captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: more u.s. troops will deploy to train and assist iraqi forces in the fight against islamic state militants. searching for solutions to defeat an insurgency with no end in sight. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. gwen ifill is away. also ahead this wednesday: promising news for battling bad cholesterol. the f.d.a. backs potent drugs that doctors hope can prevent heart disease. then, the first latino poet laureate. juan felipe herrera shares his story and poetry. plus, the shrinking everglades: rising seawater invades florida, threatening the fragile

ecosystem of unparalleled wetlands. >> the more open water we have, the less we are able to sustain the potential impacts from storms that affect us coming from the gulf of mexico. >> woodruff: those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: ♪ ♪ ♪ moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> supported by the john d. and catherine t. macarthur

foundation. committed to building a more just, verdant and peaceful world. more information at macfound.org >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: wall street broke out of a week-long slump today amid hopes for a break in the greek bailout drama. the dow jones industrial average gained 236 points to close at 18,000. the nasdaq rose more than 60 points, and the s&p 500 added 25. also today, los angeles city council gave final approval to raising the local minimum wage, to $15 an hour. it's the largest american city to take that step.

the u.s. environmental protection agency is moving to curb emissions from commercial aircraft. e.p.a. declared today that greenhouse gases from passenger airliners, cargo planes and business jets are a danger to public health. military aircraft and smaller planes would be exempt from any new regulations. the top federal health official warned congress today over a looming supreme court decision on health care. at issue is whether federal subsidies apply in 34 states without their own insurance exchanges. if the court says "no," more than six million people would lose their subsidies. at a house hearing, the secretary of health and human services, sylvia burwell, said lawmakers will feel the heat. >> if the court says that we do not have the authority to give subsidies, the critical decisions will sit with the congress, and states and governors to determine if those

subsidies are available. >> woodruff: the supreme court's decision is due before month's end. pope francis created a tribunal today to pursue catholic bishops who fail to stop priests from committing. a vatican announcement said the new panel will: "...judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to the (sexual) abuse of minors." the pope also met today with russia's president vladimir putin, and pressed for a "sincere effort" at making peace in ukraine. the hour-long sit-down came at the vatican. a papal spokesman said francis appealed for an end to fighting between ukraine's government and pro-russian rebels. in egypt, a suicide bomber targeted one of the country's best-known antiquities today. authorities said the attacker blew himself up in the parking lot next to luxor's ancient karnak temple, after guards

blocked him from entering. that triggered a gunfight with two other men. >> ( translated ): i saw someone running and suddenly saw the explosion and after the explosion i saw that a taxi driver had caught one of the attackers and was beating him and shouting for help. so i ran to help. another attacker started shooting at us and came and shot the captured attacker in the head. then a policeman came and shot him. >> woodruff: no tourists were killed or hurt, and the temple itself wasn't damaged. it was the second attack this month on a major tourist site in egypt. the corruption scandal at soccer's world governing body has postponed bidding for the 2026 world cup. the head of fifa said today it would be "nonsense" to start the process this week. separate u.s. and swiss investigations are under way into alleged bribery at fifa. back in this country, there's new information about the fatal amtrak crash in philadelphia last month.

the national transportation safety board now says the engineer was not using his cell phone to talk, text or download data before the wreck. but a board member told senators the probe isn't over. >> there are 400,000 pieces of data involved in the analysis and because of the extent of that, things like the use of an app or the other use of a phone has not been determined. >> woodruff: eight people were killed and more than 200 were hurt in the philadelphia crash. u.s. senator johnny isakson revealed today he has early- stage parkinson's disease. the georgia republican said he still plans to run for a third term next year. isakson is 70. he said he was diagnosed in 2013, but did not tell his children or staff until recently. parkinson's is a progressive disorder of the central nervous system. and, the librarian of congress james billington is stepping down after nearly three decades.

