December 2005
NRNS tracks the Great Lakes and a Pending Bush Administration Announcement
With the Bush Administration planning to announce their plans for funding the Great Lakes clean up effort, NRNS reporters work to deliver the facts about the status of America's largest fresh water source.
Back to topNovember 2005
Drugs in Waste Water Cause Concern
NRNS helped the Portland Press Herald on this story which details the potential threat to Maine's rivers due to pharmaceuticals in waste water.
October 2005
The Effort to Clean the Great Lakes is Halted by Money Problems
NRNS reporters have been working with Washington Post reporters on this story since June. It involves President Bush's plans to renege on his promise to clean up the Great Lakes.
What's Killing our Fish?
NRNS reporter, Maggie Master, investigates the declining fish populations in several different locations.
Third Installment in a series on Toxic Chemicals
This story is the third in a series of stories by Peter Waldman of the Wall street journal on health effects from chemicals ubiquitous in the environment. NRNS has been working with Waldman since late last year developing stories for the series. The latest was on widely used softening agents called phthalates, which some scientists say are inhibiting male sexual development.
September 2005
Women in Coastal areas have Higher Mercury Levels
NRNS supplied the Washington Post with a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concerning levels of mercury in women. Levels above 3.5 parts per billion pose a health risk. The study found that non-coastal women have an average of 2.4 ppb while coastal women have an average of 5.9ppb. Mercury is found in the air as well as in predator fish, such as tuna.
August 2005
Forests' Recreational Value Scaled Back
Forest Service officials have scaled back their assessment of how much recreation on national forest land contributes to the American economy, concluding that these activities generate just a tenth of what the Clinton administration estimated.
Mercury and Tuna:
U.S. Advice Leaves Lots of Questionse
One by one, Matthew Davis's fifth-grade teachers went around the table describing the 10-year-old boy. He wasn't focused in class and often missed assignments, they said. He labored at basic addition. He could barely write a simple sentence.
July 2005
Common Industrial Chemicals Raise Health Issue
For years, scientists have struggled to explain rising rates of some cancers and childhood brain disorders. Something about modern living has driven a steady rise of certain maladies, from breast and prostate cancer to autism and learning disabilities.
June 2005
Pharmaceuticals in Waterways Raise Concern
Academics, state officials and environmental advocates are starting to question whether massive amounts of discarded pharmaceuticals, which are often flushed down the drain, pose a threat to the nation's aquatic life and possibly to people.
Pharmaceuticals in Waterways Raise Concern, The Washington Post, 6/21/2005.
Vegas' Growth Is Gamble for Lake
Las Vegas' relentless growth has raised concerns that the city's expansion will send more pollutants into Lake Mead, hurting water quality in the nation's biggest reservoir and the source of drinking supplies for millions in Southern California and the Southwest.
Extension of Ethanol Credit Draws Fire
A little-noticed provision in the House energy bill provides a key concession to major automakers, allowing them to take credit for producing vehicles that run on ethanol even if owners are using regular gas.
May 2005
April 2005
Do Freeways Adjacent to Schools Pose a Health Hazard?
A three-part series looks at the debate over whether schools built next to busy freeways put students at risk of health problems.
March 2005
Green Groups, Ranchers Bury Hatchet to Curb Oil Drilling
Four years ago, relations between the Sierra Club and Western ranchers were so strained that some members of the environmental group lobbied to ban grazing on public land. Today, the environmentalists and ranchers have set aside their differences to fight what they consider a common threat: proliferating oil and gas wells.