Green top 10 for '09
By now you've probably all seen a list or ten of top 10 news stories of the past year or decade. Well, here's our green-tinted take on '09. We'll look back through the rest of the decade tomorrow. Let us know what you think - what did we miss?
CLIMATE CHANGE: House of Representatives narrowly passes bill in late June to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent reduction by 2020 and more than 80 percent by mid-century. Environmental Protection Agency moves to regulate climate-warming pollution under Clean Air Act if legislative effort falters. Maryland, meanwhile, collects more than $90 million from power plants buying carbon dioxide credits under multi-state “cap and trade” curbs. UN climate talks in Copenhagen end in disarray, with a last-minute, nonbinding accord that puts major issues off until next year. (Photo at left of climate campaigner's sign at summit's end/AFP/Getty)
CHESAPEAKE BAY: President Obama issues executive order in May asserting federal leadership of underachieving Chesapeake Bay restoration effort; EPA draws bead on farm, urban runoff. Sen. 
Benjamin Cardin, Rep. Elijah Cummings and others introduce legislation to funnel more money into cleanup, hold it to stricter deadlines. Blue crabs show signs of rebounding under strict catch controls, while states scrap plans to put Asian oysters in bay and vow to try harder to replenish native bivalves. Maryland lawmakers mandate less-polluting septic systems on new homes built near the water. (Baltimore Sun photo by Doug Kapustin)
OBAMA: President Obama begins reversing Bush administration environmental policies almost as soon as he’s sworn in. He directs the EPA in late January to reconsider a bid by California and 13 other states, including Maryland, to set strict auto emission and fuel efficiency standards. Obama’s EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson also pledges to review regulation of coal ash in wake of disastrous impoundment break in Tennessee in December 2008, but puts off decision until 2010.
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Wind, solar sprout with state, federal government incentives. Industrial-scale wind projects approved in western Maryland, proposed off Ocean City; solar projects unveiled on college campuses on the Eastern Shore and in Frederick County. O’Malley administration contracts to buy renewable energy for state buildings & university campuses. Solar panels go atop governor’s mansion in Annapolis, but home solar and wind run into friction elsewhere in Baltimore city and some suburbs.
GREEN BUILDING GROWS: New green building standards take effect in July in Baltimore for all sizable projects and rehabs, as city joins a growing number of urban areas requiring more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly construction. Green public, private schools open in southern Maryland, Montgomery County. At left St. Mary's County school superintendent checks sedum growing on roof of Evergreen Elementary School. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)
RECYCLING EXPANDS: Baltimore city begins weekly curbside recycling pickup in July, reducing trash collection to once a week. The amount of material recycled has grown by more than 50 percent since the 1+1 program began. Suburban counties, meanwhile, continue to expand recycling efforts despite drops in revenue, saying it saves on landfill space, trash disposal costs.
FOOD GOES LOCAL: Locally grown food gets a big boost as city and state push for more farmers’ markets, helping fuel a nationwide increase in outlets by more than 25 percent since 2004. The city now has around a dozen markets and the state has more than 90, up from about 78 the year before. Urban agriculture takes root in the city itself, with installation of three “hoop” greenhouses in Clifton Park (at right) to raise vegetables, flowers for sale. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)
GREEN STIMULUS: The $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress passed in February includes $40 billion for renewable energy, consumer rebates for buying efficient appliances and weatherization for government buildings and homes, among other things. In Maryland, nearly $120 million in low-interest loans and grants are handed out to upgrade water and wastewater systems and improve storm water pollution controls around the state. The $3 billion “cash for clunkers” does little to reduce auto pollution but does boost auto sales, at least temporarily.
GREEN EVENTS: In October, the Baltimore Running Festival went ultra-green, and became one of the largest recycling events in the city’s history along with Artscape. Officials collected water bottles, composted food, planted trees and handed out shirt made from recyclable material.
$150M GAS LEAK: A Baltimore County jury orders Exxon Mobil in March to pay $150 million to 90 families neighboring a Jacksonville service station, finding the giant oil corporation liable for contaminating wells and hurting property values when 26,000 gallons of gasoline leaked into ground water in 2006. The company appealed in October.
Comments
I hope readers are beginning to see how much potential these green products have in rebuilding our troubled economy. More and more we are seeing evidence that eco-friendly private and public investment is going to be the wave of the future. This trend wild create jobs, boost the economy into a new era, and keep us safer as the same time. Take, for instance, the website http://www.greencollareconomy.com. The site has a directory of thousands of companies, large and small, who are taking advantage of this paradigm and seeing huge returns because of it. The same savings and ROI goes for our public investments as well. I would encourage readers to visit greencollareconomy.com and browse through their thousands of white papers that outline how this trend it taking hold.
Posted by: Doug | December 29, 2009 8:54 PM
Here's another list from Mother Nature Network of the "top nine" environmental stories of 2009 - only nine, since climate change seems to be on everyone's top 10. This one's a bit more national in scope than ours, with everything from disappearing bats and bees to the plastic in baby bottles and the Pacific garbage patch.
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/climate-change/stories/the-top-9-eco-stories-of-2009-that-have-nothing-to-do-with
Posted by: Tim Wheeler | December 30, 2009 2:49 PM