1 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:04,600 I'm on another huge journey. 2 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,720 This time I'm travelling the length of the Americas. 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:12,000 It's a journey down through two vast continents 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,840 that cover more than a quarter of the world's land surface. 5 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:21,200 It'll take me to places of myth and wonder. 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,600 Feels like stumbling upon a secret kingdom. 7 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,680 From the frozen beauty of the Arctic, 8 00:00:29,680 --> 00:00:33,520 I'm travelling to some of the world's great cities... 9 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:36,360 Oh, this is completely breathtaking. 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,800 SOLDIERS SHOUT IN THEIR OWN LANGUAGE 11 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:43,840 ..then on into the beautiful and blighted tropics... 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,360 We're with armed conservationists. 13 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:49,400 ..to the heart of the battle to save the planet. 14 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:51,000 GUNSHOT 15 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:57,480 On this leg of my journey, 16 00:00:57,480 --> 00:00:59,920 I'm travelling the length of California, 17 00:00:59,920 --> 00:01:04,600 the countryside state on America's beautiful West Coast. 18 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,520 It's a place of huge distances 19 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:09,280 and enormous contrasts... 20 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:13,240 Now, that is a view worth protecting, eh? 21 00:01:13,240 --> 00:01:17,040 ..under threat from drought and fire... 22 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:20,640 The speed at which the flames can move is astonishing! 23 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,480 ..where thousands have been left behind or opted out... 24 00:01:24,480 --> 00:01:26,360 This is like the Wild West. 25 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:29,160 ..in one of the richest places on Earth. 26 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:34,840 You can come here with next to nothing and make it big. 27 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:36,200 Live that dream! 28 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:53,880 next to the Pacific in Northern California, 29 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,640 where the mist rolls in and giants grow. 30 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,560 This is the land of the redwoods, 31 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,560 some of the tallest, oldest trees on the planet. 32 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:14,880 Flipping heck. 33 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:24,440 My brain can't quite comprehend it, actually. 34 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:27,480 It's like being a child again. 35 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,960 The scale of them just doesn't compute. 36 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:42,480 Now do you get a sense of the scale of it? The size? 37 00:02:44,920 --> 00:02:46,840 That is not just a tree, 38 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,720 that is a whole world of life just there! 39 00:02:51,280 --> 00:02:56,920 Hundreds of tonnes of living, woody flesh. 40 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:01,520 2,000-3,000 years old. 41 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,360 The very biggest redwood are called titans. 42 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:14,880 They've been described as the blue whales of the plant world. 43 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:18,200 Early European settlers started chopping them down. 44 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:22,000 Since then, it's thought 95% of the old growth forest in the US 45 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:23,120 has been lost. 46 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,200 Much of what remains is protected in national parks. 47 00:03:28,200 --> 00:03:30,840 But, even today, these trees are threatened. 48 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:33,280 Incredibly, redwoods are being attacked 49 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:35,360 by poachers armed with chainsaws. 50 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,000 Look at this! 51 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:42,920 It's a crime scene! 52 00:03:44,480 --> 00:03:50,600 It's a two-metre chunk of the tree, but not just a chunk. 53 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:56,040 It's the critical part of the tree that contains its genetic code 54 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,040 and its best chance of regenerating. 55 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:03,360 You can see just here. 56 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,640 That's what the poachers are after. 57 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:09,280 These knobbly growths are highly prized 58 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:11,640 as valuable bowls and ornaments. 59 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,360 Hundreds of redwoods have been critically damaged by poaching. 60 00:04:19,840 --> 00:04:23,240 I could see why some say this is a crime akin to hacking tusks 61 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:24,880 off an elephant. 62 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:28,600 I headed to meet a group of adventurers and conservationists 63 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,560 who are determined to protect and replant 64 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:33,600 California's incredible redwoods. 65 00:04:37,280 --> 00:04:39,080 Look up! 66 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:45,560 To see their work meant getting high up into the canopy of the forest. 67 00:04:46,600 --> 00:04:48,200 I get really bad vertigo. 68 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:53,160 But this is an experience you just have to... 69 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:55,760 You've got to bottle and swallow your fear. 70 00:04:57,400 --> 00:04:59,440 You know, they say it's not the fall that hurts. 71 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:01,080 It's the sudden impact. OK. 72 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:03,280 Unless, of course, you didn't live through the fall. 73 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:05,080 Yeah, let's stop there, stop there. 74 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:09,760 I would be much more comfortable on the front line right now. 75 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,200 I swear to you. 76 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:14,240 Urgh... 77 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:18,240 Farewell! 78 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:19,960 It's faced greater threats than me, 79 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,480 but presumably I want to try and keep my feet off it? 80 00:05:22,480 --> 00:05:25,040 If you can, try not to drag. 81 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:27,600 God, this is completely extraordinary. 82 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,480 A few branches in the way. 83 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,120 Agh! 84 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:35,040 I've got to try and relax! 85 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:40,520 OK, I can't see the ground. 86 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:41,720 That feels better. 87 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,120 Don't worry about how far up you are. 88 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:47,960 Or how far down! Oh, God! 89 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:50,520 OK... 90 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,680 Look! We're up in the canopy! 91 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:05,200 What the hell are you doing, Jake?! 92 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,600 We ascended into the canopy of an older redwood here. 93 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:09,320 How high up are we? 94 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:12,280 We're probably around 250 feet in the air. 95 00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:14,160 Relax, relax, relax... 96 00:06:15,400 --> 00:06:18,680 What we're looking for here is some of the new growth from this year 97 00:06:18,680 --> 00:06:21,400 or this past season where it's actually hardened off a little bit. 98 00:06:21,400 --> 00:06:23,520 We call them sun needles. 99 00:06:23,520 --> 00:06:27,640 Jake Milarch is from the Archangel Ancient Tree Archive. 100 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,240 He takes cuttings from the tops of the genetically strongest trees, 101 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:35,120 and then he propagates thousands of new redwoods. 102 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:37,560 We literally strip a few needles here. 103 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:39,600 We can dip it in a simple rooting hormone. 104 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:41,600 In a matter of six months in a mist tent, 105 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,880 we've got another rooted tree. In a mist tent? Yeah. So, it's just... 106 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:47,560 So, you're really trying to recreate...? Environment mimicry. 107 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,760 Yeah. Some of the cool stuff that's going on out here, 108 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,560 we try to mimic in our laboratory. 109 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,200 In a matter of months, you could have a clone 110 00:06:54,200 --> 00:06:56,720 or duplicate of the world's tallest tree 111 00:06:56,720 --> 00:06:58,240 or the world's biggest tree. 112 00:06:58,240 --> 00:06:59,960 Are you a big tree guy? 113 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,280 I would like to think I'm a big tree guy. 114 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:05,280 Trees, you know, just almost have a certain energy about them. 115 00:07:05,280 --> 00:07:09,200 Trees can off gas or aerosol, certain hormones and certain things 116 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:11,160 that kind of give you the euphoric feeling. 117 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:14,880 Are we getting a natural high? 118 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,320 I think we are right now and it feels really good. Mm! 119 00:07:21,600 --> 00:07:23,480 The ultimate aim of this project 120 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,280 is even greater than saving the redwoods. 