Virginia is buying out the licenses of more than 350 of its crabbers, paying them anywhere from $500 to $175,000 each to give up their rights to harvest the Chesapeake Bay's iconic crustacean.

Jack Travelstead, fisheries director for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, said letters went out today (Nov. 20) accepting the offers of 359 holders of crabbing licenses. The commission had received offers to sell from 664 crabbers, roughly a third of all licensed crabbers in the state.

"I couldn’t be happier with the results,'' Travelstead said. "I am very pleased with the number of licenses we’ve been able to purchase."

Virginia had invited the state's 1,800 crabbing license holders to name their price, in a Priceline-style "reverse auction."  

Maryland made a similar offer last summer to nearly 3,700 mostly small-time crabbers, but rejected the nearly 500 bids it got, declaring they didn't get enough reasonable offers.   Only about a fourth quoted prices Maryland's Department of Natural Resources was willing to pay, with one apparent protest bidder demanding $425 million for his $60-a-year permit.  The state then offered a flat $2,260 to each crabber, and got about 530 takers - a better result, though still short of the state's goal of retiring more than 1,300 licenses.

Speaking at a bay symposium Thursday at the University of Baltimore law school, Gansler said he plans to ask the General Assembly to declare the entire bay (or at least the Maryland portion) a no-discharge zone for boaters.

It's already illegal to dump raw sewage anywhere, and according to the Department of Natural Resources more than 300 marinas statewide have facilities where boaters can pump out their waste holding tanks and portable toilets.

"Most boaters do bring their tanks into the marina, and (the sewage) goes to the wastewater treatment plants," Gansler said. "But some don't." Some boaters also have "fancy heads," as he called them, which disinfect the waste but don't remove the nitrogen. Boaters with certain approved "marine sanitation devices," as they're called, are allowed to discharge their treated wastes.

The state now has two official no-discharge zones in areas heavily used by boaters - Herring Bay in Anne Arundel County, and the northern coastal bays in Worcester County.  Boaters in those areas are forbidden to dump raw or even treated sewage from their heads. Gansler said he would work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state lawmakers to expand the no-discharge designation to cover the entire bay.

Gansler, who has introduced an environmental bill in every General Assembly session since being elected, acknowledged that this measure wasn't as far-reaching as his previous legislative efforts. In prior years, he's pushed to ban phosphates in dishwasher detergents, to have chicken manure declared a renewable energy fuel and to give environmental and community groups legal standing to sue polluters. The first two passed, while last year's standing bill was watered down to give groups the right to challenge environmental permits, but not to sue to enforce the laws.

"We’re not going to fix the bay so its pristine after this," Gansler said, noting that boat waste discharges account for a tiny fraction (about 1 percent, he said) of the nitrogen contributing to the bay's dead zones. "But it’s something that’s very controllable,'' the AG added.

Gansler said that boaters he's spoken with favor his idea, and he suggested that it would have broad public support among non-boaters as well. What do you think?  Is the holding tank smell and pumpout hassle worth it for such a small source of the bay's pollution? Or is it the least boaters can do to help the bay that they depend on for recreation?

Tuers shares his recollections in this video shot by Matt Rath with the Chesapeake Bay Program . Some might see this as an emotional appeal to build public support for the costly, controversial push by the Obama administration and bay states to ramp up restoration efforts. Still, it's worth hearing how the bay used to be while pondering the price of trying to bring it back.

"People would not believe how it was back then," he says.

A look back with Arthur Tuers from Chesapeake Bay Program on Vimeo.

Catonsville-based UMBC is using IBM technology to help track wildfires in real time and make predictions about the spread of the blaze and health-threatening smoke. Such up-to-the-minute information would be useful to emergency responders in making decisions about evacuating people or issuing health warnings, according to the announcement.

What that has to do with "Smarter Cities," though, I'm not exactly sure - maybe an example of how business ties can keep university researchers employed?  

In any case, the Smarter Cities forum, also at UMBC, brings together local government and business leaders to brainstorm about how to improve the economy and quality of life in Baltimore. It's the latest in a series of such forums the company has held in cities across North America.  Besides talking about how to enhance health care, education and safety, they're scheduled to look at boosting green building and public transportation.

With international climate talks just a month away, the American Association for the Advancement of Science is hosting an art and educational exhibit at its Washington headquarters to help adults and children alike see what's at issue.

