Tropical Storm Nicole dumped a ton of rain on Maryland as its remnants blew north today, and in the process it washed tons of sediment and mud into local streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

My colleague, Baltimore Sun columnist and gardening blogger Susan Reimer, spotted a muddy torrent washing off the construction site for the new Germantown elementary school in Annapolis this morning.  You can read her take on it here.  When Sun photographer Kim Hairston got there to document the runoff, Rob Savidge, environmental compliance inspector for the city of Annapolis, was wading through the caremel-colored curbside stream.

"The contractor hasn't done anything wrong," he said.  "The problem is we have had more than five inches of rain within a few hours, and it has overwhelmed the restraints."  The school site had three ponds dug to catch runoff, he noted.  A black plastic silt fence also can be seen lining the street.  

The ponds or sediment traps on the school site are only designed to hold the first inch of rain, and slowly release the water after the sediment settles out, he explained.  With five inches or more, they simply ran over. 

Environmentalists aren't buying that explanation, though.

"This is the reason our waterways continue to be polluted despite the continuing promises by politicians to protect our waterways when they run for office," emailed Fred Kelly, the Severn Riverkeeper.  "The present sediment control rules are inadequate, and the permits are licenses to pollute and violate the Clean Water Act."

Alison Prost, Maryland office attorney for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, wasn't prepared to go quite that far, but said more resources for inspection and oversight are needed.

And, she added, "we need tougher standards, not just for the everyday rain event, but for the large storms like this, which we are seeing more and more. There needs to be a contingency plan for weather events like this."

Jay Apperson, spokesman for the Maryland Department of the Environment, said builders and contractors are only required to keep the first inch of rain from washing off their construction sites because that covers 90 percent of all the precipitation events in the state.

"This storm is a rare event," Apperson said, with rainfall in some places on par with a 100-year storm.  He added:  "Silt fences and sediment controls are never going to be 100 percent fail-safe."

What Apperson didn't say is that the standards involve a bit of a balancing act. To ensure that zero mud washed off the land in a storm you probably couldn't clear the land in the first place.  Controlling more extreme rain events would be far more costly, and maybe at some point not feasible.

"It's pretty horrible to see," Savidge acknowledged of the school and other washouts he saw today.  But, he added, "it's just what happens."

What's a little muddy water, you ask?   Sediment washing off land clouds the water, smothering fish eggs in fresh water streams and killing off underwater grasses, which provide habitat for fish and crabs.  The bay currently has less than half the aquatic grasses needed to restore it to health, scientists say.  

So as we watch big storms like today's washing mud into already struggling streams, we're left to ask, what price progress?  The students and their families in Annapolis no doubt deserve a new school.  Everyone followed the rules in this case, it seems.  But is there a way to build without risking such washouts - and are we willing to pay for it to protect the bay's fish, oysters and crabs?

Thanks to Susan for bringing this up and doing much of the reporting. 

(Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 4:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

As Maryland embarks on an ambitious - and still-controversial - new effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay's depleted oysters, it seems that another of the bay's once-abundant filter feeders - the clam population - has pulled an even more dramatic disappearing act. 

That's the upshot of a sad, troubling report by Karl Blankenship in the current issue of Chesapeake Bay Journal. It's worth a read.  The bay's clams once filled an important niche in the ecosystem - removing silt and nutrients, providing food for cownose rays and blue crabs.  But the populations of larger clams have largely crashed.

Blankenship quotes scientists saying it's not clear what's behind the decline.  It may be a combination of factors - water quality, possibly overfishing, disease, storms even.   

Soft-shell clams weren't as popular a seafood as oysters from the bay, but I can remember when my family first moved to Maryland in the early 1980s, you could still find them on the menu at restaurants, especially on the Eastern Shore where we lived then. I had a few myself.

Now they're gone. There's no parallel effort to restore the bay's clam population yet, but maybe this will help provide a spark.

UPDATE: Former Sun colleague and Chesapeake Bay Foundation writer Tom Pelton reminds me he covered the clams' mysterious disappearance on CBF's Bay Daily blog over a year ago.  Go here to read it.  There's also a link there to a 2008 report to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration documenting the soft-shells' demise. 

(Soft-shell clams harvested by dredging bay bottom, 1998 Baltimore Sun photo by Linda Coan)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

It's been illegal since the beginning of this month for Baltimore supermarkets, corner grocers and convenience stores to simply give out disposable plastic bags for carrying away merchandise. But don't bother calling 911 on any violators you see out there.

The ordinance, which took effect Sept. 1, isn't being enforced because City Hall botched the startup.   City officials were supposed to create a bag "reduction" program that would've allowed merchants to keep handing out the flimsy sacks, as long as customers asked for them.  Stores also had to offer to recycle plastic bags and encourage customers to buy or bring in their own reusable sacks.

Councilman Jim Kraft, who'd long sought a bag ban as a way to fight the litter in Baltimore's streets, streams and harbor, said city officials were late setting up the bag reduction program, so there was no way for businesses to register to avoid the ban. An online link for businesses to register was posted on the website of the city's Office of Sustainability on Aug. 27, just four days before the ban was to take effect.

"It was really a sort of snafu, where there were some misunderstandings," Kraft said, and city officials "didn't understand what they had to do....I was getting calls from these guys (retailers) saying I want to register and I can't."

As a result, he noted, "Technically, everyone is in violation. As of Sept. 1, if they're not in the program, they can't use (plastic) bags."

Merchants are still allowed to sign up for the bag reduction program and keep using plastic bags, but under the ordinance they have to pay a $500 fee now to do so. Up until Sept. 1, it was free to register, an arrangement Kraft and others had hope would provide businesses an incentive to get on board quickly.

Now, to give food dealers more time to register without paying the fee, Kraft is rushing a "corrective bill" through City Council that delays the effective date of the program to Dec. 1 and extends the free signup to Nov. 30.  Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has agreed to sign the fixup legislation, Kraft said.

"I think it's going to be fine," he concluded.

(Tip of the proverbial hat to Investigative Voice for first reporting this!)

(Washington Giant supermarket before nickel fee imposed there on nonrecyclable bags. 2009 AP Photo)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 2:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The Maryland Clean Energy Center announced Monday it will honor 11 business executives, politicians and others next week for their efforts to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and "green collar" jobs in the state.

Among those to be recognized are Mahi Reddy, founder and CEO of Sema Connect for the Annapolis company's efforts to install electric-vehicle charging stations; representatives of Standard Solar of Rockville and Beltsville-based Sun Edison, and Peter Van Buren, president of Baltimore's Terra Logos Energy Group, for lobbying in Annapolis and Washington for home energy efficiency incentives.

Politicians acknowledged for their advocacy include U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-MD, state Sen. Thomas "Mac" Middleton, D-Charles County and Del. Tawanna Gaines, D-Prince George's County.

They and others will be feted at a "Clean Energy Summit" planned Monday (10/4) in Baltimore. The summit draws together business, government and academic leaders to talk about progress and challenges in improving energy efficiency and in developing solar, wind and other renewables.

The $295 registration means it's mainly for those in the business, but there's a trade show during the summit that's free and open to the public. At the Hilton Inner Harbor, 401 W. Pratt St. For details. go here.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: News
        

Terrapin Run, the proposed western Maryland mega-development that became a lightning rod for debates about  the state's "smart growth" laws is back in court - this time in foreclosure proceedings, reports the Cumberland Times-News.

The paper reports that PNC Bank filed in Allegany County Circuit Court on Sept. 16 to foreclose against three business entities based in Columbia that were involved in the project.  The bank claims that the developers defaulted on loans and owed $5.1 million as of July 6.

The developers originally proposed in 2005 to build 4,300 homes and a small shopping center on 900-plus acres near Green Ridge State Forest in eastern Allegany, seen above.  That was eventually scaled back after negotiations with local officials to 360 homes in the first 10 years and no more than 900 in 20, the paper reports.

The approval of the project by the county's board of zoning appeals, though, was fought through the state's appellate courts, with the O'Malley administration joining environmentalists and local opponents in arguing it was counter to the state's Smart Growth laws and the county's own master plan.   The Court of Appeals ruled in 2008 that the county had acted properly, and need not follow its plan strictly - a decision that prompted state lawmakers to tighten the law in 2009.  Meanwhile, the real estate market had virtually collapsed.

The foreclosure isn't the only court action involving Terrapin Run.  The developers filed a $16 million damage suit against the state in 2009, saying state planners and environmental regulators had effectively blocked the project.  That case is pending, with a 2011 trial date, the Times-News reports.

(Michael Carnock, principal in Columbia-based firm planning to develop Terrapin Run, walks the property in 2005.  Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Environmental activists say they expect hundreds for a Chesapeake Bay cleanup rally Tuesday (9/28) evening at the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

With federal and state officials mulling potentially costly and controversial new strategies for accelerating the bay restoration effort, activists hope to demonstrate public support for an aggressive cleanup schedule.  Speakers include city officials, heads of the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center, the Waterfront Partnership, a business and civic group, as well as leaders of several environmental groups, including the Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice.

About 250 people have responded online that they intend to attend, said Tommy Landers, policy advocate for Environment Maryland, one of the groups sponsoring the rally, which begins at 6 p.m.

And if saving the bay isn't reason alone enough to turn out, there'll be a reception afterward at 7 p.m., featuring free food from Lebanese Taverna. The grub is provided courtesy of the Baltimore Water Alliance, the working name of the newly merged umbrella group for the Baltimore Harbor, Jones Falls, Herring Run and Gwynns Falls watershed associations, plus the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper.

To RSVP, or for directions and parking, go here.

(Rally in Annapolis in June pressing for stronger bay restoration efforts, Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

If you're one of those folks who's having a hard time letting go of summer, then head down to the Inner Harbor and look for the sea nettles hanging out there. Just don't go in the water.

A common summertime sight in the Chesapeake Bay from about Annapolis southwward, some stinging nettles have found their way into the northwest branch of the Patapsco River, where our dry weather has raised salinity of the water enough to make them feel at home.

