CNN Student News Transcript: December 11, 2007

(CNN Student News) -- December 11, 2007

Quick Guide

Nobel Peace Prize - Learn about the work that led to the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize award.

Vick Sentenced - Discover how long Michael Vick has been sentenced to serve in prison.

See No Evil - Meet a Belgian police officer who specializes in identifying sounds.

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: You've found your way to CNN Student News, your commercial-free source for news for the classroom. Thanks for spending part of your Tuesday with us. I'm Monica Lloyd.

Spoken Word

AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The innovators who will devise a new way to harness the sun's energy for pennies or invent an engine that's carbon negative may live in Lagos or Mumbai or Montevideo. We must insure that entrepreneurs and inventors everywhere on the globe have the chance to change the world.

First Up: Nobel Peace Prize

LLOYD: Former Vice President Al Gore there, speaking in Norway yesterday at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Gore and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the 2007 honor for their work in raising awareness about climate change and ways to fight it. The U.N. group studies scientific information from around the world to learn about climate change. And the former vice president has traveled around the globe giving talks on the issue. So, now that you know who won this year's award, how about a quick quiz on past prize winners?

Shoutout

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Time for the Shoutout! Who was the first American to win a Nobel Prize? If you think you know it, shout it out! Was it: A) Franklin D. Roosevelt, B) Albert Einstein, C) Theodore Roosevelt or D) John Steinbeck? You've got three seconds -- GO! In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt took home a Nobel Peace Prize. That's your answer and that's your Shoutout!

Energy From Space

LLOYD: The Nobel committee says that Al Gore is an example of how an individual can encourage a response to global issues like climate change. But even the former vice president noted that it takes more than just raising awareness. He says that change can't happen without work or money. Miles O'Brien tells us about an environmentally-friendly technology that combines all three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is one long-range vision of the future that is generating more buzz than ever. It offers a solution to global warming that leaves the globe behind; solar power gathered in space and beamed back to our energy-hungry planet, with no impact on the climate.

GEORGE WHITESIDES, NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY: And we're gonna need renewable, sustainable sources. And space-based solar power is both unlimited and very clean. And that makes it, I think, a very key part of our future.

O'BRIEN: As audacious as it sounds, the concept is simple: Build huge solar arrays 22,000 miles in space, where the sun never sets and is six times more intense. Convert the electricity into microwaves. Beam them back to rectifying antennas on the ground, and convert it back into electricity 24 hours a day.

JOHN MANKINS, MANAGED ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES: There have been dramatic changes in the kinds of technologies that would be used to make such satellites possible.

O'BRIEN: The idea has been around for 40 years. Tests show the power beams work fine and would not pose any health threat, But so far, the cost has been too high. Electronics are smaller and solar arrays are more efficient and cheaper, but launch costs run at least $6,000 a pound. Even a small demonstration plant could cost at least $10 billion. For now at least, drilling down is a lot cheaper than drilling up. But in the next ten years, that all could change as the price of fossil heads into orbit. Miles O'Brien, CNN, Oslo, Norway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Vick Sentenced

LLOYD: Shifting gears a bit now, Michael Vick has learned how long he'll spend in prison for his involvement in an illegal dogfighting operation. The football star made a deal with prosecutors several months ago but turned himself in last month to get a head start on serving his sentence. Kate Bolduan was at the courthouse when that sentence was announced yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN REPORTER: As media, fans and foes crowded outside a Virginia courtroom, inside, suspended football star Michael Vick learned his fate: nearly two years behind bars and 3 years' probation.

BILLY MARTIN, VICK'S ATTORNEY: We're hopeful with good time, Michael will be released in 18 months.

BOLDUAN: In August, Michael Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to cross state lines to engage in dogfighting. The football star's fall from grace has been followed intently by Vick's fans, detractors and by animal lovers.

WAYNE PACELLE, HUMANE SOCIETY PRESIDENT: Vick was the person who pulled it all together. It was his home; in some respects, they were his dogs because they were on his property.

