These days, all kinds of businesses — from automakers to hotel chains — are going on-line to do their buying and selling. By meeting through electronic marketplaces, they hope to save time and cut costs. And as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, even farmers are giving it a try:
Author: Wendy Nelson
ARE DRUG COURTS THE BEST APPROACH? (Part 2)
In 1989, the country’s first drug court was set up in Dade County, Florida. It was designed as a way to reduce prison overcrowding. Today, there are more than three hundred fifty drug courts operating around the country, with another two hundred in the planning stages. But not everyone’s happy with that growth. In the second of a two-part series, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports that some people are questioning whether courts are the best place to deal with substance abuse:
Kids Pluck Lessons From Business
For years, people have grappled with the age-old question: Which
came first, the chicken or the egg? Of course, there’s no definitive
answer. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson
reports, at one elementary school, the chickens always come first:
New Stamp Aids Recyclers
For years, the pressure-sensitive adhesive on labels and stamps
has been a major sticking point for paper recyclers. The stuff gums up
machinery and makes the recycling process difficult and costly. Now,
the
U.S. Postal Service has unveiled a new type of adhesive that may
eliminate the problem. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy
Nelson reports:
Obsolete Computers Piling Up
The growth of computer technology makes our lives easier in
many ways. But there’s one big drawback: as the technology improves,
you have to update your system frequently. Now some environmentalists
are becoming concerned about the pollution caused by discarded
computers. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:
Operation Lice Be Gone
According to the world health organization, up to twelve-million cases
of head lice are reported each year. School-aged children, between
three and ten, are most likely to get lice. At most schools, kids with
lice are sent home, where the parents are left to deal with the
problem. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson
reports, some lice-fighting experts are trying a new, pro-active
approach:
Transcript
According to the world health organization, up to twelve-million cases of
head lice are reported each year.
School-aged children, between three and ten, are most likely to get lice.
At most schools, kids with lice are sent home, where the parents are left to
deal with the problem.
But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, some
lice-fighting experts are trying a new, pro-active approach:
(sound of hallway)
Beach Elementary School in Cedar Springs, Michigan, looks like pretty much
like any other elementary school.
The linoleum floors are buffed to a high shine,
and the walls are decorated with crayon drawings.
But when you look down the hallways, you’ll see a strange sight: hundreds of
black, plastic trash bags hanging from the coat hooks.
“When the kids come in, they put all of their personal belongings –
coats, hats, gloves – in the-plastic bags. That’s how their clothing is
contained so that the bugs don’t have the opportunity to crawl.”
Vicky Bishop says more and more schools are using garbage bags this way –
when you see them, it’s a reminder of the ongoing struggle they face, trying
to eliminate lice.
Experts say about eighty-percent of school districts will have a lice
outbreak this year. At this school, the trash bags are a pro-active measure,
taken to cut down on the chance that an infestation will break out.
And, there’s another pro-active step the school’s taking.
On this Saturday morning, they’ve invited families from all over the
community to a special kind of open house – a chance to get de-loused.
Nurse: “Ok, are we checking all three?”
Mom: “Everybody.”
Nurse: “Everybody! Ok!”
Families are greeted at a sign-up table. Then they’re guided through a
series of rooms, where teams of lice-fighting experts are standing by to
shampoo and comb and look for lice.
The first stop is the evaluation station.
Every family member’s head is careful checked for live lice or their eggs,
called nits.
Nurse: “And the big key is to make the difference between dandruff and the
nits. The nits won’t come off, dandruff can move – see, I can easily move
it. Okay, sweetie.”
The event is called Operation Lice Be Gone.
It’s the brainchild of lice consultant Vicky Bishop.
Bishop travels around the country, visiting dozens of schools a year and
advising teachers, nurses and parents how to get rid of lice infestations.
But she says before she can get down to work, there’s big hurdle to jump –
that is, overcoming the embarrassment and shame parents feel when their kids
get lice.
“The lice problem is everywhere, it’s if people are willing to talk
about it or not. And once we get them to step up and start to talk about it
and address it, get over with the denial thing, then we can finally do
something about it.”
Many people believe lice outbreaks only happen in dirty houses, to unbathed
kids.
But in fact, all types of families are affected.
Most of the parents here today say they’ve tried using everything from
over-the-counter shampoos, to home remedies.
“We went from Rid to the Robie comb. We did mayonnaise, we called the
doctor. The doctor gave us a prescription. That didn’t work, either.”
But the experts here today say you can beat a lice problem – if you’re thorough and
persistent.
