from the office of the defense secretary. we will talk about the rise of and thed their military economy. we will take a look at the papers and take on those topics. don't forget our coverage tonight at 6:00. that does it for us today. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> you are watching c-span, created is a public service by america's cable companies. next, the student can documentary competition. we ask students what is the most important issue that congress should consider? news andt, bloomberg

the washington journal sitdown to discuss the 2013 elections. then, congress holds its hearing on campaign finance issues. >> every year since 2006, c-span has invited judith to participate in our student cam competition. they are joining in a debate on policy issues. what is thetheme, most important topic that congress should consider? from 46ved entries states, the district of columbia, and even overseas. more than 4800 students participated individually or in teams. prizes totaled thousands of dollars. we had a grand prize entry, three first-place high school and trace and one of first-place

middle school entry. we want to introduce you to emma, from the grand prize-winning tema. am. she was one of three. they produced a video called "earth first, fracking second." how did you find this topic? >> fracking kept coming up. i first heard about it driving to school on npr. this would make a good project. while doing a current event, there was an article from the l.a. times and new york times. we decided that this would be our topic. there was an article in are ewspaper that said it was happening two miles from our house. it is a national problem and also a local problem. i am very passionate about the subject. >> your from long beach,

california. you go to the polytechnic high school. this was a school assignment. >> i was taking a u.s. government class and our teacher assigned the project as a mandatory thing. is the best school project i have ever done. i never learned so much from my project. >> what did you learn? >> just the technical sides of editing. inge never used an edit program before. it is a whole new world of opportunities. ,hat i learned about fracking something that is impacting our country in a good and bad way. how can we help? i also learned about the political process. we went to hearings and heard people express their views. their ideas are made into bills and laws.

there's a huge amount of knowledge. >> you went to local hearings in your area? >> there was a hearing at a local university, where people from all over the state were expressing their views on a bill that was going to be signed. we looked into a lot of stories and opinions there. >> you learned it was not just a local issue. what did you come across? >> one of the people we interviewed was from pennsylvania. he had the same problem. we learned how -- it needs to be addressed nationally. eight state is having a problem. >> along the way, was there anything that surprised you? >> yeah. i was shocked at the lack of regulation that there is. it just seemed to me that it should be a process.

it should be regulated. not just freely done. i was very shocking. >> with did you learn about the economic impact of fracking? >> we are not in the best economic times. learning that this could create 2 million jobs annually, that was huge. it could pull us out of this economic downtime. >> part of the criteria, you have to show both sides. given everything you talked about, how did you come up with a storyline? how did you put it together? >> it was hard. first thing is first, what is fracking? the average american has no idea. then you have to talk about both sides. we did the positive and than went to the negative. when you talk about the negative, that is waiting into the solution. >> another criteria is using c-span video.

what was it like going through our archives and finding things? there are a lot of hearings on this issue. what was it like to go through those video libraries? >> it was crazy. i remember going on the website. i had no idea there was so much information. hours of footage. i was blown away by what was there. we did go through it and find the perfect clip. we used keywords. you would watch these segments until you found something. when we found the perfect 10 seconds, it was probably the most rewarding experience. you said, yes, this is perfect. that was a great feeling. >> was that the hardest part? >> of hardest part was the editing, making it run smoothly.

the music and the visuals -- >> and make it less than eight minutes? >> i remember sitting there, trying to cut down the final seconds to get the time limit. >> what did you walk away from this experience with? what did you learn? >> a whole different door opened up. with the video editing -- first of all, i never knew i could put together a documentary. it was fun. i would want to do it in the future. also, i got the knowledge of how our country works. people can have a voice and say what they believe. hopefully people will listen. >> do you pay attention a little bit more? >> definitely. i have always been interested in the news. npr is constantly playing in my

house. now i listen and get interested in different political things. >> you would like to pursue that as a career? >> yeah. i think i would. you are making a difference and battering the country. that is important to me. >> the grand prize winning team gets $5,000. what are you going to do? >> we have been planning to take a trip after graduation. now we have the money. we're going to go toward that. >> where? >> greece. >> you already decided? why? >> it looks beautiful and we have never been. >> let show the viewers the documentary. first,alled "earth fracking second." ordered the

environmental protection agency to look into dangers from water sources and fracturing. the report was to be completed in 2014. 6,n we wait until 201 congress? >> welcome to our city. population 465,000 people. with our famous 11 mile coastline and booming tourism, you would not believe that hydraulic fracturing takes place right underneath our feet. >> have you ever heard of fracking? >> hydraulic fracturing? >> what? >> my name is chris gardner. i work for long beach gas and oil. we had 130 new oil mills. of those, about eight percent or