121 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:30,040 Well, I tell you what, coming down is worse than going up! 122 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:33,440 The team at Archangel want to grow the biggest trees on Earth 123 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:35,720 in order to tackle climate change. 124 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:38,480 I just want to give it a hug. Yeah! There you go! 125 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,320 Archangel was founded by Jake's father, David Milarch. 126 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:47,440 He's discovered stumps of chopped down titans. 127 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,040 Some are still alive. 128 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:50,520 They're being regrown. 129 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,040 And here we are! 130 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:53,360 This is stunning! 131 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:55,720 We're in somebody's back garden here! 132 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:57,400 Look at the size of this! 133 00:08:00,400 --> 00:08:03,640 Have you ever been inside a 3,000-year-old living tree? 134 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:06,920 No. 135 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:10,600 The measurements are 35 foot in diameter. 136 00:08:10,600 --> 00:08:13,600 This tree was 1,000 years old when Jesus walked the Earth. 137 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:15,600 Let's put it that. 138 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:19,280 They are the solution to the future for human beings. 139 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:25,240 Why are redwoods so magnificent at helping combat climate change? 140 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,840 Well, you know, the hot fudge sundaes for these guys is CO2 141 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,360 and they exhale out pure oxygen. 142 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:36,760 A tree this size could store four to 500 tonnes, 143 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:38,480 dry weight, of excess carbon. 144 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:39,920 Each tree. 145 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,080 Redwoods grow ten feet a year normally. 146 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,800 Most trees grow a foot a year. 147 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,160 So, by growing ten feet a year, 148 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,080 they bring in...they whisk out ten times 149 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,600 the amount of CO2 out of our atmosphere 150 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,200 that most normal trees do. 151 00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:58,520 And, with the latest science, we've discovered 152 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,760 the older they get, the faster they grow. 153 00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:03,960 This tree hits puberty at 600. 154 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,280 There's scientists just signed a paper, said, "We have 12 years 155 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:12,120 "to reverse this thing." Climate change. Yes. 156 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,760 In 12 years, we could make a couple of billions 157 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:17,680 of these with micropropagation. 158 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:20,040 We know we need to do this now. 159 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:24,080 But are people banging on your door now saying, "Can we work with you?" 160 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:25,720 Are governments coming to you? 161 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:28,000 No government support from any government on the planet. 162 00:09:29,320 --> 00:09:30,760 Zero. 163 00:09:32,800 --> 00:09:35,520 There's a lot more money in cutting them down and selling them. 164 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:37,680 And, after they do that, then they tell us, 165 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:39,880 "Well, there's no money left to plant them." 166 00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:42,880 All right. 167 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:44,080 It's lunchtime. 168 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:47,440 David, it makes me mad. 169 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:50,680 I hear you. 170 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:54,440 Reforestation won't change things overnight, 171 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:56,720 because trees take time to grow. 172 00:09:56,720 --> 00:09:59,320 And we'd need to reduce burning fossil fuels. 173 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,920 But some scientists now argue planting hundreds of billions 174 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:07,760 of trees is the biggest and cheapest way of tackling our climate crisis. 175 00:10:07,760 --> 00:10:12,120 You hear now people's solutions to climate change being schemes 176 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,280 that sound bonkers sometimes, 177 00:10:14,280 --> 00:10:17,880 spraying chemicals into the upper atmosphere, 178 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,200 putting mirrors into space to reflect sunlight, 179 00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:25,040 building skyscraper filters that will suck out carbon 180 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:28,680 from the air, but giant trees? 181 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,320 They are a natural climate solution. 182 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:44,760 There may not be much old growth ancient forests left, 183 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,960 but the north of California is still a picturesque landscape 184 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,280 where small-town America nestles among the trees. 185 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:55,560 People living the American Dream. 186 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:00,840 It's a white picket fence! 187 00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:08,080 But living in the woods can carry huge risks. 188 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:12,360 Look at this! 189 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,240 There's crime scene tape up here. 190 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,280 My God. 191 00:11:23,800 --> 00:11:26,760 My journey through California was taking me to what's left 192 00:11:26,760 --> 00:11:30,040 of the small-town of Paradise. 193 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,560 In 2018, this was the scene of one of the deadliest 194 00:11:33,560 --> 00:11:36,000 wildfires in US history. 195 00:11:37,440 --> 00:11:41,400 It's as if this place has been hit by conflict. 196 00:11:45,800 --> 00:11:48,800 The Paradise Fire took more than 80 lives. 197 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:54,920 It destroyed at least 13,000 homes. 198 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:20,840 This place was really very pretty before the fire. 199 00:12:20,840 --> 00:12:24,280 They filmed some of Gone With The Wind here in Paradise. 200 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:27,520 Paradise... 201 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,240 More than six months later and reconstruction and recovery 202 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:37,000 was still under way. 203 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:38,080 I mean... 204 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:39,840 ..everything is different. 205 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:41,920 It's not...it's not Paradise any more. 206 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:47,720 Laurie Peters used to live here in Paradise. 207 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,720 She was returning to the town and her home 208 00:12:50,720 --> 00:12:53,440 for just the second time since the fire. 209 00:12:53,440 --> 00:12:54,720 There's my house. 210 00:12:57,880 --> 00:12:59,440 Oh, my God. 211 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:03,880 Laurie, it's like a missile has hit the house. 212 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:09,200 Everything just burnt down to nothing. 213 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,960 On the day of the fire... 214 00:13:11,960 --> 00:13:14,480 ..when did you hear that it was coming? 215 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,280 We had no more than two minutes to leave. 216 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:20,120 Two minutes? Yeah. 217 00:13:20,120 --> 00:13:22,760 I swear to God, two minutes. 218 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,760 And... What do you grab in two minutes? 219 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:29,680 Well, first thing I thought of, the animals. 220 00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:31,840 Then I thought of my husband that died, 221 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:33,640 I had his ashes, 222 00:13:33,640 --> 00:13:38,720 and I brought them and we got the kids and we left. 223 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,080 You could feel the heat. 224 00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:43,240 And it was raining down soot like a... 225 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:45,000 It was just a soot storm. 226 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:48,160 It was a storm. 227 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:54,960 We honestly thought we were going 228 00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:56,600 to die, because we saw people 229 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:58,320 on fire, cars on fire... 230 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:01,720 It was hell. It... 231 00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:04,240 It was hell. 232 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:18,640 It was so cruel to take all these people's lives 233 00:14:18,640 --> 00:14:22,080 and their everything. 234 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,800 Thank you so much. Thank you very much. 235 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:38,800 What happens next for you? 236 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:40,760 I don't know. 237 00:14:40,760 --> 00:14:42,440 I have no clue where I'm going, 238 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,840 what I'm doing, which city I'm going to live in. 239 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,480 Little steps. Baby steps. 240 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:51,320 Baby steps. 241 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,120 That's what my mum said. 242 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:04,760 See the X on that? 243 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:07,160 That means it's been checked for bodies. 244 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:13,040 Wildfires in California are getting worse, deadlier, 245 00:15:13,040 --> 00:15:16,520 more unpredictable, more ferocious. 246 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,560 There's been a severe five-year drought in the state. 247 00:15:19,560 --> 00:15:22,800 There's tens of millions of dry and dead trees, 248 00:15:22,800 --> 00:15:25,280 effectively huge matchsticks, 249 00:15:25,280 --> 00:15:27,840 and the number of people living in the suburbs 250 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,360 and wilder areas keeps increasing. 251 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,440 It's all a perfect storm of conditions 252 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,600 for devastating wildfires. 253 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,480 But smaller forest fires do have a natural role to play 254 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:41,880 in this environment. 255 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:45,960 We've met up with the US Forest Service and we're heading out 256 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:47,400 on one of their operations. 257 00:15:55,720 --> 00:15:58,000 So, this is Travis. 258 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:01,040 Travis, who is the division group supervisor. 259 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:02,480 Good morning. 260 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:04,280 It's a pleasure to have you. 261 00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:06,120 Where are we going? 262 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,240 We're headed up to our prescribed fire project, 263 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,160 so we're going to burn about 140 acres. 264 00:16:13,800 --> 00:16:16,160 This is a big operation. 265 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:18,240 I don't know if you know anything about the Hot Shots, 266 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,720 but they're like the elite firefighters. 267 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:24,360 We're planning 143 acres today. 268 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:27,000 Most of the brush that we have out here is that white thorn 269 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,280 and we can burn up to 80% of that. 270 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:32,080 So, we can burn a lot of brush out of here. 271 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:34,400 So, those are our objectives. 272 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:39,240 So, the guys have kitted it up. 273 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,040 From what I can tell, there are two teams, 274 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:47,120 one who are setting the fire and the other team who are prepared, 275 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:48,840 always ready and able, 276 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:52,200 to put it out if it gets slightly out of control. 277 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:58,880 So, who is setting? These guys. 278 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:05,200 Look, he's just lighting them. 279 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:07,240 He's setting the ground on fire. 280 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,880 Under controlled conditions and with animals cleared from the area, 281 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,480 the firefighters are trying to let their small fires clear brush 282 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,400 and deadwood on the forest floor to stop it becoming fuel 283 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,880 for much bigger, apocalyptic wildfires. 284 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,440 They've picked a day with low winds to minimise the risk of fire spreading. 285 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,880 Now, stick the wick in there. 286 00:17:26,880 --> 00:17:29,600 There you go, and now pour it over a little bit. 287 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,600 That's how you do it. Just like that. 288 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:33,040 Goodness me. 289 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:35,400 There you go, catch some of the needles. 290 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:36,680 OK. 291 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:41,640 Oh, my God. 292 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:42,960 That's 15 seconds. 293 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:46,440 And the heat is already so intense. 294 00:17:46,440 --> 00:17:48,840 This is, er, a sort of eyebrow-singer. 295 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,960 The ease with which you can start a fire is, quite frankly, horrifying. 296 00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,480 This ecosystem needs natural forest fires, 297 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:02,800 perhaps started by lightning strike. 298 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,720 Some seeds only germinate after a forest fire. 299 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:07,240 They sense smoke. 300 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:12,400 Look at that! Look! 301 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,680 Almost all of the trees here will survive a controlled burn 302 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,080 like this and thrive again. 303 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:21,600 Oh, my God... 304 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,880 But recent wildfires in California have been more like the apocalypse. 305 00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:28,360 That is extraordinary. 306 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:30,520 Look at the tree! 307 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,960 There have been wildfires with walls of flame 308 00:18:32,960 --> 00:18:34,520 hundreds of feet high, 309 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:36,800 consuming an acre of forest per second. 310 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,920 You can see it's getting up into the canopy here 311 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:45,960 and the danger in a real wildfire is that, when the fire's up there, 312 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:49,440 it starts to skip through the trees 313 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:51,880 and, when a real wildfire takes over, 314 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,480 the speed at which the flames can move is astonishing. 315 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,040 30mph. 316 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:00,920 A fire moving through the forest. 317 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:05,040 It's not something you can always outrun. 318 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:12,640 This is DJ, here, 319 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:16,200 casually but professionally walking through the fire! 320 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,720 Another day at the office! 321 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,840 How have you seen things change when it comes to fire? 322 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,840 From when I started as a firefighter, 323 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:28,840 the type of fires that I went 324 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,800 to were nowhere near as intense as they are now. 325 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:36,000 And I used to fight fires out in the landscape 326 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:37,720 like this, in the forest. 327 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,080 In the last three years, I've been fighting fires 328 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:41,640 in people's back yards. 329 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,560 So, is it behaving as you would like at the moment? 330 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,160 We're getting the consumption we're looking for. 331 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,920 These are excellent conditions. 332 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,880 With dry, dead wood and undergrowth burnt away, 333 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,440 at least this small area should be less vulnerable 334 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:00,280 to a devastating blaze. 335 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,480 But across this state, a more ferocious type of wildfire now poses 336 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:08,040 an enormous threat. 337 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:11,440 Experts have warned here that the conditions exist 338 00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:16,120 in large areas of California for there to be fires on a scale 339 00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:18,800 we haven't seen for decades. 340 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:24,240 They talk of firenadoes, they talk of clouds that look 341 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:26,680 like the aftermath of a nuclear conflict. 342 00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:31,560 That is the abnormal rapidly becoming the new normal. 343 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,760 FIRE CRACKLES 344 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:43,880 I pushed on south. 345 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,200 TRAIN HORN BLARES 346 00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:53,480 Goes on for bloody ever! 347 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:59,720 CROSSING BELL RINGS 348 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:04,880 I was arriving in California's Central Valley, a huge farming area 349 00:21:04,880 --> 00:21:08,280 that's the blooming heart of the Golden State. 350 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:11,680 Just look at this! 351 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,080 It's an area of California few tourists see. 352 00:21:14,080 --> 00:21:17,520 The Central Valley provides a bounty for America. 