he's 86 and plans to retire january 1. billington is credited with bringing the world's largest library into the digital age and doubling its size to 160 million items. still to come on the newshour: searching for the best way to defeat the islamic state insurgency. the hype and hope for new drugs to treat bad cholesterol. salty walters intrude and threaten wildlife in florida's everglades. and, the first latino poet laureate steps onto the larger national stage. >> woodruff: one year ago today the islamic state group shocked many around the world as it captured mosul, iraq's second largest city. one year later, iraq is mired in a multi-front war with the extremist organization and thousands have been killed. the white house announced this

afternoon that it will send more troops to help iraqis in the fight. tonight, we'll explore that decision and take a look back at the rise of the islamic state in iraq as part of our series "no end in sight." >> the president has been very clear that the efforts of the united states and our coalition partners will be to support the iraqi people. we will not do for them what they must do for themselves. >> woodruff: the white house laid out plans to send up to 450 additional military trainers joining 3,100 troops already there, and establish a fifth training base. spokesman josh earnest: >> it reflects the need for the united states, our coalition partners and for the iraqi government to be nimble as we respond to an adversary, an opponent on the ground in iraq that has also demonstrated a capacity to adapt their tactics and to try to capitalize on their perception of weaknesses. >> woodruff: all this follows

the islamic state's capture last month of ramadi, capital of iraq's largest province anbar. government soldiers fled before the militants. and monday, at the g-7 summit, president obama said there's no "complete strategy" for defeating the group, until the iraqis are ready. that brought renewed criticism from republicans, which house speaker john boehner echoed after today's announcement. >> i think its a step, it's a step in the right direction but as the president admitted the other day, he has no strategy to win. >> woodruff: even today, white house and pentagon officials said there's no major change in existing policy, and no plans to send u.s. combat troops. but there will be at least one substantial effect: the new focus on ramadi and fallujah in anbar province is likely to delay a planned campaign to recapture mosul in the north, iraq's second largest city.

it's been one year since islamic state forces, in a lightning advance, seized mosul, a strategic oil hub and a gateway to syria. as in ramadi, iraqi soldiers put down their guns, and many shed their uniforms, leaving them in the streets for enemy fighters to find. triumphant militants paraded through the streets, and refugees fled to camps in the kurdish region, where thousands remain. >> ( translated ): impossible, it's impossible to think i've been out of the town for one year now, or that the current situation would take such a long time. i could have never imagined that on this date, 9th and 10th of june, i'd be here in this place. it's a very sad and painful anniversary. >> woodruff: in the meantime the islamic state established a so-called caliphate across large swaths of northern syria and iraq and reached within 50 miles of baghdad. as they advanced, the militants carried out a reign of terror

including beheadings of hostages, brutal treatment of women, and destruction of ancient artifacts. and, their influence spread on a global scale, attracting up to 31,000 new foreign fighters to the region. president obama had once played down the threat, likening the sunni militant group to a junior varsity version of al qaeda. after the fall of mosul, he launched repeated air strikes in iraq and syria. and, he announced the initial effort to train iraqi forces. the fallout from mosul also triggered a political shakeup in iraq. prime minister nouri al-maliki resigned two months later, and haider al-abadi took over. he's since complained that u.s. help has been too little and too late. >> ( translated ): as you know islamic state was not born in iraq, they are supported by means from outside iraq, by external combatants. we can make sacrifices to fight,

but the international community, the international coalition has to support us. >> woodruff: instead, abadi's government is relying heavily on iranian-backed shiite militias. they were critical to the recapture of tikrit, in april. isis also suffered a setback in syria, where kurdish peshmerga forces helped drive the militants back from kobani, on the turkish border. but such gains have been greatly tempered by the losses of ramadi and the ancient syrian city of palmyra. a big question will now be whether today's u.s. moves can help turn the tide. joining me now to review today's announcement and the fight against the islamic state in iraq are: former u.s. defense secretary and c.i.a. director, leon panetta. former commander in chief of u.s. central command, retired general anthony zinni. former under secretary of policy at the department of defense, michele flournoy. and, retired u.s. army colonel

andrew bacevich. welcome to all four of you. let me just quickly go around the group to begin and get your response to this addition of 450 more military advisors in iraq. secretary panetta, you first. >> well there's no question that i think the president's taken the right step in adding these trainers and advisors. we're in a tough situation where i.s.i.s., obviously, is resilient. they've got a lot of momentum. i think we need to do this. i suspect that we're going to have to take more steps, particularly that we're now in a combat zone, where we're going to have to have more flexible rulings of engagement. i think we do need additional special forms to help not only with c.t. operations but with targeting and i do think we have to ensure that arms do flow both to the sunnis and the kurds. all of that is going to be necessary in order to be able to achieve the mission that we've

embarked on. >> woodruff: michele flournoy, good move or not? >> i think it's a good move and a smart move. it allows us to start training the iraqi security forces and most importantly the local sunni militia forces in anbar province more fully and intensively. the real question is whether this is a first step in a broader series. i think if we're going to be effective we need to also allow our forces to advice during operations when the iraqis actually go into combat but also be able to call in more effective air strikes. >> woodruff: andrew bacevich, what about you? is this the right thing to do right now? >> well, i think it's a very modest adjustment to the existing policy and the emphasis here is on "very modest." the policy is based on the assumption that we have the capability to create effective iraqi forces. now, when you think about it, we have been trying to do that for

