lisa ling. >> this is my room. these are all my dance photos. and that's me before my ninth grade dance. >> reporter: kate lynn is a beautiful girl, but like in teenagers, she suffered about insecurities. what do you think when you look

in the mirror that day? >> i felt pretty, but a lot of my friends had more, kind of the low cut, more exposed, but i wanted something to cover the area, i didn't want to draw more attention to what i didn't have. >> reporter: at 18, she says she's been continually tormented for what she considers her physical shortcomings. >> i have always been the friend with small breasts. and i was tired of being teased about it. in the summertime, when we all go bathing suit shopping and everything, i would be like, okay, do we need to go in the kid's section? i always picked at myself, picked at my body. and pulled out every imperfection that i could find. >> reporter: and so she yearns for what she thinks will be the answer. bigger breasts. and how did your parents feel about you wanting to have it? >> they were understanding about it. they've seen me struggle with my self-esteem and they just want

to help me in any way they can. >> reporter: so, finally, as a christmas gift, her mother and step-father are giving kate lynn the implants she coveted. do you think it's worth the physical pain of it? >> i do. we go to the gym. when we go to the gym, we hurt for days and we still go to the gym, so, yeah. i mean, everything comes with a price tag. >> everything is going to look so nice and don't worry. too little baby tucked away insessions right under there. we'll get you a nice pretty cleavage. >> reporter: kate lynn went for a consultation with trackfrankl rose. he did her mom's breasts, too. >> you'd be surprised in the techniques we use, how little pain there is. >> reporter: we'll find out how much pain is actually involved shortly. >> how long is the actual surgery? oh, hour, hour and a half. >> that's not bad. >> reporter: meanwhile, tracy is here with her father to discuss her second cosmetic surgery.

>> he did a breast augmentation on me two years ago and that went super well. so, he made me feel very comfortable. love this, the canary yellow. >> tracy had a difficult time when she was reaching high school age and going shopping for clothes that were high school appropriate, she was still wearing preteen clothes. >> reporter: her parents allowed her to have the surgery at age 17. >> that's definitely one of my essentials. lip gloss. i think i put pressure on myself to look a certain way for sure. i'm like, ugh, i'm only 19 and i have wrinkles. >> so, just a little smoothing. >> reporter: today, it's a nose job. she wants to remove a slight bump. >> just to smoout this ever so much. >> reporter: okay, what bump are you talking about? >> you don't see it? right there. >> reporter: her parents say they've agreed because she was having worked done for a

deviated septum. >> hopefully with fixing that and a little bit of cosmetic work she will feel better about herself and feel healthier. >> reporter: there are people who will be watching this, who will say, how can these parents let their daughter start having plastic surgery? how do you respond to them? >> it's got to be an individual choice, it's got to be a family choice. >> and the fact that she was going to be shortly coming of age where she could go out and do it behind our back, we didn't want that to happen. >> reporter: both tracy and kate lynn will have surgery on the same day. second thoughts? >> no. tired. >> she was a very beautiful young patient and now she'll be even prettier. we're going to cauterize here. >> reporter: a chisel and mallet are used to sculpt tracy's nasal

bone. >> voila. a new tracy. >> reporter: tracy? >> hi. >> reporter: how are you feeling? >> good. i just can't feel my nose. >> reporter: you still feeling as optimistic? >> i hope. >> reporter: what's it like to see her this way? >> of course she's my baby. forget what age. she's still my baby. so, seeing her like this -- it just makes me want to kind of baby her right now, for obvious reasons. >> reporter: your baby has a new nose. >> my baby has a new nose. that's the best thing. >> reporter: best door, kate lynn is getting ready for her operation. did you look in the mirror this morning? >> i did. i actually did and i was just like, good-bye old body. >> reporter: how is mom feeling today? >> worried. >> reporter: did it make you feel better after you had it done?

>> oh, yeah. yeah, it did. >> reporter: this one's not next, is she? >> no, no. >> i love you. >> i love you, too. >> take care of her. >> so, that's the saline that's getting filled into the implant. >> reporter: large c implants are inserted into tiny incisions under her breasts. >> see how that's just a little bit bigger though we used less saline. >> reporter: kate lynn. have you ever felt a pain like this? >> not so much. >> reporter: it's pretty bad?

