[clock ticking]
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CARL AZUZ: The value of Bitcoin, the levels of two large lakes,
and a new Facebook store are all dropping.
Unfortunately, gas prices aren't, and that's
where we start today's show.
I'm Carl Azuz.
On Tuesday, the AAA Automobile Association
reported that America's gas prices
had reached their highest level ever,
at $4.37 per gallon on average.
They've risen $0.17 in the past week.
Gas prices steadily climbed throughout last year.
They've only gotten worse since Russia
invaded Ukraine in February.
And while US president Joe Biden has repeatedly blamed Russia
for higher fuel and energy prices,
the American leader's critics say he hasn't
done enough to bring them down.
The cost of gas is a major driver of inflation.
Since late 2021, prices have been rising at their highest
rate in decades.
The president says he doesn't know
whether inflation will calm down later this year
or get worse next year.
He says different economists have
different predictions on that.
But he says his administration has to do all
it can to bring down inflation.
JOE BIDEN: I know that families all across America
are hurting because of inflation.
I want every American to know that I'm
taking inflation very seriously and it's
my top domestic priority.
CARL AZUZ: The White House has blamed Republicans
for using inflation as a, quote, "political talking point"
in advance of this year's midterm elections,
but not taking action to reduce costs for Americans.
But Democrats control the White House and both chambers
of Congress, and a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS
found that more than 2/3 of Americans
don't think the Democratic party's economic visions
match up with their own.
Analysts say the president didn't offer any new proposals
for curbing inflation, but the Biden administration
is considering lifting tariffs, or taxes, on certain goods
imported from China.
Up next, when we've talked about Bitcoin, the world's most
famous cryptocurrency, one thing we've pointed out
is that it's volatile-- up one day, down the next.
Digital currencies aren't controlled
by a bank or government, and that's what
their fans like about them.
They'd rather that crypto's value
be determined by a network of computers instead of a country.
But the downside is cryptocurrencies aren't stable.
High inflation drives down their value.
And when technology stocks drop, crypto can, too.
Late last year, the value of 1 Bitcoin was close to $70,000.
At one point yesterday, it was below $32,000.
So mining Bitcoin, which takes a lot
of computers and electricity, can be considered risky.
NICK WATT: Cool, damp, bucolic--
this place is perfect for apples and perfect for Bitcoin mining.
Plenty of land for mining farms.
Servers don't need as much AC to cool them.
All that water means cheap, green hydroelectricity.
And--
MALACHI SALCIDO: Electricity is about 65% of our total cost.
NICK WATT: 8,000 servers right here, all these about 15
grand each.
You're pouring a lot of money into this.
MALACHI SALCIDO: That's correct.
NICK WATT: A quarter of all the electricity
generated here in Douglas County now powers Bitcoin mining.
Many locals still trying to wrap their heads around it.
JERRILEA CRAWFORD: We understand the process of growing fruit,
and you see it progress.
You don't see the Bitcoin.
NICK WATT: Here's how Bitcoin mining works.
Hundreds of Bitcoin transactions--
Biff pays Candy, Morag pays Hamish, Suraj pays Uma--
are bundled into a block.
Computers like these all over the world
race to solve a complex math problem.
The winner gets to upload that block
to the blockchain, a vast ledger now
more than 700,000 blocks long.
A new block is uploaded every 10 minutes.
Mine a block, and you earn 6.25 bitcoins.
MALACHI SALCIDO: And this location
is one of seven locations that we built
and operate in this region.
NICK WATT: China was the global Bitcoin mining capital.
But last year, the Communist Party cracked down.
DANIEL ROBERTS: And a lot of it migrated to the US.
And it happened really quickly.
As of right now, the estimates are
that 35% of the world's Bitcoin mining is now in the US.
CARL AZUZ: 10-second trivia--
which of these bodies of water is the most shallow?
Sea of Azov, Lake Erie, Ohio River, or Colorado River.
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With an average depth of 20 feet,
the Colorado River is the shallowest body
of water on this list.
Most of its water starts out as snow in the Rocky Mountains
of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
As it melts in the spring, it eventually flows
into the Colorado River and then runs southwest
through Arizona and Nevada.
In all, seven Western states and part of Mexico
benefit from the Colorado River.
