When a child is lead-poisoned, the damage is irreversible. But treatment is essential to help prevent further harm. Because lead poisoning touches so many aspects of a familys life, some clinics are adopting a new approach to treatment. In part four of our series on lead poisoning, the Great Lakes Radio Consortiums Wendy Nelson visited one such clinic and has this report:
Energy Efficiency and Utility Deregulation
States around the nation are beginning to embrace electricity deregulation. Last November, the Illinois’ State Legislature passed its own deregulation bill. But environmentalists complained that it did little to promote clean and efficient energy use. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports on a new proposal to improve Illinois’ deregulation law:
National Environmental Scorecard
Each year, the League of Conservation Voters ranks members of Congress on their environmental voting record. It publishes those findings in a report called the National Environmental Scorecard. Today (Tuesday), the group released its 1998 Scorecard. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Hammond reports:
Early Puberty
A recent study in the medical journal Pediatrics reports that many girls in the U.S. are entering puberty much easier than normal. And as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Suzanne Elston discovered, exposure to environmental chemicals may be the culprit:
A Frosty Attitude
As mercury hangs low in thermometers and the winter ice grips the country, Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator, Julia King, reminds us that things could be much worse. It could be sunny and warm:
Return of the Elms
Nearly every American city has an Elm Street. That’s because the elm was once one of the most abundant species of trees in North America. It was beloved for its distinctive shape and crown of limbs that arched over city streets. Unfortunately, starting in the 1930’s, at least a hundred million elms are estimated to have been wiped out by Dutch Elm disease. Relatively few elms managed to survive the epidemic. But now, Cincinnati is in the vanguard of a movement to bring back the elm. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Hirschberg reports:
Epa to Release Nationwide Recycling Report
The city of Ann Arbor, Michigan has been able to work magic with its trash: turning virtually half of it into reusable products. That’s caught the attention of the Environmental Protection Agency. They’ll be highlighting 20 communities around the country that have had successful recycling programs in an effort to improve recycling nationwide. Ann Arbor is one of those cities. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Edelson Halpert traveled there to see how it’s working:
Calumet Heritage Area
Most Americans think of national parks as majestic areas like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. But in recent years, a greater variety of landscapes have been deemed by the federal government to be worth protecting. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Steve Frenkel reports on an effort to designate a largely industrial area near Chicago as a national heritage area:
Turning Sludge Into Snow
Harbor Springs, Michigan has a problem. The town and surrounding area is growing fast, and soon will be too big for their sewage management system. But instead of spending lots of money to enlarge the system, they’re testing an innovative way to handle more waste. They’re turning it into snow. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Roger Wight reports:
Veggie Pyramid
Most of us grew up learning the four food groups as a guide to a balanced, healthy diet. But that idea was replaced by the food guide pyramid. The lay-out is simple: foods to be eaten most often are at the bottom, or largest, part of the chart. And foods to be consumed in small quantities make up the tip of the pyramid. But not everyone follows the typical American diet, so nutrition scientists have drawn up a vegetarian variation of the pyramid. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports: