CNN news 2012-11-14 加文本

cnn news 2012-11-14

Two weeks after the so called Super Storm Sandy hit the North Eastern U.S., there are some signs of recovery in the region. Power has been restored for millions of people, some bridges and tunnels have reopened. But signs of devastation and struggle are there too. Officials say the storm is responsible for at least 113 death in the U.S., more than 160,000 people still don`t have power. That means they are fighting the cold as the temperature drops. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the priority is to get food, shelter and clothing to these victims of the storm. Some of that is coming from relief groups and volunteers like this team from New Orleans that cooked and served thousands of meals.

Now, if you`d like to get involved, go to the spotlight section. It`s cnnstudentnews.com, and click on the "Impact Your World" link. Find out how you can make a difference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this legit? Saudi Arabia is the world`s largest producer of oil?

It`s true. The Middle Eastern nation is home to around one fifth of the entire world`s existing reserves of oil.

AZUZ: But Saudi Arabia might lose that number one ranking by the end of this decade. A new report says the U.S. will be the world`s top producer of oil by the year 2020. The U.S. is going through a sort of oil boom right now, and part of that is thanks to new technology. For example, hydraulic fracturing, which is sometimes called fracking. It`s a process that involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground to cause rock formations to fracture and release oil and natural gas. It`s controversial, though. Some researchers are worried that the process could hurt the environment. That same concern, producing oil versus protecting the environment is happening up in the Arctic, where some companies are planning to drill. Miguel Marquez has more on that.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, cnn CORRESPONDENT: This is the spot where America`s oil needs meets environmental frustration and concern.

The Noble Discoverer, one of two rigs Shell is operating in the Arctic, the rigs aren`t drilling for oil, only putting in 1500 foot preparatory wells that they`ll revisit and complete next year when the real work begins.

Success here doesn`t come easy. In a setback, Shell scaled back its drilling plants this summer after a major piece of cleanup gear and oil containment dome was damaged during testing. To win drilling right, Shell has paid for and equipped its own armada of cleanup vessels. Environmentalists and some Alaskan native say, the failure is proof the Arctic is not ready for oil exploration.

(on camera): You can`t have success in a controlled environment, how can you be confident you can control it in the place like the Arctic?

PETE SLALBY, VICE PRESIDENT, SHELL ALASKA: Well, first of all, we are working on this, this is why we were testing the containment dome to begin with. We were looking at a really, say, it is a serial number one piece of equipment. So the work we are doing is really working to work all the bugs out of the problems before we bring it up to the Arctic.

MARQUEZ (voice over): But oil from the Arctic won`t come cheap and it won`t come easily. Shell has already spent $5 billion just to get to this point, and they are not entirely sure what they`ll find down there. They believe that as much as 20 percent of America`s future oil needs could be below the sea floor where I`m standing.

AZUZ: The U.S. Navy is hoping to send a message. It punished seven of its elite Special Forces members, its Navy SEALs for releasing classified information. Now, normally, this kind of punishment would be handled privately. But not this time around. The U.S. Navy made this punishment public, because commanders wanted to let all SEALs know that this kind of behavior is unacceptable. Brian Todd now tells us what this is all about.