They say a key component to success is teaching people about lice.
They’re tiny, blood-sucking parasites that live on the scalp, and lay eggs on
strands of hair.
They’re easy to get, and a lot harder to get rid of.
After the families are treated with a lice-killing shampoo, they put on
plastic shower caps and wait a half-hour for the solution to work.
While they wait, they visit the education room.
Todd Bilinsky and his five kids are gathered ‘round a microscope, checking
out a lice, magnified forty times.
Bilinsky says the family’s had a lice problem on and off for about two years.
“Every week, I’d go through their hair – almost on a daily basis, trying
to go through their hair. They just are tired of the treatments, and I’m
tired of giving them the treatments. And then I’m never sure
further down in their lives, what all these treatments, you know, what kind
of effect they’re going to have on them.”
And that brings up another goal of Operation Lice Be Gone.
Vicky Bishop and the other lice control experts here today are trying to raise
awareness of how to get rid of lice without using
pesticides.
They say safer shampoos are now available that use vegetable-derived enzymes.
However, there’s some debate about the effectiveness of those products.
Here in the rinse room, a young girl is in the final stages of her lice
treatment.
“Here, put your head down there, we’ll rinse the very ends of it.”
Vicky Bishop is rinsing out the shampoo and re-inspecting the girl’s hair to
make sure all the lice are dead, and all the nits are gone.
Girl: “There’s one right there, on the end of it.”
Vicky: “Let’s see if that’s a nit. Will you hand me a nit comb, please?”
About thirty people were treated here today at Operation Lice Be Gone.
But Vicky Bishop says the project was still successful, because it’s getting
the word out about the lice epidemic – letting people know they aren’t
alone, and showing them it’s nothing to be ashamed of.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Wendy Nelson in Cedar Springs,
Michigan.
Meth Labs Put Environment at Risk (Part 2)
Drug enforcement officials are putting out a warning: there’s a powerful and dangerous substance spreading across the country. It’s methamphetamine. And experts say the drug presents more than law enforcement and public health challenges – they say it even puts the Environment at risk. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:
Transcript
Drug enforcement officials are putting out a warning: there’s a powerful and
dangerous substance spreading across the country.
It’s methamphetamine. And experts say the drug presents more than law
enforcement and public health challenges – they say it even puts the
environment at risk.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports:
(sound of car)
This isn’t the first time Detective Lieutenant Scott Nichols has made the
rounds through this mobile home park near Portage, Michigan.
As he drives along, he points out trailers where he’s busted methamphetamine
users…
and a site where he arrested a dealer who was making the drug.
“He had actually had a methamphetamine lab behind a hidden compartment
– or a hidden wall, actually. He had brought out his wall of his bedroom by
about six feet and then put stud boards down and put up more paneling. And
back in there he had a methamphetamine lab that was operational.”
Nichols is with a special drug enforcement unit of the Michigan state police.
In his eleven years as a cop, Nichols has seen plenty of trafficking in
marijuana, cocaine.
But he says he’s never seen a drug as insidious as methamphetamine…
Methamphetamine goes by many names, including meth … Crank… Crystal…and
speed.
It’s a powerful stimulant that can be snorted, smoked, injected or eaten.
and it’s more addictive than heroin or cocaine.
Users say it eliminates the need for sleep or food. And it gives them an
overall sense of well-being.
I got this burst of energy type feeling. And I remember it felt
wonderful.”
Paula – which is not her real name – didn’t count on becoming addicted.
She tried meth for the first time, she was a young mother…
“You know, I could accomplish anything, everything was organized. The
kids were bathed, they were fed, the house was spotless, you know, and I
could still hold that job, too. So I felt like superwoman, and this was,
this was the miracle drug.”
But Paula soon needed the drug all the time. She eventually gave up her
children and her house to spend all her time getting high.
It’s a tragic story, but it’s not unusual.
According to the U.S.Drug enforcement administration, methamphetamine use
is spreading rapidly across the country, from the west coast, eastward.
And as the drug becomes increasingly popular, more and more math labs are
popping up to meet the demand.
They’re being discovered in hotel rooms…storage facilities…barns…and even
cars.
The drug is simple to make. It can be done right at home, using ingredients
like cold medicine, drain cleaner and lighter fluid.
But the process of boiling down the mixture can be extremely dangerous, often
leading to fires or explosions.
And, there are other dangers…
“It’s claimed that for every pound of methamphetamine that’s produced,
six pound of hazardous waste are generated. So depending on the size of
the operation, there’s a potential to generate significant amounts of hazardous
waste.”
