Voa News 19-3-2008

Cities Around the World Are 'Going Green' Here are some ways that local governments are taking steps to protect the environment. Transcript of radio broadcast: 18 March 2008

VOICE ONE: I’m Steve Ember. VOICE TWO: And I’m Barbara Klein with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today we explore ways in which local governments around the world are working to protect the environment. These “green cities” are working to reduce energy use and pollution in new and creative ways. Such efforts by city governments not only help reverse the effects of climate change. They also help governments save large amounts of money on energy costs. And, cities that are leaders in this green movement set a good example to their citizens about the Roof garden on the Chicago City importance of environmental issues. Hall (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement aimed at reducing the release of harmful gases that are believed to cause climate change. The United States is not part of the agreement. But since two thousand five, over eight hundred American mayors across the country have agreed to sign their own version of the protocol. It is called the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. Local leaders have agreed to follow the suggestions of the Kyoto Protocol in their communities. These mayors have come together to show how acting locally can help solve world problems and protect the environment. "Going green" generally includes saving energy and water, using natural and renewable materials and re-using materials. Here are some interesting ways in which several American communities are "going green." VOICE TWO: Eight years ago, officials in Chicago, Illinois, decided to replace the black tar roof on the city government building with a planted garden. The aim was to reduce energy costs, improve air quality and control the amount of rainwater entering the city’s waste system. Green roofs also help reduce a problem called urban heat islands. During hot weather, the building's tar roof could reach temperatures of up to seventy-six degrees Celsius. With the garden, the temperature of the roof area was reduced by at least thirty degrees Celsius. Workers planted over one hundred fifty kinds of plants that could survive severe weather. Now, the area is cooler, the building requires less energy to keep cool, and the roof looks nice. Chicago also offers money to help people pay for building their own green roof systems. VOICE ONE: The city of Boston, Massachusetts has started developing a plan for a program to make compost fertilizer out of dead leaves, plants and food waste. The gases released from the plant waste would provide the electrical power needed to operate the compost center. After being processed in this environmentally safe center, the compost material could be sold locally. This plan would reduce pollution made by the current waste center and could produce enough electricity to power up to one thousand five hundred homes. New York City is experimenting with using waves in the East River to create energy. And, in Oakland California, you can ride on one of several public hydrogen-powered buses. These buses release zero pollution into the air. However, they cost five times more than common buses.

VOICE TWO: Cost is also a major issue in creating "green" buildings and systems. These building materials usually cost more money than normal building materials. But, homeowners are increasingly willing to pay more money to have lower energy costs in the future. And, builders are increasingly offering green building methods as they become more and more important to buyers. Investors are also betting on this interest. The National Venture Capital Association says people invested more than two billion dollars in clean technologies last year. (MUSIC) VOICE ONE: Popular Science magazine recently published a list of the fifty “greenest” cities in the United States. Researchers combined information from United States population records as well as the Green Guide made by the National Geographic Society. The list rates cities by looking at their renewable energy sources, transportation programs, recycling efforts and “Green Living” grade. The magazine defined Green Living as the number of buildings approved by the United States Green Building Council. This nonprofit organization has a rating system for making environmentally safe buildings. It is called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. According to this list, the greenest city in the United States is Portland, Oregon. San Francisco, California came in second on the list, while Boston, Massachusetts was third. Fourth and fifth were Oakland, California and Eugene, Oregon. VOICE TWO: Popular Science researchers used LEED’s rating system to define how green a building is. But there are other rating systems as well. For example, the National Association of Homebuilders has its own set of rules. And, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy joined to create the Energy Star program. Energy Star gives ratings to devices for the home based on how they use energy. And the program helps homeowners learn how to make changes to their houses in a way that uses energy effectively. Energy Star estimates that in two thousand six it helped Americans avoid the release of harmful gases equal to what twenty-five million cars would produce. And, it says Americans saved fourteen billion dollars on energy costs. VOICE ONE: One small town is not yet on any list of the greenest cities. But it may soon be as green as its name. In May of last year, a tornado windstorm destroyed most of the town of Greensburg, Kansas. The city decided to rebuild in a better way, using green methods. Greensburg officials have agreed that all public building projects will follow LEED top-level requirements. The actor Leonardo DiCaprio and the Discovery Channel television station are working together to make a show about Greensburg. The program will show how the people in Greensburg are working to rebuild their town into a green community.