For more on the harbor jellyfish invasion, check out my story today in The Baltimore Sun.

(Sea nettle in Inner Harbor, with World Trade Center and U.S.S.Constellation reflected on water's surface. Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Old medicines sitting around the house are a health and safety hazard, and flushing them or tossing them in the trash is bad for the environment.

What to do? Take your unused or expired pills to one of 1,700 dropoff sites on Saturday that are primed to take prescription or over-the-counter medications and properly dispose of them.  No liquid meds, just pills or powders.

Getting rid of unused medications prevents intentional misuse or abuse, and it also guards against accidental poisoning of children and pets who may get into them.  Flushing them down the sink or toilet, or throwing them away, merely transfers the risk to the environment, as they may get into streams from wastewater treatment plants or seep out of landfills into ground water.  For more on how pharmaceuticals are showing up in the environment, go here.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is sponsoring the drug take-back, to be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.  Most, if not all, of the drop-off sites are police stations.  There are plenty throughout the Baltimore-Washington area.  For one near you, go here and enter your ZIP code (the city-state menu doesn't seem to be working).

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If you're not a football addict, or can squeeze it in around game time, Baltimore's merging watershed groups are offering residents a chance Sunday to help restore the harbor by buyng - and planting - native trees, shrubs and plants.

The Baltimore Water Alliance, the working name the groups have adopted for now, is having a sale at the Herring Run Nursery, 6131 Hillen Road, 21239, from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday (9/26).  There'll be more than 100 different native trees, shrubs and plants to choose from, plus some perennials.  If you can't make it this weekend, there'll also be sales Oct. 9 and 24.

Proceeds help underwrite the operations of the new alliance, which brings together the Herring Run, Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls watershed associations, plus the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper.  Coupons worth $10 to $25 discounts on trees available.  For information on stock and coupons, go here.

(Black-eyed susan, 2009 Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Buy local, Chesapeake Bay, Events, News, Urban Issues
        

The Waterkeepers' quest to find out how well or poorly Maryland is riding herd on farm pollution is getting  pointed.  

The Assateague Coastkeeper has asked an Anne Arundel County judge to hold Maryland agriculture officials in contempt for not letting the environmental group see records documenting the state's enforcement and oversight of how some Eastern Shore farmers are handling their chicken manure.

In a petition filed Wednesday on behalf of the Worcester group, lawyers and students with the University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic contend that Agriculture Secretary Earl "Buddy" Hance and other officials are violating the state's Public Information Act and an earlier ruling on similar issues by Arundel Circuit Court Judge William C. Mulford II.

Earlier in the week, the Waterkeeper Alliance, an umbrella watchdog group to which the coastkeeper belongs, called for Hance to resign, accusing the agriculture secretary of colluding with the Maryland Farm Bureau to prevent the records' release.

At issue is the state's 1997 "nutrient management" law that requires farmers to have and follow plans limiting how much animal manure and chemicals they put on their fields to fertilize their crops.  The law requires state officials to keep farmers' plans confidential, but Mulford ruled in a previous bid for farm pollution information by the keeper organization that the plans themselves could be released to the public, as long as the farmers' names and addresses were removed.

The coastkeeper asked in April 2010 to see a variety of Maryland Department of Agriculture including records on animal manure being transported off farms and inspections and enforcement of the nutrient management law in Worcester County, a hotbed of poultry farming in the state.  State agriculture officials originally responded that the request was too broad, prompting the coastkeeper group to revise its original request in July.  Then officials said they needed until Sept. 3 to prepare an estimate of what it would cost to gather and furnish all the data the group was seeking. 

Meanwhile, on Aug. 25, Hance notified the Maryland Farm Bureau it was preparing to release the data.  The farm group, which had gone to court in the Arundel case to bar release of any farmers' identity, asked state officials to delay acting on the coastkeeper's request so it could go to court in an attempt to block the information release.  The farm bureau obtained a temporary restraining order Sept. 14 from a Worcester County Circuit Court judge.

A hearing is scheduled Friday in Snow Hill on whether to extend or lift that restraining order.  State attorneys have petitioned to have the case transferred to Mulford in Arundel, since he had previously ruled on similar issues.  The coastkeeper has filed a request to intervene in that case, and to have it transferred.

In asking to have Hance and two other agriculture officials held in contempt of court, the law clinic argues that they have withheld information that the Arundel judge previously ruled was a matter of public record.   The coastkeeper lawyers also contend that the officials have violated the public-information law by not producing or denying the requested records in 60 days, as the law requires.  It wants the court to order the documents to be released immediately, and unspecified "other relief."

Sue DuPont, spokeswoman for the agriculture department, said in an email: "MDA believes the contempt action is not warranted and will oppose it."

Since the Farm Bureau court action, state officials have released a portion of the records sought by the coastkeeper, notably those related to a lawsuit the Waterkeeper Alliance is pursuing alleging pollution violations by a Worcester County farm and Perdue, the Salisbury-based poultry company for whom the farm was raising birds. 

Agriculture officials said they agree that the documents sought by the Coastkeeper are a matter of public record, and the delay was needed to assemble them all.  State officials say they have been routinely answering individual queries about whether a given farmer has a nutrient management plan, without notifying anyone.  But they contend they were within the law to notify the farm bureau about the pending release because it covered many farms and more information than just whether a farmer had a plan.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The first weekend of fall brings yet another celebration/fundraiser for a local green group. 

This one's for the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, which for nearly 21 years has been working to preserve land and safeguard streams in the 450-square-mile watershed that furnishes 61 percent of the Baltimore region's drinking water.  The Gunpowder River drains portions of Carroll, Baltimore and Harford counties, and even a bit of York County, PA.

The conservancy's putting on "An Evening in the Woods" Saturday (9/25) from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Camp Puh'Tok in Monkton.  There'll be food, local wines, a silent auction and live music.  Tickets are $65 each.  For details, go here.

(Jericho Road covered bridge crossing Little Gunpowder Falls; 1995 Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Events, Parks, Volunteer
        

When talking about the Chesapeake Bay's woes, we often focus on the huge "dead zone" in the middle of the estuary, where oxygen levels are so low that fish, crabs and shellfish can't breathe.

But those critters actually tend to spend more time in shallower waters than in the deep middle, and the shallows can have problems of their own, with oxygen levels plunging at night, only to rebound in daytime. 

Now, a team of scientists, led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, plans to take a closer look at how those repeated dips in oxygen, or hypoxia, in the shallow waters may be affecting the likes of summer flounder, strilped bass, white perch and oysters - not to mention the little fish that bigger fish feed on, such as weakfish and mummichog.

Smithsonian senior scientist Denise Breitburg already has begun testing how oysters fare, exposing them in tanks to repeated fluctuations in oxygen levels that mirror the drops seen at night and in early morning. For more on her work, go here. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is providing $634,000 for the study now, with a total of $1.6 million planned over the next five  years.   Scientists from the University of Delaware and Louisiana State University will be part of the research.

(Denise Breitburg with oysters from Choptank River to be used in hypoxia study: 2010 Baltimore Sun photo by Amy Davis)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Here's your chance to get back to the beach -- or at least to help keep it clean and safe, wherever you live. 

Saturday (9/25) is the 25th annual International Coastal Cleanup, when hundreds of thousands of volunteers pick up millions of tons of trash and debris that's either on the shore - or destined to wash up there, after it gets dropped in a parking lot, street or vacant lot.

Last year, nearly 500,000 volunteers worldwide collected more than 7 million pounds of trash, according to the Ocean Conservancy, which coordinates the cleanup efforts of local environmental groups.  Here in Maryland, about 45,000 individual pieces of debris got rounded up.

There are about two dozen cleanups planned across Maryland, from Ocean City and Assateague Island to Antietam Creek near Hagerstown.  Ten of them are in the Baltimore area - three in the city, two in Baltimore County, three in the Annapolis area and one each in Harford and Howard counties.  The city cleanups are at Fort McHenry, Fells Point and the Jones Falls trailhead.

Not all are on the waterfront, you say?  That's because the bulk of the trash that winds up on our beaches starts out being dropped or dumped inland, then gets washed into a nearby storm drain or stream and on into the ocean or Chesapeake Bay.

The cleanup by the manmade wetland at Fort McHenry - already has all the volunteers it can handle.  But the rest, I'm told still could use some volunteers.  The weather promises to be fair.  To find and sign up for a cleanup near you, go here.

(Cleanup by Fort McHenry, 2009. Photo by Geri Schlenoff, state coordinator, Int'l Coastal Cleanup)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Chesapeake Bay, Events, Parks, Volunteer
        

Ravens fans who roll into Lot G at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday for the home opener against Cleveland are in for a last-minute change in signals about what to do with all the trash and debris their pre-game partying generates.

Parking attendants will be at the gate handing out recycling bags as each vehicle rolls in.  Tailgaters will be "encouraged," the press release says, to put all their bottles, cans and plastic in the sacks and then deposit the bundles in recycling containers by the parking lot entrance.  A recycling "team" will be circulating through the parking lot to hand out extra bags, help collect the filled bags and "encourage" recycling.

The blitz on tailgaters is an expansion of the recycling efforts already established inside M&T Bank Stadium.  Teaming up in the effort are the Ravens, the Maryland Stadium Authority and Central Parking System.   They plan to expand the recycling drive to other parking lots as the season progresses.  For details, go here.

(Tailgating at M&T Bank Stadium, 2004 Baltimore Sun photo by Doug Kapustin)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Shade-grown coffee may cost more than brew from beans grown on a clear-cut, sun-drenched plantation.  But apparently it's not just the forest you're saving by paying a little extra for your caffeine fix.

A review by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center of more than 50 studies from Central and South America to Indonesia finds more and more different species of birds on farms raising coffee in the shade than on cleared plantations. 