10% were fracking. >> we took a trip to occidental petroleum. >> a mile away, you can drill a well down. mile deep. a the next thing you want to do is open the fracture. >> the company shoots down a mixture of chemicals and water and sand. the high pressure of the fluid breaks apart the rocks and allows the gas or oil to escape. impactsulic fracturing the entire industry. allows us to get these previously and accessible reserves. >> the u.s. just asked russia -- passed russia for number two. we are going to be number one.

>> there are some new more jobs being created. i think they have run out of work. i am not sure we can build their roads to help us get this production underway. it is revitalizing the manufacturing phase. west side investment management. we invest on behalf of our cleients. fracking will save america's youth from debt. fracking and the energy industry will create an additional 3.5 million jobs by 2020. >> it is not that simple. there are many real cases on the environment that need to be addressed. match.e day i lit a

and the water, and fire. exempted from the clean water act ♪ >> companies are exempt from dispersing chemicals in these operations. under the clean water act, this would be required. e 1260 chemicals that could be added to this thing. >> i never had a problem until the gas company came. eight live ones, 10 dead ones. pallet. a cleft the cap that died there, the

mother did not clean it off. the gas company says there is nothing wrong with the water. it killed the cattle and it will kill the people next. 2013, fracking wel ls affected millions of gallons of water. the water should never return to the surface, so it is permanently in the water cycle. >> fracking requires millions of gallons of water per well. >> there also seems to be a strong correlation between frac turing and seismic activity. >> a good example is youngstown, ohio. a man is pumping water -- he pushes more pressure, and creates and earthquake, magn

itude 4. the oil is also in more flammable conditions. >> for example -- 40% of what is going into those railcars is explosive, fl ammable. chemical derivative -- bethe techniques need to recognized. we need to do this responsibly and understand the chemicals that are being utilized here. we need to make sure that the water supplies protected. >> dear congress -- hydraulic fracturing is really important for the growth of our economy. if you want the critical support of the american people, some things need to change. you need to investigate the

impact of hydraulic fracturing on seismic activities and the use of or cycled water, instead of fresh water. mandate the testing of water near sites and ensure the safe transportation of oil and gas. most importantly, the halliburton loophole needs to be closed. you need to publicly disclose. >> they don't care. they get their gas. empt."ay "we're ex they should take the exemptions off the table. >> as we mentioned earlier, this year we had three first-class high school winners.

and there was also a middle school winning entry. joining me are some of the students. let me start with shelley ortiz from phoenix, arizona. the name of your documentary is "diagnosing the problems." about yourittle bit document tree. >> when we heard about the problems in july -- we were trying to find a topic we were passionate about. we have a lot of friends who suffer from mental illness. we decided to pursue that and it turned out really well. >> how did you find out about this? >> my teacher came to us. last year? and our seniors last year also articulated. -- participated.

we decided to get our team together. >> let me turn to peter next to you. he is our middle school winning entry. security."merica's how did you come to this topic? >> so, i go to eastern middle school with my fellow members. this is a mandatory project for us to do. everybody does it. that is how we came to the project, of course. we had to pick the topic by a certain date. this was right around the news of the nsa. are endless teacher made us to a project on security and privacy the day before. we decided to do this on a whim. >> what did you learn? >> there is a lot more that you do not know. it is hard for the average

person to know exactly what is going on. they do not know what is going on. it depends if you value your security over -- privacy over security. >> did that make it difficult for you to do your documentary? >> somewhat. there are two obvious signs. you are either for the nsa or against. we tried to balance our video on nsa.nsa and anti-an we wanted to achieve a balanced feel. >> let me go across the table to andrew, in 10th grade. your documentary is called "we the people: genetically modified." oni came across the topic the internet, through watching youtube videos. i figured it was really a great topic because, unlike some of