It irrigates more than 5 million acres of farmland.
Parts of it flooded in 2018.
But today, whether you're talking about Lake Mead
on the border of Arizona and Nevada
or Lake Powell on the border of Arizona and Utah,
you're talking about part of the American Southwest fed
by the Colorado River where an ongoing drought is
changing some landscapes and threatening
to change some livelihoods.
BILL WEIR: Just a couple years ago, this part of Lake Powell
was pretty enough to put in the brochure.
But today, there is no water, only sand.
You can't paddle around Lone Rock anymore.
If you haven't been out West in a while, haven't seen the state
the Colorado River and its reservoirs,
you would be shocked.
This is what Powell looked like just
last spring, when you could still float around Lone Rock.
But the satellite shows it losing
island status as the lake level fell over 40 feet.
And the Lake used to go, used to go
half a mile around the corner.
And now it starts way back here.
I cannot believe this.
While hurricanes, floods, and wildfires
can upend your life in a moment, droughts
are slow-motion disasters.
And this one is now in its 23rd year.
With the region's population booming and another
winter without enough snow, there are no signs of relief.
But when you are house boating on what's left of Lake Powell,
it's still gorgeous.
It's still so easy to forget that
just since the mid-'80s, the water
level has dropped 177 feet.
That's, like, 10 of these yachts stacked on top of each other.
KENNETH RUNNELS: This is a temporary dock
to get us access to the marina.
BILL WEIR: So the tourism industry
has no choice but to adapt, making ramps longer as the lake
gets lower.
KENNETH RUNNELS: This was connected straight up there.
So--
BILL WEIR: At one point, we would
have been high enough that that would
have been a straight angle.
KENNETH RUNNELS: Yeah.
BILL WEIR: This is not a decade or two.
This is a year or two since it's dropped.
KENNETH RUNNELS: Yeah, this is within two to three years.
MAX LAPEKAS: If it continues to go down another 10, 15 feet,
we might have to shut down.
BILL WEIR: For Max Lapekas, the changing canyons
means more people eager to explore them
in his rental kayaks and paddleboards,
but not enough safe places to put them in.
And he knows that big picture--
40 million people and their animals and crops
in seven states and Mexico depend on Colorado River water,
not to recreate, but to live.
MAX LAPEKAS: Manmade climate change I do believe
is a thing to a certain extent.
But I do believe the Earth goes through cycles,
and this could just be another cycle.
But I don't see any good evidence of it getting
any better anytime soon.
KENNETH RUNNELS: Some of it is manmade.
There's no doubt about it.
You've got more users using the water
out of the Colorado River.
You've got more-- you got more of everything
than you had 50 years ago.
It's that simple.
BILL WEIR: Would you label your business a victim of drought?
KENNETH RUNNELS: We've had to change the way, obviously,
the way we do a lot of things.
At this point, I would not say we're a victim.
I would say we're an adapter.
BILL WEIR: And from now on, it seems
anyone who wants to live in the American Southwest
will have to be an adapter.
Scientists tell us this is the worst drought in 1,200 years.
And for the first time, they're restricting
some of the allocation rights of the Colorado River water.
Some farmers in Arizona are among the first
having to cut back.
It'll change the way agriculture operates going forward,
city development going forward, because if this drought, heaven
forbid, continues, and the population keeps booming,
adapting means learning to live with a lot less water.
[music playing]
CARL AZUZ: Even though Amazon and Microsoft have closed many
of their retail stores, Facebook parent company
Meta has opened its first.
What could you buy there?
Virtual reality headsets and video
calling devices for when you can't
or don't want to physically share
the same space with others.
It's also a place for people to try out new applications
and video games.
It could be an extensive immersive
experience, assuming you're not prone to motion sickness.
But whether it makes people more metaversed in technology,
putting them on an Oculus Quest for meta world peace,
or if it just becomes a PlayStation that revives
daydream views when they're Lynxed up,
the reality is it's still virtual,
and the neofocus they envision through the HoloLens
is still a mirage.
Somersworth Middle School, we see
you watching from Somersworth, New Hampshire.
Thank you for doing that.
People over age 13 can request a mention
by subscribing and commenting on our YouTube channel.
I'm Carl Azuz.
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