can you describe what the pain feels like? >> it feels like somebody's been throwing bricks at my breasts. >> dr. rose will be with you in a few minutes. >> okay, thank you. >> reporter: three weeks later, kate lynn is thrilled with her new assets. >> they're perfect. >> they are. they're perfect. i can venture out and buy normal things like my normal friends at victoria's secret and other places i wasn't able to shop at before. i can't say there won't by anymore, but as of right now, i'm very happy with where i'm at. >> everything looks super. >> reporter: tracy, for her part, says she loves her nose, but is sure this is the end of her plastic surgery journey. >> i'm very happy with the procedures i've done, but there's no need to go beyond that. >> our thanks to lisa ling for that report. and when we come back, a writer known for attacking religion

turns on atheists, as well. we go beyond belief with author sam harris. i can't believe i used to swing over those rocks... took some foolish risks as a teenager. but i was still taking a foolish risk with my cholesterol. anyone with high cholesterol may be at increased risk of heart attack. diet and exercise weren't enough for me. i stopped kidding myself. i've been eating healthier, exercising more... and now i'm also taking lipitor. if you've been kidding yourself about high cholesterol...stop. along with diet, lipitor has been shown to lower bad cholesterol 39% to 60%. lipitor is fda approved to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients who have heart disease or risk factors for heart disease. [ female announcer ] lipitor is not for everyone, including people with liver problems and women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. you need simple blood tests to check for liver problems. tell your doctor if you are taking other medications or if you have any muscle pain or weakness. this may be a sign of a rare but serious side effect. let's go, boy, go! whoo-whee!

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what is moral? what is not? and who has the authority to say which is which? spend any time with the renowned enemy of religion, sam harris, and central, seemingly settled question of philosophy and faith turn into hot button topics. it is part of his best-selling appeal, or his lack thereof,

where he sparks debate everywhere he goes. here's dan harris with the "nightline" interview. >> reporter: we're heading out to a speaking engagement with sam harris. do you have a sense of how you're going to be received tonight? >> people get quite heated. >> reporter: the writer and scientist who has become famous, or some might say, infamous, for his ferocious attacks on religion. >> so, you don't think i'm only picking on islam, consider the catholic church. >> reporter: attacks he launched in "the end of faith." >> the problem i want to talk about is the problem of belief. >> reporter: in a series of public pronouncements, which have fueled angry debates on youtube. >> i know i'm going to offend some people in this room. >> reporter: all of this has earned harris a reputation that has made it necessary for him to travel with security guards and live with his family in an undisclosed location. but here's the twist. it not just the faithful who are furious with sam harris these

days. it is also his fellow atheists. >> i just wanted to say that i'm very disappointed by your speech. and -- >> i imagine you're in good company. >> reporter: it all started at an atheist convex a few years ago where harris argued that atheists should no longer call themselves atheists. >> cranky sub culture that meets in hotel ballrooms. >> reporter: and he made a surprising argument, though much of what religion preaches is obviously, to him, nonsensical, it is possible for people to have real and positive spiritual experiences. >> if we, by definition, ignore them, because of their entanglement with religion, we appear less wise than even or craziest religious opponents. >> reporter: would you say that you've had spiritual experiences? >> sure. sure. i just don't think that the word spiritual needn't mean this overreach into cosmic

significance or certainty about what happens after death. but it can mean truly rare and extraordinary experience. >> reporter: harris, it turns out, spent much of his 20s studying meditation. after 9/11, he felt compelled to start writing books that railed against religion, but to this day, he continues his own spiritual practice. >> to my mind, it givens me a better reason to attack religion, because i know that the religious belief, the dogmatism, the faith, is unnecessary. i know you don't need faith. you don't need to pretend to know things you don't know. in order to investigate spiritual experience or to have spiritual experience. >> reporter: now harris is out with a new book called "the moral landscape" that is once again angering his fellow atheists, as jon stewart noted pointedly on "the daily show." >> get off your ass, scientists. would that be a working title, perhaps? >> reporter: in this new book,

harris launches a full frontal attack on his fellow scientists, saying they have messed up by turning responsibility for the debate over morality to religious people. >> science has basically divorced itself from the most important questions in human lyle. questions like how to raise children. what constitutes a good life. most important questions. >> reporter: as we drive to his first speaking engagement, harris is keenly aware that for weeks, scientists have been tearing his book apart on the internet. >> when an evangelical writes me, you know, with lots of callal letters saying, you don't understand the cave was empty on the third day, i don't have to burn a lot of fuel wondering if i've -- haven't read the bible closely enough. but when a well-known philosopher says, you're wrong, yeah, i have to -- it merits a little bit more attention. >> reporter: as people line up for a speech, we note a hint of

skepticism. >> what do you think of the idea that science can be the basis for our morality? >> i don't know. it's a good topic. i'm not sure that science determines that. >> welcome, thank you all for coming. >> reporter: harris launches into his speech -- >> questions of right and wrong and good and evil must fall squarely in the context of a growing scientific understanding of the human mind. >> reporter: and then issues a challenge. >> if there's anyone in this room who thinks i've just blown it, please say something. >> reporter: but in the end, the reception is polite, even admiring. what do you think of his ability/desire to just anger everybody equally? >> i think it speaks to his honesty. >> it would be very easy for sam to just frankly pander to atheists and sell more books that way. >> oh, nice to meet you. >> reporter: as for harris, he seems a little disappointed. do you take any pleasure in, you know, riling people? >> i like arguments, i mean, i like a good exchange.