the other topics that are important -- it transcends everything. everyone requires food to live. the fact that a lot of people do not know what is being done to our food supply -- they just eat this food regularly without knowing what is inside it, i found that very concerning. >> what was the most challenging part? >> probably getting the interviews and interviewing everyone. this is kind of a controversial topic, a lot of people were not camera.to tlak oalk on namely politicians, grocers. that made it more difficult to complete the project. ultimately, i think it turned out well. future" is about

clean water in this country. how did you guys come up with this topic? >> we all pitched ideas. from the get-go, we knew we wanted to do this. gabriel's idea for water pollution. wastewat at our local er management company to get interviews and b-roll. >> why did you want to do something on pollution? >> has think it is something we are all passionate about. we care about the environment and want to just bring attention to that aspect. >> what did you learn? >> there is so much depth to water pollution. more than what we originally thought. litter, cso pollution,

so many different levels to our waterways than what we see. requiredis a assignment from your teacher? who helped you along the way? >> this was a required assignment. our teacher introduced us. of classted 1.5 months to this assignment. storyboards. he definitely helped us every step of the way. >> what was the most challenging part of putting this together for you? >> mental health issues. we featured some people. >> you featured people with mental health issues. how did you get them to go along with that? >> but was challenging --

reaching out to different organizations, they did not get back to us. we do a lot of friends and family and acquaintances. some of my best friends are featured in the film. they are affected by mental illness. they think it could help a lot of people out there. this could open and i and reduce -- an eye and produce a stigma. along with ron barber and cody nichols, they knew what they needed to do. they were bringing awareness to mental illness. >> by doing that, it was easier. they were really great and offered to do it. they knew exactly what they needed to say. congressman ron barber is when you spoke to. >> we just try to contact

different health advocacy. y, the shooting with him and gabrielle giffords brought up a lot of issues. he was ready to take that stand and use that for good and strong the stigma. -- drop the stigma. create an awareness that they realize what they have. a bettern to getting future for people with illnesses and how they can help themselves. >> i want to show your documentary next. was the most challenging part for you? >> most challenging part for me was probably the essay. i was editing with my teammates. i had a lot of help. once we get the interviews, it was easier. we just had to connect the mall -- them all together.

that was the most fun and the hardest and the most rewarding part. >> what about using the c-span archives? >> we have an interesting topic. it was tough to find a more broad clip. we found one or two. the ones we found did really help us. $3000.have won where you going to do? splitting it. i'm going to use mine for college. >> what are you going to do? >> i want to be a fiction filmmaker. i would like to do some editing and be a director or producer. >> here is your documentary. first prize for the west division. this is "diagnosing the problem." >> dear congress --

attend an art school in phoenix arizona. throughout the years, we have encountered a handful of friends who have struggled with the fullness -- mental illness. a lack of treatment can result in devastating events. felix and i was diagnosed with schizo bi polar disorder. i ended up in the hospital after an episode. and attack sent me there. they diagnosed me there in under 5 minutes. a treated me for two weeks. i got out of the hospital and went to a doctor, looking for someone who would listen. it took me over a year to find a

doctor who would listen. >> looking deeper into the topic, we discovered shocking statistics. 22 veterans commit suicide every day as a result of some of these emotional problems. >> unfortunate events -- >> when i look back on the incident in tucson, the tragedy where i was shot and congressman giffords was shot, six people died -- the young man who did the shootings had been displaying symptoms of mental must for at least two years before that time. >> and the stigmas that they create. >> a lot of the mentally ill feel like people do not pay attention to them and try to pretend they do not exist. that isolation can make a problem worse. in addition to being

dehumanizing. >> not only is there a lack of help, but also a substantial absence in this struggle. >> if you look back on what happened after the vietnam war, these veterans who came back were very divided. they were called baby killers. they were not given the mental health services in treatment that they needed and they ended up in the homeless population. help is hard to get that that you need to start working toward getting yourself out of that rut. the things like ptsd, longer it goes, the longer you let it go without treatment -- the more trouble that the person gets in. the more isolation that they end up with, in terms of being

ostracized and alienated. the harder it is to treat. >> we were able to find facilities to help veterans coming back from war. eteran. a 9.5 year v we are here at the university of arizona, approximately 30 800s where feet. it is entirely staffed by veterans who transitioned to the university of arizona. they are all using the educational benefits. is a place for veterans to come and be around other veterans. they can walk in the same boots that they have walked in in the past. it is a place to get away. it is good for our student veterans to come and find support they need here. >> down there can be kind up the night maryland time. nightmare at lunchtime.