Bert Webb is with BLDI environmental and safety management in Grand Rapids,
Michigan.
Companies like his are often called in after a meth lab bust to collect and
dispose of the hazardous waste.
But even before the bust, Detective Lieutenant Scott Nichols says cops have
to take special precautions.
“This is not the normal police investigation.”
Nichols is flipping through a stack of photos from a recent meth lab bust…
“You can kind of see what’s happening here. This is actually a haz-mat
site.”
The officers are all wearing special protective suits, double layer gloves
and respirators.
It almost looks like they’re headed to the moon…
“What it comes down to is, we’re investigating!! And area that could be
chemically contaminated. And therefore OSHA says you will be wearing
this type of protective clothing.”
But the risk doesn’t stop at the site of the lab. The people who make the
methamphetamine – cookers, as they’re called –
typically pour the chemicals down drains, bury them in fields, or dump them
in streams. The result can be contaminated ground and surface water…and fish
kills.
Scott Nichols says it’s nearly impossible to trace where all the toxic waste
ends up.
“They’re not going to say, ‘Yeah, I was putting it all down the sewer,
and it’s all now in the septic field.’ Or they’re not going to say, ‘Yeah, I
was taking it all out to someone’s field and dumping it.’ And that’s some
of the hardest information to get out of these people – is what did they do
with the byproduct?”
Nobody knows the extent of the dumping.
The problem is so new, most states have not yet dedicated resources to combat
it.
But some states – like Kansas – have taken action. They’ve created meth lab
clean-up programs within their environmental agencies.
Kansas has been hit particularly hard. Scott Nichols says last year, more
than five-hundred labs were shut down in the state.
So far, methamphetamine hasn’t reached epidemic proportions around the great
Lakes…
But experts say it’s just a matter of time, before the region catches up.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Wendy Nelson in Portage, Michigan.
Crabgrass Used to Clean Up Toxins
Crabgrass may be the bane of many homeowners but researchers think it might actually be useful for cleaning up some environmental messes. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson explains:
Transcript
Crabgrass may be the bane of many homeowners, but researchers think it might actually be useful for
cleaning up some
environmental messes.
the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson explains:
After years of pumping crude oil, the land around wellheads is usually coated
with a think, black crust.
In the past, oil companies have paid to have had to dig up those areas and
treat the contaminated soil as hazardous waste.
But scientists at the university of arkansas say there may be a cheaper,
easier way to clean up the oil:
by planting crabgrass around the wellheads.
Greg Thoma is an associate professor of chemical engineering.
“The contaminants are not taken up by the plant, per se, but the
plant provides a soil that is conducive to the growth of oil-degrading
microbes.”
Thoma says the crabgrass cleanup has shown promise in the lab, and it’ll soon
be put to the test in the field.
But he says the method won’t be a quick fix.
Thoma estimates it would take between five and ten years for crabgrass to
cleanse the soil around a wellhead.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Wendy Nelson.
The Perils of Meth Addiction (Part 1)
Methamphetamine use has reached epidemic proportions in the western U-S the drug is highly addictive and exacts a heavy toll on users’ lives. Now, many Midwestern states are being flooded with the drug. In the first of a two-part series, the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports that methamphetamine is headed our way:
Transcript
Methamphetamine use has reached epidemic proportions in the western U.S.
The drug is highly addictive and exacts a heavy toll on users’ lives.
Now, many midwestern states are being flooded with the drug.
In the first of a two-part series, the great lakes radio consortium’s Wendy
Nelson reports that methamphetamine is headed our way:
Most mothers will tell you, raising a family is a balancing act.
When you add in a job outside the home, things become even tougher.
But it’s hard to understand just how tough, until you try
doing it yourself.
“I had to get up in the morning at 5:30, get everybody ready – and
bottles and diapers and all kinds of things and get the kids to a sitter and
get to work. And then I would work all day and come back and get them. And
by the time I would get them and come back home, it was time to put them to
bed.”
Paula – which is not her real name – was raising four young children alone
after a divorce.
She first tried methamphetamine, also known as “meth,” at the suggestion of
her former husband. He said it would help her keep up with the kids and the
housework.
Paula calls methamphetamine a wonder drug. It gave her a burst of energy
that lasted for ten or twelve hours at a time.
