captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, march 27: covid-19 vaccinations expand, as cases continue to rise. the buildup at the border strains resources on both sides. and in our signature segment, a new push for offshore wind power on the massachusetts coast. next, on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation.

the peter g. peterson and joan ganz cooney fund. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers lik you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. over the past week, more than 2.6 million people in the u.s. have received a covid-19 vaccine

every day, and most states expect to open eligibility to all adults by the end of april. yesterday, the centers for disease control and prevention said almost 90 million people have received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine, with just over 48 million people now fully vaccinated. yet despite the prressn vaccinations, the "new york times" reports an average of more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases per day in the u.s., an 8% increase from two weeks ago. today, speaking on abc's "good morning america," dr. anthony fauci said he is worried the increase in infections could be the beginning of a resurgence. >> if people just put aside all public health measures-- namely put the masks aside, go to bars, go to restaurants-- you're going to see a surge, and that's really a big problem. more than 100 people were killed by government forces in myanmar during demonstrations today, according to an independent researcher-- the most deaths in a single day since last month's military coup.

the day began with protests against the litary government that coincided with myanmar's armed forces day. thousands of demonstrators poured out into the streets of cities and towns across the country. police and government forces responded with lethal force, firing live ammunition and killing dozens of ople, including children. in myanmar's capital, ceremonial troop processions and flybys were held, as the country's military leader promised“ free and fair”lections, with no details on when and how they would be held. more than 400 people have been killed since the military overthrew myanmar's democratically-elected government in february. a giant cargo ship remains stuck in the suez canal today, as strong tides and winds complicate efforts to dislodge it. the head of the canal authority said today that the ship's stern had begun to move, but that it was uncertain when it could be refloated. this is the fifth day that the 1,300-foot vessel has blocked

off the canal, holding up more than 300 other ships waiting to pass through. 14 tug boats have been employed to free the cargo ship. two more are expected tomorrow. for more national and international news, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: the biden administration has been struggling to deal with migrants at the u.s./mexico border. yesterday, department of homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas reportedly announced that he would be restructuring the homeland security advisory council, and ended the current term for its 32 members. mayorkas said a new model for the committee would take a few weeks to put into place. the current influx is straining resources and sowing confusion for migrants on both sides of the border. mallory falk covers the u.s./mexico border for texas kera and the texas newsroom, a statewide public radio collaboration. mallory, why don't we start with just, an update on what you're

seeing at the border right now. >> so, over the past year, the federal government has been expelling most mrants and asylum seekers at the border under a public health order. now, there's a stretch of the border in south texas where mexico is not accepting expelled families with very young children, and so they are being flown to places like el paso, escorted to the middle of an international bridge that connects el paso and ciudad juarez, and then expelled back into mexico, into a part of mexico that will take them. >> sreenivasan: now, you're saying the word "expel." that is different than deportation? >> yes, exactly. so, deportation, there's really a formal process. with expulsion, you're just kind of-- you're fingerprinted, some of your information is taken, and then you're just sent back across the border. >> sreenivasan: what's happening? do they have the infrastructure to take this influx of individuals, families, children? do they have a shelter kind of system? >> there is a network of shelters that have been set up, some of them a couple of years ago when the trump administration started to send

asylum seekers to wait in mexico as their cases played out in u.s. immigration court. and so, right now, some of those shelters are taking folks in. but there have been-- there are also shelters that were set up specifically to quarantine migrants and asylum seekers who have been expelled for a couple of weeks before they move on to this larger shelter network, and those are pretty much full at this point, and so, some of these other shelters are trying to create sort of makeshift quarantine spaces. but i visited a couple of shelters over the weekend. directors the said they're really reaching capacity, if not at capacity already. >> sreenivasan: do the people that are being l to this bridge, are they aware of what's happening to them? >> the people i've spoken to describe a lot of confusion and disorientation, and are kind of uncertain what really has happened to them. so, people are voicing this confusion about, if, you know, the u.s. is going to expel us, why are they moving us, you know, in this case, some 800 miles away from where we first crossed the border? >> sreenivasan: what's the