353 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,200 Half of all the fruit and vegetables eaten in the US... 354 00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,920 Ooh-ahh! ..are grown here. 355 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:25,640 The Central Valley is 356 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:29,240 hundreds of miles long, it's dozens of miles wide. 357 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,480 It is the largest area 358 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,360 of class one soil in the world, 359 00:21:35,360 --> 00:21:37,800 the best on the planet. 360 00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:44,200 There are more than 60 food crops in which California leads the nation, 361 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,680 growing virtually all of the almonds, artichokes, dates, figs, 362 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,600 raisins, kiwi fruit, olives, peaches, pistachios, 363 00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:53,240 prunes, pomegranates, walnuts. 364 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,680 And then there's their wine, which isn't bad! 365 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,120 That's part of the reason this state, if it was an independent 366 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:03,000 country, would be the fifth biggest economy in the world. 367 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,480 Much of the money from agriculture here goes to corporations and a few 368 00:22:07,480 --> 00:22:10,120 ludicrously wealthy farming families. 369 00:22:10,120 --> 00:22:13,240 I wanted to meet the people who actually do most of the hard work. 370 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,960 We're following a guy from the local farm workers union, who hopefully 371 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:17,840 is taking us to meet some workers. 372 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:21,240 But we're not entirely sure how willing they'll be to talk. 373 00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,440 Just careful with the ground. It's really uneven. 374 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,320 Armando Elenez had brought me to meet some of the people picking 375 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:42,440 sugar beet, grown for animal feed but mainly for sugar. 376 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:46,680 Flippin' heck! There is some hard work under way here. 377 00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:49,920 Look at the speed. 378 00:22:57,000 --> 00:22:58,360 Buenos dias. 379 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:02,720 Do you think you can show me what to do? 380 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:06,200 OK. Let's give it a go. 381 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:08,080 SHE SPEAKS SPANISH 382 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:09,600 You have to go faster. 383 00:23:09,600 --> 00:23:11,120 Ah! 384 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:17,880 OK, boss, OK! 385 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,000 Why do they, why are they not coming out for me? 386 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,000 Here we go. 387 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,320 The majority of California's farm workers are migrants from Mexico 388 00:23:30,320 --> 00:23:32,200 or further south. 389 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,040 A farm worker in Central America might earn $10 or less a day. 390 00:23:36,040 --> 00:23:38,280 Here, they can earn more than that in an hour. 391 00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:41,320 But it's still backbreaking work for low pay. 392 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:45,880 Armando, there's been a lot of talk in the US about how migrant 393 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:49,040 labourers take local jobs. 394 00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:50,880 What's been your experience of that? 395 00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:55,400 We set up a whole project called Take Our Jobs, where we are inviting 396 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,760 Americans to come and work in the fields. 397 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,200 We've got millions of hits, which was amazing. 398 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,880 But unfortunately, all those millions of hits, only 12 399 00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:07,240 inquired about actually working and then only four ended 400 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:08,680 up going to work. 401 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,360 And then, immediately after coming to work after a day, 402 00:24:12,360 --> 00:24:14,000 they basically gave up. 403 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,120 They just thought it was too hard. 404 00:24:16,120 --> 00:24:18,800 Not one lasted a single day? No. 405 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:24,560 So, if it was all left up to Americans, this country 406 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,800 would have trouble feeding itself? Very much so! 407 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:35,640 Yeah, I'm already dismissed. I'm sacked already! 408 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:43,560 We've been told we can't talk to them about their legal status, 409 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:46,480 but we've also been told that almost all of them 410 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:51,040 will be undocumented migrants, ie illegal immigrants. 411 00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:55,880 They're living in constant fear of arrest and deportation. 412 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,640 But they also face many issues with the conditions 413 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:01,720 in which they're actually living. 414 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,520 There's around two and a half million undocumented or illegal 415 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:12,600 immigrants in California, more than anywhere else in the US. 416 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:14,800 I drove south towards one of the communities where 417 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:17,360 migrant farm workers live. 418 00:25:17,360 --> 00:25:20,440 So, this is a place called Poplar. 419 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:25,520 This is what's called an unincorporated town. 420 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:29,560 There are hundreds of these across central California, 421 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,920 and they're basically towns that don't have all the facilities 422 00:25:32,920 --> 00:25:37,880 and aren't on the grid the way established American towns are. 423 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:45,440 How are you, sir? 424 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:47,840 Thank you for letting us come to visit. 425 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,480 It's just big chunks of meat. 426 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:56,360 Cristobal Chavez and his wife Nora have raised their large family, 427 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,920 including children they fostered here in Poplar. 428 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,800 Like many in unincorporated towns, they don't have access 429 00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:06,760 to mains water. 430 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:09,880 Instead, they draw up their own supply from the ground, 431 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,800 which has become an increasing challenge. 432 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:17,880 So, this is the well. Yeah. 433 00:26:17,880 --> 00:26:19,720 Or a bore hole, even. 434 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:23,520 How far down does it go, Chris? 435 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:28,480 First of all was 138 feet. 436 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,120 When the well dries, 210 feet. 437 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:34,280 210 feet? Wow! 438 00:26:35,920 --> 00:26:38,840 The water the family draws out of the ground has been found 439 00:26:38,840 --> 00:26:42,880 to contain several times the legal level of contaminants. 440 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,520 It's the sink! We haven't dressed the set here and we haven't given 441 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:51,040 them any time to prepare. 442 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:52,640 Should you be able to drink that? 443 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:07,120 How long had you been drinking the water when you realised 444 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:08,880 that it was contaminated? 445 00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:16,960 So you have to use gallons and gallons of bottled water, then? 446 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:18,440 Uh-huh. 447 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,720 Wow. 448 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,680 More than a million people in California don't have access 449 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,400 to clean drinking water. 450 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:32,440 With droughts and shortages, California's got a water crisis. 451 00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:37,160 And water intensive farms have helped run the state dry. 452 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,280 It's been claimed agriculture accounts for up to 80% 453 00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:42,920 of all the water used in California. 454 00:27:42,920 --> 00:27:47,120 One single almond can take a gallon of water to grow. 455 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:50,560 And it's said the water used each year to grow almonds is equivalent 456 00:27:50,560 --> 00:27:54,440 to three years of water for the entire city of Los Angeles. 457 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,240 And the meat? Producing one pound of beef 458 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:01,560 can take 2,500 gallons of water. 459 00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,400 To grow crops out here in the Central Valley, 460 00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:09,880 particularly in recent years when there's been incredible droughts, 461 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:15,560 the farmers are having to tap into great pools, lakes of water 462 00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,840 that are buried deep underground. 463 00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,760 And over the years, they've been putting so many wells 464 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,480 and the equivalent of drinking straws into those deep pools 465 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:29,800 of water that those pools have been sucked dry. 466 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:35,680 So much ground water has been pumped out of the earth here. 467 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,560 The landscape has been transformed. 