There's also more bird habitat (aka trees and shrubs), better pest control (birds eat bugs and caterpillars) and better pollination (bees), not to mention improved erosion control and carbon sequestration with all the trees and roots there.

Farms growing coffee the old-school way, in the shade of trees, isn't as good for birds as an untouched forest, Smithsonian folks acknowledge.  But they say it's a lot better than clearing the forest out altogether to maximize coffee production in full sun.  

You may be wondering: Why should a Baltimorean care about having more birds in Central and South America?  Well, some of our favorite "local" songbirds birds spend their winters south of the border, including the Baltimore oriole.  And the fall migration season is in full swing now.  Think about that the next time you ask for a cup of Joe.

Smithsonian has devised its own "Bird Friendly" standards for coffee, which go a bit beyond just "fair trade" and organic.  The Baltimore Coffee & Tea Co. in Lutherville and Caffe Pronto Coffee Roastery in Annapolis are among only about 40 roasters nationwide that carry beans grown to the center's "Bird Friendly" standards, according to its website. 

For more about migratory birds and "bird friendly" coffee, go here. 

(Male Baltimore oriole at Robert E. Lee Park, 1997 Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Off The Chainring Tour coming to your town! from Cantankerous Titles on Vimeo.

Head over to North Avenue this evening to join your fellow Baltimoreans for a traveling road show of bicycle talk, movies, zines, and transportation activism and advocacy.

Elly Blue and Joe Biel will present short videos and a slideshow about Portland, Oregon’s famous bicycle culture and infrastructure, followed by an interactive discussion of the future of transportation infrastructure and advocacy in our town and beyond.

Pay what you can! $3-10 sliding scale at the door. 6pm to 8pm. See the event page on Facebook.

To read more about Bikestravaganza, visit http://bikestravaganza.wordpress.com/.

Also coming up:

NACTO "Cities for Cycling" Road Show - One Less Car's 'Fall Forum'
Thursday, September 30, 2010, 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Langsdale Auditorium, Univ. of Baltimore, 1420 Maryland Avenue,

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) “Cities for Cycling” Road Show comes to Baltimore Thursday, September 30th and Friday, October 1st. This 2 day visit is 3rd in a series of emerging cycling cities following Boston & Philadelphia. NACTO brings the experience of the bicycle planners & engineers from across the country to help Baltimore advance its cycling infrastructure and programming.

On Thursday evening , September 30th, “Cities for Cycling” partners with One Less Car and University of Baltimore to host a free 2 hour interactive forum, open to the public. It will include an array of bicycle infrastructure, advocacy initiatives and programs that have been successful in other cities with a Q&A session at the end. The “Road Show” combines with One Less Car’s “Fall Forum” at University of Baltimore’s Langsdale Auditorium at 7pm.

RSVP for Thursday’s event on SOCIALIZR at http://www.socializr.com/event/439969245.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Speaking of environmental education, turns out a lot of schoolkids are already learning about recycling - by doing it in their classrooms.

TerraCycle, a New Jersey company that converts waste into eco-friendly products, reports that it has recruited 46,000 "Drink Pouch Brigades" across the US, nearly 30,000 of them schools (60 in Baltimore), to divert the non-recyclable plastic juice containers from landfills and incinerators.

Here's how it works: Youngsters collect their empty uice pouches, rather than toss them in the trash. The company pays participating schools and nonprofits 2 cents for each one and "upcycles" them into backpacks, homework folders, lunchboxes and pencil cases - which it markets, naturally enough, to schoolkids and their parents.

So far, TerraCycle says, it's paid out $1.3 million in all for 64 million pouches, funds that schools badly need these days to cover supplies and activities taxpayers don't pay for. 

It takes a lot of pouches to raise much money, though. Kids at one school, McCormick Elementary, in Rosedale (seen above), rounded up 3,200 pouches last year, a company spokesman informed me - which by my calculation earned them a grand total of $64.  That won't buy all that much. But then, what price do you put on the educational benefit of learning that "waste" still has value?

To learn more, go here.

(Photo courtesy TerraCycle)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Maryland's education gurus want every student in the state to learn about the environment, but not enough to make it a graduation requirement.

The Baltimore Sun's Liz Bowie reports that the state board of education voted unanimously Tuesday to make environmental education a part of every student's education, but balked at making it a graduation requirement.  Board members apparently didn't want environmental science classes to bump anything else out of the already crowded curriculum.

Under the state board's new regulation, high school students won't have to take any additional courses, but environmental education is to be incorporated into existing courses, such as biology.  School systems will have to report every five years on how that's being done.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which offers field trips for students and environmental training for teachers, had been pressing the state board.  It noted that there are still school districts where students get no exposure to environmental science before graduating.

CBF called the state board decision "a partial victory."  Concerned that people's health and public support for environmental protection is dwindling because youngsters these days are spending less time outdoors, the Annapolis-based environmental group is pushing for making environmental literacy a national education priority, lobbying Congress to adopt "No Child Left Inside" legislation. 

What do you think?  Should all students be required to learn about environmental science and policy? The state recently made financial literacy a graduation requirement.  Is this in the same league, or something that's better infused into a variety of subjects, such as biology, health and civics?  After all, isn't the environment really about how everything's connected?

(Students at Green School in Baltimore count baby oyster spat before putting shells in water.  Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Supporters of putting wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean a dozen miles off Ocean City are winning over some of the beach resort town's business leaders.

Environment Maryland released a letter this week urging Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to relax federal rules to speed the approval of offshore wind projects.   The missive was signed by eight OC business owners or representatives, including the head of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association.

The environmental group, normally no fan of relaxing regulations, is planning a town hall meeting in Ocean City on Thursday to talk up offshore wind.   It'll be at 6:30 pm at St. Paul's-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 302 N. Baltimore Ave.

The near-shore oceans along the U.S. coastline have strong and steady enough winds that turbines built offshore could generate up to 4,150 gigawatts of electricity, according to a recent report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  That's about four times the nation's current electricity generating capacity from all energy sources.  The report qualified its assessment by noting that some areas may be off-limits for turbines because of "environmental, human use or technical considerations." 

While turbines have been put offshore in Europe and China, none has been planted off the U.S. coast yet, though the Cape Wind project in Massachusetts recently won long-fought-over approval.  Maryland has joined with other Mid-Atlantic states in seeking to collaborate on offshore wind development.  But the state has yet to complete its own environmental and feasibility assessment for placing turbines off Ocean City and Assateague Island.

(Offshore wind turbines near the Donghai Bridge in Shanghai, China, AP photo, March 2010)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

If you can get to Washington in the next few days, you'll get a chance to catch a striking photo exhibit on Capitol Hill depicting the Chesapeake Bay' s bounty and its troubles.

The International League of Conservation Photographers, in collaboration with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, staged a RAVE this summer (Rapid Assessment Visual Expedition), dispatching nine of its members across the bay watershed. A selection of their work - just 30 of the many pictures taken - are on display through Friday (Sept. 24).

The exhibit is free and open to the public, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., in the Rotunda of the Russell Senate office building, at Constitution Avenue and 1st Street Northeast.  For those who can't get there, a portion of the exhibit can be seen on the CBF website.

(Photo courtesy Krista Schlyer)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Fall is upon us, and with it comes the obligation to closet summer clothing and unearth warmer things like sweaters, jackets, and scarves. For some, recycling the same wardrobe year after year is standard practice, while others will be inescapably tempted to wipe their slates clean with new attire. Many of us fall in between those two groups, but whatever your preference, remember that buying vintage (or thrift or consignment) is the greenest and often times most affordable alternative to buying new, and Baltimore is chock full of opportunities to do just that:

Snow Leopard Sweater by Catapult Vintage (left), Winter Boots by Vim Vigor Vintage (center), Leather Bomber Jacket by Old Baltimore Vintage (right).

Here is a sampling of places to consider, both online or brick and mortar:

Online:

Old Baltimore Vintage
Vim Vigor Vintage
Catapult Vintage
Eklectic Xplosion
Bluebell Vintage
Rabbit Whisker Vintage

Brick and mortar:

9th Life - 833 W. 36th Street
Killer Trash - 602 South Broadway
Vogue Revisited - 4002 Roland Avenue
Fashion Attic - 1926 Fleet Street
Value Village - 800 West North Avenue
Goodwill Industries - 3101 Greenmount Avenue, 859 E Fort Avenue
Minas Gallery and Boutique - 815 W. 36th Street

Share your favorite place(s) to shop vintage, used, thrift, consignment, etc. in the comments section below.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Are genetically engineered salmon safe to eat? Would they pose any threat to wild salmon or other fish if they somehow got out in open waters? And if they are put on the market for sale, should they be labeled so consumers can know where they came from?

Those are the questions being mulled and debated this week by a panel of scientists advising the Food and Drug Administration on whether to approve the nation's first genetically modified food animal.

The FDA has already made preliminary findings that engineered Atlantic salmon produced by AquaBounty Technologies, a Massachusetts firm, are safe to eat and pose no significant risk to the environment.  But the agency's Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee Monday deferred giving its blessing, instead urging government regulators to get more information first.

The panel's stance tracks with advice a local biotechnology expert says he gave it Monday. Yonathan Zohar, chairman of marine biotechnology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, said the technology holds promise but still needs more study.

"We keep overfishing and emptying our oceans," said Zohar, who was invited to brief the advisory group on the state of the world's fisheries.  "We need to stop and get more fish through aquaculture, but it needs to be done in an environmentally sustainable way."

Zohar has spent years developing techniques for raising food fish in tanks at the Columbus Center in the Inner Harbor.  By manipulating the light, water temperature and other conditions in which they're kept, Zohar said his team has managed to produce market-sized sea bream in half the time it normally takes to raise them in open-water pens. 

AquaBounty is claiming it can raise genetically engineered fish to market size in half the time it takes to grow Atlantic salmon in conventional fish-farming pens - while using 25 percent less food.   Such technology stands to benefit the aquaculture industry by increasing its efficiency, Zohar said, but before it's given the green light, more information is needed, particularly to ensure the engineered fish won't wreak ecological havoc if they get loose. 