icon, peer to find people from my background. 2008. to iraq in to have a space like this is pretty key. a lot of us to come home with issues. physical or mental. having an area like this where we can get together with people who understand our experiences can really help people out. >> it is clear that this issue is important one. 2013, money was located to help community health centers dispense services to those living with mental illness and addiction. we commend the government for its attention to this issue. a possible solution to educate and help those struggling with the mental health aid act.

>> this act tries to get at that issue of public awareness. it reduces the stigma. when people tell a student or friend that they see the symptoms of mental muslim someone,- illness in they will begin to understand what they are seeing. what the symptoms might mean and where they can get treatment. >> if these were things that we were screening for, that childhood trauma was a thing that you look for in schools and ofated, you could save a lot substance abuse and later viola ence. a lot of social problems. >> it opens doors for people who need help. we learned that barack obama signed an operative this

spending-- omnibus bill. we have a long way to go. we encourage congress to provide funding for those struggling and continue to allocate resources for those who are in need. --in ant to be treated want to be treated differently. i am kind of used to it. -- shlleelleynd ortiz, part of the winning group. great video. >> thank you so much. we worked really hard on them. >> you are in 12th grade. you're going on to college. would you recommend others do this competition? >> definitely.

gives you something to focus on. what ever you are doing, it gives you a vision. you can learn a lot about those things and what you can do to help as a young person. >> these are middle school entry winners. you are part of a team. peter, telephone little bit about how you decided to clear documentary together. how did you seek out interviews? >> we live in the d c area. we try to contact leaders and people there. u oflso contacted the acl maryland. they're big on these issues. we try to make the film balanced. weree got interviews that pro and anti.

we could really balance the film out. assignment the from your faculty advisor there? >> the assignment was basically this contest. we had to make a documentary and enter it. well.pefully do >> what did you think when you won? >> she texted me that we won. have first, i did not believe her. then i called the number and it was real. >> you got $3000. what are you going to do? >> probably save it, maybe get a new camera. not sure. >> you are interested in documentaries? >> yeah. >> what did you like about the process? >> it was really cool to make a film for a big cable company.

c-span is pretty big. it was good to be a part of that. >> what did your parents think? >> they immediately asked if we were sure? they do not believe me at first. >> why not? >> because winning -- that can't be. >> what was the most challenging part? >> one of the hardest parts is that the nsa is very secretive. it was hard to get facts. we were glad to get good information. >> what about edward snowden? >> he is in russia. >> we will show you the whole thing of "nsa." snowden, thank you. for bringing to the attention of the world the fact that the u.s.

nsa, is engaged in massive information gathering. 125 billion cell phone conversations per month. there is a lot in the media. some right, a lot wrong. >> these examples have been so important. programs.e of these there was a plot to bomb the new york stock exchange. now we are talking about this in front of the world. >> you repeat something important. the nsa is prohibited from reading e-mails of americans without a court ordered mandate. the nsa, what does it do? it was hard to answer these

questions before edwards noted in late thousands of detailed documents to the public. these documents show the full extent of the surveillance on americans. >> the nsa is doing bulk data collection of american's emails. is not limited in scope to terrorists, spies, or people with probable cause.e it is a bulk collection of data. >> that is just one side of the story. many people believe that the nsa is doing the right thing under a law called fisa. nsa is doing is trying to implement something called foreign intelligence surveillance authority. that is designed to capture communication information from ieved tors, who are bel be trying to do harm to americans. >> i think that fisa has a lot

of problems. ignave repeatedly voted to re in the fisa responsibilities. i think we have more work to do. if anything, all of the news in the last few months -- it really tells us, in a deep way, that there are things we have to do to reign in and provide overisht. rsight. >> the message has changed over time with the advancement of technology. . >> it has changed enormously because of the change in technology. [indiscernible] that was about it.

