BTN: Episode 12 Transcript 15/5/18

Hey, Amelia here, welcome to BTN.

Coming up today.

• We hear about how kids in Hawaii are coping with a massive volcanic eruption.

• Find out more about 's future in space.

• And we investigate the mysterious and fascinating journey of toilet water.

Iran Nuclear Deal Reporter: Ruby Cornish

INTRO: Last week the US President, Donald Trump made international headlines by pulling out of a deal. It was an agreement between Iran and a bunch of other countries and it was drawn up to try to stop Iran making nuclear weapons. But President Trump was not a fan. Let's find out more about the deal and why the president said no deal.

Back before he was President of the United States, Donald Trump was famous for a different reason. He was a businessman, and he spoke a lot about making deals. He even wrote an entire book about it, fittingly called The Art of the Deal. But there's one deal Donald Trump's definitely not a fan of, and that's the Iran Nuclear Deal. So, what's the big deal about this big deal anyway?

To understand that, we need to travel back a few years and over to Iran, which is right over here in the Middle East. In 2015 Iran had spent a decade living under strict sanctions. Sanctions are rules and restrictions, and in this case, they were set by an international organisation called the United Nations. The sanctions restricted Iran's trade with other countries and excluded it from cultural events. For example, Iran wasn't allowed to host international sports tournaments.

So why were these sanctions in place? Well, many countries were worried that Iran was building nuclear weapons. And they had good reason for those worries. Iran had a bunch of active nuclear plants and it'd been processing a lot of uranium, which is one of the key ingredients in nuclear weapons. Iran denied the accusations and said the uranium was only being used for peaceful purposes.

But even with the sanctions in place, the nuclear program wasn't showing any signs of slowing down. So, in 2015 a deal was struck. Six of the world's most powerful countries agreed to start trading with Iran again, which was great news for Iranians.

IRANIAN WOMAN: After all these years, every Iranian would be happy. They went through a lot.

In exchange, Iran promised to slow down its nuclear activities and said it wouldn't build a bomb for at least 10 years. There were plenty of people who were unhappy with that deal.

©ABC 2018 Some of Iran's neighbours thought Iran should have been forced to stop its nuclear program altogether. And some Americans agreed, including this guy.

Last week he officially announced that the US was withdrawing from the Iran Nuclear Deal and that tough sanctions were being brought back. That decision has some world leaders worried that if the deal falls through, Iran could ramp up its nuclear activities again. Plus, lots of people say it doesn't look good for the US to break its promises. But others say no deal is a much better deal.

DONALD TRUMP: So, we're gonna make a good deal for the world or we're not making a deal at all.

This Week in News

People in are cleaning up after some seriously wild weather last week. There was a big storm which brought a lot of rain. In fact, Tassie's capital got 100mm which was a record for May.

It turned streets into rivers which washed away cars. Homes and businesses had to be evacuated and lots of school kids like Amelia and Elliott had to stay at home for the day.

ELLIOTT: It was very rainy and there was a lot of thunder and lightning and very, very windy.

AMELIA: I got really scared at one point because my mum and I were driving home and we almost got pushed over by the wind.

Luckily, no one was hurt but the damage bill for Hobart is expected to be many millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, in some kids are seriously unimpressed after having their handball court dug up only a few months after it was put in. The big concrete area was supposed to be for a table tennis table, but it became a really popular handball spot instead. It was ripped up after some neighbours complained about the noise and these guys weren't happy about it.

KID: We wanna play handball, why's our handball court gone?

KID: I was really disappointed because I liked to play here.

KID: If you’re going to live next to a playground you should probably anticipate there's going to be kids playing.

The council says it'll build another court nearby instead.

And Eurovision has wrapped up for another year. It's the world's biggest song contest and while Australia's not technically in Europe, we've been allowed to compete since 2015.

©ABC 2018 And this year Jessica Mauboy represented with this catchy tune. It was enough to get Jess into the grand final, but not the top ten. In the end Netta from Israel took out the top prize. She said the song was a celebration of the power of women and the chicken noises were pretty cool too.

