BtN: Episode 17 Transcript 20/06/17
Hi, I'm Nathan Bazley, welcome to a very special BTN!
Coming up today:
· What's the deal with Qatar? We travel there to find out.
· Find out how chicken wire is saving thousands of small native animals in the Simpson Desert.
· And we officially unveil the BTN Welcome Book and announce a free gift for everyone that helped to make it.
Yep please stay with us for that very exciting news right at the end of the show.
But before all that.
Energy Report
Reporter: Amelia Moseley
INTRO: You might remember last week we told you all about the Paris Climate Agreement and how the USA is pulling out. Well, Australia is still part of it and this week, talk turned to how we might achieve our own emissions target. A review suggested big changes to the way our electricity is generated and sold. But the government is split on whether or not to back. Take a look.
Can you imagine a world without electricity?
KID 1: I think it'd kind of turn into a post-apocalyptic type of world where people are fighting over batteries!
KID 2: I would have a plan like I'd try to get all the world's guinea pigs and hamsters and have them running on a wheel and just generate power.
KID 3: Eventually everyone's iPads and computers would eventually run out of power and you'd just have millions of children sitting at home just laying on the couch going 'ahhhhh'!
KID 4: It'd be good because I wouldn't have to do homework, but it'd be bad cause I don't get to watch YouTube.
So, it's clearly a super important thing to have! But it's the way we go about making that electricity that's causing debate. About 80 per cent of Australia's energy comes from coal. It's mined all around Australia and we even sell some overseas. But burning fossil fuels like coal releases gases like carbon dioxide into the air and scientists say that's contributing to climate change.
So, for a long time, Australia's leaders have been debating the best way to reduce those emissions, but unfortunately it isn't as easy as flicking a switch. There are lots of factors to consider like the cost of changing over to different energy sources, the effect on big industries and lots of people's jobs, how it might affect the cost of electricity for families, and of course the main aim of generating power - making sure the lights stay on!
Back in 2001, the government decided the aim to make 20 per cent of our power come from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2020. But 2020 isn't so far away now and we're still about 7 per cent short of that goal. So, the government asked this guy, Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, to suggest a plan to get us there. He looked into it and released a big government report called the Finkel Review. It suggests a few different options, but the one that has most people talking is a Clean Energy Target.
A Clean Energy Target would basically be a rule that would force the companies that sell electricity to make sure a set amount of it comes from low polluting or totally clean power sources. It's hoped that would encourage businesses to invest in more of those power sources around Australia and would probably reduce the amount of coal power in the future by quite a lot.
Not everyone's a fan of the Clean Energy Target. The mining industry isn't happy because it would be a big hit to the coal industry, which provides a lot of jobs and makes Australia a lot of money. Some government MPs agree. Some have also argued that under the plan Australia's power supply might not be as reliable and that creating more green energy could end up pushing up electricity prices. But others say the target would actually make power cheaper and be a step forward in the fight against climate change.
The government still hasn't made a decision about whether it'll bring in the new energy target and the PM says it'll take some time to work out the best policy. So, for now, we'll have to wait and see what Australia's energy future will look like.
This Week in News
Authorities in the UK are investigating a devastating fire which happened in London last week. It destroyed an apartment building in the city's west and at least 50 people died.
A lot of people are angry at how authorities have been handling the situation and there have been some big protests.
Meanwhile, firefighters have been praised for doing the best they could as well as other people who stayed up all night helping out. Londoners have also been donating clothes, food, blankets, even pocket money to people who lost their homes and giving them a place to stay.
Still in London, there was a big parade on the weekend to mark the Queen's birthday!
While she was actually born in April, the UK always officially celebrates on the second Saturday in June when the weather's there is good.
The Queen's Birthday Parade was bit more sombre than usual because of the recent tragedies in London.
But lots of people came out to see the Royals and some little Royals even came out to see the parade!
Back in Australia, the future of Network Ten is up in the air, after it went into something called voluntary administration. It means another company's been put in charge to see if it's possible for the network to stay in business.
A lot of TV channels have been struggling to compete with online services lately and Ten was in a lot of debt. Experts say it’s pretty unlikely the channel will disappear altogether but it will have to make some big changes.
And finally, some good news for left-handed people. A new study has shown that lefties might actually be better at maths! Some scientists tested more than 2,300 school students in maths tasks and found, on average, left handers did better in difficult problem solving like big equations.
In the less tricky stuff, there wasn't much of a difference, but researchers reckon it does show lefties could have a bit of an edge!
Qatar Tension
Reporter: Jack Evans
Next, we're taking you to the Middle East. Some countries in this area have joined together to cut off another one - Qatar. But why? Here's the background.
Welcome to Qatar, it's a teeny tiny country here in the Middle East. In fact, Qatar is so small that it could fit inside Tasmania 6 times, so yeah, it’s pretty small. But for such a tiny place it's pretty well known. You've probably seen its national airline about the place, Qatar airlines. Or it's TV station, Al Jazeera, that beams right around the world. It's hosting the 2022 FIFA world cup, that's been pretty big news. Then there's the huge reserves of oil and gas that the country sits on that keeps lights on and cars driving in lots of countries and has made Qatar the richest country per person in the world!
But for the past couple of weeks, Qatar has been all over the news for another reason. A serious disagreement it's having with some of its big powerful neighbours. Two weeks ago, a whole bunch of middle eastern countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain decided to stop dealing all together with Qatar. They've told any of their citizens living in Qatar to leave and they've stopped importing and exporting goods. They've even stopped their airlines from flying into Doha, which is Qatar's Capital.