A design by Robert McLaughlin for a green home in Greensburg, Kansas

(MUSIC) VOICE TWO:

Cities around the world are also taking action to protect the environment. For example, the mayor of London, England has made environmental planning an important part of his work. The city has created a Climate Change Action Plan to help cut pollution levels. London has also started a Green Grid program in

the eastern part of the city. Its aim is to create and protect planted areas in which people can enjoy the outdoors. In the Netherlands, a Dutch company has built a system that uses cold lake water to cool people’s homes in one area of Amsterdam. This use of a renewable natural resource helps reduce pollution and energy costs. VOICE ONE: About five years ago, officials in Thane, India decided to reduce its dependency on power from coal. This city, near Mumbai, often experiences lack of power because of the large numbers of people using electricity. Officials decided to save energy by putting water heaters powered by the sun on top of the city's main hospital. The hospital saved thousands of dollars in energy costs each year. Officials then began building solar powered water heaters around the city. Thane later started requiring solar water heaters for all new buildings. And, the city offers a reduced property tax rate for people who place these water heaters in their homes. VOICE TWO: China has announced plans to create an eco-city called Dongtan. The company designing the city says it will produce its energy from the wind, sun and reused waste. The aim is for the city to be an example to the rest of China. China is also working to make the Olympic games this year in Beijing as green as possible. For example, the Olympic Village where athletes and officials live during the games uses solar power technologies and other renewable energy sources. VOICE ONE: The United Arab Emirates and the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature have taken green building a step further with the Masdar City project. Its aim is to be the greenest city in the world. The city will meet environmental rules set by the WWF One Living Planet and the company BioRegional. The city is expected to produce no waste, no carbon pollution and contain no cars. The city will create renewable energy from the wind, sun and other technologies. And, buildings will be made using only recycled materials. Masdar City is expected to be finished by two thousand sixteen. The United Arab Emirates has given the company Masdar Initiative fifteen billion dollars to develop future energy sources. The country aims to become a world leader in renewable energy technologies. Experts say developments like this may lead to a greener future for all cities in the world. (MUSIC) VOICE TWO: This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Barbara Klein. VOICE ONE: And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

US Economy: Home Foreclosures, Late Payments Rise New report on troubled housing market adds to worries in a week when oil sets all-time records. Transcript of radio broadcast: 07 March 2008 MP3 - Download (MP3) MP3 - Listen to (MP3) RealAudio - Download (Real) RealAudio - Listen to (Real)

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report. More bad news for the American housing market: The Mortgage Bankers Association says housing repossessions are at their highest rates ever, led by California and Florida. And loan payments at least thirty days late are at their highest since nineteen eighty-five. Problems in the housing market represent the greatest risks to the economy. Central bank chief Ben Bernanke says helping the economy is now more important than fighting inflation. He told the Senate Banking Committee last week that conditions are more difficult now than they were in two thousand one. That was the last year in which the American economy was in a recession. Most economists define a recession as at least six months of economic shrinkage. The economy was still growing at last report, but very little: just six-tenths of one percent from October to December. That was down from almost five percent for the July-toSeptember period. President Bush says the economy is in a slowdown and that he does not expect a recession. But investor Warren Buffett, just listed by Forbes magazine as the world's richest man, gave his opinion Monday. "By any common sense definition we are in a recession," he said on CNBC television.