tepforten years, now. we've not succeeded, and i'm a little bit skeptical that the addition of 450 trainers is going to make that much of a difference. i'm sure that they will be able to transfer some important skills to the people that they train, but will they be able to transfer the will to fight which would seem to be the fundamental problem with the iraqi forces that have basically been taking a licking from i.s.i.s. >> woodruff: general zinni? i think it's an indication we continue to underestimate the capability of i.s.i.s. the enemy, and overestimate the capabilities of the iraqi military to deal with this. the strategy from the begin has had several flaws in my view. one, it believes time is on our side. it's been a year, now, that i.s.i.s. has occupied land inside iraq and has basically

not moved much and we haven't been able to move them much. second, it depends on some magical ground force that's going to appear through some coalition or the resurrection of an iraqi military that's effective, that hasn't happened. third, it's based on an iraqi government, to follow what andrew said is going to create more in the hearts of the iraqi military to be willing to fight, and that hasn't materialized either. so i think this is almost deja vu to vietnam before we committed the ground forces we dribble in more and more advisors and support. it's not what's in the hands of the soldiers as andrew said, it's what's in their hearts, and that's going to be the difference and i don't think we can continue to let this thing just go on as it is. >> woodruff: well, let me turn to secretary panetta. why are not those concerns yours, secretary panetta? why shouldn't americans be concerned that if the iraqis

don't have the will to fight, why should more u.s. trainers make a difference? >> this isn't just about iraq. this is about a threat to our national security. if i.s.i.s. is allowed to have a base of operations in iraq, make no mistake about it their intentions are to use that as a base of attacking our country and attacking our homeland. that's why we've got to push the iraqis to make sure that the sunnis do engage and that the kurds do the same. >> woodruff: you're saying you don't think the iraqis have that will. >> with all due respect, i think secretary panetta is vastly exaggerating the threat, those by i.s.i.s. the threat posed to i.s.i.s. by the united states of america is actually very, very limited. we probably should be worrying more about drug lords in mexico, in terms of a direct threat to our safety. i.s.i.s. threatens the stability

of a region that we ourselves destabilized as a result of our own folly back in 2003, and that's worth remembering, because we ought to be just a little bit humble about thinking some kind of commitment of american military power directly or indirectly is going to fix the problem. the evidence is quite clear -- u.s. military intervention in this region creates greater instability, not stability. if we want to somehow find a way to put the region back together again, we need to look to someone else to assume the principal burden for taking the fight to i.s.i.s. >> woodruff: let me turn to michele flournoy. why isn't he right that the u.s. really is overestimating the strength of i.s.i.s. and we should be more worried about what's going on in our border to

the south rather than this fighting thousands and thousands of miles away? >> i think we need to look beyond the snapshot of i.s.i.s. today. i.s.i.s. is the new jihadist vanguard in the middle east and globally. they are displacing al quaida as sort of the group to follow and the group to emulate. they are gaining ground in libya and even in afghanistan. they, i think in the next few years, if not stopped will displace al quaida and be a global network that will not only have objectives locally, but will have transnational objectives. we already see thousands of foreign fighters coming from europe primarily other states in the gulf, those fighters will eventually return and be looking to carry out jihad in the countries. but this question of will to fight, i think the key question is political.

the sunnis have been persecuted by a shia-dominated government in iraq. they will fight if they believe that there is a -- they're going to be treated differently in the end. that's what will create the will to fight on the part of the sunni population. >> woodruff: what about this question that this is a fight the u.s. should be making at all at this point? why should the u.s. be investing more of its men and women and material in that part of the world? >> well, you know, i sort of come down in between. i do think it's in our national interest to have a stable middle east for all sorts of reasons. could be with energy resources our trade routes go through there, the threats tend, to as michele pointed out, tend to metastasize and spread globally, so we do have interest. my problem with the secretary's position, if it is in our vital interest, then we have the ability to crush i.s.i.s.