BOLDUAN: Last week, Vick's co-defendants facing the same charges were sentenced to 18 and 21 months in prison. A federal indictment describes in harsh detail Vick's involvement with Bad Newz Kennels based out of this home in Surry County, Virginia. It states Vick and his co-defendants housed more than 50 pit bulls and killed under-performing dogs by drowning and hanging. The former Atlanta Falcons quarterback has already begun to pay the price for his actions in fines, a suspension from the NFL and lost endorsement deals worth millions.

MARTIN: He's very disappointed; he's saddened. But Michael will take advantage of this as a learning experience.

BOLDUAN: Now, when announcing the sentence in this courthouse behind us, the judge said he wasn't convinced that this was a momentary lapse in judgment by Vick. Vick did stand up in court, apologizing to his family and his fans, saying he's ready to face the consequences. In Richmond, Virginia, I'm Kate Bolduan for CNN Student News.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Word to the Wise

AZUZ: A Word to the Wise...

acoustics (noun) the scientific study of sound, or the total effect of sound as produced in a room

source: www.dictionary.com

See No Evil

LLOYD: So, what are some professions that involve acoustics? Music's probably the first thing that comes to mind. But architecture, engineering, medicine, they all use acoustics too. Even police work. In fact, in Belgium, one cop's entire job is based on acoustics, and his skills with sound make him an integral part of the force. Paula Newton introduces us to this unique officer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN REPORTER: That's the sound of a new-age cop walking his beat. Alain's career is snatched from the stories of superhero strength. We can't show his face; he works undercover as a Belgian cop, hearing what most people can't. His job is to listen and interpret every note and noise from secret wiretap evidence. He nurtured his sharp hearing, he says, because he had to for his own survival. Alain is blind.

ALAIN, BLIND BELGIAN POLICE OFFICER: When I'm in the street, all the surrounding sounds in the environment are important for me. To know when I'm on the sidewalk that there is a trash collector or something else, I need to know what it is before getting to it.

NEWTON: And it's those surrounding sounds that are so important for wiretap evidence. It's background noise to most, but not to Alain, who can figure out the floor where an elevator has stopped just by listening to the gears; make out most of what is being typed out on a computer just by hearing the tap of the keys. We put Alain to the test with recorded conversations, first in a train station.

NEWTON: Lots of people, he told us; they're not stopping. He guessed either an airport or a train station. He got this location right away; it's a cafe. And he correctly picked up on people drinking wine nearby and a baby in the restaurant. And then to this conversation in a moving car, he said it was not a standard vehicle; it had to be a truck or a car with a large cab. In fact, it was a London taxi. It may all sound like trivial information, but especially in wiretap evidence it is anything but. Pieced together, it helps police track and tail a suspect's every move, now,more important than ever as wiretaps play a crucial role in counter-terrorism. Belgium police say this pilot program could be a crime-fighting coup for police forces around the world.

GLENN AUDENAERT, COUNTER-TERROR CHIEF, FEDERAL POLICE: Technology is as well an opportunity as a threat. We need to seek out the edge in technology to identify what kind of threats come to us from that edge, or what kind of opportunities to develop counterstrategies.

NEWTON: Alain says he's more surprised than anyone to be one of Belgium's newly minted cops. He hopes his acoustic talent will serve the public, just as it has him. Paula Newton, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The Spirit of Giving

LLOYD: All right, we've been asking you to let us know how your class is celebrating the spirit of giving, and we've gotten some great replies. Manor High School in Texas told us about their Adopt-a-Kid tradition, where each homeroom gets presents for less fortunate elementary students. In Wisconsin, classes at Black River Falls Middle School collect cookies for their community's Project Christmas Drive. And the Mesquite High School Model U.N. in Gilbert, Arizona, organized a clothing drive for a local shelter. Great examples of students celebrating the spirit of the season, and we want to hear about what your class is doing. Teachers, log on to CNNStudentNews.com and send us an I-Report with photos or video showing what your students are doing to help others during the holidays.

Goodbye

LLOYD: And we'll end today with a group of bikers delivering toys to kids. Have a great day, everyone. I'm Monica Lloyd. E-mail to a friend