468 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:42,120 Across a huge area, the ground is sinking. 469 00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:48,720 To give you a sense of how the land has shifted and collapsed, 470 00:28:48,720 --> 00:28:52,480 just look at the pole here. In this area... 471 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,640 ..the land has fallen by about ten feet. 472 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:02,040 So, that's somewhere up here. But there are areas around here 473 00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:04,760 where the land has collapsed 474 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,240 by 60 feet. 475 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:09,560 That is about...what? 476 00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:13,120 Almost twice the height of the pole. 477 00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:17,680 It's said to be one of the largest man-made alterations to the surface 478 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:19,080 of planet Earth. 479 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,960 It's also completely mad! 480 00:29:30,600 --> 00:29:34,000 Pressure on the water supply in California has increased 481 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:39,000 dramatically as the number of people living in the state has rocketed. 482 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,480 The population has tripled in the last 60 years. 483 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:47,560 I headed to the West Coast. 484 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:56,000 Look! The Pacific. 485 00:29:57,560 --> 00:29:59,640 We're on the coast. 486 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:04,480 This is the California of the cliche, of wealth 487 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:06,920 and beach and surf. 488 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:10,680 It is stunning! 489 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:17,600 Come out of the California hardly anyone else ever sees, 490 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,320 and we're heading now into the city of Los Angeles. 491 00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:24,840 LA, Hollywood. 492 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:28,800 It's a dream factory drawing in millions of Americans 493 00:30:28,800 --> 00:30:31,280 and outsiders hoping to make it big. 494 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:35,520 For some, the lucky few, it can deliver. 495 00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:38,280 I don't really see the attraction of these stars. 496 00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:39,960 Then I saw Harrison Ford. 497 00:30:39,960 --> 00:30:41,560 I thought, "Well, that's impressive!" 498 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:49,320 California has always being the most aspirational state in the US. 499 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:53,560 Over the generations, of course, people have seen it as some sort of 500 00:30:53,560 --> 00:30:54,720 Eldorado, a promised land. 501 00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,480 It's all quite tacky, of course, but it is quite fun. 502 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:04,120 But for the full experience, I've got to do a tour. 503 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:06,320 Just in the back? 504 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,000 All right, guys. 505 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:09,640 Welcome to Hollywood. 506 00:31:09,640 --> 00:31:12,360 Mic check, baby. Give me a thumbs up. Everybody can hear me, yes? 507 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:14,680 OK. Hollywood, here we come. 508 00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,160 Of course, when the sun goes down, guys, that's when it becomes 509 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,560 Hollyweird, right? Hollyweird. Not dangerous, just crude. 510 00:31:19,560 --> 00:31:22,200 I just like to check the sanity level of the driver. 511 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:27,480 A lot of people ask, why is LA the entertainment capital of the world? 512 00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:30,520 That has a lot to do with the weather. 513 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,120 About 320 days a year, 514 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:34,560 blue skies and sunshine. 515 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:42,280 But we're going to start making our way into Beverly Hills, guys. 516 00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:44,520 As we get a little closer I want you to take a deep breath of air and 517 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:45,800 I want you to smell all the money, 518 00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,000 because your average price home in Beverly Hills these days start 519 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,440 right around ten mil. Bloody hell! 520 00:31:56,840 --> 00:32:00,200 Take a look at this giant white castle on the Hill. 521 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:02,800 $88 million. 522 00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,080 Jay-Z and Beyonce's house. 523 00:32:05,080 --> 00:32:08,680 The wealth here is just on another level. 524 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:12,600 All right, guys. 525 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:14,840 We're going to pull into the parking lot of Crescent Heights 526 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:18,800 and Sunset Boulevard. Pollo Loco. 1986. 527 00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:21,920 This was Brad Pitt's first Hollywood job. 528 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,920 No! He got a job dressed as a chicken, 529 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,480 passing out free samples. 530 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:27,920 It's brilliant. 531 00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:31,040 I'm not going to lie, man. The chicken is pretty crazy. 532 00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,880 I love that story. 533 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:38,720 It does show you can come here with next to nothing and make it big. 534 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:40,600 Live that dream. 535 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,560 All right, kids, that's the end of the tour. 536 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:50,120 It has been my pleasure. 537 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:53,320 And now it's time for a mic drop. 538 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:56,880 We survived. 539 00:32:56,880 --> 00:32:58,680 Whoo! 540 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,480 I'm off to meet a man now who's going to show me a very different 541 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:10,880 side of Los Angeles. 542 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:16,080 Wealth in the United States is now more concentrated 543 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,400 than it has been for nearly a century. 544 00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:21,800 This country is hopelessly unequal. 545 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,840 40 million men, women and children live in poverty. 546 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:28,760 Half a million Americans are homeless. 547 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:32,560 And the problem can often be seen at its starkest in the back streets 548 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,440 and the shadows of the City of Angels. 549 00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,680 So, we're meeting a bloke on the top 550 00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:41,000 of a multistorey car park. 551 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:45,600 Perfectly normal. 552 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:47,480 Hello. Nice to meet you. 553 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:48,680 Brett? 554 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,080 Yeah, I'm Brett. Brett. Simon Reeve. Lovely to meet you. 555 00:33:51,080 --> 00:33:53,560 Great. Nice to meet you. Thank you so much for having us along. Hello. 556 00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:57,360 Hi! Gabrielle. Gabrielle. Simon. Lovely to meet you too. 557 00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:00,840 Brett Feldman and Gabrielle Johnson 558 00:34:00,840 --> 00:34:05,440 are street medics taking health care and TLC to the homeless 559 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:06,560 of Los Angeles. 560 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:11,200 These are all people living out of vans. 561 00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:15,200 Oh, God, you guys are like a new pair of spectacles. As soon 562 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:18,880 as you say that, you start seeing the world slightly 563 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,360 differently, of course. Now I see all these vans along here that I 564 00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:26,040 presumed were just for residents. Actually, these are people's homes. 565 00:34:26,040 --> 00:34:29,040 Oh, yeah. You can see this this car right here. 566 00:34:29,040 --> 00:34:32,320 Not just the van, the car as well. Yeah. 567 00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:34,160 Oh, my God. 568 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,200 Morning, Abraham! 569 00:34:39,200 --> 00:34:41,880 Street medicine. 570 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:45,640 Bed pan's coming out. He broke both of his legs, 571 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:47,360 maybe a week or two ago. 572 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:10,480 So, you're partly taking your pills just because you're worried 573 00:35:10,480 --> 00:35:12,240 Gabrielle is going to tell you off? 574 00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:13,480 Right. 575 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:14,960 I would be worried too! 576 00:35:18,240 --> 00:35:23,720 So, they estimate that Los Angeles is over a half a million units short 577 00:35:23,720 --> 00:35:25,960 of affordable housing. 578 00:35:25,960 --> 00:35:31,040 You have to work over 100 hours a week at minimum wage to afford 579 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:32,600 a one-bedroom apartment. 580 00:35:32,600 --> 00:35:37,120 So, we're expecting people to work more than two full-time jobs 581 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:38,920 just to get into housing. 