they stepped up to a conventional fight. we're not fully committed to this fight. we use terms like destroy. i can tell you you could put ground forces on the ground now and we can destroy i.s.i.s. and we can send them back into iraq and could even get there. i would also tell you there are coalition forces out there that would join us if we put forces on the ground. the trouble with that and i go to andrew's point that if you do and i know it's the concern of this administration, we're going to get bogged down into an enduring commitment. that could only be mitigated by having the iraqis develop into the kind of force that can replace a coalition force that may be initially there to defeat, in the initial stages, i.s.i.s. i was in iraq when maliki was elected, and everybody in baghdad iraqis our embassy and generals included, said maliki is the key. if he doesn't have an inclusive

government and reach out to the sunnis, particularly, this thing will come apart. and what happened. >> woodruff: let me come back to the point you directed to secretary panetta and that is the u.s. could send a few brigades in and dispense with i.s.i.s. in the short run. secretary pan net at that, that's clearly an argument out there, republicans running for president, some are advocating that, why is that the wrong step to take now? >> well, look again, i don't think there's any question that our national security interests are involved here. otherwise, why would we even be there in the first place? but the reality is that we know how to do this without deploying the 101 airborne or a large number of brigades there. the fact is we're good at counterterrorism. that's what we did in iraq before we left, that's what we did in afghanistan before we

left. we targeted the enemy effectively, we helped train their security forces. they were in a position where they were doing very effective security operations on the ground, and the reality is we know how to do this and we know how to win at doing this. so all we really do need to do, it seems to me, is to be able to give our military commanders the flexibility to design not only the strategy to degrade i.s.i.s. but the larger strategy we need in order to defeat i.s.i.s. i think what's missing now is what the president himself acknowledged is not there, which is the larger strategy that is needed to show what are we going to do in order to move i.s.i.s. out of iraq and then take on i.s.i.s. in syria? this has to be part of that larger strategy and, if it is there, if we can define that larger strategy, then i think we cannot only work with our arab allies in that region, we can also develop the consensus that

we need from the american people to continue this commitment. >> woodruff: well, i understood the president when he said there is not a complete strategy to be referring to the fact that the iraqis have not yet recruited and trained sufficient troops to carry out the fight. andrew bacevich, let me come back to you. if the u.s. working with iraq were to do what secretary panetta just described, were to have the support of the allies in the region, countries in the region why isn't that the way to move forward now? >> again, with all due respect we don't know how to do this. i mean, we were in -- the u.s. military was in iraq from 2003, and 2011 four years later we have this basket case on our hands. i think it's important for us to

recognize that there are some problems that american military might cannot solve, and this order and dysfunction in this part of the world is at the very top of the list of those problems. so it is true that we have an interest in restoring stability to that part of the world. what's not true is that american military power is the way to make that happen and therefore i think it's important to widen the discussion, to consider the possibility that there may be others in the region better able to bring about stability than we ourselves can do. >> woodruff: michele flournoy why not? why not do as col. bacevich says? >> well, i think if we were to use u.s. forces to dispatch i.s.i.s., take general zinni's plan from a tactical military perspective but that doesn't solve a problem, because the real problem is make sure that

the iraqi exalsty holds the territory, secures it for a long term so i.s.i.s. doesn't come back again and that involves larger political compromises we were discussing before and involves the longer-term capability. i do agree with professor baseovich that this should not be a u.s. action, it is one that involves many countries and particularly the neighboring states have a very important role to play to try to underwrite iraq's stability later on. >> woodruff: i hear andrew bacevich saying the u.s. hasn't shown it can do this kind of fight and should be leaving it up to the countries in the region, whether iran or anyone else who feels i.s.i.s. is a threat. >> well, again, with great respect to him, you know, we've learned time and time again particularly in these last few years, with crisis after crisis that if the united states doesn't provide leadership in these crises, nobody else will.

i don't know who the hell he expect we're going to be able to turn to, to be able to protect our national security in this situation. the united states is going to have to provide that leadership. yes, we need to work with the iraqis and other allies in the region, but we have to provide that leadership. we can't just stand on the sidelines wringing our hands. i mean ask the people of paris what happened there with i.s.i.s. ask the people in brussels what happened there with i.s.i.s. what's happened in toronto? what's happened in this country as a result of the threat from i.s.i.s.? this is a national security threat and we shouldn't kid ourselves about that. >> woodruff: general zinni? the last victim which we had, we used overwhelmingly force, ended it quickly, went to tun, got a resolution and built a coalition.