That's caused a lot of problems. Doha is a major stopover point for a lot of air passengers and some people were left stranded. Supermarkets in Qatar which import 80% of the food they sell have been cut off and it's put a hold on major building projects. Although so far it hasn't affected construction of FIFA World Cup stadiums.
So why has this happened? Well Saudi Arabia has accused Qatar of supporting some Islamist groups that have radical religious views and support terrorism. They're also angry because they say Qatar supports Iran which doesn't get along with Saudi Arabia. Qatar leaders say they don't support terrorism and some of its allies, like Iran and Turkey, are now lending support sending food and water supplies.
While this fight is a big concern for Qatar and the people who live here, it could also cause some big problems for the rest of the world. It's had an effect on oil prices and some are worried that if the tension continues it could lead to bigger conflicts. So many are hoping this little country sorts out this big problem soon.
Quiz
Time for our first quiz now. What is the capital of Qatar?
Doha
Ankara
Or Rome
The answer is: Doha
Protecting Desert Animals
Reporter: Sowaibah Hanifie
INTRO: Next today. How can some simple chicken wire save the lives of thousands of small native animals in Australia's Simpson Desert? Well, it's now being used by scientists to protect them from all the feral animals trying to turn them into dinner.
Here's more.
The vast, sandy terrain of the Simpson Desert can seem like it’s almost lifeless. But don't be fooled, this place is actually teeming with life. Hiding in the burrows, bushes and scrub are thousands of native Australian animals. But things are getting pretty tough out here for these little guys.
More species are becoming endangered because of feral animals like foxes and cats. Feral animals first came to Australia with settlers on board the first fleet in 1788. They brought animals and plants with them for food, to keep as pets, and to use for hunting sports.
What the settlers didn't realise though was these new plants and animals would end up having a devastating effect on Australia's natural environment. It's estimated feral predators eat tens of millions of native animals each night. Around 20 Australian species are already thought to be extinct because of feral cats alone. Animals like the desert bandicoot and the lesser bilby.
Some people are trying their best to save Australia's native species. Scientists here in the Simpson Desert say there isn't much they can do to stop the ferals moving around.
Chris Dickman, Sydney University professor: Unless you're out there all the time, it doesn't work. The best thing you can do is try alternative techniques.
So instead, they're going to lend these little guys a little bit of protection. Simply using chicken wire.
Chris Dickman, Sydney University professor: You can't stop the predators moving in on the environment, but at least you can give the prey a chance to get away.
Shaped into tunnels 50 metres long they'll give native animals somewhere to hide. This idea hasn't been tried in a desert before and they've found that it's working!
Chris Dickman, Sydney University professor: The animals recognise these structures and move to them and use them quite intensively and that's the first step to ensuring that the populations will be secure in the longer term.
But they can't cover the entire landscape on their own. So, local farmers are also helping out.
Amanda Warr, former farmer: I just look at my children, and they've been given the experience to live out here and the fact that they get to see the most amazing things that a lot of other children would miss out on. If we can help bring the numbers back up so they're there for the future, I think it's a great thing.
It's hoped projects to stop feral animal attacks will be so successful that in the next few years, visiting Australia's deserts could be like stepping back 200 years. When native animals could roam freely without the fear of ferals, they have today.
Quiz
To our second quiz now.
What is the highest temperature recorded in the Simpson Desert?
35 degrees
50 degrees
Or 80 degrees
The answer is - 50 degrees Celsius
Sheepdog School
Reporter: Amelia Moseley
INTRO: Now, we're heading to country NSW where a group of kids from Ariah Park are learning to train sheep dogs at their school. We asked them to explain how it works.
BLAIR Hi, my name's Blair and this is my dog Diesel.
NIC: G'day my name's Nic this is me dog Max.
MITCHELL: This is my dog Rusty and I've been training him up to be a sheepdog.
MITCHELL: The program started a few years ago when a local farmer donated a litter of pups to the school and our school principal got a dog as well and we started training sheepdogs to use on our farms.
BLAIR: I started training my dog about a year after the program started and I saw the other boys had fairly good working dogs, so my dad agreed, well my parents agreed for me to get a work dog so it's a bit easier for me to work sheep on the farm.
NIC: Without a sheepdog, it's very frustrating to work sheep. Sheepdogs make it a lot easier and easier on yourself.
MITCHELL: Kelpies and collies are mainly used for sheepdogs cause it's in their instinct to move sheep, they’re the right size, they’re nice and fast and quick so they're real good sheepdogs.
NIC: How do you train a dog to work sheep? Well it all starts when he's a young pup.
MITCHELL: The first step - you have to give your dog a name and then teach it to come to you.
NIC: Then once you've got that, you move him to a smaller yard with a few sheep and teach him to balance.
BLAIR: Balancing is just when you bring the sheep to you.
NIC: Then teach him the left and right sides so we use that as go back and come over. Then move him out into a bigger paddock with a few more sheep, like whatever you reckon he can handle. Then just keep on working him until you've got good control over him and he can work in the yards.
BLAIR: The hardest thing in the program for me has been controlling my frustrations, because if you're too frustrated on the dog and the dog notices and so do the sheep then they just don't want to work for ya.
NIC: A couple challenges I had with me dog was when he was a young pup getting him to listen to me on the cord. More of a recent challenge now is getting him to be more forceful in the yards and getting him to bark on command.