Zohar said he thought FDA was relying too much on assumptions that the engineered fish couldn't survive if they got into the wild because of where they'd be raised - in land-based tanks in Panama.  And he noted that the technique the company plans to use to sterilize its female fish isn't 100 percent effective.

"I'm all for genetically engineered fish making it into the industry," he said.  "But I think we need to be a little bit more rigorous in testing."

Zohar isn't the only local scientist with questions about whether FDA has enough information to make a good decision.

"There are things to be concerned about with regard to how transparent this process has been and the quality and quantity of data released by FDA," says Dave Love, of Johns Hopkins University's Center for a Livable Future. 

Love, who's director of a project examining the environmental public health impacts of aquaculture, says the agency has relied on three studies done by AquaBounty showing that engineered salmon are safe to eat and no more likely to cause allergic reactions in consumers than are traditionally farmed Atlantic salmon.  But while FDA has summarized the studies, they have not been released, he said, so their data and analyses could be reviewed by other scientists.

The question of whether engineered salmon should be labeled - which the panel is mulling today (9/21) also is prompting debate.

"If we're going to give consumers the choice of whether or not they want to purchase geneticaly engineered animals - or plants for that matter - labeling has to be a key part in letting consumers know what's out there on the market," Love said.

For more on the issue, go here.

(AquaBounty photo of engineered salmon in background, with Atlantic salmon in foreground; Yonathan Zohar, 2008 Baltimore Sun photo by Andre F. Chung)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Mark your calendars for the CCBC Harvest and Eco Festival on Saturday, September 25th from 1pm – 5pm at “Gourd Palace,” CCBC Catonsville.

Centered on the theme “Growing Art; Growing Community,” the Harvest and Eco Festival serves as the capstone of a week-long series of presentations and field trips in conjunction with CCBC’s Artist-in-Residence program.

As the “Grow Art” activities of the day are designed to provide fun and entertainment, the “Grow Community” will focus on the educational component of the green movement and how to use environmental resources wisely. Exhibits and displays by nature education groups, watershed and parks groups, health and energy resources, to name only a few, will be available.

The festival will also feature live music by artists performing with gourd ukuleles and gourd banjos, as well as interactive children’s activities. A “Grow Arts Chalk-In,” a street-wide public chalk creation on the theme of plant life and growing, will be created. Gourd Juggling will also be part of the festivities.

The “Gourd Palace” and festival are creations of Baltimore “green arts” artist Doug Retzler, who is CCBC’s Art, Design and interactive Media (ADiM) department’s first Artist-in-Residence. Retzler, who views himself as a “green arts instigator,” envisions the Harvest and Eco Festival at CCBC Catonsville as a way to build awareness of green art and its relevance to the green movement.

“I hope the festival will “grow community” so that more and more people can interact to learn about and become involved in promoting the importance of sustainable programs and projects that are happening all over the metro Baltimore area,” says Retzler.

About CCBC (www.ccbcmd.edu)

CCBC offers hundreds of programs and thousands of courses helping people of all ages, backgrounds and interests earn degrees, transfer, launch or advance careers, and prepare for in-demand jobs. Providing accessible, affordable and high quality education since 1957, CCBC educates more than 70,000 students each year, including half of all Baltimore County residents attending college in Maryland as undergraduates. Committed to student success and the development of lifelong learners who strengthen our regional workforce and enrich our community, CCBC has also been selected to participate in Achieving the Dream, a national student success initiative.

Image of Doug Reztler at "Gourd Palace" courtesy of CCBC Media Photos.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

After discovering wastewater ponding and running off at two Southern Maryland developments using drip irrigation to dispose of their sewage, the state Department of the Environment has put a one-year hold on this alternative to septic tanks.  But activists contend the state's actions don't go far enough to ensure people and the Chesapeake Bay won't be put at risk.

Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson recently blocked approvals of any more drip irrigation systems until next August to give her staff time to study the waste treatment method and how it should be used. But she balked at calls by 16 environmental and community groups to extend the moratorium for three to five years for more extended monitoring of existing systems' performance - and to include already approved but unconstructed systems.

In a letter earlier this month to Richard Klein, an environmental consultant working with the groups, Wilson said her inspectors had observed treated wastewater ponding on the surface of the ground and running off from Calvert Gateway and Marley Run developments in Calvert County.  

 She wrote that her staff had identified "operational problems," and that in one case the county's public works department was replacing a broken valve.  Operators would be required to keep better control on the flow of wastewater into the ground, which Wilson suggested was responsible for the ponding. 

But Wilson made clear in her letter that the state continued to view drip irrigation as a useful alternative waste treatment method, particularly in low-lying coastal areas where septic systems frequently fail.  The state has pemitted 13 of these systems so far.

"This is an important alternative to discharging effluent to surface waters and the Chesapeake Bay," she wrote. With the additional precautions being required now by the state, she expressed confidence such systems could be operated safely.

Klein, president of Community and Environmental Defense Services in Owings Mills, welcomed MDE's action but contended it wasn't enough to ensure public health or water quality.  In his own letter this week, he pointed out that state inspectors found problems this summer at a third drip irrigation system in use at Eagles Nest campground in Berlin on the Eastern Shore.  

Concerned by problems at other drip irrigation systems, community groups Klein represents have long been fighting a commercial development called Shoppes at Apple Green that proposes to use the same disposal method for its wastewater.  Klein questioned why MDE's one-year hold on approving new systems does not extend to those like Apple Green that have received state approval but have yet to be built.

Klein wrote that "our goal is not to end the use of drip-irrigation, but to find a way to reap the full benefits offered by this technology."   He said, however, that residents want its safety proven, contending that the drip fields receiving wastewater could be within 50 feet of homes and within 100 feet of water ways.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If you're fascinated by - or even slightly curious about - snakes, turtles, and frogs, then slither, plod or jump on over to the Fairgrounds in Timonium this weekend to check out the Mid-Atlantic Reptile Show. 

Launched by reptile lover Tim Hoen - whose day job is as a lab technician at Johns Hopkins - the show put on by the MARS Preservation Fund is in its 18th year.  Proceeds go to purchase threatened rain forest in Costa Rica.  The website says nearly 3,000 acres have been bought so far.

There's a reception tonight (Friday), sponsored by Reptile Magazine, plus free lectures afterward.  Then, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,, captive-born reptiles and amphibians will be on display and for sale.  There'll also be books, souvenirs, supplies, educational exhibits, door prizes, raffles, artwork and facepainting.  And there'll be an auction Saturday to benefit Rainforest Conservation.

It's $9 for adults and $7 for their elders and children 6-12.  Kids under 5 are free (No mention of 5-year-olds - huh?)  For the true fan, there's a $13 weekend pass. And on Sunday, every kid accompanied by an adult get in free.  For more, go here.

(Asian Burmese Mountain Tortoise eating its greens; 2004 Baltimore Sun photo by Monica Lopossay)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

The record heat we experienced this summer carried over into the nights as well, it seems. Environmentalists are pointing to that as a harbinger of what they call the "dark side" of impending climate change.

In Maryland, 12 of 16 weather stations in the Historical Climatology Network reported their nighttime low temperatures this summer were the highest ever recorded, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. And the other four stations in the state reported their average lows after dark were among their five warmest.   To see the Maryland data, go here.

The hot summer nighlts weren't limited to Maryland or the mid-Atlanatic, either.  NRDC says nearly one out of four weather stations in the lower 48 states recorded hotter average night-time lows than at any time since 1895.  The phenomenon extended across the East and Midwest.

One summer does not global warming make, of course, but this one comes on the heels of the hottest decade on record.  Why do enviros call hot summer nights the "dark side" of climate change?  The NRDC's Kim Knowlton says the nights are particularly bad for the elderly and those unable to afford air conditioning, since they can't get relief from the heat even after dark.

BTW, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that this has been the hottest year on record globally so far.  The first eight months have been as hot as the same period in 1998, the hottest year to date, the agency says.  And this summer, at least the three months from June through August, has been the second warmest.  For more, go here.

(People playing in Inner Harbor's Sondheim Fountain, July 2010, photo by Colleen McCloskey) 

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Saturday (Sept. 18) is the third annual "Trash Bash," an afternoon of music, food and drink on the Middle Branch of the Patpapsco River.

It's to benefit the Baltimore Harbor Waterkeeper , the nonprofit environmental group, in its efforts to improve water quality in Baltimore's harbor.

The party's from noon to 5 p.m. at Nick's Fish House, 2600 Insulator Drive. Tickets are $75 per person, which includes seafood buffet, oyster bar, drinks, music, boat tours and waterfront views galore. There'll also be a silent auction.

For tickets, go here.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 3:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Ever wondered what the city might look like if it didn't have so much asphalt? Well, tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 17) in a handfull of places around Baltimore, you can get an idea.

Activists, artists, landscape architects and just plain folks will be converting curbside parking spaces into pocket parks, complete with grass, plants - even a green roof in at least one case.

It's all part of PARK(ing) Day, an annual event intended to demonstrate the need for more urban open space. It began in San Francisco (of course) five years ago and has gone global since.

"The goal is really to show people what even just a little green space can do to the city," says Joan Floura, co-owner of Floura Teeter, a landscape architect firm in the 300 block W. Franklin Street that's camping out Friday in three spaces in front of the office.

There'll be grass, of course, and a small green roof outside Floura Teeter to show how they're made and how they soak up storm runoff. There'll be more than a bit of whimsy, too.

"We’re having croquet out in Fanklin Street," Floura says. "How many times a year can you do that?"

Anybody can get in on the fun - though it's too late for this year. Go here if you'd like to get in on  this DIY event in 2011.