that ought to be a model we ought to look at. in terms of building a coalition in this region, we have to realize several things -- they're incapable of putting it together themselves for several reasons. some of it is political but a lot has to do with capacity. command and control, logistics, intelligence, the backbone they need is us. more importantly, they need us to share the risk up front too and that's why i'm an advocate of some ground forces from us on the ground. >> woodruff: final word from andrew bacevich to secretary panetta when he said if the u.s. doesn't do it, who is? >> well, i think there is another country in the region that actually does have the will and may well possess the capacity to defeat i.s.i.s. and has a very powerful interest in doing so, and like it or not, that country is iran, and we should look to the possibility not of forging some kind of formal partnership with iran but

of seeing if there's some way to assist them formally in their efforts. some might say, gosh, they're the bad guys. in world war ii, in order to defeat the immediate threat nazi germany we made a partnership with a mass murderer called joseph stalin. so sometimes when you can't fix the problem on your own you need to make some compromises and find the partners who can get the job done for you. >> woodruff: i heard so many heads shaking. i give michele flournoy the last word. >> it is not in u.s. interest to empower iran's role inside iraq or anywhere in the middle east given their support for terrorism and activities throughout the region. i think that might be a very appealing from a tactical perspective but i don't think that's in our strategic interests, again with all due respect. >> woodruff: with a lot of due respect to all four of you. michele flournoy, former

secretary of defense leon panetta, general anthony zinni and colonel andrew bacevich, we thank you. >> thank you. >> woodruff: it's estimated that more than 30 million americans are taking medications like lipitor and zocor to lower their overall cholesterol levels. but as popular as these drugs are, they don't work for everyone. many cannot tolerate them easily, and for some people, they simply don't lower their cholesterol significantly. now, the f.d.a. appears poised to approve a powerful new class of drugs that would be used with statins to attack cholesterol levels in a more targeted way. it amounts to a new method for cutting down l.d.l., often referred to as bad cholesterol. an f.d.a. advisory committee has backed the approval of two new drugs in this class for some groups of people. hari sreenivasan picks up the story from there.

>> sreenivasan: the f.d.a. will decide later this summer whether to follow the panel's recommendations. but it usually does so. and the drugs, which are injected once or twice a month have been shown to be effective at lowering bad cholesterol in early trials. still, larger trials need to be completed to see if they prevent heart attacks and strokes. and then there's the question of how many people may ultimately take them. more than 70 million americans have high l.d.l. initially, they may cost around $10,000 a year per patient. we talk to two cardiologists about these questions. doctor steven nissen is the chair of cardiology at the cleveland clinic. for the record, he is leading a study of one of the drugs and is on the steering committee for a pfizer clinical trial. he takes no money from the companies. and, doctor harlan krumholz is professor of cardiovascular medicine at the yale school of medicine.

dr. nissen, what do the medications do that the medications on the shelves today don't do? >> ldl is the primary driver of coronary heart disease, the most important risk factor we can modify. we have great drugs like zocor and lipitor statin drugs, that are effective at lowering ldl cholesterol and preventing heart attack, stroke and death but not everybody gets an adequate response to those drugs. some people are genetically programmed, they have very high levels of bad cholesterol ldl, and don't get well enough with those drugs, and there are other people who are intolerant to have the drugs. so we've needed another class of drugs. these drugs are really powerful. they lower ldl anywhere from 50 to 70%, and that's added on top of the effects of the statin drugs. so they're very exciting, very powerful. >> sreenivasan: without getting too far into the weeds, in lay terms, how do they work? how are they different? >> they increase the activity of

the receptors in the liver responsible for removing ldl cholesterol. when you interfere with the protein that's involved in degrading those receptors the receptors become more active and they're removing a lot of cholesterol from the bloodstream and it's cholesterol in the bloodstream that ends up as plaques in the coronary arteries that leads to heart attacks and consequences. >> sreenivasan: consider krumholz -- dr. krumholz the fda is moving to approve. this seems like this drug is on a fast track. >> it's a remarkable story. observations of families that led to molecular biology studies that led to the drugs and i think there is a lot of excitement about them. we have to remember the verdict is not in yet. so it is true that bad cholesterol, the ldl cholesterol, contributes to heart disease and would seem in theory if we could lower it to levels it would benefit

patience. but these and other drugs have a lot of different effects and what we need to understand is at the end of the day, if people take these drugs, can they expect to live longer or better? just knowing what it does to the cholesterol is a hint. it's an assurance that that's likely, it's possible. there is other information ability these drugs that make us hopeful that that's true, but there are a lot of studies in the field now that will be counting events, determining whether people really benefit from these drugs and until those studies are completed we won't know for sure. so we want to temper our enthusiasm. these drugs may be reserved for the people who need them most. we need to be careful by not overreaching with the information we have so far. >> sreenivasan: by the time the trials finish up, how long until a drug from this class gets to market? >> well, the fda is going to make a decision this summer and most of us anticipate they will