Hawaii Volcano Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Over the past couple of weeks you might have seen some pretty amazing pictures from the island of Hawaii. A volcano named Kilauea has been erupting there, spewing out rivers of lava which have destroyed homes and cars. It's pretty scary stuff from a distance, so imagine what it's like for the people who live there. This week we caught up with some Hawaiian locals and found out more about their fiery mountain.

For the past couple of weeks this river of red hot rock has been causing chaos in the streets of Hawaii. The lava doesn't move quickly but nothing can stop it and as you can see from this video it destroys everything in its path. The lava is coming from Kilauea, a volcano on Hawaii's Big Island. Which is home to these guys.

FIONA: Aloha BTN I'm Fiona.

SEBASTIAN: Aloha BTN my name is Sebastian.

FIONA: I go to the volcano school of arts and sciences. It's like a 4-minute car slash bike ride to the national park also to the crater.

FIONA: Right now, the lava is causing people to evacuate and causing homes to be damaged and pets to possibly be killed or they are running away which is not fun.

SEBASTIAN: It's a slow-moving flow but it is very hot, like about 2000 degrees and it just burns everything in its path. But since its slow-moving people have time to evacuate which definitely helps.

Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, in fact it's part of the reason Hawaii exists. It's what's known as a hotspot volcano. They form over a place where molten rock or magma has built up under the earth’s crust. When enough pressure builds up the magma comes out as a volcano. When it hits the water, it cools down and solidifies forming new islands. While the hotspot always stays in the same place the tectonic plates, which make up the earth’s crust, are constantly moving, slowly dragging the new islands away from the hotspot. Which is why Hawaii's chain of islands looks like this.

Kilauea has been erupting almost continuously since 1983. But this is the worst it's been in a long time. And there are worries as the lava drains out of the volcano it could actually get more dangerous. Because the molten rock will heat up the ground water and create steam which could cause the mountain to explode.

SEBASTIAN: If we know if the steam is coming and ash we are ready to evacuate.

Sebastian and Fiona say it’s a scary time for Hawaii locals and they're really sad for their neighbours who have lost their homes. But it’s also been amazing to see just how powerful nature can be.

©ABC 2018 SEBASTIAN: I was actually filming some footage of the ash cloud and yes, I was very scared but excited too, cause cool, you don't see that every day.

Quiz

What's the name of the molten rock found below or within the earth's crust? Is it

Magma

Igneous Rock

or Lava?

It's Magma.

When magma reaches the surface, we call it lava and when it cools it becomes igneous rock.

Aussie Space Agency Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: It's a pretty exciting time for Aussie space enthusiasts. The government just launched the Australian Space Agency. It’s the first time we've ever had a national organisation in charge of space research and exploration and many are hoping it'll mean more opportunities for people like you to take giant leaps in the future.

For decades, exciting feats up here have captivated people down there.

NEIL ARMSTRONG, MOON LANDING 1969: One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.

And from early on, Australia's played a really big role in space exploration. In fact, those famous words were first received by radio tracking stations in and the ACT and since then we've been involved in heaps of other missions as well as important satellite monitoring. But while we've definitely helped out, we've never been able to control our own space missions and that's because Australia's never had its own space agency.

So, which other countries do? Well, there are the big six that you might've heard of. America's NASA, of course, the European Space Agency, Roscosmos (Russia's space agency), the Japanese Space Agency, Indian Space Research Organisation and Chinese National Space Agency. But that's not all. There are also the space agencies of Brazil, South Africa, Korea, Thailand, Paraguay, Uruguay, Romania, Poland, Spain, Greece, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Just to name a few. Uh, and New Zealand. Always beating us to it.

Of course, not all space agencies are sending people into space and most aren't even close to the size of NASA or the ESA. But most developed nations do have their own space agency and that's because space is big business which can bring a country more

©ABC 2018 jobs, more money and more prestige. So, for a really long time, a lot of people have been saying Australia should get into the space race. Then last year, this happened.

SIMON BIRMINGHAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING: We will commit to establish an Australian National Space Agency to help drive Australia's role in the international space sector.