climate in the countries that they're coming from? did they get the message that the united states border is open now that joe biden is president? i mean, what's incentivizing them to think that it's possible to come in? >> i think some people are hearing this message. some people are being, you know, deceived by smugglers, and also are hearing-- because some families are being released into the rio grande valley, and so they're seeing some families are able to cross, and that's creating confusion. you know, i spoke to a mother. her family fled the country, fled from salvador, the same day that a gang who she says killed one of their retives had come in, damaged their home and taken over their home. so, it's a real mix. and there are people who say, regardless of what the messaging is, we had to flee. >> sreenivasan: all righ mallory fa, reporter from kera, thanks so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> sreenivasan: for decades,

supporters of offshore wind in the united states have looked to the ocean off the east coast and seen the potential for renewable energy projects that could power millions of homes. despite its promise, up to now, offshore wind projects in the u.s. barely exist, smied by local opposition and concerns over possible effects on ocean habitats and commercial fisheries. but with a new emphasis on generating renewable energy on public land and waters from the biden administration, that may change, and quickly. newshour weekend's ivette feliciano reports from new bedford, massachuset. this story is part of our ongoing series, “peril and promise: the challenge of climate change.” >> reporter: for more than two centuries, new bedford's economy has been deeply tied to the ocean. first as the epicenter of the whaling industry in the 19th century, and today, as the largest fishing port in the united states, by value of the catch landed here. >> fishing will always be important to us. t at the same time, we know

that there's room for more here in the port of new bedford, and there's more-- room for more out on the open ocean. >> reporter: jon mitchell is the yor of new bedford, and he has been positioning this coastal massachusetts city, and its port, to be the center of the burgeoning offshore wind industry in the u.s. >> we here in new bedford see it as a generational opportunity to attract investment. we're really good at what we do on the water, and we want to parlay those skills and the infrtructure into offshore wind and other maritime industries that allow us to continue to grow and create jobs. >> reporter: given its strong winds, relatively shallow water, and proximity to major cities, scientists have long seen the u.s.'s east coast as an ideal place for siting offshore wind projects. back in 2009, then-vice president biden heralded new federal guidelines to help spur the industry. >> these final rules are going to enable delaware and enable the nation to tap into our ocean's vast, vast sustainable

resources, to generate clean energy in an environmentally sound and safe manner. >> reporter: but flash forward to today, more than a decade later, and there are only two small projects, seven wind turbines in total, in operation. but that could soon change. >> first order i'migning is tackling the climate crisis, at home and abroad. >> reporter: in one of his first acts as president, joe biden signed aexecutive order directing his administration to increase renewable energy production on public lands and offshore waters. about a month later, the lead federal agency regulating offshore wind published its final environmental impact statement for vineyard wind, the first large-scale wind project in the u.s. off the coast of massachusetts. now in itfinal stages of approval, the project would generate enough por for about 400,000 homes. lars pedersen is the c.e.o. of vineyard wind, which is a joint

venture between penhagen investment partners and electric utility avangrid. >> for us in this industry, it is about two things-- clean and affordable energy, but it's also about economic development. >> reporter: i sat down with him at the new bedford commerce marine terminal, which is the only facility in the u.s. specifically designed for staging large offshore wind projects. >> there will be hundreds of people working here, moving big components, operating cranes, testing electrical equipment. offshore, people'll be living 14 days on, 14 days off on vessels. for this project, there will be more than 2,000 jobs that will be created during the construction, and we will create a similar amount of jobs during the operation. >> reporter: but getting to this point has been a long road. vineyard first leased these 260 square miles of ocean back in 2015, spent millions surveying the area, and applied to federal regulators for a permit in 2017.

two years later, the process was paused as regulators decided to look at the cumulative impact of vineyard, and several other projects planned in the same area. all together, there are more than a dozen leases in various stages of development up and down the east coast, and industry groups estimate that between 20,000 and 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind-- or enough to power more than 12 million homes-- will be operational by 2030. while the u.s. has not yet approved a major project, in europe, offshore wind has grown exponentially in the last 15 years, with more than 40 commercial-scale projects now operating. >> i've been fortunate to be part of when this industry matured in europe and seeing it from a small, you know, sort of technology-oriented niche industry, to what it is today, the mainstay of northern europe's clean energy revolution. and i think we will see exact the same happen here. >> reporter: the u.s.'s relative late start does mean that projects are able to incorporate new technology.