follow the advice of the advisory panel and approve the drugs perhaps not for a broad population but for a limited population. the fda is acting carefully. they know that the clinical trials that are going to measure the outcomes we care about like heart attack and stroke and death are ongoing. at least one of these trials with 27,000 patients is actually completely enrolled and should report in 2017. so what they're doing is providing early access to the drugs for those people that have the most need while waiting to give a broad label for the drugs until we have the kind of outcome studies dr. krumholz wants and i want to. we really do need the outcome trials, but it's about balancing what's in the public interest. i agree with the fda. i think it's in the public interest to get the drugs to market now for the people that are most in need.

>> dr. krumholz, how much are some of the drugs going to cost? is it the standard where the first ones cost a lot and once you make a billion of them they get cheaper? >> i think it's hard for me to determine on what basis we're pricing drugs. if you look at any of the cancer drugs, the hep c drugs, they're coming out at extraordinarily high cost and it's hard to know exactly where this will be priced. i think it's impossible to know about the value the drugs are bringing until we have the other studies completed and know what effect the drugs have on people's lives. so i'm in agreement with dr. nissen. i think it's important to give early access if possible to people who have little choice or for whom cholesterol represents their biggest risk and for whom they're not really responding to can't tolerate other options. but we need to be careful. what's important is we don't know the value at all until we know what benefit it's providing. once we know that, we can put into perspective what the costs are. but these could break the bank

because there are so many people at risk for heart disease we're going to need to be thoughtful about the way in which the drugs are used and be careful in thinking about what is the benefit for what we're paying for. >> harlan krumholz and steven nissen, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, hari. >> woodruff: last month, on the anniversary of earth day, president barack obama visited florida's everglades to highlight one of biggest threats from global warming and climate change: the rise in sea level that's already impacting one of the unique natural habitats in all the world. and the consequences aren't just to the hundreds of species of animals and plants that for centuries have called the everglades home, it's to the economy and way of life for millions in south florida who depend on the vast and teeming watershed once dubbed the river of grass.

special correspondent mike taibbi touched down on that great river, to get a current assessment of its health and prospects. this story comes to the newshour from wnet and the team that produces pbs newshour weekend. >> reporter: 40-year old pete frezza has spent his working life in the everglades in two distinctly different roles: as one of the many fishing guides who exploit its rich waters to make a living... >> oh, you got one, alright! >> reporter: ...and as an audubon society biologist who thrills at the sight of dolphins corralling a breakfast of fresh mullet, or of the odd and elegant roseate spoonbills foraging for their own meals. >> you'll notice they're in that small shallow pond, their bill is sweeping back and forth. they're catching shrimp. there one just caught a fish! >> reporter: but frezza's wonder at what he sees every day is tinged with worry over what he knows-- that the intrusion of rising seawater is moving the vital estuary where salt meets

fresh inland. shrinking the everglades, and changing spots like this one where there were nearly 400 spoonbill nests barely a decade ago. >> currently, we only have about 40 to 50 nests in this area. a lot of these birds are now shifting their nesting locations farther inland. >> reporter: the birds are just one sign-- one of many markers scientists are watching that show that as salt water from the oceans flows inward it impacts freshwater wildlife, and threatens the aquifers that supply drinking water for more than seven million floridians. so when president obama came here in april, the science community was grateful for the high-profile emphasis. >> in terms of economic impact all of this poses risks to florida's $82 billion tourism industry on which so many good jobs and livelihoods depend. >> reporter: for now, tourism in the everglades appears to be thriving. >> the boat boards at 2:25 right

over there. >> in germany the everglades is well know as the best place in the world! >> reporter: it certainly is a unique place. the great river of grass flows south from lake okeechobee as a shallow sheet of fresh water roughly 60 miles wide and a hundred miles long, until it meets saltwater. in the past century the canals and drainage ditches dug to support development and agriculture have shrunk the everglades and today, a wild habitat once the size of connecticut is smaller by more than half. the everglades is now a habitat diminished by a frequent shortage of freshwater. add to that saltwater intrusion pushed by rising tides. eight inches of rise in the 20th century, and up to four more feet projected by the end of this century, and for many experts like frezza, this could spell disaster for this crucial watershed.