582 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,040 LA is the second most populated city. 583 00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,040 New York is number one. 584 00:35:46,040 --> 00:35:49,720 They have 2,500 rough sleepers. 585 00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:52,240 We have 45,000 rough sleepers. 586 00:35:52,240 --> 00:35:56,040 45,000 people. 587 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,080 That's colossal. 588 00:35:59,080 --> 00:36:04,040 And it's actually more than the top 27 cities combined. 589 00:36:11,080 --> 00:36:15,520 In a more traditional clinic, you could just put tape on this, 590 00:36:15,520 --> 00:36:18,320 but in this environment, Doug is going to be exposed 591 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:20,000 to the weather, to, 592 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000 you know, some dirt or whatever. 593 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:25,400 So, we wrap it with this to protect it. 594 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:26,840 How long have you been out here, Doug? 595 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:37,440 It's interesting to hear Doug say how grateful he is to you guys. 596 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,280 How many street doctors do you have? 597 00:36:39,280 --> 00:36:41,720 Combined, it's about four. 598 00:36:42,800 --> 00:36:45,400 Four? Yeah. 599 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:47,360 Four? 600 00:36:47,360 --> 00:36:50,240 In Los Angeles? Yeah. 601 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:56,120 Increasingly, living rough is being criminalised 602 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,400 by the authorities across the United States. 603 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:01,320 To crack down on homelessness, 604 00:37:01,320 --> 00:37:04,880 many cities are banning camping in public. 605 00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:08,280 But here, there's still plenty of life on the streets. 606 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,520 There's a lady there filming us on her phone. 607 00:37:10,520 --> 00:37:13,480 How you doin'? My name is Black Blossom. I'm from DTLA. 608 00:37:13,480 --> 00:37:15,920 Hello, Black Blossom. Nice to see you. How are you? 609 00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:17,200 Great. 610 00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,200 Thank you for being nosy and come be nosy some more, 611 00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:23,520 because we are really waiting on housing. 612 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,000 You know what I'm saying? I've been homeless since 613 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,640 I was 13 years old. 614 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:30,440 There probably takes, like, six months to get in the shelter, 615 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:31,800 because it's a waiting list. 616 00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,360 And then you can't even get in the shelter if you have seizures 617 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:37,920 or you sick or anything like that. Six months to get in a shelter? 618 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:39,240 Thank you. 619 00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:41,720 Yeah, stay positive. Stay positive. All right? 620 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:57,480 It's all the way, the whole length. 621 00:37:57,480 --> 00:37:59,720 What is? Where they live. 622 00:37:59,720 --> 00:38:03,160 Inside the bridge, goes all the way. 623 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,600 Inside the structure here? 624 00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:07,440 Yeah, right inside. 625 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:11,560 FAINT VOICES 626 00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:13,760 This is extraordinary. 627 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,760 There are voices coming from inside it. 628 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:19,600 Hello. 629 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:21,880 So, erm... 630 00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:27,160 They're friends from Great Britain and they're doing a video 631 00:38:27,160 --> 00:38:30,800 on the way some folks are living here. 632 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:32,360 Thank you so much. 633 00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:34,440 Shall we follow you in? Sure. 634 00:38:36,080 --> 00:38:37,480 Hey, Amy. Hi. 635 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:41,960 Thank you for letting us in. No problem. 636 00:38:45,040 --> 00:38:47,640 TRAIN RUMBLES OVERHEAD 637 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,880 Well, these guys are. I'm like a sort of really cheap, 638 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:57,480 shoddy version. 639 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:58,840 Yeah. 640 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:00,280 You just haven't gotten old yet. 641 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:03,880 I know! I think I think it's a bit more than that, but thank you. 642 00:39:03,880 --> 00:39:05,560 Are you a big fan of David Attenborough? 643 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:07,600 I'm a huge fan of David Attenborough. 644 00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:10,040 Do you get to see his documentaries here? 645 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:13,640 I don't get to watch a lot of video here. 646 00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:15,120 But power's a problem. 647 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:18,320 But I do listen to a lot of podcasts here, so... Do you? 648 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,000 Trying to take in the artwork, 649 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:27,400 and I thought it was a freeway, but actually, 650 00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,480 it's the train above. 651 00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,320 The trains aren't 24 hours, are they? 652 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,600 They stop for about three hours 653 00:39:34,600 --> 00:39:37,040 between midnight and four. 654 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:39,440 TRAIN RUMBLING CONTINUES 655 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:42,280 Are you a light sleeper? 656 00:39:42,280 --> 00:39:43,720 No! Ah, right. 657 00:39:45,160 --> 00:39:48,440 That's probably, probably for the best. 658 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,800 Is it you who's done much of the painting here? 659 00:39:50,800 --> 00:39:52,840 I've done all of the paintings. 660 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:55,120 I even call it the mansion. 661 00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:59,800 Just this place is giant and it gets taller as you go back, so... 662 00:39:59,800 --> 00:40:03,320 There's a couple rooms that, you know, I think 663 00:40:03,320 --> 00:40:06,440 of as the ballroom and the room where the pool will be in. 664 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:08,280 That sort of thing. 665 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,760 But, yeah, that's my joke with myself. 666 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:14,600 TRAIN RUMBLING OVERHEAD 667 00:40:14,600 --> 00:40:17,040 Do you feel safe here? 668 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:20,520 Yeah. You know, there's really only one way in. 669 00:40:20,520 --> 00:40:23,800 The dog scares people quite quickly. 670 00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,600 Would you want somewhere conventional? If someone dropped 671 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,040 in my hands the money to pay the deposit in the first month when I 672 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:34,080 found a place, the rent would still be so very expensive 673 00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:36,720 and it's not worth it to 674 00:40:36,720 --> 00:40:39,560 just work to be able to be alive. 675 00:40:39,560 --> 00:40:42,560 What the hell is going on, Amy? 676 00:40:42,560 --> 00:40:47,320 There's tens of thousands of people in Los Angeles living homelessly. 677 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:51,960 Welfare is really not something Americans understand any more. 678 00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:53,400 It's a weird thing. 679 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:57,960 There's so much moral judgment about people. 680 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:04,600 I think it's mostly fear, though, like the closer they get, 681 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,800 the more they want to distance themselves from it. 682 00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:14,200 Somehow relating makes them susceptible to it. 683 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:22,640 Thanks for letting us in, Amy. It's a pleasure to meet you. 684 00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:37,320 I've seen a lot of stuff around the world. 685 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,520 I would never have thought in the United States, I would see... 686 00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:41,760 ..I would see this. 687 00:41:43,240 --> 00:41:46,360 But thank God you're out here doing what you do. 688 00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:48,640 OK. After you. 689 00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:06,880 What really strikes me about this city compared to almost every other 690 00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:10,440 you go to, there's hardly any cranes, 691 00:42:10,440 --> 00:42:14,040 there is hardly any building work going on. 692 00:42:16,280 --> 00:42:20,360 There is very little construction of low-cost housing. 693 00:42:20,360 --> 00:42:23,560 Nothing that even vaguely matches the need. 694 00:42:39,640 --> 00:42:43,680 Heading out of Los Angeles now onto the freeway. 695 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:47,920 Scarily big American roads. 696 00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:51,000 I was shocked to see how many people in Los Angeles had fallen 697 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:52,440 through the cracks. 698 00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:56,080 In the USA, they're more like gaping chasms. 699 00:42:56,080 --> 00:42:58,680 The US spends less on its welfare and Social Security 700 00:42:58,680 --> 00:43:01,040 than most comparable countries. 701 00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:03,600 It's a relatively low-tax country and people aren't mad 702 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:05,240 on government spending. 