Here in Baltimore, you'll have an extra hoop to jump through. In the city, it's illegal to block off a parking space without a permit. So you have to contact the Department of General Services, fill out a form, pay $65 for use of the curb lane and 15 per space - and wait three days (That's why it's too late for this year).  You can get the form online here.  Fax or mail it in, or go in person to the permits office at 200 Holliday Street.  Ask for Helen Marinelli, the Queen of Permits. 

Meanwhile, here are the others besides Floura Teeter who'll be PARK(ing) on Friday:

1) Planning firm EDSA Inc. will creat a "Guerilla Park" on Commerce Stret north of Pratt Street (just north of World Trade Center);

2) Architects Ayers Saint Gross  will have a storm-water education park at Thames Street and South Broadway;

3) MD chapter American Society of Landscape Architects will have a "green living room" on St. Paul Street just south of Mt. Royal Avenue;

4) Morgan State University landscape architecture students will show they're not just shrub experts at 40-50 E. Cross St. in Federal Hill;

5) Artist Marian Glebes, in collaboration with Parks & People, will set up a campsite at North Avenue and North Charles Street in front of the Wind Up Space bar. 

(Floura Teeter's 2009 PARK(ing) oasis, courtesy the company)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 3:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

Celebrate world peace in the great outdoors! Mark your calendars for the second annual World Peace Party on Sunday, September 26th from noon until 7pm.

Hosted by Sweet Peace Farm in Westminster, the event will include drum circles, dancing, local fare, fabulous vendors, and children’s activities. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and listen to nationally renowned flutist Jan Seiden perform along with other talented musicians.

Tickets are $8 if purchased in advance or $10 at the door. Children under 12 are admitted for free.

If you are interested in being a vendor or sponsor for this year’s World Peace Party, fees start at $50.

Visit www.karmafest.com for more information or to purchase tickets.

About Sweet Peace Farm:

Nestled in the rolling hills of Carroll County, Maryland, Sweet Peace Farm is “dedicated to peace, love and laughter.” Throughout the year, they hold healing Agnihotra gatherings, musical concerts, meditations, workshops, Reiki training, drumming circles, hay rides, and other fun events. For information about hosting an event, contact Sweet Peace Farm here.

Image courtesy of Jan Seiden.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

A tidbit of good news, for a change. Word comes that nearly 40 hospitals and other health-care facilities in Maryland and the District of Columbia bought - and served - at least one food from a local farmer during this summer's "Buy Local Challenge." 

The challenge is a statewide campaign launched by the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission to promote local produce and food.   There were 38 hospitals buying local during the weeklong drive July 17-25, up from 27 that took part when the first challenge was held last summer.  Thanks to  Maryland Hospitals for a Healthy Environment for the info.

Wonder if they served apples like those pictured here from the farmers' market under the Jones Falls Expressway?  I don't know that this is going to make me want to have lunch at the nearest hospital cafeteria, but I'll bet the local growers appreciate the business.  Now to get hospitals to buy local all summer long, if not year-round.

(1999 Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Buy local, Food
        

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has panned Pennsylvania's draft plan for helping to restore the troubled estuary.

The Harrisburg office of the Annapolis-based environmental group issued a brief statement Wednesday criticizing Pennsylvania's "roadmap" for how the state would curb water-fouling nitrogen and phosphorus getting into the Susquehanna River, source of half the fresh water and much of the pollution reaching the bay.

The foundation said the state's plan is "largely a summary of programs and initiatives that already exist."  The state's blueprint "does not clearly articulate the strategy, program,s resources and timing to be employed" to meet Pennsylvania's obligation to share in the cleanup effort, the group said. 

Maryland, Pennsylvania and the other four states that drain into the bay, plus the District of Columbia, submitted "watershed implementation plans" to the Environmental Protection Agency earlier this month supposedly spelling out what they would do over the next seven years to help improve the Chesapeake's water quality.  The federal agency plans to use those to draw up by the end of the year a "total maximum daily load" -- a pollution "diet" in less bureaucratic terms -- that would require each state to reduce the amounts of water-fouling nitrogen and phosphorus getting into the bay and its tributaries. 

EPA officials have been officially mum as they review the states' plans, but environmental groups and others have given them less than glowing reviews so far, finding them long on verbiage but short on specifics.   The bay foundation's critique of Pennsylvania's plan is the latest in that vein.

John T. Hines, deputy secretary of Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection, defended the state's plan as a work in progress when asked last week about earlier criticism of it from the bay foundation.

"Does it solve every issue? Absolutely not," he said at a a meeting of the Chesapeake Bay Commission in Lancaster. "Does it give us the foundation on which to build? Absolutely."

States have until the end of November to refine and finalize their plans, after hearing from EPA and the public. Should EPA deem the states' proposals insufficient to make the needed pollution reductions, the federal government could clamp down on new or existing industries and municipalities in a state. 

(Susquehanna River at Holtwood dam, 2008 Baltimore Sun photo by Barbara Haddock Taylor)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the passage of the Clean Air Act, a sweeping environmental law that's widely credited with helping millions of Americans breathe easier - and even saving lives - but is still the focus of fierce debates. 

The Baltimore area once had such bad summertime smog that its air ranked among the nation's unhealthiest, second or third only to Los Angeles'.   The air quality has improved in both places since then, with ground-level ozone pollution concentrations declining.  Acid rain, once blamed for killing lakes and streams in the Northeast, has also abated.

Those gains didn't come without conflict, as industries warned they'd be ruined by requirements for now widely accepted pollution controls like putting catalytic converters on cars and scrubbers on coal-burning power plants, and removing lead from gasoline.  Nationally, chronic ozone levels were 14 percent lower in 2008  than in 1990, the year Congress made its last major revision of the law.  Other pollutants were down even more. (Smog, though, is heavily influenced by weather, and this summer's extreme temperatures have pushed ozone levels back up this year - though still not to the extremes seen in decades past.)

Even so, the law remains a battleground, as air-quality standards have been repeatedly tightened in response to new research indicating some segments of the population still suffer health problems from chronic exposure to lower levels of ozone and fine particulates.   There's a fight now over a new move to lower ozone limits again.  

The biggest struggle, though, is over the EPA's use of the Clean Air Act to regulate climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.  With climate-change legislation stalled in Congress, the Obama administration has moved ahead with moves to track and ultimately limit carbon dioxide emissions, relying on a Bush-era Supreme Court decision upholding the law's use to deal with climate change.  Lawmakers, some of them representing oil and coal-producing regions, have introduced bills to block further action. arguing carbono-dioxide emission regulations would hurt the economy.   

Amid tug of war in Washington over federal action, states like Maryland, meanwhile, have adopted their own laws clamping down on pollutants (Health Air Act) and are proceeding under state legislation to do the same with greenhouse gas emissions within their borders. 

Clean air, as ever, is a hot topic.  For more on the law, go here.

(Constellation Energy's Brandon Shores power plant, 2010 Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Keepers of the Earth - Trailer 1 from Aaron Soto-Karlin on Vimeo.

After completing his BA in Anthropology at Johns Hopkins University, Aaron Soto-Karlin received a Fulbright Fellowship and traveled to Chiapas, Mexico in search of shaman. During his travels, Aaron encountered the difficulties at the heart of sustainable development and the unwavering pride of Mexico’s indigenous people in their daily struggle for land, ancient traditions and the right to join the globalized world at their own pace. He teamed up with his brother, filmmaker David Soto-Karlin, to document this very struggle.

After 18 months of research and 60 hours of filming, Aaron and David are back in America, working to produce Keepers of the Earth – a feature documentary film that uncovers the battle between environmentalists and indigenous tribes for Mexico’s greatest natural wonder – the Lacandon Jungle. But their work is far from finished.

Now, six rising talents have joined their crew and they need $25,000 to get the team back to Mexico for four months to finish shooting. Their ultimate goal is that Keepers of the Earth will become a tool in the movement for pragmatic dialogue aimed at breaking down 20 years of resentment between government and communities.

“While focusing national attention on rural development, we will showcase the benefits of Cooperative Natural Resource Management,” says Aaron. “Keepers is a tool to urge the international community to convene environmentalists and social activists around an environmental agenda that uplifts the world's poorest.”

How you can help: Visit the Keepers of the Earth Kickstarter page and donate today. Contributions will go to supporting additional camera and lighting equipment, a web media coordinator, food, shelter, and transportation for their 8-person crew.

“Now is the only time we can tell this story!” says Aaron. “The 2010 UN Climate Talks are in Cancun this December and authorities are ramping up forced relocation of indigenous settlers.”

Stay up-to-date with this project by following Aaron and David:

Twitter: http://twitter.com/earthskeepers
Facebook: http://bit.ly/keepersfacebook
Website: http://www.keepersoftheearthfilm.com

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Three companies and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation have teamed up to offer mid-Atlantic natural gas consumers a way to offset the climate impacts of their energy use while reducing truck traffic and also helping the bay.

The effort, dubbed CleanSteps Carbon Offsets, offers offsets to new and renewing natural gas customers of Washington Gas Energy Services.  The venture, involving Washington Gas Energy Services, Arkansas-based freight shipping firm J.B. Hunt, and Sterling Planet, a Georgia-based clean energy company.

Under the deal announced this morning (Sept. 13) at the bay foundation's Annapolis headquarters, all WGES residential and small business gas customers automatically get 5 percent offsets when they sign up or renew. But they'll also have the option of purchasing up to 100 percent offsets - something that WGES President Harry Warrent estimates would cost $12 per month for the average residential household.

The carbon offsets are to come from "clean air projects that result in greenhouse gas reductions, as well as other local and regional benefits," according to a news release.  Initially, though, the offsets will come via J.B. Hunt. Senior vice president Gary Whicker said the company would switch shipments from tractor-trailers to rail, which he said would reduce the amount of energy consumed and greenhouse gases released for ever ton shipped that way.

As WGES customers get enrolled in the new offset program, the Washington-based energy company and Sterling Planet will contribute to a new Carbon Reduction Fund, which would be managed and used by the bay foundation to plant trees along water ways and help farmers reduce runoff of fertilizer into the bay.  Those contributions are expected to grow to $200,000 a year.