>> edward snowden released thousands of documents that revealed the nature of the nsa to everybody, not just the public. >> i do not think what he has done is ethical or right. his intent or his purpose was not to harm this country. law.e clearly violated the

there are clearly better ways for him to proceed. >> a lot of people have different feelings of what he did. some consider him a hero. some consider him a traitor. the most important thing he didn't start a conversation. he started a conversation about what we are doing and how they are spying on us. is a conversation that america needs to have. people need to talk about where that balance should be. before, all we had to go on was the government saying no. we know that is not true. he started an important conversation. >> the nsa is controversial. they have to put this as their number one issue in 2014. is causing enormous damage

around the world. angry.ernment is they canceled a trip to new york. people are in the u.s. thinking that the nsa is spying on them. they need to be reined in. years, after all these it is time. peter, our middle school winner. is "nsa."ntary congratulations. very good job,. let me turn to andrew. he is in 10th grade from chardon, ohio.

this was not an assignment. how did you come across student cam? >> i was at school with friends and i create promotional videos for clubs and sports. one of my computer teachers forwarded me an email she received. , isoon as i saw that thought this is something i can do. i also have a background in filmmaking. i thought it was a great opportunity. >> do you think you'll continue to pursue filmmaking? >> probably. i would like to go into media or communications, politics. >> what drew you to genetically modified foods? >> the fact that it is such an esoteric topic. nobody really knows what genetically modified organisms are. even more disconcerting is the

grocery stores have no type of regulation. or even any type of labeling. it is just something that is so simple. you would think it would be obvious. >> what was the hardest part? >> definitely getting interviews. also, one of the main difficulties was gathering b-rol l footage. in northeast ohio, trying to film a documentary on food, i had to purchase a lot of stock footage. in the cold weather, it is difficult to go out and film. >> editing and putting it all together, what was that like? ♪>> it was a very long process. i had many late nights and that was editing. we combined all the elements together into one coherent

piece. it was difficult, but rewarding. >> what did you learn that you did not know before? >> that is really a tough question. i did have some pretty substantial background on genetically modified organisms. a couple of things i learned was that people are not willing to talk on camera on these controversial matters. some of the people that i tried to interview declined the interviews. after they found out that i won, they were willing to talk. people were not really willing to talk to you until you were successful. that is a life lesson i learned. >> you did when the $3000. what are you going to do? >> invest -- no. i will probably use it for future video project. a lot of the times, they do involve stock footage, which are very expensive. i will probably put it toward

that or some sort of video project in the future. >> sounds like the next topic for your documentary. >> maybe. >> let's take a look at your video, "mwe the people." >> we warned the fta 20 years ago. if things were genetically modified -- there will be a backlash. consumers would wonder what they would find. >> have you ever heard of a gmo? >> no. >> think i have heard, but i am not sure exactly. >> it is where they have chemicals in veggies. toi know they modify genes increase yield or taste. >> there has been a switch in the dna structure. s. we require calorie county

>> what happens? >> i set out to interview experts in the field and those affected. my first question -- scientifically, how does an organism become genetically modified? >> a genetically modified organism is when a gene is taken from one organism and put into a different species. this typically is either a bacteria or virus. >> likes slicing the gene vegetable a winter into a tomato would yield a frost resistant crop. some companies began to modify seeds to maximize crop yields and subsequently the global food supply. >> monstanto is a giant.

>> they have products that people want. people want products that will increase yield. up is an herbicide that is sprayed so crops will grow. >> it is easier for these guys. they do not have to be as accurate, for now. >> by utilizing these technologies, farmers can spend less and produce more. but at what cost? the only problem is they come after farmer.s. >> they have seeds where they say farmers cannot use seeds for a second round of crops. you can harvest it, but then you have to start new every year. >> they go into fields and check