703 00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:08,920 Travelling through America, much of the national infrastructure, 704 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:10,680 like roads, dams and bridges, 705 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:13,440 feels like it could do with a bit of attention. 706 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:15,600 So, that up there is the Prado Dam. 707 00:43:15,600 --> 00:43:19,040 I'm going to try and pull over and see if we can get a closer view. 708 00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:23,960 47,000 bridges in the US are said to be structurally deficient. 709 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:26,360 Many dams are also in desperate need of repair, 710 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:29,800 even one like this in a populated area. 711 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:32,720 The fear is that in a really heavy storm 712 00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:38,400 water could overwhelm the dam and a colossal quantity of water 713 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:40,160 could then flood downstream, 714 00:43:40,160 --> 00:43:43,840 down the river, down the valley, and take out hundreds of thousands 715 00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:46,880 of homes and even inundate Disneyland! 716 00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:54,760 It's very symbolic of how different America actually is, 717 00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:56,640 particularly to Europe. 718 00:43:56,640 --> 00:44:00,680 They hate spending money on public projects here. 719 00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:07,360 In the past, though, the US government has spent big on building 720 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:10,200 projects, especially at a time of crisis. 721 00:44:11,720 --> 00:44:13,680 Much of the infrastructure in this country 722 00:44:13,680 --> 00:44:15,200 was built decades ago. 723 00:44:15,200 --> 00:44:20,240 A lot of it during the 1930s and 1940s when President Roosevelt 724 00:44:20,240 --> 00:44:21,800 was in the White House. 725 00:44:21,800 --> 00:44:27,480 And as part of his huge New Deal plan to transform the landscape 726 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,720 of the country, but also lift it out of the ravages 727 00:44:30,720 --> 00:44:33,360 of the Great Depression. 728 00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:35,240 There's a lot of people here 729 00:44:35,240 --> 00:44:38,080 who think something similar is needed today. 730 00:44:38,080 --> 00:44:42,320 The 1930s New Deal was a massive government spending plan to 731 00:44:42,320 --> 00:44:46,200 kick-start the economy with public works building bridges and dams. 732 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:49,240 But it also included a huge conservation element. 733 00:44:49,240 --> 00:44:52,440 Over ten years, around three million previously unemployed young 734 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:56,320 Americans planted more than two billion trees. 735 00:44:56,320 --> 00:44:59,360 It's great being back in the forest. 736 00:44:59,360 --> 00:45:03,920 They helped create America's epic and glorious National Parks. 737 00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:08,160 I headed up into California's Sierra Nevada Mountains to meet 738 00:45:08,160 --> 00:45:10,320 up with a conservation organization that grew 739 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:12,800 out of Roosevelt's New Deal. 740 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:15,640 And he's still out here, still working and trying 741 00:45:15,640 --> 00:45:17,280 to protect the forests. 742 00:45:20,080 --> 00:45:24,960 So, this is Larissa from the California Conservation Corps. Yeah. 743 00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:27,400 Is that right? That's right. 744 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:29,680 So, basically, we're out here improving the health 745 00:45:29,680 --> 00:45:32,960 of the forest. We dedicate our work to taking out 746 00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:36,520 dead and dying diseased trees. 747 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:41,240 More than 100 million trees have died in this part of California. 748 00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:44,240 The long drought and climate change have led to the proliferation 749 00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:47,720 of bark beetles that are chomping and killing forests. 750 00:45:47,720 --> 00:45:50,400 So, this tree, it's really dry. 751 00:45:50,400 --> 00:45:54,200 So, what happens is the beetles will go in and bore holes 752 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:57,400 into these trees and they spread fungus from tree to tree. 753 00:45:57,400 --> 00:46:01,000 I've worked in the Sierra since about 2009 and even 754 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:02,800 in those years of the drought, 755 00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:05,520 and then with the bark beetle, I've visibly seen areas 756 00:46:05,520 --> 00:46:09,920 that were just small patches of dead trees went massive. 757 00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:12,160 As I'd seen already on this journey, 758 00:46:12,160 --> 00:46:15,120 unless this dead wood is brought down, it can become fuel 759 00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:16,760 for terrible wildfires. 760 00:46:26,920 --> 00:46:28,920 Is this your crew just here? Yeah. 761 00:46:28,920 --> 00:46:30,760 These look like burly blokes! 762 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:38,080 Falling! 763 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,040 Bloody hell! 764 00:46:49,840 --> 00:46:53,360 To protect and preserve the natural wonder of the state, 765 00:46:53,360 --> 00:46:56,760 the Conservation Corps recruits 3,000 volunteers each year 766 00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:58,600 from across California. 767 00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:00,240 3,001 this year! 768 00:47:00,240 --> 00:47:02,280 Don't worry, we're fine. 769 00:47:02,280 --> 00:47:03,880 We've got this. 770 00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:08,560 When you hit it, 771 00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:10,520 try to give it a nice thud. 772 00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:14,080 OK. Good hit. And then look up. All right. 773 00:47:19,840 --> 00:47:24,600 All right. Take in a safe route. Tree falling! Move out. 774 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:28,720 You did great. 775 00:47:28,720 --> 00:47:32,080 Dinner's ready, waiting for us at camp. 776 00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:40,680 I did do the smallest amount of work possible. 777 00:47:40,680 --> 00:47:44,120 In truth, I'm not really sure I qualify for this. 778 00:47:46,400 --> 00:47:50,200 Just like the original New Deal conservation movement, the work 779 00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:52,680 of the Corps out here in the Californian wilderness 780 00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:55,480 is changing lives as well as the environment. 781 00:47:55,480 --> 00:47:57,040 Can I join you? 782 00:47:58,240 --> 00:48:02,840 So, main reason I joined the programme at the time, I was at the bottom 783 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:05,760 of the bottom. You know, I was scraping cans off the floor 784 00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:09,520 and everything like that. I was doing drugs at that age at 18. 785 00:48:09,520 --> 00:48:12,800 So, my mom told me about the California Conservation Corps. 786 00:48:12,800 --> 00:48:15,680 I'd been in the Cs for about three years. 787 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:19,720 And in that time I've got my diploma and a couple of, like, 788 00:48:19,720 --> 00:48:21,560 you know, certificates. 789 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:24,320 I'm grateful that I had this programme, because if it wasn't for 790 00:48:24,320 --> 00:48:26,800 this programme, I don't know what I'd be doing right now. 791 00:48:26,800 --> 00:48:29,800 Are you saying the Corps has transformed your life? 792 00:48:29,800 --> 00:48:33,080 Yes, 100%. Straight 360. 793 00:48:33,080 --> 00:48:35,720 I wouldn't trade anything in the world. 794 00:48:35,720 --> 00:48:38,200 Damn, this smoke's in my eyes! 795 00:48:38,200 --> 00:48:40,200 I swear I'm not crying, you guys, I swear! 796 00:48:40,200 --> 00:48:42,360 Is this a tough guy getting emotional? 797 00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,800 Yeah. "It's just the smoke. It's just the smoke." 798 00:48:45,800 --> 00:48:49,760 Plus, I'm a little sinusy right now, too, so that doesn't help. 799 00:48:49,760 --> 00:48:54,040 Before I joined the Cs, I was homeless on and off most 800 00:48:54,040 --> 00:48:58,840 of my life from I think around the age of three until high school. 801 00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:01,680 There's bullies. 802 00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:07,080 There is, I'm not going to say details for this, but there was 803 00:49:07,080 --> 00:49:09,840 suicidal tendencies that happened a few times. 804 00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:11,880 And then out of nowhere my history teacher walked in. 805 00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:14,520 He's like, going to join the California Conservation Corps 806 00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:16,480 and that, just like that, I'm like, all right. 807 00:49:16,480 --> 00:49:18,920 Did he you give any sort of spiel for it? 808 00:49:18,920 --> 00:49:20,960 This is why? Or... No, he just showed me the website. 809 00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:24,320 It said, "hard work, low pay, miserable conditions and more." 810 00:49:26,120 --> 00:49:30,600 That is the least America motto I think I've ever heard! 811 00:49:30,600 --> 00:49:33,360 And you thought, "Yeah, that's for me." 812 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:36,880 Ever since, I'm on my third year. 813 00:49:36,880 --> 00:49:38,880 I know what I want to do with my life. 814 00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:40,920 And I'm happy. 815 00:49:46,240 --> 00:49:48,640 THEY CHATTER 816 00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:54,320 Is there a sort of social justice aspect to the Conservation Corps? 817 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:57,400 It's not just to make the environment better. 818 00:49:57,400 --> 00:49:59,640 You know, you become a family. Brothers and sisters. 819 00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:02,480 You work together, you work the long, hard hours together, 820 00:50:02,480 --> 00:50:05,520 you learn together. You grow together, you fail together, you 821 00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:07,960 know, all those different things. Yeah. 822 00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:10,960 And so I do think it's making a positive impact in our communities. 