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The Latest Efforts To Avoid A Strike Among U.S. Rail Workers; Going Deep Sea Diving Off The Coast Of Central America. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired September 16, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: You made it. Happy Friday, everyone. I`m Coy and we are pumped to be here with you to help you kick your weekend off right,
right here on CNN 10.
Awesome show today, so hop on board and let`s go.
Some news surrounding the U.S. railroad industry. Freight railroad carriers and union representatives are on track to reach a potential deal after
fears that there might be a strike. The negotiations had been ongoing for 20 hours and came days after the train companies chose to cancel their long
distance trains so that passengers wouldn`t be stranded if the strike happened. The employees want better pay, improved working conditions and
the ability to attend medical appointments without losing pay.
The new contract they`ve agreed to also gives them a 24 percent pay increase over the next five years. After reaching an agreement this week,
workers need to vote in order to seal the deal.
The strike may be averted for now, but if no official deal is reached a national railroad strike could have serious economic effects, a walkout of
60,000 workers could derail industries across the country and impact the supply chain.
According to the Association of American Railroads, this could cost the economy two billion dollars a day. We also could see higher gas and food
prices and more expensive consumer goods.
But analysts say that even if a deal is signed the railroad industry still faces a number of issues including labor shortages and competition from
trucking companies.
We`ll hear now from CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans about the potential economic impact a strike like this could have.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The rail system, an artery for the American economy here. No question.
Here`s some of the other ways a nationwide freight rail strike could affect you the consumer.
Higher gas prices. About 300,000 barrels of crude oil moved by rail every day. That`s enough to supply two mid-size refineries. If the refineries
can`t get the crude, they`ll be forced to cut production and they won`t be able to ship already refined fuel either.
Higher food prices as well here, and shortages potentially on shelves. Just harvested crops like corn, soybeans and wheat, they won`t get to food
processors, and not just here in the U.S. You know, U.S. corn exports to China, a huge amount of grain move out of the Pacific Northwest a long way
by rail from the Midwest.
Right now, meat packers are also very concerned they can`t have their fresh meat packed into rail cars only to be stranded on the tracks, right?
Beyond food, you`re looking at higher prices and potential shortages of other goods you buy in stores and online like house wares and hardware and
clothes, you name it. If distributors in stores can`t get them, you can`t buy them. And the holiday shopping season, by the way, is right around the
corner.
And the manufacturing, same logic here. If factories can`t get parts, if factories can`t get raw materials, then assembly lines grind to a halt and
they can`t ship what they`ve already made either. A rail strike would put the brakes on delivering new cars, new trucks, SUVs automakers, already
struggling to rev up production due to a part shortage left over from the pandemic a new car supply is already limited and prices are at record highs
there, pausing factory production would only make it worse.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE (voice-over): It`s 10-second trivia time.
Tegucigalpa is the capital of what Central American country?
Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua or Belize?
Home to more than a million people, Tegucigalpa is the capital of Honduras.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Our next story takes us to the nation of Honduras where off the coast, we go underwater to explore a rarely seen part of the ocean. It`s
called the ocean`s twilight zone. It`s the area between the shallow part of the ocean that gets the sunlight and the dark ocean floor.
Scuba diving scientist Luiz Rocha is studying ocean life in this area where few scientists have gone before. And he`s already discovered new species of
fish. Rocha feels that the more we understand these habitats the better we can protect them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUIZ ROCHA, SCUBA DIVING SCIENTIST: So the shallow reefs that everybody is used to seeing, they`re a very diverse ecosystem. There are many, many
species occurring together, living together in very close proximity.
The deeper you go, the less energy the ecosystem has, so the less sunlight reaches the deeper reefs. Because of that, there`s a lot less species.
When you get up close, it`s still a very colorful ecosystem. There`s many, many different kinds of fish and many of them are unknown.
In the past 10 years, I think I discovered about 30 new species.
My name is Luiz Rocha. I`m curator of ichthyology and co-director of the Hope for Reefs Initiative at the California Academy of Sciences..
Ichthyology is the study of fish. I`ve always been fascinated by fish, always had aquariums in my house growing up. Almost everything we know
about coral reefs comes from the top 30 meters or so. That`s the limit of recreational diving.
The ocean`s twilight zone, the portion that I study, it`s the coral reef between 200 and 500 feet. The technical term for it is mesophotic coral
ecosystem.
Diving at those depths is very different and that requires a lot of training. Because very few scientists do it, a lot of things about this
region are unknown, so every dive we do to those depths is a new discovery.
It`s very demanding to dive at those levels for a human. It`s lots and lots of preparation concentration. And then going down, the anxiety is really
great because everything gets dark and then everything gets calmer, colder, and then when we get there, we know why we`re there. When we see something
that nobody has ever seen before, it`s absolutely amazing.
Coral reefs are under tremendous threats. They`re suffering because of overfishing, pollution, fishing pollution, plastic pollution, even at
places that nobody has ever seen before. So that was one of our first discoveries that those deeper reefs are really not a refuge for shallow
reef organisms.
And then at the global level, the biggest threat today is climate change. So the waters are warming. They`re warming everywhere in the planet and the
warmer they get, the worse it is for coral reefs.
I don`t think it`s enough just to do the science. We take many, many photographs. We bring those stories back up to the surface so then we share
with as many people as possible. I think it`s extremely important to engage local communities about their own reefs we`re using local names to name the
fish because it gives ownership to the local people.
And we also always engage with policymakers everywhere we go to try to increase protection on shallow reefs and on deep reefs.
And for the most part, when people realize that those reefs are there, they move towards protecting them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: For today`s 10 out of 10, we`re heading to the Minnesota state fair for this.
Look out, a good old-fashioned rooster crowing contest. What? You`ve never been to one?
Well, here`s how it works: the feathery contestants get 30 minutes to try to be the squawk of the town. Rooster with the most crows wins.
On this day, a bird named Buster took the top spot, 32 crows. Last place went to a dude named Silent Bob, zero crows. Way to stay true to yourself,
Bob. You do you.
We want to give a special shout out now to Mililani Middle School in Mililani, Hawaii. Did you know, fun fact Friday, that the state fish of
Hawaii is the Humuhumunukunukuapua`a? Uh-huh, try saying that times real fast or just try saying toy boat times real fast. Good luck.
Aloha and happy Friday, y`all. We hope you and everyone watching around the world have a wonderful weekend.
I`m Coy. Thanks for watching CNN 10.
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