>> from our research, what we found is the small fish that are the forage base for wading birds do-- do much better and are much more productive under fresher conditions. so, as the saltier it gets, that's less productive for these small fish. therefore, it's affecting the health and status of the wading bird species that we're monitoring. >> reporter: and if the birds are losing their food supply, so are the big game fish. the damage is clear, according to some backcountry charter captains. >> there's no doubt that right now we're seeing less predatory fish than we did ten years ago. and that says a lot right there. >> reporter: pete showed us more evidence of the changes: islands in what was once a freshwater lake now adorned with mangrove stands and other saltwater plant life. canals, once narrow ribbons dug by developers, now, due to erosion and the higher tides, hundreds of feet wide. he brought us to spots where the land is slowly drowning.

these mangroves now dying in the water used to be on dry land even at the highest tides. not anymore though, not as the salt water moves inland. and inland is where ecologists like dr. tiffany troxler and her researchers are measuring the effects of sea level rise on crucial marsh grasses. >> historically what we had here was a freshwater marsh. but we have increasing sea level rise and we have reduced fresh water flow through the system and that has the effect of making fresh water marshes salty. >> reporter: among her team's unnerving findings: a phenomenon called peat collapse caused in part by salt water intrusion. the widespread breakdown of the once thick layer of peat soil needed to support the sturdy vegetation of a freshwater habitat. >> if you look at some of this sawgrass, you can tell where there roots are much higher. that's because soil used to be there. but now the soil level has decreased dramatically.

>> reporter: the combination of less soil and less above-ground habitat not only squeezes the prospects for the hundreds of plant and animal species that have flourished here, the everglades' human neighbors are threatened too. less fresh water being filtered for domestic consumption-- many wells on the coast of south florida are now contaminated by salt water. and less protection against the region's frequent storms, like hurricane wilma in 2005. >> neighborhoods near the everglades are underwater. >> these freshwater wetlands are converting to open ponds of water. and the more open water we have, the less we are able to sustain the potential impacts from storms that affect us coming from the gulf of mexico. >> reporter: florida's governor rick scott is a climate change skeptic, though he denied recent reports that some state officials were banned from using the terms climate change and global warming in their official correspondence.

still, in florida, there's growing public support to do more: more study, more control of the places where salt water meets fresh. there've been some success stories, like this small dam. >> what it did was block the saltwater moving in from the gulf of mexico from entering the more brackish water interior zone. and we actually saw an increase in freshwater fish species. >> reporter: and a $10 billion federal and state program in place for a decade is the cornerstone of a long-range effort to redirect freshwater back into the wetlands to strengthen the barrier to saltwater intrusion, but this plan still awaits full funding. many experts fear that if nothing is done, this could end up under salt water by the end of this century-- the everglades as we know it gone. along with the source of drinking water for millions and a way of life for many. >> the everglades are the heart and soul of what we do. it's not just catching fish. it's going back there, seeing the wildlife, seeing the bird

life. it's a full experience. it's everything. >> reporter: as for pete frezza he goes out every day, calling to his favorite birds. this one's for a yellow warbler, and he remains hopeful. hopeful that we can get it right. and the warblers, dolphins and his beloved spoonbills can keep coming back, for a meal for a breeding season, for a good while longer. for the pbs newshour, i'm mike taibbi in the florida everglades. >> woodruff: now, a look at the new poet laureate of the united states, a man with a distinct style of writing who is the first latino to hold the position, and served as california's poet laureate. now he's stepping onto a larger stage. jeffrey brown has a profile.

let us gather in a flourishing way. way. (reading in spanish) pearls of great flowing vines. let us gather in a flourishing way. >> brown: a blend of languages as the car drives through the heat in sunday afternoon in california's san joaquin valley. behind the wheel, 66-year-old juan felipe herrera. were you surprised when you got the call you were poet laureat? (laughter) >> i was prized. it was a -- i was surprised. it was a super surprise. i'm thinking yes and also thinking this was very big.

