VOA-WEEKLY
[AIR DATE: 01 12 18]
[FINAL TRANSCRIPT]
OPEN ((VO/NAT))
((Banner))
Protecting the Shore
((SOT))
“This mooring field here was devastation. There were boats up in the mangroves.”
(Animation Transition)
((Banner))
Sharing the Wine
((SOT))
It’s the fermentation time, the crush time when we change grapes into wine. That’s the key moment of wine-making.”
((Animation Transition))
((Banner))
Singing the Blues
((SOT))
“My voice is a trumpet. I don’t know.”
((Open Animation))
BLOCK A
((Banner: Protecting the Shore))
((PKGS)) CITIZEN SCIENTISTS + MANGROVES + CORAL
PEOPLE
((Banner: Our Changing Shores))
((Reporter / Camera: Steve Baragona))
((Producer: Zdenko Novacki))
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS, MUSIC))
((Banner: Protecting the Shore / People))
((Locator: Miami, Florida))
((NARRATOR))
It's Saturday morning, and Kiran Bhat and his wife, Cassie, are ankle-deep in puddle water. They are part of a group helping scientists understand how rising seas will affect their hometown.
((KIRAN BHAT, MIAMI AREA RESIDENT))
"I want to do my part for the city. Miami's a beautiful place. We don't want it to be impacted by sea level rise in the way that the projections are putting out there."
((COURTESY CHYRON: GOOGLE / FIU))
((NARRATOR))
The projections say much of Miami is at risk of going underwater in the coming decades. In neighborhoods like this one, it's already starting. When tides are at their highest, sea water backs up through storm drains and into the streets. It's a wake-up call, says Florida International University's Tiffany Troxler.
((TIFFANY TROXLER, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY))
"Even for myself, I don't think I really appreciated how urgent the issue of sea level rise was until I saw the water coming out of the drain and it just doesn't stop."
((PHOTOS + COURTESY CHYRON: KEREN BOLTER/SFRPC))
((NARRATOR))
When the waters rise, cities need to know, street by street, who and what is at risk. And they need to know what combinations of conditions turn streets into streams, and which just leave salty puddles. That's one reason Troxler has organized a platoon of volunteers to get their feet wet for science.
((NAT SOUND))
"Who's ready to take some samples? Yeah!"
((NARRATOR))
Early this morning, students, teachers and just plain folks gathered for donuts and training.
((NAT SOUND))
"See through the eyepiece what the salinity is."
((NARRATOR))
They learn a few simple techniques.
((NAT SOUND))
"Take the filter on the syringe.”
((NARRATOR))
Then the citizen scientists fan out across the city, mapping where flooding happens and how much. And they sample for dangerous bacteria or chemicals that may be lurking in the floodwaters. For Troxler, citizen science is important for two big reasons.
((TIFFANY TROXLER, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY))
"It is a manpower thing, because you simply can't cover the number of sites that we're working on today with the research infrastructure that we have at our disposal. But I want to say that it's just as important to engage people in this way so that we can communicate the issues of sea level rise."
((NARRATOR))
Many don't know why the streets are flooding. It's an eye-opener for student volunteer Rosanna Oviedo.
((ROSANNA OVIEDO, FIU STUDENT))
"I've probably seen it, of course. But I haven't paid attention because I didn't know what it was, and what was it about. The sea comes, and you get flooding in the middle of the street. So yeah, now we know."
((MAPS + COURTESY CHYRON: SUSAN JACOBSON/TIFFANY TROXLER, FIU))
((NARRATOR))
And with each citizen science outing, Troxler knows a little more about how tides, weather and other factors play out on the streets of Miami, as the seas continue to rise.
NATURE
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS, MUSIC))
((Banner: Protecting the Shore / Nature))
((Locator: Key West, Florida))
((NARRATOR))
Hurricane Irma roared through Florida in September. Shipwrecks litter the Florida Keys in its wake. Rob Brumbaugh lives on a houseboat here.
((ROB BRUMBAUGH, NATURE CONSERVANCY))
"This mooring field here was devastation. There were boats up in the mangroves throughout here. Many of the boats were on their sides or upside down or on the docks."