It was exciting news and now Australia's Government's announced it's ready to start launching that plan into action. It's putting 41 million dollars into growing Australia's space industry over the next four years and 26 million of that will go towards getting a space agency off the ground. The new agency will coordinate all of Australia's space projects and it could be able to launch its own satellites instead of relying on other countries' rockets. It should give Australia better access to other space agencies, which often work together, and it'll mean more opportunities for ground-breaking Aussie research and discoveries. It'll also help to keep more of our space experts and engineers working in Australia.

Now, the question everyone wants answered, will we be sending our own Aussie-nauts to space? Unfortunately, probably not for a while. The focus will be more on people down here than sending anyone up there.

So, what about a name? Something like the National Australian Space Agency, perhaps? Oh, no, that's awkward. We’ve had to go with the Australian Space Agency instead. And, where is it going to be based? Well, that's still up in the air but some reckon Australia’s capital is a good choice. It sounds like there's a lot of exciting stuff on the way. So, watch this space.

Sport

It was a record-breaking final day of the English Premier League season. Manchester City snatched a very late win to finish the season on one hundred points. That's the highest points total ever in England's top league.

But the record breaking didn't end there. Liverpool's Mo Salah kicked this goal. It helped his team to win 4-0 over Brighton and was his 32nd goal in the 38-game season. A new record.

Now to the AFL and the game of the round was definitely Saturday's Showdown between the Crows and the Power. The two South Australian teams have a massive rivalry and this week's match really went down to the wire.

With less than a minute to go, Adelaide's Mitch McGovern gave the Crows a one-point lead. But the Power came out firing from the bounce and Steven Motlop's clutch goal guaranteed victory for his team.

And in the NBA the Celtics have taken the lead in the playoffs series beating Cleveland by 25 points in game one.

Boston did a good job of keeping Lebron James quiet he only managed 15 points for the game and made 7 turnovers. A pretty bad night for the King.

©ABC 2018 Young Archie 2018 Reporter: Jack Evans

INTRO: Last week the Archibald Prize was handed out. You might have heard of that it's probably one of the country's most famous art awards and it always gets a lot of attention in the media. But you might not know that there's another portrait prize that runs alongside the Archibald. It's called the Young Archie and it's just for kids. This week Jack caught up with one of the finalists and the teacher who inspired his masterpiece.

JACK: A bit more here, a dash there and done. Alright my entry for the Young Archie is ready.

JAMES: Hate to break it to you Jack, but the finalists have already been announced.

JACK: Oh.

JAMES: And you might be a little bit too old to enter.

JACK: Hey.

Ok, So I might not be able to enter and that might be a good thing. Because James here is, well, much better than me.

JAMES: This is my artwork it’s of Norm my art teacher and a few weeks ago my mum called me, and she said that I was in the top. I was one of the finalists in the Young Archie’s.

The Young Archie is a national competition run by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. It was created to encourage and showcase the next generation of young Aussie artists. It's like the little sister or brother of Australia's most famous portrait competition the Archibald Prize. It's named after its founder J.F. Archibald. He was a journalist and art enthusiast. In his will he left behind funds to set up the Archibald Prize and in 1921 the first competition was held.

To enter the Archibald, artists have to paint someone well-known. Like an actor, a musician, a TV personality, a politician or even an artist. Like this year’s winner Yvette Coppersmith who painted a self-portrait. To enter the Young Archie’s, you have to paint someone you know and who plays a significant role in your life.

JAMES: Norm is special to me because I like him. I like how he helps me draw, paint and do art in that whole big box.

James says it took him six hours to complete his drawing using charcoal.

JAMES: He's got a lot of like features and a lot of expression that comes from his face.

James has been getting art lessons from Norm for about 3 years and this is the first time he's entered the competition.

JAMES: Pretty much as long as I can remember I've been drawing. I remember drawing mainly super heroes and I remember mainly drawing the stuff I can see in front of me.

©ABC 2018 There are four age categories in the Young Archie’s and judges choose five finalists in each category plus some honourable mentions, before eventually naming the winners. This year there were more than 1400 entries in the Young Archie and these are some of the other talented finalists. Harvey drew his sister, Erikah drew her friend, Violet drew her best friend and John drew his brother.

James says he was pretty stoked to find out he was one of the finalists.