Bay Foundation President William C. Baker called the partnership "exciting and innovative" and said it presents a way to help clean up the air and water regionally while also doing something about global climate change.  Baker predicted that projects underwritten by the fund should reduce the amount of water-fouling nitrogen getting into the bay by 40-60,000 pounds a year.  He had no comparable estimates on carbon reductions, saying "we're going to learn as we go along," but suggested they'd likely be on the order of thousands of tons a year.

For more, go here.  Or to see a streaming video of the annoucement, go here.

(2005 AP photo traffic congestion on Interstate 95 near Aberdeen)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

You won't get them here, but you will if you hustle over to a "growshop" in Baltimore this evening (Sept. 13).

Halle Van der Gaag, director of the Jones Falls Watershed Association and Celeste Amato, director of Baltimore city's Cleaner Greener initiative, will talk about storm-water management and provide the aforementioned top 10 tips on making our streams, harbor and Bay cleaner.

The session, from 6 - 8 p.m., is at Puffs & Pastries, 830 W. 36th St. 21211. It's put on by Baltimore Green Works, Parks & People Foundation and the city's Department of Recreation and Parks.   (And thanks to Urbanite for the reminder to this forgetful blogger!)

For more information or to RSVP, contact Abby Cocke at 410.448.5663 x122 or abby.cocke@parksandpeople.org

(Rain barrel installation at St. John's College, Annapolis, 2009 Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Chesapeake Bay, DIY, Events, News, Tips, Urban Issues, Volunteer
        

As government at all levels girds to increase efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay, one of the biggest challenges to improving water quality is the continuing growth of people living within the six-state watershed.

While many see a growing population as a symbol of economic stability - see my prior post - the newcomers consume more land, drive more and produce more waste and pollution. Indeed, all the bay cleanup efforts to date have done little more than prevent it from getting worse in the face of an expanding population, now 17 million and counting.

So how do we expect to revive the bay's vitality - and maintain it - as long as more and more people flock to its watershed? A forum Friday organized by the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future tackles that question.

Speakers include Brad Heavner, state director of Environment Maryland, Dr. Brian Schwartz, professor of environmental health sciences at Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health and Tom Horton, author of multiple books on the Chesapeake, former Sun reporter and columnist, and an advocate for a "no-growth" policy to preserve the bay.

The session, open to the public, will be from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Sheldon Hall, Hopkins School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street.  For directions and more, go here.

(2006 Bay Bridge walk, Baltimore Sun photo by Jerry Jackson.)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

It's conventional wisdom that growth is good - and necessary, even, to keep society on an even keel. To that end, economists, politicians and a lot of other folk track "gross domestic product" as the indicator of how much - or even whether, in hard times like these - the economy is growing.

GDP is viewed by many, in fact, as a surrogate for quality of life. But there are those who challenge that well-established notion, arguing that a truer measure of well-being should take into account environmental and social factors, such as pollution, crime, climate change and long commutes.

As my colleague Jamie Smith Hopkins reported Sunday in The Baltimore Sun, alternative indices have been developed attempting to look beyond the amount of goods and services produced, which is basically what GDP measures. 

Here in Maryland, the stat-happy O'Malley administration has developed its own yardstick, a state-specific "genuine progress indicator," which administration officials argue offers a truer measure of prosperity.   It's a blend of 26 sets of statistics covering economic, social and natural factors — "from the costs of crime to the costs of ozone depletion," as the announcement of its debut described it.

The GPI, as it's known, tends to show that Marylanders over the past three decades or so have not been nearly as well off as they might've thought if only looking at the "gross state product," a localized GDP measuring goods and services produced within the state.  While purely economic data have trended up nicely, social factors have remained static and environmental measures have tended downward since the '60s. 

What do you think?  Do the length of your commute, the crime rate in your neighborhoods and the health of the Chesapeake Bay affect how you feel about yourself and our state?  Or is the amount of cash in your wallet the only real measure of how happy you are?   For more about the genuine progress index and how it's compiled, go here.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Whether or not you’re a bicyclist, you’ve probably become familiar with the bike lanes and sharrows that the City has been painting on Baltimore streets for the past several years. Bike lanes are usually on higher-volume, higher-speed, and wider streets like St. Paul or University Parkway to carve out a specific area for bicyclists. Sharrows (aka shared lane markings or “Sergeant Bikes”) reemphasize that bicyclists are welcome on our streets and should indicate where the bicyclist should be riding to avoid being hit by car doors (some in Baltimore have been painted in the wrong place and are too close to the door). The neighborhoods along 33rd Street also have the more obscure and less-well known “Floating Bike Lanes” to deal with peak-hour parking restrictions.

Now, Baltimore City is about to introduce “Bike Boulevards”, a new type of bike facility in Baltimore, and Guilford Avenue between University Parkway and Mt. Royal Avenue, is the first place it will be implemented. A bike boulevard is different from the other types in that it focuses on making improvements to lower-volume, lower-speed streets that are provide good linkages between neighborhoods and are already pretty attractive to a wide variety of bicyclists. Making a street into a bike boulevard involves adding additional traffic calming and greening measures that will slow down auto traffic and give some priority to bicyclists, making the streets quieter, prettier, and healthier.

Because they have less auto traffic, bike boulevards are more welcoming to kids, families and novice cyclists, and attractive for all kinds of cyclists who want to ride on a convenient & comfortable route. Where they have been implemented in Portland (OR), Berkeley (CA), and New York (NY), they have often involved installing barriers force cars to turn off of the route, but allowing bicyclists to pass through the diverter.

Baltimore's gridded street system is ideal for bike boulevards and Guilford Avenue is a great place to start because the City Public School System’s headquarters parking lot already serves to divert auto (but not bike) traffic off the street at North Avenue and it provides a direct connection to downtown from neighborhoods in north central Baltimore and an alternative to the higher-speed, higher-volume arterials of Calvert, St. Paul, Charles, & Maryland. The frequency of four-way stop signs on Guilford Avenue is currently a challenge for bicyclists (coming to a full stop makes a bicyclist lose a lot of momentum and a number of auto drivers also roll through stop signs creating a real safety hazard).

Other bike boulevards have dealt with this by installing mini-traffic circles, which force the traffic to slow down to a reasonable speed without requiring everyone to stop unless there’s a pedestrian to yield to. Seattle has installed over 700 mini-circles and has found they reduced motor vehicle crashes by an average of 90 percent.

After considerable experience with bike boulevards, Portland, Oregon is now shifting to calling them Neighborhood Greenways because they feel that better represents the fact that the benefits of lower speed, lower traffic volumes, and more greenery aren’t just for bicyclists but also for pedestrians, residents, and the environment.

As someone that rides a bicycle, walks, and drives along Guilford Avenue (I live on Abell, the next street over) I’m excited about the potential to make the street even nicer, safer, and more attractive for bicyclists. It’s already a great alternative to riding on Calvert, St. Paul, Charles, or Maryland used by a lot of bike commuters and the new signage and other improvements will make it even better. There are also four elementary schools within two blocks of Guilford Avenue, making it even more important to manage traffic speeds and make it an attractive street for walking & bicycling.

For more information about Baltimore Bike Boulevards, visit Bike Baltimore.

Also, Bicycle Traffic Verifiers are needed to help count the bikes through September 10th from 6:30 – 8:30 am and 4 – 6 pm at:

•Falls Rd & Maryland Avenue
•Guilford Ave & Mt. Royal Ave
•Guilford Ave & 32nd St
•Frederick Ave & Gwynns Falls Trail
•Aliceanna St & Boston St

To volunteer, sign up here.

Patrick McMahon is a resident of the Abell neighborhood, a bicyclist, a dad, a member of the Baltimore City Sustainability Commission, and the transportation chair for the Greater Baltimore Group of the Sierra Club. He works as a part-time network organizer for the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, advocating for policy changes that would increase the potential for students to safely walk and bike to school in Maryland. He can be contacted at patrick@mcmahon.com or maryland@saferoutespartnership.org.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 11:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Maryland, the District of Columbia and the other five states that drain into the Chesapeake Bay released drafts last week of their plans for accelerating cleanup of the troubled estuary. 

Reaction to the restoration "roadmaps" has been slow in coming, partly because of the long holiday weekend, but also because those who've plowed into the nearly 900 pages combined have had a hard time making out exactly what the states are pledging to do when.

"It's so overwhelming that no one can decipher it except those whose ox is getting gored," said Rena Steinzor, a University of Maryland environmental law professor who is head of the Center for Progressive Reform, a Washington think tank.

One thing that is clear is that no state has made a firm pledge to spend more to complete the restoration, even though they're clearly talking about doing more.  All, to varying degrees, seem to look to the federal government to provide the needed largess - or, in Maryland's case, simply to say options are being considered for raising additional funds to pay for upgrading sewage treatment plants and for controlling polluted runoff from city and suburban streets.

There are a lot of good ideas," Tommy Landers, policy advocate for Environment Maryland, said of this state's 170-page plan. But, he added, "it needs more detail about how they're going to enforce pretty much everything they're thinking about doing."

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation called Virginia's 117-page plan "stunningly deficient" in laying out how the state would reduce its share of the bay's nutrient polllution, particularly from farms and urban areas.

New York and Virginia, meanwhile, challenge the scientific basis for the pollution-reduction targets they've been given by the Environmental Protection Agency, and even the federal government's legal authority to impose them.  And both say they lack the resources to make the needed reductions anyway, so the federal government will have to pony up if it expects them to be done by 2025, the latest deadline in the dragged-out restoration effort.

It'll be interesting to see how the EPA handles the challenges presented it by the states' plans and comes up with its own draft of a baywide pollution "diet" by Sept. 24.  There'll be a series of public meetings in every state in late September through October, where people who've plowed through the various plans are invited to give their feedback and suggestions.  Go here to find the scehdule.