((NARRATOR))
But Brumbaugh's marina was virtually untouched. He credits the ring of mangrove trees surrounding the docks.
((ROB BRUMBAUGH, NATURE CONSERVANCY))
"Even just a little bit of mangrove can make a big difference. It made all the difference in the world for our marina. I'm convinced of it."
((NARRATOR))
Brumbaugh is a marine scientist with the Nature Conservancy. He says mangroves' tangled branches and roots can offer protection from the more intense storms and higher seas that climate change is bringing.
((ROB BRUMBAUGH, NATURE CONSERVANCY))
"We know that mangroves provide a physical buffer. They literally wring the energy out of waves when the waves pass through them."
((NARRATOR))
And it's not just hurricanes. Mangrove roots hold the shoreline in place against everyday waves that can wash away beaches. That's just one reason Aabad Melwani planted these mangrove seedlings at Miami's Rickenbacker Marina.
((AABAD MELWANI, RICKENBACKER MARINA))
"It's natural protection against storm surge. It's natural protection against erosion. It keeps all the sediment and the shoreline intact. And then once they're fully mature, they also provide this really vibrant ecosystem for juvenile fish, crustaceans, birds."
((NARRATOR))
Tourists come to Florida to see the birds and catch the fish. Attracting tourists, building fisheries, protecting coastlines, Brumbaugh and the Nature Conservancy are working to show policymakers just how much mangroves will pay off and, that they're part of a larger network.
((ROB BRUMBAUGH, NATURE CONSERVANCY))
"That's also beaches and dunes, but it's also the coral reefs that sit further offshore. So, it's a multilayered system of natural infrastructure that can actually protect us."
((NARRATOR))
Brumbaugh says their research is helping policymakers think beyond conventional concrete seawalls, especially when they fail in storms like Irma.
((ROB BRUMBAUGH, NATURE CONSERVANCY))
"It just shows the limitation of our typical gray infrastructure. It's good to a point."
((NARRATOR))
He says natural systems can help protect the people and the wildlife that share the waterfront.
Steve Baragona, VOA News, Key West, Florida
SCIENCE
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS, MUSIC))
((Banner: Protecting the Shore / Science))
((COURTESY CHYRON: DALTON HESLEY/UNIV. OF MIAMI))
((NARRATOR))
Off the coast of Miami, divers are staking twigs of coral to the ocean bottom. These twigs were clipped from the University of Miami's coral nursery. Scientists working to restore degraded reefs recently discovered that corals grow faster when they are cut into smaller pieces, says project manager Dalton Hesley.
((DALTON HESLEY, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI))
"We can take a large boulder coral, fragment it into a lot of small, coin-sized pieces, increase their growth and then fuse them back together to create a larger coral colony than we started with in a fraction of the time."
((NARRATOR))
Branching corals like these work especially well. Hesley says the lab started nine years ago with 30 finger-sized fragments.
((DALTON HESLEY, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI))
"We've turned those into over 3500 in our coral nurseries. That means any day of the week we can collect hundreds of these staghorn and elkhorn corals to transplant onto local reefs as a natural way to promote growth and recovery."
((COURTESY CHYRON: DALTON HESLEY/UNIV. OF MIAMI))
((NARRATOR))
The group has transplanted more than 11,000 corals so far.
But those corals face the same warming oceans that are killing reefs in many parts of the world. Hesley's group does not want their efforts to go to waste. That's why they are working with their University of Miami colleague Andrew Baker.
((ANDREW BAKER, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI))
"So that instead of planting out the next set of coral victims, we're actually planting out corals that we think are going to be more heat-tolerant in the future."
((NARRATOR))
Corals get their food and their bright colors from algae partners, called symbionts. But when the water gets too warm, they lose the algae. These bleached corals cannot live for long. But, Baker adds….
((ANDREW BAKER, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI))
"It actually provides an opportunity for corals to potentially change their algal symbionts and become colonized by new types of algae that are maybe more suited to the new environment."
((NARRATOR))
Baker's lab is stressing out corals and selecting the ones that recover best.