823 00:50:12,960 --> 00:50:15,240 But you just want to get it across the whole table 824 00:50:15,240 --> 00:50:18,480 without splashing any more. I get the exciting job, then! 825 00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:24,000 Nearly! Nice! 826 00:50:24,000 --> 00:50:26,200 You got a couple of scraps. 827 00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:28,280 Good job, man! 828 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:42,880 This is a new, obscure Japanese game. 829 00:50:44,680 --> 00:50:47,120 Designed to mess with your mind. 830 00:50:49,760 --> 00:50:51,640 You know, when I was a lad, 831 00:50:51,640 --> 00:50:54,840 I managed to leave school without any real qualifications 832 00:50:54,840 --> 00:50:57,880 and I had a very difficult time. 833 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:02,760 I found myself with no hope in life. 834 00:51:02,760 --> 00:51:07,160 It's been really interesting and inspiring, actually, hearing 835 00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:12,120 the youngsters in the Corps talking about the direction that being out 836 00:51:12,120 --> 00:51:16,760 here and working in the park has given them. 837 00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:19,200 Night-night. 838 00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:31,800 SIMON GROANS SLEEPILY 839 00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:43,840 Some American politicians want projects like those of the CCC 840 00:51:43,840 --> 00:51:47,280 massively upscaled. With environmentalists 841 00:51:47,280 --> 00:51:50,960 and campaigners, they're backing extraordinary plans to invest huge 842 00:51:50,960 --> 00:51:56,640 sums in conservation, renewable energy, reforestation as part 843 00:51:56,640 --> 00:52:00,280 of a dramatic overhaul of the US economy designed to tackle 844 00:52:00,280 --> 00:52:03,560 the crisis facing our climate and environment. 845 00:52:03,560 --> 00:52:06,240 It's being called the Green New Deal. 846 00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:09,720 Now, that is a view worth protecting, eh? 847 00:52:13,680 --> 00:52:19,120 The Green New Deal is a really radical plan to treat our climate 848 00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:24,880 emergency with the seriousness that it deserves and requires, 849 00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:29,120 while also addressing really fundamental social issues 850 00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:32,760 like homelessness, inequality, poverty. 851 00:52:32,760 --> 00:52:34,360 Serious stuff. 852 00:52:37,200 --> 00:52:41,120 Opponents of the idea say America doesn't need it because the economy 853 00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:43,680 is booming with low unemployment. 854 00:52:43,680 --> 00:52:46,200 They say spending huge amounts of taxpayers' money 855 00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:50,400 on the Green New Deal could wreck the economy and cost jobs. 856 00:52:54,600 --> 00:52:59,160 I pushed on south towards California's border with Mexico. 857 00:53:06,120 --> 00:53:09,360 The scorching hot desert down here felt a long way 858 00:53:09,360 --> 00:53:13,160 from the forests and the farms further north. 859 00:53:13,160 --> 00:53:15,280 So, this is Bombay Beach, 860 00:53:15,280 --> 00:53:20,320 which was a bit of a resort at one point, but has since fallen 861 00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:22,720 on distinctly tougher times. 862 00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:26,400 It's all a bit weird. 863 00:53:31,400 --> 00:53:36,120 Bombay Beach sits on the edge of the Salton Sea, a huge inland 864 00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:38,840 lake, the biggest in California. 865 00:53:38,840 --> 00:53:43,200 It was formed by accident a century ago when a canal burst its banks 866 00:53:43,200 --> 00:53:48,040 and over two years a vast volume of water flooded into the basin. 867 00:53:48,040 --> 00:53:51,200 This being America, developers sensed opportunity and dubbed it 868 00:53:51,200 --> 00:53:54,040 "the Salton Riviera." Just look! 869 00:53:54,040 --> 00:53:57,960 By the 1950s, Bombay Beach was a swinging resort. 870 00:53:57,960 --> 00:54:00,520 It was glamorous once! 871 00:54:00,520 --> 00:54:02,160 They built golf courses. 872 00:54:02,160 --> 00:54:05,160 President Eisenhower came here and played a round. 873 00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:07,400 The Beach Boys came here. 874 00:54:07,400 --> 00:54:09,040 Lots of other celebs as well. 875 00:54:09,040 --> 00:54:11,680 It was seen as a trendy place to come. 876 00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:12,720 Not any more. 877 00:54:14,760 --> 00:54:17,800 Look, I've got to be honest. The smell here is, erm... 878 00:54:17,800 --> 00:54:19,680 ..is appalling. 879 00:54:21,200 --> 00:54:23,240 Rotten, rotten eggs. 880 00:54:25,800 --> 00:54:28,640 The smell's the least of the issues. 881 00:54:28,640 --> 00:54:33,000 For decades, pesticide and fertiliser runoff from farms 882 00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:34,840 contaminated the water here. 883 00:54:34,840 --> 00:54:36,920 Since they fixed the breach in the canal, 884 00:54:36,920 --> 00:54:40,920 there's been no major freshwater source for the sea, so it's drying 885 00:54:40,920 --> 00:54:42,680 up and dying. 886 00:54:47,120 --> 00:54:49,240 The big problem here 887 00:54:49,240 --> 00:54:52,920 is that this is a really big problem. 888 00:54:52,920 --> 00:54:54,800 This is an enormous sea. 889 00:54:54,800 --> 00:55:00,240 And as the water evaporates, it is revealing dusty, toxic soil 890 00:55:00,240 --> 00:55:04,160 and sand that is blowing up a proper sandstorm. 891 00:55:05,760 --> 00:55:10,000 I think what this part of my journey down through California has shown me 892 00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:14,040 is that we are very good at breaking things. 893 00:55:14,040 --> 00:55:17,920 We are not so good at offering up a fix. 894 00:55:23,840 --> 00:55:27,240 This area of Southern California felt like something 895 00:55:27,240 --> 00:55:29,080 from a Mad Max film. 896 00:55:30,720 --> 00:55:33,800 But there's people who eke out an existence here 897 00:55:33,800 --> 00:55:37,000 and there's those who've made a beeline for it. 898 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:39,520 Hello. Hi. 899 00:55:39,520 --> 00:55:41,960 Sorry to bother you. We're looking for Jack. 900 00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:43,120 Jack Two Horses? 901 00:55:43,120 --> 00:55:47,200 Go west down there. Hit the fork in the road. And turn left. 902 00:55:47,200 --> 00:55:49,360 Thank you very much indeed. You're welcome. 903 00:55:53,200 --> 00:55:58,120 So, apparently, he lives in the red trailer with the yellow door. 904 00:55:59,120 --> 00:56:00,400 There you go. 905 00:56:00,400 --> 00:56:03,400 I was arriving in the self-proclaimed town 906 00:56:03,400 --> 00:56:04,640 of Slab City. 907 00:56:08,640 --> 00:56:10,880 Jack Two Horses? Yes. That's me. 908 00:56:10,880 --> 00:56:14,280 Hello, sir. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. How are you? 909 00:56:14,280 --> 00:56:16,960 What is this place? What is Slab City? 910 00:56:16,960 --> 00:56:20,280 Slab City is an off-grid community of... 911 00:56:20,280 --> 00:56:24,440 ..it's a piece of land that the government owns, 912 00:56:24,440 --> 00:56:27,800 but it's worthless. It's a worthless piece of desert property and it used 913 00:56:27,800 --> 00:56:31,880 to be a military base back in '32 to '52. 914 00:56:31,880 --> 00:56:36,080 When the military closed it, it even became a squatters' camp. 915 00:56:36,080 --> 00:56:38,560 So, this is yours? 916 00:56:38,560 --> 00:56:41,160 This is my little tiny house. 917 00:56:41,160 --> 00:56:45,960 It's powered by the sun. And the sun definitely shines out here. 918 00:56:45,960 --> 00:56:48,120 Uh-huh! Oh, I get lots of sun. 919 00:56:48,120 --> 00:56:50,520 How hot does it get in the summer? Hottest I've seen is 920 00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:53,200 127 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. 921 00:56:53,200 --> 00:56:56,160 That is skin-melting temperatures. 922 00:56:56,160 --> 00:56:59,040 People die every year here in the summer. Of heat stroke? 923 00:56:59,040 --> 00:57:01,720 Heat stroke. Mostly elderly people, 924 00:57:01,720 --> 00:57:04,360 but I have a friend of mine who is 32 years old that died 925 00:57:04,360 --> 00:57:08,200 of heat stroke. Was his first summer, he was from Philadelphia. 926 00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:10,080 I've met a few Americans on this journey 927 00:57:10,080 --> 00:57:14,080 so far who are saying, "Look, we believed in the American dream. 928 00:57:14,080 --> 00:57:15,800 "We committed to it." 929 00:57:15,800 --> 00:57:19,160 And they feel like they haven't really been getting the rewards 930 00:57:19,160 --> 00:57:20,920 that they were promised. 931 00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:23,000 I was in property management in San Francisco. 932 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:24,680 I was really getting burned out. 933 00:57:24,680 --> 00:57:26,720 And San Francisco's really going downhill. 934 00:57:26,720 --> 00:57:29,240 I mean, the quality of life there is really getting bad. 935 00:57:29,240 --> 00:57:31,240 And I found this quirky place on the internet. 936 00:57:31,240 --> 00:57:33,560 So I thought, "This is like the Wild West." 937 00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:36,240 You found your piece of land and you put your little border 938 00:57:36,240 --> 00:57:37,480 up or whatever you got. 939 00:57:37,480 --> 00:57:39,440 And then you did your own thing without government 940 00:57:39,440 --> 00:57:41,920 interference, without regulations. 941 00:57:41,920 --> 00:57:43,760 Will you stay? 942 00:57:43,760 --> 00:57:45,800 I can't see myself leaving. 943 00:57:45,800 --> 00:57:49,440 I'm so adapted to this now. I can't go back. 944 00:57:50,600 --> 00:57:53,240 If we come back in 10 or 20 years... I'll be here. 945 00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:55,640 I'm pretty sure I'll be here. Yeah. Yeah. 946 00:57:55,640 --> 00:57:59,720 Jack's story chimed with much of what I'd seen here. 947 00:57:59,720 --> 00:58:03,480 For millions, California offers an amazing lifestyle, 948 00:58:03,480 --> 00:58:08,000 but the inequality, homelessness and environmental changes all have very 949 00:58:08,000 --> 00:58:10,640 real human consequences. 950 00:58:10,640 --> 00:58:14,280 The Golden State is certainly beautiful, but many here live lives 951 00:58:14,280 --> 00:58:17,880 dramatically different from the glam images of California usually 952 00:58:17,880 --> 00:58:19,520 peddled by Hollywood. 953 00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:24,400 This is the end of this part of my journey. 954 00:58:24,400 --> 00:58:28,240 On the next leg, I'll be heading south and into Mexico. 955 00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:35,440 Crossing the US Mexico border, I'll discover a migrant crisis... 956 00:58:35,440 --> 00:58:38,240 Look at all of these people, all these children. 957 00:58:38,240 --> 00:58:41,320 ..and a region gripped by a deadly drug war. 958 00:58:41,320 --> 00:58:44,120 There's some serious hardware coming with us.