>> brown: herrera was born here but didn't stay long. a child from mexico his first years were spent on the road. >> we went from crop to crop field to field and my father had a 1940s army truck from fort bliss, el paso. >> brown: that's how you traveled? >> that's how we traveled. >> brown: all around california? >> all around california. >> brown: it was during those long travels his mother first entertained young juan with a tattered family photo album, and told him story after story to accompany the pictures. when they settled near san felipe and juan went to school, he wanted to tell stories. it was forbidden. >> the first day i wanted to talk and i was not allowed to talk because i spoke spanish. perhaps because of that, i likely wanted to talk. (laughter) >> brown: it was words and

poetry that illuminated his path into a larger world. when you come to a place like this now, do you see a line from here to your poetry? >> it's an interesting line. it's a very interesting line. perhaps the roads are spread out and how they curl in many directions and have many features, that's how my road has been. it has reached out in different directions to mexico, to the pueblos, to families students, teaching in workshops experiment, and, of course, my father and mother's hands on these leaves. >> brown: you being born in a place like this. >> and being born right here. so it's all my story. >> brown: on the campus of fresno state university where he would later teach, herrera told me of his time as a college student at u.c.l.a. in the fervor of the 1960s and

'70s, part of a movement of chicano civil rights and culture. >> we were working on becoming visible. >> brown: becoming visible. ecoming visible. and also making our communities visible. and our histories visible. you know words and the way of seeing what was going on visible. let us gather in a flourishing way. >> brown: after teaching at the university of california riverside for many years, herrera retired to fresno where he lives with his wife margarita, children and grandchildren nearby, author of books, including a number written for children. his poetry is a mix of styles, some feel like an incantation. he crients alan ginsburg -- he

cites alan ginsburg as an influence. your work is very ex personalitile, different styles you're trying, yet, at the same time, you are clearly trying to reach people right? >> yes. ou want to be understood. es. yeah, we can understand poetry in a billion styles. experiment, tradition, combination, spice image, it's all there for the poet, the listener and all of us. that's what it's about, you know. >> brown: as california's poet laureat, herrera wrote and engaged others on the issues of the day including bullying among young people, and he's long within concerned with the human and policy drama of migration. >> i have a piece called mortar bus and it's about two women on a border bus on a bus that had been detained and they had been arrested and hauled in and put

in a bus, and one says we'll where are we going? the other says nowhere. theout burn says, i come from nowhere. >> brown: herrera told me as we walked through fresno's mall on monday morning he now feels a great responsibility. >> i know i'm representing the library of congress, all to have the united states and, of course the latinos and latinas as well. >> that particular community. as well, yes. it's very important because i want to promote the writers in those communities, promote writing, promote reading, books, and promote the people and who we are. (reading poetry in english and spanish) >> brown: in california's

san joaquin valley i'm jeffrey brown for the pbs "newshour". >> woodruff: finally, our "newshour shares" of the day something that caught our eye which might be of interest to you, too. photographer diana kim documents the lives of hawaii's homeless. it's a project she began in 2012, but it took on new meaning a year later, after she learned that her own father, who struggled with mental illness was living on the streets of honolulu. diana had not seen her father in several years when her grandmother told her that mr. kim was homeless. so diana went looking for him. when she found him, he was like a stranger, and he did not even acknowledge his daughter's presence. over the course of almost two years, diana regularly sought her father out, but he refused her offers of food and clothing. so diana did what she knew how: she photographed their

encounters, including their reunion in a hospital room after mr. kim had a heart attack that ironically, launched him back on the path to health. diana shared these images in a recent photo essay for "honolulu magazine." she writes, "sharing this family story is scary... but i also know that this could reach people who are having similar experiences." more of diana kim's work can be found on her project's website homelessparadise.com, where you can also read about her efforts to expand medical access for the homeless. on the newshour online right now, in the u.s., an average of twenty-one people die every day waiting for an organ transplant and wait times can range from four months to five years. but according to a new study, public policies have done little to close the gap between supply and demand. so what can states do to inspire more organ donation?

we have a report on what the experts are saying, on our home page. that's at pbs.org/newshour. tomorrow on the newshour, we continue our series of reports from west africa, "cracking ebola's code." miles o'brien reports from freetown sierra leone on the push to find a vaccine. here's an excerpt. >> it's dark and early in sierra leone. a team of pharmacists in a non-descript government building preparing the day's supply of an experimental vaccine against ebola. the the clock starts running, and they take the vaccine out of a very deep freeze. this is likely the coldest spot in the whole country. the vaccine can only be thawed out right before injected or it will lose its potency and all of this will be a waste of time money and hope. so right now, timing and temperature are absolutely

critical. and then it happens. >> okay. >> reporter: another reminder of how hard it is to conduct a high-tech vaccine trial on one of the poorest countries on the planet. >> woodruff: that report tomorrow on the "newshour". >> woodruff: that's tomorrow on newshour. and that's the newshour for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> supporting social entrepreneurs and their solutions to the worlds most pressing problems-- skollfoundation.org. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions

>> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

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