((ANDREW BAKER, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI))
"Despite having been really severely bleached just a couple months ago, they've actually recovered really well and you can see that they've started to grow new branches."
((COURTESY CHYRON: CHRISTINE DA SILVA/UNIV. OF MIAMI))
((NARRATOR))
The next step will be to plant stress-hardened corals on degraded reefs and see how they do. The team is optimistic that they can give the reefs a fighting chance. But they know there is only so much they can do.
((DALTON HESLEY, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI))
"We can't rebuild every reef around the globe. That's why education is the second biggest part of our program and our efforts."
((COURTESY CHYRON: DALTON HESLEY/UNIV. OF MIAMI))
((NARRATOR))
They recruit volunteers to help rebuild the reefs. They teach them about the need for global solutions to climate change. And they hope these citizen scientists will help spread the word.
Steve Baragona, VOA News, Miami
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up….
((Banner))
Sharing the Wine
((SOT))
“My job: It’s a blend of farming, of science and art.”
BREAK ONE
BUMP IN (ANIM)
BLOCK B:
((Banner: Sharing the Wine))
((ANIMATION W/ GFX, CAPTIONS, PHOTOS, MUSIC))
Wine
An Old World Tradition
flowing around the globe
((PKG)) MATTHIEU FINOT
((Banner: The Winemaker))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Reporter/Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Map + GFX: Wine pouring effect over Map of Charlottesville, Virginia))
((MATTHIEU FINOT: WINEMAKER))
“My name is Matthieu Finot and I am the winemaker here at King Family Vineyards in Charlottesville, Virginia. I grew up in the northern Rhone, in France, in a place that is called Crozes-Hermitage. It’s an appellation in France where we make wine.
My father loved wine and always made me try good wine when I was a kid, and I really loved that.
I feel like studying winemaking was a good link between, you know, my love of wine and my love of the dirt.
My job: It’s a blend of farming, of science and art, because we need Mother Nature to ripen the grapes and to make grapes good to make good wine, so that is the natural part. I need science to understand all the fermentation part and the aging part and everything that happens to the wine. And I need the artistic part, that is what makes each winemaker unique and what brings the human factor into producing wine.
Harvest time, it starts here from late August and it’s going to end in late October. So I’ve got two months and a half where my life is going to be crazy.
That’s the key moment of winemaking. It’s the fermentation time, the crush time. That is when we change grapes into wine. I’ve always wanted to travel. And for me, traveling was a part of learning. Not only learning about winemaking, but you also learn a lot about yourself. You learn that not everybody thinks the way you do, and you learn to listen to people. When I first arrived here, I didn’t know where Virginia was on the map, to be honest. I knew very little about the United States, had never been to United States before.
It turns out that I’m loving it here.
I think if you live with your passion, and you’re passionate with what you do, then I think your life will be happier and then you will probably get more smiles on your face.”
((PKG)) CHINA – NAPA VALLEY
((Banner: Learning About Wine))
((Reporter: Chu Wu))
((Camera: Deana Mitchell, Biqing Huang))
((Producer: Randall Taylor & Aisha Handerson))
((Map + GFX: Wine pouring effect over Map showing St. Helena, Napa Valley, California))
((FACTOID: Baijiu is a Chinese alcoholic beverage made from grain. Baijiu literally means “while liquor”.))
((JIAWEI WANG, NAPA VALLEY VISITOR))
“Now there’s many people in China that have given up Baijiu. No more Baijiu. Because wine has enough alcohol, but it’s also good for health. It can soften human blood vessels. People are changing.”
((JOHN TAYLOR, YAO FAMILY WINES))
“It's interesting because the Chinese market in Napa is the fastest growing international market that we have, according to the statistics from VisitNapaValley, our visitor bureau here in Napa Valley. China was the number one international market in the Napa Valley last year.”
((FACTOID: Chinese tourists flock to Yao Family Wines vineyard –owned by retired basketball star Yao Ming."))
((JIAWEI WANG, NAPA VALLEY VISITOR))
“The Cabernet Sauvignon is very nice. The taste is great.”
