As the first decade of the new millenium draws to a close, here's our look back at some of the biggest stories in Baltimore and beyond about the environment and green living. Feel free to remind us of those we overlooked.

FIRE DOWN BELOW: A freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derails and catches fire in a century-old rail tunnel beneath Howard Street in July 2001, triggering a water main break and power outage that paralyzes downtown for days, sending thousands of workers home and canceling Orioles games. Though hydrochloric acid leaked from one car, there were no explosions or releases of more toxic chemicals, and no one was seriously hurt. The city and CSX Transportation blame each other for the disaster, which reveals not only the fragility of our infrastructure but the risks of routine transportation of hazardous materials through heavily populated areas. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam)

SNAKEHEADS! Dubbed "Frankenfish" for its reputed ability to breathe air and "walk" short distances out of water, the northern snakehead turns up in June 2002 in a Crofton pond. State poisons the pond in what proves to be a vain attempt to eradicate this highly invasive import from Asia. More are caught two years later in a Wheaton pond and then in the Potomac River. They are just the most sensational of a rogues' gallery of troublemaking exotics found during the decade, including emerald ash borers, mitten crabs and most recently Didymo, freshwater algae discovered in western Maryland that can blanket stream bottoms with slimy grayish mats. (Baltimore Sun photo by Amy Davis)

BAY BLUES: Far short of the goals they'd set to clean up the bay, states and the federal government agree in June 2000 to new goals for reducing pollution fouling the water and for restoring the estuary's fish and grasses, this time by 2010. By late 2007, though, officials acknowledge they're not even going to come close, as polluted runoff from farms and development remains largely uncontrolled. States pledge to accelerate restoration work and hold themselves more accountable, but set 2025 as their new cleanup target date. President Obama in May 2009 declares bay a national treasure and orders federal agencies to take lead in lagging cleanup effort. Blue crabs, meanwhile, suffer perilous decline through decade and prompt severe catch restrictions, leading to a federal disaster declaration for bay's crabbing industry. Crabs begin to rebound as decade ends, though catch curbs remain. Virginia and Maryland eye Asian oysters after diseases and pollution devastate native bivalves; but scientific concerns about another non-native introduction kill the idea. (Baltimore Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett)

CHANGING CLIMATE: UN-backed scientific panel that's been studying earth's climate since 1980s reports in 2001 that there's new and stronger evidence that planet is warming and most of it stems from human activities such as burning fossil fuels. In 2007, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issues even stronger update, finding warming "unequivocal" and humans "very likely" the main cause. Bush administration opts for more study. Maryland joins other states in adopting own goals for reducing planet-warming greenhouse gases and participates in regional "cap and trade" curbs on power plant emissions. Obama pledges US action, but UN-backed talks in Denmark in December 2009 fail to agree on new global compact.