TIME’S UP FOR TOXIC PFAS “FOREVER CHEMICALS” IN MARYLAND

Guest post by Anne Cottingham, ANS Member & Volunteer. This year the Maryland General Assembly decisively tackled the problem of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”) in the state! Unanimous bipartisan legislation (HB275. SB273) passed this session will prohibit the future manufacturing, sale, and distribution of paper food packaging, and new… Continue reading

My Stream Monitoring Experience with ANS

Alison Trackman is a volunteer with ANS’s Water Quality Monitoring program.  This is her fourth year participating in the program.  Alison is a junior at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School. It is hard to imagine that observing bugs living in a stream can tell you anything about the health of the… Continue reading

ANS Submits Comments on MoCo Balloon Ban Bill

Guest post by Joan Boros, ANS Member & Volunteer *Update: On September 29, 2020 – Montgomery County Council unanimously votes in favor of Bill 36-20.  Watch the Council vote and pass this bill here.   *Update: On July 24, 2020 – ANS re-submits written testimony ahead of Council’s rescheduled July 28… Continue reading

Nature-Friendly Ways to Combat Mosquitoes and Ticks

Guest post by Jane Houlihan, ANS member and Research Director, Healthy Babies Bright Futures   If mosquitoes are taking over your yard, consider doing battle without using yard-wide sprays. The twice-monthly spray services from mosquito control companies may be effective at killing mosquitoes and ticks, but they aren’t the best… Continue reading

Far-Reaching Federal Conservation Bill Becomes Law

Guest Post by Susan Stedfast, ANS member The John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act was signed into law on March 12. The Washington Post has described the measure as “the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade.” This bipartisan legislation, introduced in the Senate on January 8… Continue reading

Action Alert: More Trees Please! Volunteers Power Conservation Advocacy for Maryland Forests

A few weeks ago, I joined a handful of other volunteers for a meeting with ANS Conservation Director Eliza Cava and consultant Bruce Gilmore at ANS offices in Chevy Chase, MD.  The purpose of the meeting was to inspire a group of volunteers to act as “an ANS coordinating committee… Continue reading

Action Alert: Outer Beltway Bridge Threatens our Drinking Water Supply – UPDATE!

From Elyzabeth Earnley, ANS Member and Volunteer ********************UPDATE.  Victory! On December 20, 2017, the regional Transportation Planning Board resoundingly voted in support of five initiatives to address long-term regional transportation needs: The outer beltway, including a new Potomac bridge crossing, was NOT one of the initiatives advanced. The five initiatives… Continue reading