((Map + GFX: Wine pouring effect over Map showing St. Helena, Napa Valley and UC Davis, California))
((FACTOID: UC Davis has one of the country’s top programs for the science of growing grapes and winemaking.))
((SHIZHANG HAN, VITICULTURE & ENOLOGY STUDENT, UC DAVIS))
“From what I can see, there were not many Chinese students previously but now, in my class and also among those who came after me, there are many more Chinese.”
((HEIGI WAN, VITICULTURE & ENOLOGY STUDENT, UC DAVIS))
“In Asia, especially in China, people are getting richer. This is one factor.”
((SHIZHANG HAN, VITICULTURE & ENOLOGY STUDENT, UC DAVIS))
“Wine in China is just starting. Before, we imported a lot of wine. Now we have started to build new vineyards. The grape vines are still growing. It’s like a newborn baby. Chinese wine carries a lot of hope.”
((PKG)) FRANCE CHINA WINE
((Banner: And Not Just in California))
((Reporter: Lisa Bryant))
((Producer: Martin Secrest))
((Map: Burgundy, France))
((NATS))
((LEI SHI, WINE CLASS STUDENT))
“The wine culture in China now is not very good, because most people do not know how to taste the wines. So we still have a long way to go, to teach the Chinese people how to taste the wines, how to enjoy the wines.”
((NATS))
((NARRATOR))
((JEROME GALLO, DIRECTOR, BURGUNDY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS SCHOOL OF WINE AND SPIRITS))
“They want to go back home with the best practices in order to be able to produce the best wines they can. And probably in a decade or two decades, Chinese, some of them will be alumni of our programs, but Chinese people will be able to produce very quality wines on a large scale.”
((YIXUAN HAO, CHINESE STUDENT))
“For the young generation, they are more open minded to the French culture and French wine, so maybe they know more than the old generation. But for the, like, upper class or middle class people, they want to consume wines from different regions, like Italy. They are trying to discover new things and it is kind of a symbol of wealthy and luxury things for them.”
((ADRIEN TIRELLI, LA ROUTE DES VINS WINE SHOP, DIJON))
“Chinese people, like all new consumers, they come with the books and they tell me, “I want this one, this one, this one.”
((STEVE CHARTERS, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, SCHOOL OF WINE AND BUSINESS SPIRITS))
“The Chinese wine industry is developing rapidly, The quality of their wine is improving substantially, and they are learning what works well.”
TEASE ((VO/NAT))
Coming up….
((Banner))
Singing the Blues
((SOT))
“Music for me is freedom of expression. Music is this magical force that comes from the universe that allows people to connect.”
BREAK TWO
BUMP IN (ANIM)
BLOCK C:
((Banner: Singing the Blues))
((PKG)) GOING HOME - DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER
((Banner: Singing the Blues))
((Executive Producer: Marsha James))
((Reporter/Camera: Kaveh Rezaei))
((Dee Dee Bridgewater, Grammy Award winning Singer-Songwriter))
“Oh, I’m a trumpet. I love trumpet. I love the trumpet and my voice is a trumpet. I don’t’ know.
I made the grand proclamation to my parents when I was seven years old. I’ll never forget kinda walking down the hallway in our house. I said, when I grow up I am going to be an internationally known jazz singer and I am going to be well respected by musicians and I am going to live in Paris, France and I am going to buy you a house and a car.
My poor Mama. My mother shook her head a lot with me. She just didn’t know what to do with me, you know. I tried to run away when I was seven, you know, I went outside and got one of those long branches off of a tree and I made my little knapsack like a hobo. I didn’t know where I was going, I just needed to go. I think that was a clue to the kind of gypsy spirit that I’ve always had.
Music for me is freedom of expression. It’s complete freedom of expression. Music is this magical force that comes from the universe that allows people to connect and allows for positive energy to flow and to reach out and to massage the hearts and the bodies and the spirits of the people that receive it. That’s what music is for me.