JAMES: When my mum called me, she was crying so that means she was happy, but I was happy cause I won the Archie, I didn't win but I got in the top 5 in my age group. I felt pretty cool.

The finalists all get displayed at the Gallery of New South Wales along with the Archibald finalists and we'll find out who the winners are in July.

Did you Know

Did you know that an artist named Evert Ploeg once entered the Archibald Prize with a painting of B1 and B2?

It caused a bit of a stir and in the end, it was disqualified because portraits have to be of people. Pyjama-wearing fruit don't count.

BTN Investigates - Where does toilet water go?

Reporter: Amelia Moseley

INTRO: Hi BTN, my name’s Pollyanna and my question is - where does toilet water go once we flush it down the toilet?

CHARLOTTE: What are you doing?

AMELIA: I'm trying to work out where the water goes.

CHARLOTTE: Oh, ok.

JACK: What are we doing?

CHARLOTTE: She's trying to work out where the toilet water goes.

JACK: Ah, right.

This wasn't getting me very far. I had to follow the pipes.

CHARLOTTE: I actually really have to go.

JACK: Hmm? Oh, sorry.

Everything that goes down our toilets and our drains travels through sewerage pipes under our homes and streets.

©ABC 2018

AMELIA: So, I followed the pipes and this is where I ended up. All the sewage gets pushed out here at a water treatment plant. Or, as I like to call it, a poo plant.

To find out what happens here, I knew just the person to ask.

AMELIA: Hi there, I'm Amelia.

KAT REID, TREATMENT PERFORMANCE ANALYST SA WATER: Nice to meet you. I'm Kat. Welcome to Boliver.

Kat is a Waste Water Treatment Performance Analyst, so she knows about all things sludge. Yep, sludge. That's what's left after everything bigger than 3mm is filtered out and sent to landfill.

KAT: So here we are at the Activator Sludge Reactor or ASR. And in waste water treatment, this is where all the magic happens. So, in these big tanks here, I guess the brown bubbling mass that you can see there is a combination of water and a myriad of different microorganisms that are treating the water for us and making it cleaner. So, what I think is really cool about waste water treatment is that we use bacteria to do all the work for us. So, I like to think about sewage as being full of food for bacteria that they love.

AMELIA: I have to ask you something, Kat. How do you feel about the smell? Because it is a bit whiffy.

KAT: Definitely when you've been working in waste water treatment long enough, you end up getting used to the smell and you know when your plant is working well because it smells good.

AMELIA: I like that you're using the word 'good' to describe this smell. So where do we go next?

KAT: The clarifiers.

The clarifiers basically separate the happy, full bacteria from the treated water.

AMELIA: Alright Kat, so I can see this is already a whole lot fresher. I can see ducks. That's a good sign?

KAT: Absolutely.

The bacteria is sent back to the Activated Sludge Reactor to eat some more and the clarified water travels out to a lagoon.

AMELIA: It's amazing. Look at all that poo water.

KAT: Clean poo water. Lagoons are really shallow, they're only about a metre deep. So, we use the sun to penetrate through the water and the UV rays will kill any nasty bacteria.

Some of this water goes out to sea and some goes to another plant where it's treated again so it can be used for things like farming or watering local parks.

©ABC 2018 KAT: Back in the day, we used to think of waste water as just waste. That was it, you had to get rid of it. It was a nuisance. But really waste water is a resource.

Kat says the only part that isn't a resource is this stuff that shouldn't be flushed. That's wet wipes, nappies and it gets weirder.

KAT: We've got a camera, some phones.

AMELIA: Who is putting a camera or a phone down the toilet?

KAT: I'm not sure.

KAT: I guess it's just a reminder we should only be putting the three Ps down the toilet. Poos, pees and paper.

So, remember to spare a thought for the workers here the next time you're in here.

AMELIA: You're trying to work out where the toilet water goes, aren't you?

EMMA: Yeah.

AMELIA: Good luck.

Ask a Reporter

Do you have a question about toilet water? Ask me live on Friday during Ask a Reporter. Just head to our website for the details.

Closer

And on that slightly stinky note it's time for me to say goodbye until next time. But if you miss us in the meantime, you can always jump on the website where there're heaps of stuff to see and do. Have a good week!

©ABC 2018