vineyard will be the first to use a new turbine made by ge that stands more than 850 feet tall, with each of its three blades stretching more than the length of a football field. >> every time the blade spins twice, you can power a home for a day. so, it's really impressive hardware. so we have been able to shrink the footprint of the project from 108 positions down to 62, while still producing the power we have promised to massachusetts. >> reporter: it's here on a beach on cape cod that buried cables carrying power from the vineyard wind project will come ashore, underneath this beach, and be connected to the new england electricity grid. but the actual turbines, which will be about 35 miles out in the ocean, will be almost invisible from here. but while the vineyard wind project has not faced the local opposition of earlier projects like cape wind, which was famously opposed by residents like former senator ted kennedy, that doesn't mean that everyone

is on board. >> there's a lot of questions that should be answered before these structures go in the water, and i think it's been fast-tracked and pushed, in-- in the name of green energy. >> reporter: eric hansen is a fourth-generation fisherman based in new bedford. he owns two boats, which travel up and down the east coast to reach regulated stockof scallops. while vineyard wind is not in an area he fishes, hansen is concerned the turbines will create a navigational hazard. >> when you get bad weather or heavy fog, and then if you throw a boat in there that's moving through besides yourself, to try and pick out the fixed target from the moving target on the radar screen will be next to impossible. >> reporter: about 40 miles down the coast, in point judith, rhode island, fisherman christopher brown is concerned how vineyard wind, and the cumulative impact of future offshore wind projects, will affect fisheries, including the whiting, squid, and flounders he

fishes for. >> we're afraid that it's going to displace more boats into less ocean. that will increase the impacts on the bottom, and the stocks. we don't know what it's going to do to systemicroductivity. we have hoped for a precautionary approach, but that kind of looks like it's going out the window. >> reporter: brown, who also serves as president of the seafood harvesters of america, says his opposition to vineyard wind does not mean he's opposed to renewable energy. >> reporter: back in new bedford, mayor jon mitchell sees part of his role as mediating between commercial fishing interests and offshore wind developers. >> reporter: you're out there on the water. what is your experience of climate change? >> we see traditional species of fish are no longer available. we see new species of fish that i've never seen in my life. i tell people all the time, the ocean i fish in right now is not

my grandfather's ocean. you know, much like there's no atheists in foxholes, you know, there are no climate change deniers in the commercial fishing industry. >> reporter: back in new bedford, mayor jon mitchell sees part of his role as mediating between commercial fishing interests and offshore wind developers. >> we've tried to do our job here in new bedford, as a place that has a certain level of expertise around commercial fishing, to get the offshore wind industry to understand the needs of the fishing industry and how they can be readily accommodated by offshore wind. >> reporter: oppents argue that vineyard wind has not done enough to mitigate the potential impact, and that there haven't been enough independent studies to show that the promised benefits outweigh the potential harm to fishermen and ocean habitat and navigation. so, what is your response to that? >> yeah, i don't agree with-- with phrasing it in that way. i don't think there are many energy projects, or projects for

that sake, in the u.s., that have undergone the review that this project has gone. we have had 400-plus public meetings and hearings about the project. we have had thousands and thousands of staff hours going into outreach with commercial fishing. >> reporter: pedersen also points out that throughout the regulatory process, vineyard wind has made changes, including agreeing to expand the distance between turbines, and to change their orientation, to make vineyard and future projects nearby more uniform and easy to navigate. vineyard wind is also funding ongoing studies of local fisheries, and agreed to compensate fishermen who show they have a financial loss because of the project. but, for new bedford scalloper eric hansen, the mitigations offered and the lengthy regulatory process does not mean developers like vineyard wind are taking the concerns of fishermen into account. >> somebody will say, well, will you listen to the fisherman?

but that's all it is. it's just a checkbox. they lisned. whether they act on it or not, that's something that's debatable. you have to remember, seafood is a renewable resource also, and to displace one renewable resource, which has been proven over centuries, with another that has been proven for the last 10 or 20 years, i think should be, you know, looked at in a different light. >> our ultimate goal is to coexist, and therefore, we think it's very important that we now gt to the stage where we actually build something and then we can see in real life the impacts. >> reporter: with a final decision from federal regulators expected within weeks, vineyard wind hopes to start construction this fall, with an aim of actually generating energy by 2023. >> sreenivasan: for more on how the biden administration is looking to balance the need for renewable energy with environmental and commercial concerns, i recently spoke with