I could always sing. I thought everybody could sing because I could always sing and I never had any formal training, you know. I never had any kind of music training. I don’t play any instruments. I don’t read music for anything. So I was like surprised that my mother couldn’t hold a note and I was surprised when my sister went to sing and those notes didn’t’ fall right. But it was when I was 16 that I made the decision that I really wanted to sing. And I never thought my voice was black enough because I sang jazz and I didn’t know how to do all those riffs, and you know I came out of the Catholic church so I had no reference. I remember thinking I’m going to prove that I’m black and that I can sing like, you know, a black woman.
‘Memphis….Yes, I’m Ready’ is like a dream come true for me. It’s me living out a fantasy that I had as a teenager. It’s me doing some blues songs. It’s me doing some soul songs. It’s me being able to have fun. Me, for me, for myself. It’s my selfish moment in my life at 67.
The music is the magic of a secret world. I have to do the things that I believe in and I believe very much in this project. I want to bring attention to Memphis again. I want the young people to know this period existed. I don’t know, I think there’s a movement going that is bringing attention back to the city and it’s my birth city and I’ve decided I need to own it, you know, and I’m just a child of the world.
No, I’m from Memphis. I am from Memphis and we say, Memphis.”
((SLATE + BANNER))
And Just because….
((PKG)) NEW YORK CITY TAXI CALENDAR – IMMIGRANT MODELS
((Banner: Hot Rides))
((Reporter / Camera: Ramon Taylor))
((Producer: Phillip Alexiou))
((ALEX WANG, TAXI DRIVER & MODEL))
“It’s me! This guy....so ugly you are!”
((NARRATOR))
((COURTESY CHYRON: Shannon Kirkman))
The 2018 New York Taxi Drivers Calendar is out and this year’s international models from seven different countries are looking to brighten your year.
((NATS/FIRSTCOM.COM Music and Model Shoot))
((NARRATOR))
In its fifth year, the calendar’s creators say 2018 may be their best edition yet, a feat of photography that requires considerable courage on an open set.
((PHILIP KIRKMAN, CO-CREATOR, NYC TAXI DRIVERS CALENDAR))
“There’s people walking by and looking and taking pictures, so it is really amazing that the drivers sort of show up and by the end of it, they’re models.”
((NARRATOR))
((COURTESY CHYRON: Andrew Godreaux))
Models of every age, shape, and background....
((BOLL + COURTESY CHYRON: Andrew Godreaux))
((PHOTOS + COURTESY CHYRON: Shannon Kirkman))
((RAMON TAYLOR, VOA NEWS))
“The 2018 pin-up sheds light on a more intimate side of the diverse men and women behind the yellow cab wheel. Just in time for summer, you’ll be graced by the irresistible gaze of Dan, along with Mr. September Hassan, who likes to have his cake and eat it too.”
((NATS/FIRSTCOM.COM Music and Model Shoot Interlude))
((COURTESY CHYRON: Andrew Godreaux))
((SHANNON KIRKMAN, CO-CREATOR, NYC TAXI DRIVERS CALENDAR))
“We’ll come in with two to three sort of scene ideas, and then we’ll gauge their comfort level and the playfulness of each of the drivers, and kind of try to fit that scene to their personality.”
((NARRATOR))
Some, like the self-proclaimed “Karaoke King”, cover man Alex Wang are born stars, even if they are only a little famous.
((ALEX WANG, TAXI DRIVER & MODEL))
“It’s difficult to let everybody remember you, everybody know you, right? You only be president, everybody know you. I’m a little driver. So I’m already happy some people know me.”
((NARRATOR))
But he wouldn’t mind if even more New Yorkers and tourists were to find out about him.
((ALEX WANG, TAXI DRIVER & MODEL))
“I will show all the passengers I was in a taxi calendar, and a cover man. Alex Wang!”
((PHOTO + COURTESY CHYRON: Shannon Kirkman))
Ramon Taylor, VOA News, New York.
((ANIMATION + MUSIC))
VOA WEEKLY IS NOW VOA CONNECT
January 19,2018
NEXT WEEK
SOT
“This project was for me a perfect excuse to get to know the city better and get out and discover what’s going on around me.”
SHOW ENDS
