Public

In a bold move to crack the reality show and celebrity-oriented entertainment worlds, the National Academy of Sciences is offering inside information to writers, producers, and entertainment industry moguls about its own views of reality.

The last vestiges of the dam-building era continue. But the era of the dam removers is well under way, as communities try to improve river habitat, restore fish migrations, or remove hazardous dams that are crumbling or no longer serve a useful purpose (though dam removal can also have potentially adverse consequences, such as the release of toxic sediments, or reductions in species that had adapted to the dam environment). In 2008, about 60 dams were removed, according to the advocacy group American Rivers. That adds substantially to the more than 300 dams that have been removed since 1999, and about 790 dams removed in the last 100 years, according to the group's tally.

The Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) joined other journalism groups May 6, 2008, in filing a "friend of the court" brief in a Washington state lawsuit seeking access to public officials' e-mails under state law.

As it leaves office, the Bush administration is rushing to complete regulations that will bind the Obama administration.

New language added to the 2007/08 Farm Bill by conferees at the 11th hour could create a sweeping new secrecy mandate that would prohibit the Agriculture Department from disclosing almost any information about individual US farm operations.

How health may be affected; accusation that Bush administration drastically altered CDC testimony to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Oct. 23, 2007.