Warren Buffett Economic weakness has pulled down the value of the dollar. One euro is now worth about a dollar and a half, a record high. A weak dollar reduces the price of American exports. But it means higher prices for oil, which is traded in dollars. This week, oil broke the all-time record of one hundred three dollars and seventy-six cents a barrel. That price, adjusted for inflation, was set in nineteen eighty. The United States is the biggest buyer of oil. On Wednesday, OPEC refused the second American request this year to produce more oil. It said there is already plenty. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said high prices were the result of "mismanagement" in the United States economy. Falling prices in the housing market are feeding a credit crisis. Home prices fell ten percent nationally in two thousand seven. And experts say prices could fall another ten to fifteen percent this year. The Bush administration has been urging lenders to negotiate new terms for loans held by people in danger of losing their homes. Many people now owe more than their homes are worth. Some are simply walking away from their homes, even though that damages their credit records. And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

Building a Better Cook Stove for the World’s Poor Envirofit International plans to begin selling a clean-burning stove in southern India in May. Transcript of radio broadcast: 17 March 2008

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This is the VOA Special English Development Report. Breathing smoke from cooking stoves or open fires is a common cause of lung infections in developing countries. Indoor air pollution is blamed for an estimated four thousand deaths every day, mostly women and children. A nonprofit group based in the American state of Colorado is working to save lives. Researchers at Envirofit International have developed a clean-burning cook stove that uses less fuel and reduces smoke. They say it cuts the smoke and dangerous gases by up to eighty percent compared to open fires or simple traditional stoves. The cook stove was designed to produce the greatest amount of heat in the shortest amount of time and with the least amount of fuel. It can burn wood, animal waste or crop waste. The Shell Foundation has formed a partnership with Envirofit to market the cook stoves. The British charity, established by the Shell Group in the year two thousand, has invested ten million dollars in a pilot project for India. Martha Kohlhagen at Envirofit tells us that as many as ten million stoves will be sent to southern India by the end of this year. She says the stoves are being manufactured in China and will begin arriving in May. The stoves are designed to have a lifetime of up to three years at a cost of about fifteen dollars. After India, the plan is to market them to China and Brazil, and to other countries around the world. Envirofit expects twenty-five million dollars from the Shell Foundation and other donors over the next five years to support its efforts. Nongovernmental organizations and local stores, in some cases, will sell the stoves in villages. The price in different countries will be based on demand and local economic conditions. Martha Kohlhagen says Envirofit will also work with local micro lending organizations to help support the sale of the stoves. Envirofit says it will use any future profits from the stoves for further research and development. The group wants to develop combination technology, to be able use energy from the cook stove to provide things like heat or light. Two students at Colorado State University, Tim Bauer and Nathan Lorenz, started Envirofit International in two thousand three. The group has ties to the university. Envirofit developed from research work in the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory at Colorado State. And that’s the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss.

A Way to Help Students Before They Fail More schools are using a process called response to intervention to see if a child might have a learning disability. Transcript of radio broadcast: 12 March 2008 MP3 - Download (MP3) MP3 - Listen to (MP3) RealAudio - Download (Real) RealAudio - Listen to (Real)

This is the VOA Special English Education Report. Now, we continue our series on learning disabilities. We look this week at a process used to identify problems and help children avoid failure in school. This process is called response to intervention, or R.T.I.

Lynn Fuchs is a special education professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She studies R.T.I. and says more and more schools in the United States are using it. Learning disabilities are neurological disorders that affect different skills. Federal law requires public schools to help disabled students through special education services and individualized programs. The first step is finding which children need help. Professor Fuchs explains that the traditional way is to test students who are failing. But research shows that failure can lead to depression, and that can make improvement in school very difficult. So some schools are using response to intervention as a way to identify problems much earlier. The growing interest also results from concerns that some children placed in special education programs do not truly have a learning disability. They may just need extra help with skills like reading or math. Response to intervention supplies that extra help. R.T.I. provides specially designed instruction for children who have scored low on general tests. Professor Fuchs says the process usually involves about eight to ten weeks of small group tutoring. The intensive work uses research-based methods of instruction. The students are tested, sometimes as often as every week, to measure progress. Those who improve after the instructional intervention go back to their normal classroom activities. Those who do not might be declared learning disabled. But Professor Fuchs says most school systems require additional testing to confirm the presence of a disability. Some teachers and administrators believe response to intervention can reduce the number of students put into special services. Professor Fuchs tells us this has not been proven. But studies have shown that R.T.I. can solve learning problems for some students, especially young children. And, at the same time, it can identify others who need much more help. And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Our series on learning disabilities continues next week. The reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com with transcripts, MP3 files and links to additional information. I'm Steve Ember.