(AP photo of Katie Blann, 4, being washed by a wave from the Chesapeake Bay at Sandy Point State Park during Labor Day weekend.)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

An Annapolis-based home builder broke ground today (9/8) in Frederick on what it touts as Maryland's first community of "net zero," carbon-neutral homes.

NEXUS Energy Homes Inc. is building 59 market-rate homes in the historic downtown to meet LEED platinum standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council. The homes, featuring rooftop solar panels and buried geothermal loop along with high-efficiency systems and appliances, are designed to generate as much electricity as they use - ergo, the "net zero" label.

The Frederick homes also are planned to be more affordable than you might imagine. Prices have been held down with federal and state incentives. The project, known as the Residences at North Pointe, is sponsored by the Housing Authority of the City of Frederick under its HOPE VI program. The development is actually a mixed redevelopment of one of Frederick's former housing projects. The market-rate homes are to go in among subsidized apartments already built.  That's the developer's artist's conception of the finished community above.

For more, go here.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Deep Green Wellness is a local service oriented organization dedicated to providing inspirational and affordable self-care through yoga, herbal medicine, and educational retreats.

Through the support of Maryland’s wellness community, Deep Green is able to provide its services and distribute its products to those in need.

Their three limbs of service include:

1. Yoga classes, workshops, and trainings to further self-development and self-love. They also offer yoga to at-risk teens through their sister organization ‘Teens In Balance’.

2. Operation of a formulating herbal apothecary that carries bulk dried herbs, herbal extracts, and powders that are custom blended for individual clients or businesses. The apothecary also provides the formulation grounds for the production of our herbal teas and retail herbal products.

3. Retreats that are designed to create a safe space for transformation and to provide skills for individuals to deepen their knowledge of plant medicines, yoga, health, and wellness.

On October 22-24, Deep Green will host an intimate weekend gathering in the mountains of Berkeley Springs for a weekend of yoga, tai chi, and vegetarian meals. Award-winning author Jonathan Evatt will lead guests through a discussion around reclaiming power and living a life of greater freedom. To read more, visit Deep Green Wellness at deepgreenwellness.com or watch the information video above.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

If we all put our heads together, can we save the Bay? What about if we put all our computers together?

Computing giant IBM is committing its "World Community Grid," a network of 1.5 million PCs run by 600,000 volunteers, to help tackle water problems around the world, including the challenge of restoring the Chesapeake Bay.

IBM will lend its grid power to the Bay simulation game that the University of Virginia is developing, which attempts to model the impact on the Chesapeake of decisions by farmers, developers, fishers and others. UVa has tested its Bay Game with groups of students, policy makers and other stakeholders.

IBM spokesman Ari Fishkind said the combined computing power of its grid - driven by PCs tapped when not in use by their owners -  will speed up the number-crunching behind the many scenarios needed to make the Bay game realistic and responsive to the cumulative impact of many different decisions being made at once.

"It's giving them power that's equivalent to a supercomputer, and will help them create the necessary, underlying computer models in months, not decades," Fishkind writes in an email.

The company's also pledging its grid to help Chinese scientists develop techniques for filtering pollutants from water, and to aid Brazilian researchers in finding new treatments for schistosomiasis, a debilitating water-borne disease that kills thousands annually and infects an estimated 200 million worldwide.

Anyone with a PC can join IBM's World Community Grid and contribute to these projects or to others devoted to developing cleaner energy or even curing cancer. For more, go here.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

No surprise to anyone who's been in Baltimore this summer, but we've had a record number of days with the temperature reaching 90 degrees or more. That coming on the heels of last winter's record snowfall.

As my colleague Frank Roylance reports in The Baltimore Sun today, "Since last winter's blizzards and record accumulations, 2010 has brought drought, crop losses, rising numbers of heat-related deaths and the hottest summer on record for Baltimore."

Just natural variability in weather, or did climate change have a hand in the extreme conditions we've experienced this year? Climate experts always caution that you can't attribute any particular storm or weather event to climate change.  Nor do weather patterns in one place necessarily represent what is a global phenomenon.  

But Kevin Trenberth, head of the climate analysis section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. told Roylance that what we've experienced could well have been influenced by the planet's shifting climate.

"Global warming is not the major factor, but it is a nontrivial factor," Trenberth said. "We can say that these [extreme] events very likely would not have happened without global warming."

(Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston) 

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Wonders never cease. As Maryland's primary election looms next week, candidates for local and statewide office are actually talking about the environment in their TV commercials and political mailings.

The latest, most visible example, is the ad from former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. that debuted on Facebook/YouTube on Sunday and will begin airing on local TV stations later this month. The 30-second spot, "Let's Get to Work," doesn't make any specific claims or promises, just flashes through a series of reasons why the Republican candidate says he's running - including the Bay.

The campaign issues Ehrlich has been hammering throughout the summer are mentioned, including fixing the state's budget woes, helping small businesses and ensuring excellent schools for all. But the brief litany ends with what appears to be a waterman saying "Protect the Bay - Finally."

The governor's race isn't the only one where the Bay or the environment are getting some attention. In the Baltimore County executive's race, Democratic Councilman Kevin Kamenetz is hitting his primary rival, Councilman Joseph Bartenfelder, for votes he made years ago as a legislator on pesticides and bayfront develoment. Bartenfelder has responded with his own ad saying Kamenetz is misrepresenting his environmental record.

Such green-themed campaign ads are remarkable because polling routinely shows environmental issues aren't high on most voters' minds, whether in national, state or local races. Other than limited, targeted appeals to devoted greenies, candidates rarely bring up the environment on their own.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did either Ehrlich or his Democratic opponent, Martin O'Malley, talk much about the Bay in campaign ads or literature four years ago? (UPDATE: Ehrlich spokesman Henry Fawell reminds me that one of the then-incumbent governor's commercials four years ago did indeed talk about the Bay, and the Bay Restoration Fund (aka flush fee) he backed to upgrade sewage plants.) This year, though, seems to be different.

"In general, it's being talked about more than normally," says Cindy Schwartz, executive director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters.

She thinks one reason the Bay is getting airtime now in the governor's race is because there's a lot of federal pressure to ratchet up bay cleanup efforts. "It's sort of topical," Schwartz says.

Whether from President Obama's executive order asserting federal leadership of the bay restoration, or the cleanup bill pending in the Senate sponsored by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-MD, "there's been this sort of heightened rhetoric around 'we haven't done enough,'" she adds.

The heightened public attention to the Bay from the federal government gives Ehrlich a chance to suggest O'Malley hasn't done enough to fix the bay, to be sure. But it also begs the question: How would Ehrlich "protect the bay" better than or differently from his Democratic opponent? 

Most veterans of the bay cleanup effort seem to think it's going to take a combination of more spending and more regulation, but neither candidate seems to be talking much about those. Indeed, O'Malley's spokespeople routinely hammer Ehrlich for raising fees. One of those was the "flush" fee that's raised hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade sewage treatment plants and to install less polluting household septic systems. Does O'Malley think that was a bad thing to do?

Speaking of the flush fee, that's a Bay issue both candidates ought to address squarely. The flush-fee supported "bay restoration fund" is about to run short of money in the next few years, as  costly overhauls begin of the bay's two largest sewage treatment plants, Baltimore's Back River and Washington's Blue Plains facilities.

An advisory committee has said that to keep the fund from running dry, the state either needs to raise the $30 per household annual fee (by up to 100 percent) or make local governments shoulder more of the costs, or delay some plant upgrades for several years until the fund is replenished.

Raising the fee could be unpopular, while forcing local governments to pay more is just shifting the costs - and responsibility to raise fees. Delaying plant upgrades might sound like the only viable political option, but that could make it unlikely Maryland would have taken the needed bay-cleanup steps by 2025, much less by 2020, as O'Malley is pledging.  It also seems likely to get Maryland in trouble with the federal government, which is planning to lock the bay states into a cleanup schedule by year's end that is meant to ensure that the states and federal government - after repeatedly missing earlier cleanup targets - will collectively do by 2025 what's needed to finally restore the bay.  

Now there's something specific to talk about when it comes to protecting and restoring the Bay. Candidates?

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
        

The state's long-debated Chesapeake Bay oyster restoration effort gets officially under way today, with the Department of Natural Resources accepting applications to lease bay bottom to raise oysters privately.

My colleague, outdoors writer Candy Thomson, reports that the first application arrived at 7:15 a.m., and by 9 a.m., five bids had rolled in. Go here to read the rest of her blog post about the effort, which conservationists embrace and watermen continue to oppose.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Is all the money and effort we've put into cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay doing any good?  In one spot, the Potomac, the answer appears to be yes. 

A study by the U.S. Geological Survey and England's National Oceanography Centre has found that reducing nutrient pollution in the Potomac River and improving its water clarity have helped restore a rich fish habitat there of underwater grasses. Analyzing 18 years of data,  US and British scientists found that as nutrient levels in the river declined, the extent of submerged aquatic vegetation, or underwater grasses, has doubled since 1990.

What's more the area covered by native grasses has increased 10-fold researchers say, eclipsing the exotic hydrilla that once represented about the only vegetation there.

“Improvements to plant communities living at the bottom of the river have occurred nearly in lock step with decreases in nutrients and sediment in the water and incremental reductions in nitrogen effluent entering the river from the wastewater treatment plant for the Washington DC area,” USGS scientist Dr. Nancy Rybicki said in a news release reporting the study results.

Underwater grasses had virtually disappeared from the Potomac by the 1980s, when the bay restoration effort began.  Submerged vegetation coverage in the river has grown from 4,207 acres in 1990 to 8,441 acres in 207.  The growth has occurred up to 50 miles downstream from Washington, where the Blue Plains sewage treatment plant is the biggest single discharger of wastewater in the entire six-state Chesapeake watershed.  Most of the underwater grass restoration goal has been met for that stretch, almost reaching the Harry Nice (US 301) bridge.  See the graph here.