, they trespass. we know. >> they have filed suit against farmers. it protects the multimillion dollar investment in reserach and development. a group of farmers even sued them in fear that they would be sued. this affect the consumer? the foods most often modified art tomatoes, corn, and soybeans. >> according to the usda, 90% of all corn and cotton and 93% of all crops in the united states are genetically modified. and, despite suggestions of noble intent -- to treatodify rice vitamin a deficiency. >> people are starving in

africa. if we can get them the food that they need, why not? >> the safety and nutritional value is inconclusive and highly disputed. >> there is no difference between all organic or regular food. it will not improve your life or health. as long as you refresh. >> salmon and farmed salmon produce 1/3 of the healthy omega-3's that wild salmon have. the nutrient value is down by almost 70%. >> some medical professionals have proposed that the increase positively correlates with a 21st century rise in allergies, and fertility, and some forms of cancer. >> is it possible that what we're seeing is related to what we are eating? yes. absolutely. >> others think that the

intimacy has created a revolving door of conflicting interests. sentte corporations someone who is an expert in a certain area. they'll offer certain advantages. and then move back. taylor,xample, michael anto,ice president at monstant is currently at the fda. are these genetically modified organism's safe for human consumption? >> the last 15-30 seconds of a spot is a disclaimer warning you about the effects of drugs. theou had to do that with tomato, chances are people would not like it. >> there definitely scientists who do studies within and goal in mind.

they will go to show what their agenda was at the outset. there are probably people on both sides doing those things. >> there needs to be more research done. we do not have conclusive evidence to show that these are safe. >> the global uncertainty is prompting more than 60 countries, including those in the european union to restrict o r ban sale of gmos. >> countries have said we do not want this food. >> because neither congress nor the fda is mandating the labeling, the spray propositions in protest, some have assigned a non--gmo label two their products. labelinggoing to face for products. the government has now decided that in this case, this area does not have to comply. >> there is transparency from

the federal government. we are left in the dark. >> who is response will for determining whether or not the foods should be labeled, banned, or ignored? you decide. >> andrew, our 10th grade when her, congratulations. while we were watching your documentary, you are asked a great question. tell the viewers? has this changed the way you eat? >> it has. i had some prior knowledge before i made this, so i have been eating differently for a little while now. it has deftly changed the way i eat and how i look at things at the grocery store. i find myself turning the package to see all the ingredients now. >> what is the best? >> we talked about this. non-gmo is the best.

organic is without pesticides. all natural means nothing. >> is it difficult to eat that way? >> it is definitely more expensive. all of the regulation goes into it -- that is unfortunate. ultimately, people should know that if they start transitioning to this new type of food, ultimately, the price will go down. >> and you, thank you so much. that was a good documentary. congratulations. who isturn to donald, representing the first prize high school winners. fromave a documentary montgomery blair high school. how did you come across your topic? ll, we were all interested in the environment. a solution.anted

we settled on water pollution. better interviews and b-rol.l. >> who did you interview and what did you see? donald, theiew ryan,m at d.c. water and a field engineer. we too are all of the -- we phases, and it was eye-opening. the water comes in 30, brown. it is amazing the stuff that they do at that facility. >> has impacted the water they drink? >> it definitely has. i have seen the process that the

water goes through. i just find bottled water better. >> but was more challenging for you? >> definitely making the script. getting the flow. we have to pack in so much information in such a short amount of time. just making the audience interested in the topic was the hardest. >> how many hours do you think you spent? be hundred and 50 -- 150. >> that was the difficult part? >> yes. >> how was it to go through the c-span archives and find the information you needed to include? that was part of the criteria to include c-span footage, in addition to keeping it to under eight minutes. >> there's deftly not a lot about our topic.

so, the clips that were available were easy to find. we went to c-span's youtube page and video library. >> do recommend kids in your class or younger than you do this type of project? >> definitely. it is an eye-opening experience. you get to learn a lot about what goes around --on around you. you become more aware. it is just incredible. there are some aspects of it that i would definitely do again. >> what was your reaction? >> we were dumbfounded. we had no idea that we even had a chance to win. and we weres over all bummed out about the audio. it was not up to the standards that we expected. we were done. we did not think we had any chance, but we did.