amanda lefton. she is the newly-appointed director of the federal bureau of ocean energy management, which is the lead federal regulator for offshore wind projects. each of these offshore wind energy projects has so many different stakeholders involved. you've got millions of dollars on the development side. you've got commercial fishermen who are concerned what happens to their catch when there's development out there. how do you balance all this? >> stakeholder engagement is such a critical part of responsible offshore wind development. doubtedly, the commercial fishing industry, indigenous communities, and other critical stakeholders are such a central part to the bureau of ocean energy management's process for identifying wind energy areas and then, of course, subsequently working on project reviews, including environmental impact statements. it's so critical that those voices are heard and at the table so that we can look to find these conflict areas for

all ocean users involved as we look at places to develop offshore wind and other projects. >> sreenivasan: right now, the biden administration has made renewable energy one of the priorities. does that add pressure to how you look at these projects? >> not at all. the bureau of ocean energy management is really focused on a data-driven, science-based approach to how we review projects. that means that we are going to do a full enviroental review and we do do full environmental reviews of projects. that means we are going to engage other stakeholders, and we're going to do an honest review of those products as they as they advance, based on science and data. >> sreenivasan: so how does a developer, or any of these stakeholders, how do they look at this process now, especially given the last four years? if i decide to sink money into doing something and go through the process of application, et cetera, is it only as good as the administration that i

started it in? >> we have in front of us now 13 projects, and a couple of more in the ngs that we expect to come before the bureau of ocean energy management, and what we are really focused on is creating a lasting process that will create greater certainty, not just for the industry, but for other critical stakeholders to engage in the process moving forward. all to say, we know that right now we have a really important opportunity to make lasting change, to ensure that we have a fair and certain process for project review. >> sreenivasan: one of the concerns we also saw from, say, for example, the oil and gas industry, as soon as the biden administration was going to be coming in, they said, "look, this is not good for us. this is going to mean a lot fewer jobs in this industry. this is going to be kind of a blank check for renewables, but not for the workers who were already out there." how do you-- how do you just balance that? that is also energy coming from the ocean. >> certainly.

offshore wind has the opportunity to create a great deal of jobs, and american jobs. we know that in order for us to really, truly build out offshore wind, not only are we going to need people that are physically building them and operating them, but we're going to need a supply chain to support the development of offshore wind, which can mean steel, which can mean other critical materials that can come from the united states. additionally, we're seeing investments in things like large vessels that are being built right here in america, with materials from america. so i think undoubtedly we have a tremendous opportunity to create good family-supporting jobs with offshore wind, as we continue to transition to a clean energy future, which is not just critical for climate change, but to, of course, support those jobs and cree them here. >> sreenivasan: amanda lefton, director of the bureau of ocean energy management. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you for having me.

>> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: as christians celebrate palm sunday, holy week and easter in the coming days, an iconic religious symbol in brazil is undergoing a major restoration. the colossal statue of christ overlooking the city of rio de janeiro is getting a facelift before its 90th anniversary in october. a team of 40 architects, engineers and geologists is working on the 125-foot-tall statue known as "christ the redeemer" that was built in 1931. >> ( translated ): every time i look out, it's exciting. the great importance of this work is exactly in preventative conservation, for us to take ca of and to understand the object before it is lost. >> sreenivasan: the team first made a scan of the mostly stone and clay statue to identify damage. the work is focused on parts of the statue that have rusted

over time and on replacing rock pieces on its exterior that are weak. >> ( translated ): this is the original system that had not been working properly. it was not sufcient enough for the weight. this mesh is a new part that we are putting up. our major job is to diagnose, adapt and to leave christ with morerotective measures in place, so as to give it a greater lifespan. >> sreenivasan: much of the work is done manually and requires workers to use harnesses as they traverse the stone statue. >> ( translated ): with winds of in t morning there is wind, and in the afternoon we have to pay attention to the wind in order to be safe and that there are no accidents. >> ( translated ): it's a privilege to be here. many want this, but few get it. to hang from the statue is a privilege, to look around at the view. i am very happy to be working here. >> sreenivasan: more than two million people visited the statue annually before the coronavirus pandemic. officials have closed the monument to visitors, as brazil experiences a rapid resurgence of coronavirus ses.

>> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. to those who celebrate, happy passover. for the latest news updates, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy, and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue anedgar wachenheim iii. the anderson family fund. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. barbara hope zuckerberg. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation.

the peter g. peterson and joan ganz cooney fund. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs. show is brought to you

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