The lower river, however, remains seriously deficient in underwater grasses.  That portion is heavily influenced by tidal influx from the bay, where nutrient levels have not declined as much.  But scientists said the improvements in the upper river offer hope for restoring the rest of the bay, if nutrient and sediment pollution throughout the watershed can be reduced.

“Our results suggest that widespread recovery of submerged vegetation abundance and diversity can be achievable if restoration efforts are enhanced across the bay,” said Henry Ruhl of the National Oceanography Centre.

(Photo of underwater grasses by Curtis Dalpra, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin; photo wild celery by Nancy Rybicki, USGS)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Not one, but two big bull sharks turned up this week in the Potomac River - prompting the usual media focus on how dangerous they can be to humans. This time, though, the tables were turned, and the Chesapeake Bay may be the poorer for it.

Willy Dean, a commercial fisherman in St. Mary's County, put a net near the mouth of the Potomac earlier this week to collect some cownose rays for biologists to study, according to The Washington Post. He got more than he bargained for when he found an 8-foot bull shark in the net.

"When I first seen it, it was like 'Jaws' -- we need a bigger boat!" Dean told The Post. He said he spent two hours trying to wrestle the shark (seen above) into his 22-foot boat.  The next day, another St. Mary's fisherman, Thomas Crowder, reported finding another 8-foot bull shark in his net, the Post reported.

Sharks aren't uncommon in the Chesapeake Bay, especially in Virginia waters. But bull sharks have been sighted before - a 420-pound, 8 1/2-footer was caught near the Bay Bridge in 1987, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Bull sharks are said to be among the more aggressive predators of the sea, figuring in many reports of attacks on humans. They're also apparently more wide-ranging than most, capable of tolerating fresh water.  But there've been no reported shark attacks on people in the bay. And in this case, neither shark survived its encounter with humans.

These sharks aren't classified as endangered, so why lament their loss?  As BayDaily blogger Tom Pelton pointed out, there've been sharp declines in shark populations, largely the result of fishing pressure. Biologists in 2007 reported a more than 99 percent drop in numbers of bull sharks, among others.

The loss of such top predators has ripple effects in nature. One scientists have noted is an explosion of cownose rays and other creatures on which sharks feed. The kite-shaped rays feast on the Bay's shellfish.  So, if only for the sake of our struggling clams and oysters, let's hope there are more sharks out there - and that we can steer clear of each other.

(Photo courtesy Buzz's Marina)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
        

Head over to Cromwell Valley Park this weekend for the Towson ARTS Collective “Arts in the Park” days, showcasing local fine artists, fine crafters, green crafters, literary art, music, wine, and local food. The event will take place on Saturday, September 4 at 10AM to 5PM and on Sunday, September 5 at 12 noon to 5PM on the front lawn of the Sherwood House.

Also on Saturday from 1PM to 2:30PM at the Park’s Willow Grove Children’s Garden, is Monarch Tagging for Educators. Learn about the monarch migration and participate in Monarch Watch’s tag and release program for use in the classroom.

Next Saturday, September 11 at 10AM to 11:30AM, the Willow Grove Nature Education Center will host a workshop on how and when to collect seeds for next season, including tips for drying, freezing, storing, and testing for germination. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Finally, on Tuesday September 14 from 6:30PM to 8PM, Cromwell Valley CSA staff will lead an exciting tour of the farm and teach participants about organic agriculture. Ages 5-10 with parent.

Cromwell Valley Park offers visitors 380 acres of pasture, cultivated gardens, open fields, woods, and orchards. Open for public visitation 365 days a year, the park is divided into three “educational” areas – farming, history, and natural history. In addition, a portion of the park is dedicated to demonstrating best practices in sustainable and organic farming.

For more information, visit www.cromwellvalleypark.org/scheduleofevents.

Posted by Christy Zuccarini at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

The defoliation of a four-mile stretch of roadside along the heavily traveled Jones Falls Expressway connecting the city with the Beltway has highlighted the extent to which exotic, invasive plants have taken over our landscape.

As I reported in The Baltimore Sun, some environmentalists aren't tickled with the State Highway Administration's decision to spray herbicide on the overgrown vines smothering the trees along the JFX, rather than hack them out manually. They aren't all wild, either, about the state's choice of trees to replace the ones it's cutting down.  SHA points out the weed killer it used is "practically non-toxic" and that the trees it's planting are to help screen the highway from nearby homes, not just to recreate a "natural" ecosystem.

But on one thing, everyone agrees: Invasive plants are a widespread problem, crowding out native vegetation and depriving native insects, birds and animals of their customary food and habitat.  The home team needs help, and it's too big a problem for government alone to deal with.

Experts advise that the problem often starts at home - our homes.  Many exotic invasives got their start as plants bought from a nursery to spruce up a yard or garden.  But true to their name, invasives don't stay where originally planted - they spread readily, and are hard to kill or contain once established.  That's why they advise us to be more careful about what we plant and vigilant about rooting out invasives in our midst.

For help in identifying what's native and what's not - and especially, what's invasive -- you can consult the Maryland Invasive Species Council, or the Maryland Native Plant Society (look under "Resources).  Also the Chesapeake Ecology Center in Annapolis and the Adkins Arboretum on the Eastern Shore.  

The Nature Conservancy has a handy "weed-watcher manual."  If you want to consult with a real person, there's always the University of Maryland Extension's Home and Garden Information Center.  And if you want to go native, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has a guidebook on native plants for wildlife habitat and conservation landscaping in the Chesapeake Bay region. 

Any other favorite resources on invasives and native plants?  Please share!

(Baltimore Sun photo of defoliated stretch of Jones Falls Expressway (I-83), by Karl Merton Ferron)  

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

Today's another Code Red air quality day in the Baltimore area.  Health experts recommend folks stay indoors, particularly those with asthma or other chronic breathing difficulties.  They also urge driving less and avoiding refueling during the daytime, to reduce the release of smog-forming emissions.

Ground-level ozone, commonly called smog, reached unhealthful levels as predicted around 2 pm in the Edgewood area of Harford County, and to a "code orange" level in the Aldino area, meaning levels were high enough to affect sensitive individuals with breathing problems.

The hot summer has made breathing clean air tougher much of the summer. This is the seventh "Code Red" day this summer for the Baltimore area, compared with just one during last year's balmy, rainy summer and four during 2008. And there've been 27 "code orange" days in the B'mroe area - as opposed to 10 last year - when folks with asthma and other chronic lung conditions need to be careful about exerting themselves outdoors.

It should be noted that smog levels have generally improved since the 1980s, as states and the federal government have required cleaner-burning gasoline and more pollution controls on cars and trucks and power plants.

But scientists have found that chronic exposure to even lower levels of ozone can be harmful to health, so the Environmental Protection Agency is considering setting even tighter standards for health air, which is generating push back from industries fearing more costly regulation of their emissions.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

Summer's over, school's back in session, and the states' first major homework assignment is due today (Sept. 1) in the new Chesapeake Bay cleanup drive being directed by the federal government.

The six bay watershed states and District of Columbia are supposed to be submitting draft "watershed implementation plans" to the Environmental Protection Agency spelling out how they expect to reduce pollution enough to restore the Chesapeake's troubled water quality.

Once EPA has those plans -- from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, DC, Delaware, New York and West Virginia -- it will put the finishing touches on a baywide "pollution diet" parsing out how each state must reduce nutrients and sediment flowing into the bay's tributaries.  It's a big deal, because the diet will require more costly upgrades of wastewater treatment plants, and greater efforts by farmers and urban and suburban communities to control polluted storm runoff.

Maryland, one of the three major bay states, expects to get its plan in by mid-afternoon, says Dawn Stoltzfus, communications director for the Maryland Department of the Environment.

But an EPA source says Virginia officials have said theirs won't be ready until sometime Friday.  A spokesman for Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality said today he was checking on the status of the state's plan.

(UPDATE 1:30 pm EDT: Jon Capacasa, EPA's mid-Atlantic water protection director, confirmed in a telephone briefing for reporters that Virginia officials had requested a two-day extension "to make sure the governor and senior folks in the administration support the strategy."  The EPA official said he didn't know why the state needed more time to get the governor's backing,but called the request "reasonable" and said it shouldn't disrupt the agency's work.) 

It's not clear if this is just a production glitch, or a sign of looming trouble.  Virginia's Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell wrote EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson earlier this summer expressing his opposition to expanded federal regulation on the bay, saying the feds should be working with  farmers rather than riding herd on them.  Many are speculating that the EPA pollution diet will spark lawsuits objecting to its requirements and to the federal government's authority to impose them on state and local governments.

Two days late on a report might not seem like a big deal, but EPA is on an extremely tight time schedule to produce its bay pollution diet, bureaucratically known as a "total maximum daily load," by year's end.  And it's the states who'd asked the federal agency to meet that deadline. 

Agency officials say they need to review what the states are pledging to do before issuing their draft baywide pollution diet.  EPA's draft diet is due by Sept. 24, after which there'll be six weeks set aside for public commnets and meetings on what both the states and federal government are proposing to do. The states then have until Nov. 29 to revise their draft plans, and EPA is committed to publish its final pollution diet by Dec. 31. 

Technically, the feds have until May 1, 2011 to establish the baywide pollution diet under a Virginia court consent decree.  But state officials had asked EPA to get it done by year's end, and the agency agreed.  Ergo the time pressure.

So even a slight delay, if others follow, threatens to gum up the bureaucratic process.  Not to mention how it might undermine the public's already shaky confidence that the states and federal government really really mean it this time - after more than 25 years of missed deadlines and cleanup goals - when they say they're ready now to start doing what's needed to restore the bay by 2025.

(Top: Chesapeake Bay from Sandy Point State Park near Annapolis, AP photo.  Above: Boats passing algae blooms mouth of Elizabeth River near Norfolk, VA, July 2010, photo courtesy Chesapeake Bay Foundation.)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)