>> reporter: do you have to check your contrarian impulses and your rhetorical gifts when you are arguing with your wife or your mom? >> they're less concerned by the logic of my argument. i mean, they can sort of trumpet with the, stop badgering me. >> reporter: harris' next book seems specifically designed to frustrate both sides in the religious debate. in it, he plans to lay out a new sort of spirituality. one devoid of god. for "nightline," this is dan harris, no relation to sam, by the way, in new york. >> and for much more on this rich topic, you can visit the "nightline" page at abcnews.com. you can watch full "nightline" debates onnate yell fie churms sam harris, deepak chopra and kirk cameron, if you are so inclined. and coming up, they are called earth ships. homes built almost entirely from garbage, designed to fulfill most of their own energy needs. we'll find out how they work, most of their own energy needs. we'll find out how they work, next.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with bill weir. >> tis a tough time to build a house. getting a loan is difficult, utilities are going back up. but what if there was a way to build a slice of the american dream that involved no new materials and jen rated its own energy to boot? well, there are eco-renegades doing just that, and for vicki mabrey, they are a "sign of the times." >> a little bit more dirt. >> reporter: out in the desert, near taos, new mexico, they're building house hos. >> you hear that dull, yet firm thud. >> reporter: out of garbage.

>> this is the most common tire around here. 235-r 75-15. >> reporter: using tires with dilt, old appliances and plastic bottles, mike reynolds is turning our trash into solar powered, self-sustaining, energy efficient homes. >> it's a machine. not a house. and it's a machine that involves biology and physics so that people cannot need the municipal utilities. >> reporter: these earth ships, as he calls them, are off the grid wonders of physics. angled south to catch the suns rays through solar panels on the roof -- >> you have to orient it right, admit the sun in the winter because it is low, and rock it in the summer because its high. >> reporter: no heat or air conditioning required. earth ships hover at about 70 degrees year round. >> the total utility bill of this house would be $100 a year

to run the propane for the cook stove. and that's $100 per year, total, power, water, sewage. >> reporter: they're also built with a lot of sweat equity. starting with those tires, pounded full of dirt until they are strong as bricks. and how many of these per house? how many tires per house? >> 1,000. i could not dream up a better way to build. if somebody gave me $30 million to invent the best building block i'd invent a tire. >> reporter: then, they're stacked high and cemented with desert mud and aluminum cans to form warm l walls? >> why the cans? >> they have an inregular surface. >> reporter: you have all the creature comforts? >> it's all there. it's all there for free. >> reporter: what they are lacking is adequate rainfall. but every single drop is collected in 3,000 gallon sis terns on the roof, where more

recycled garbage crowns the roof line. >> washers, dryers, rangers. we harvest all those baked on enamel panels. >> reporter: that $100 a year utility bill is a huge selling point for earth ships, which costs from $100,000 up to $400,000 to build. this house, called the phoenix, is the most expensive earth ship, at $1.5 million. it's the model reynolds shows visitors who flock here from around the world. this family drove for four days in an rv from upstate new york. >> amazing. look at that art work. >> reporter: but tonight, they're staying in the phoenix. >> i want to bring this back to the east coast. >> reporter: inside, the floor plan is pretty stand about. living room, bedrooms, kitchen and baths. and what looks like stained glass. >> i can't believe that's the

bottom of plastic bottles, like, soda bottles. >> reporter: most earth ship owners like david and alex save by doing their own construction. >> these are the bedrooms. this is going to be our room. >> reporter: the henrys are enlarging their one-bedroom earth ship to make room for daughter helen. her parents used to think she was crazy for living in an earth ship. not anymore. >> my mom actually commented about what a good position we're in, because we don't have any utilities and we don't have a mortgage and, so, a lot of what's going on in the world is not affecting us. >> reporter: it hasn't been easy creating something so strange and revolutionary. but earth ships are landing from new mexico to the netherlands, even providing a useful way to recycle rubble in earthquake-ravaged haiti. >> we're addressing the garbage issue. we're addressing the water issue. we're addressing the energy issue. we're addressing heating/cooling. we're addressing housing. and we're addressing food. all of the things that people

need, we're addressing them. >> reporter: one earth ship at a time. this is vicki mabrey for "nightline" in taos, new mexico. >> kind of wonder how they would hold up in the blizzard we had back east here. thanks to vicki mabrey for that report. we'll be right back, but here's jimmy kimmel with what's coming up next. >> jimmy: tonight, music from crystal castles and "this week in unnecessary censorship." "jimmy kimmel live" is next. bñbñ