Suddenly, she says it was easy to work twelve-hour shifts at the factory,
take care of the kids, and cook and clean.
but it didn’t take long before it all caught up with her…
“I remember times when the morning came and the paycheck was gone. And
there was no food in the cupboards to feed the children, and the bills hadn’t
been paid. Of course that was over a period of time
but once the party life started to catch up with me, you know I was
getting paid on Friday and on Saturday morning, broke. And you’re talking
six-, seven-, eight-hundred dollar paychecks.”
Drug experts say methamphetamine gives the user the message that everything is
ok – that they don’t need food, they don’t need water, they don’t need sleep.
Lieutenant detective Scott Nichols says he’s seen first-hand the human wreckage that
can create. Nichols is with a special drug enforcement unit of the Michigan state police.
“You can imagine, if you stop drinking water for seven days, what’s
gonna happen to your body. If you stop eating for forty-five days, how much
weight you’re gonna lose. It’s amazing when we get these people. They
have large, open sores on their body, on their face. They’re emaciated.
It’s quite a startling picture when you see these people.”
Methanphetamine’s been around for decades. But its popularity has been
booming in recent years. And it’s sweeping its way across the country from
the west coast.
Doctor Jeff Kesler says there are a few things contributing to the growth of
The drug:
Methamphetamine is highly addictive, and cheap and easy to make.
“Access to the drug is very easy. We have the methamphetamine
recipes on the Internet. And really to make methamphetamine, you could buy
all the local ingredients at, like, a Wal-Mart.”
Kesler is a psychologist in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He specializes in substance
abuse treatment for prison inmates.
He says the symptoms of methamphetamine abuse mirror those of a severe
psychiatric disorder.
“Methamphetamine users who are coming down off a high clinically can’t
be diagnosed differently than a paranoid schizophrenic. So the clinical
symptoms that you see, that we see, with methamphetamine user, versus a
paranoid schizophrenic, are virtually the same.”
Kesler says most methamphetamine users, like Paula, only get into treatment
After they get into trouble with the law.
“When they picked me up that night, I remember being surrounded by,
like, fifteen different police cars and guns drawn and asking me to get out.”
Paula got caught up in a life of non-stop partying. She lost her job, her
house, and her children all because of her meth habit.
She was also moving from one abusive relationship to the next.
Then one night after snorting meth, she retaliated against her abusive
boyfriend.
“I became the abuser, instead of the abused. I became more like him.
And in my mind, I thought, you know, one of us is gonna die, and it’s just
Not gonna be me! And so I went after him.”
Paula stole a car, drove to her boyfriend’s house, tore down the door and
Attacked him.
“I had two felony counts and six misdemeanors all in one night. And
they put a five thousand dollar bond on my head. And I could remember
sitting there thinking, “Boy, I really did it this time – I have really
Messed up this time.’”
Paula ended up in a court-ordered drug program. Now, after nearly two years of
intensive treatment and monitoring, she’s about to graduate.
But Paula says she’s seeing more and more new people coming into the program…
because of methamphetamine. And that scares her, because she knows how seductive the drug can be.
“I hate what it did to me, and I hate what I did to me. But for a very
long time, that drug was my very best friend. And we all know how difficult
it is to give up a best friend. So saying goodbye was really, really
difficult.”
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Wendy Nelson.
Genetically Modified Yards
Imagine, if you will, never having to mow your lawn again. A new development in biotechnology may make it happen. Scientists have discovered a new "dwarf" gene that regulates the growth of plants. As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson Reports, dwarf grass may offer some insight toward changing overall attitudes about genetic engineering:
Transcript
Imagine, if you will, never having to mow your lawn again.
a new development in biotechnology may make it happen. Scientists have
discovered a new “dwarf” gene that regulates the growth of plants.
As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports,
dwarf grass may offer some insight toward changing overall attitudes about
genetic engineering:
Experts say even people who object to genetically engineered foods may
embrace biotech innovations like dwarf grass.
Gary Comstock is coordinator of the bioethics program at Iowa State
University.
He says when it comes to the genetic engineering of crops, consumers haven’t
seen any payoff in terms of lower prices or better tasting foods…
Comstock says people are more likely to accept biotechnology when there are
obvious advantages.
“So until the industry gets
consumer really can see a direct
continue to see people hesitant.
a product – like dwarf grass – where the
benefit to them, I think we’re going to see the people hesitant.”
As for dwarf grass, it might be awhile before you’ll see it growing on a lawn
near you.
Researchers at the California-based Salk Institute for Biological Studies
discovered the dwarf gene. They say it could be five or more years before a
product like dwarf grass hits the market.
For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Wendy Nelson.