>> and you won. were you going to do with the money? 0 each.ill split, $1,00 gabriel will buy new equipment. jay is putting it in the bank. opening up a-- branch of a local nonprofit. i want to benefit entities in third world countries for prosthetics. >> what got you interested in that? >> i broke my leg about a year ago. last october. it just opened my eyes to how hard it is, just without all your limbs. to realize that someday people were going through their lives --i realized that so many people were going through their lives like that. it is insane, the amount of work

that you have to put in, when you have a cast on. getting it off, rehabbing. >> did this documentary make you more aware of other things? were you more aware of other issues like this nonprofit? >> definitely. i think i was sheltered from the outside world originally. i did read newspapers, not ofte n. interestedtting more in what goes on around me. that was really beneficial. >> let's take a look at the winning video. >> water. it makes up 75% of our body. take it away and humanity would parish within a week. waters the most vital substance to the human body, but it is because of us that nearly 50% of

streams, and lakes, bays, and estuaries are unsuitable due to pollution. we have learned to take water for granted. faucets, bottled water, and flush toilets are all the same idea. water is an unlimited resource. step outside and the diminished condition tells a different story. it kills marine life, destroys the ecosystem, and disrupt the food chain. in animals are not the only one to suffer. --clean water and clean air we cannot live without it. >> what are we giving children to grow up and flourish if we cannot protect rivers and bays that they swim in and the water they drink? >> congress, it is time to take charge of the situation. you have the power to take action against water pollution in the u.s. and protect one of

our most vital resources. one of the most polluted rivers in the state of maryland is the anacostia. the anacostia was once full of life and ecological diversity, a symbol of prosperity in the d c area. it is now known as the forgotten river. the it is polluted beyond recognition by pathogens and wastewater. 90% of thisand pollution is overflows. washington and the surrounding area uses a sewer system that carries sewage and storm water in. the same set of pipes. this twice a week,

overflows into local rivers. the hardest hit is the anacostia. two to 3 billion gallons of sewer water flood the anacostia every year. d.c. water has started a long-term target, the clean rivers project. set the construction of massive tunnels that would capture and store this. we took a tour of the water treatment plant to learn more. designed as a is storage tunnel and conveyance tunnel. that means when the cso overflows, the combined sewer system, instead of going into the anacostia or potomac rivers, specifically the anacostia for this tunnel, it will overflow into this tunnel through deep tunnel anding up the

transferring all of that plainow water to blue where it can be pumped back out. it captures, stores, and conveys it to the plant for treatment. >> one of the biggest sources of pollution is combined sewer overflows. at the end of the project, that will be eliminated. it will make a huge difference. instead of overflowing 70 or 80 times a year, more than once a week, it will overflow twice per year. it will make a huge difference to the river. there are major combined sewer overflows twice a week, so it is unsafe to be on the river during those periods. people get sick because of bacteria. the clean rivers project will fix that, 98%. it reduces the overflows to the anacostia by 98%.

when fully implemented, the project is expected to help take the anacostia river off of the list of impaired waterways in the u.s.. alone in its struggle for clean water. sewage,it rains, raw industrialized waste, and storm water come pouring in. we need to stop that. >> it would be nice if you could jump off your boat and not worry about what you will get. >> one of the problems we have to address is sewage pollution. american cities were built with combined sewage systems. overflows, combined sewer overflows. >> the clean river project and other initiatives will help benefit our waterways tremendously. but it all comes at a price. >> one of the obstacles is it is a heavy burden. the biggest thing we could do is

to help fund this and take the burden off. >> behind every river, there is a wastewater treatment agency trying to scrape together funds in their quest for clean water. mustess, in 2014, you provide federal funding to wastewater treatment agencies across the country. the lifeblood of our nation is tainted with the negligence of generations, and it must stop here. >> donald de alwis and gabriel "a murkyy kharkar, future" is the documentary. congratulations. you did a great job. thank you for participating in the studentcam competition. shelly ortiz is in 12th grade at the metropolitan arts institute, "diagnosing the problem with mental health." congratulations to you as well.

andrew is in 10th grade at notre dame-cathedral latin school in ohio. "we the people, genetically modified" is his documentary about genetically modified foods. congratulations and thank you for participating. sur middle school entry winner created the documentary "nsa, the links of america's security." all andu congratulations. we have a sheet you participated. -- we appreciate that you participated. we hope students watching will participate next year. it is never too early to start thinking about the studentcam competition for 2015. go to our website. beginning in july, you can find more details about next year's theme.