"Climate Change in Our World” displays five-foot high images and explanatory text depicting some of the climate-change effects already being seen around the planet. The photos are taken by award-winning environmental photojournalist Gary Braasch, who has been documenting climate change and its solutions for a decade.  The images are from a book by Braasch, Earth Under Fire. Pictured above are villagers huddled on an eroding island in Bengladesh.

Along with those images are others targeted at youngsters entitled: “How We Know About Our Changing Climate.” It contains photos from a young-reader science book of the same title co-authored by Braasch and Lynne Cherry. The book tells how scientists are observing changes in nature related to global warming, and explains how young people can learn more and take action themselves.

The exhibit also includes films produced by Cherry, "Young Voices on Climate Change." Pictured here is Clarissa Klein, a California Girl Scout in one of the films whose troop - in a switch from the usual cookie drive - distributed 5000 compact flourescent light bulbs door to door.

The exhibits are open for viewing starting today (Nov. 18) through March 15, 2010 in the gallery at the association's headquarters, 12th & H Streets NW (just north of Metro Center station), Washington, D.C. Gallery hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday.  But there's a special public opening reception today (Nov. 18) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

(Photos used by permission of Gary Braasch & Lynne Cherry)

Aiming to head off a budding bipartisan move in Congress to boost nuclear power, environmentalists took to the streets - and the Internet - to dismiss atom-splitting as too slow and costly to help fight climate change.

Environment Maryland released a new report Tuesday (Nov. 17) arguing that it would take a decade or more and cost upwards of $600 billion to build 100 more nuclear plants, as some have advocated to ease planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. The group argues that the time and money could be better spent promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy such as wind and solar.

"Nuclear power would actually hurt our ability to stop global warming,'' said Mike Sherling of Environment Maryland.

The report, which you can read here, comes as two senators, Republican Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Democrat Jim Webb of Virginia, introduce a bill that would funnel federal funds and loan guarantees into reviving the nuclear power industry as well as promoting renweable energy.

“If we were going to war, we wouldn’t mothball our nuclear navy and start subsidizing sailboats," Alexander said. "If addressing climate change and creating low-cost, reliable energy are national imperatives, we shouldn’t stop building nuclear plants and start subsidizing windmills.” 

To highlight their objections, Environment Maryland and other activists staged a press conference (pictured above) outside the downtown Baltimore headquarters of Constellation Energy, which has applied for a permit to build a new, third reactor at Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant. The press event drew a few lunchtime spectators, but the growl of traffic on busy Pratt Street often drowned out what they had to say.

(It should be noted that not all environmentalists oppose nuclear power.  Locally, the Maryland Conservation Council has endorsed Constellation's bid for a third reactor at Calvert Cliffs.  The group is concerned about industrial-scale wind and solar projects gobbling up land and wildlife habitat, and argues that nuclear power is safe and least expensive, for the amount of power generated.)

By coincidence, wind energy advocates were huddled nearby at the Pier 5 Hotel, conferring on how to boost the prospects for turbines atop mountains and offshore in the Mid-Atlantic region.  They have issues to overcome as well, including public resistance in some locales, and the inadequancy of high-tension transmission lines to convey the power from where it's generated to where it's needed.  This is an issue already in some western areas, but one of the speakers at yesterday's meeting said it was likely to be a concern in the East as well as more turbines get built. 

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

One is "Smart Growth Maryland," written by members of the Maryland Department of Planning to offer insights and invite public dialogue about "smart growth," sustainable development, land conservation and the like.

"We might rarely think about it in these terms, but the places where we live, what it looks like, not just the homes but the communities and services that surround them, are the result of planning (for better or worse) long ago," writes Andrew Ratner in the blog's premier post, "No Time Like the Present."   Ratner's state planning's communications director and a former Baltimore Sun editor.

Another recent addition to the Maryland blogosphere is "The Progger," the rants and rambles of Assateague Coastkeeper Kathy Phillips as she prowls the land and water around Maryland's Atlantic resort. The blog's about the local coastal environment, but growth is a major focus.

Her latest post is "Worcester, Now and in the Future," taking off on recent development decisions there along the ecologically important coastal bays, with photos illustrating the connection between land and water.

Do you have any favorite or new "green" local blogs?  Please share.

PETA says One World Cafe's vegan meatball sub sandwich is in the Top 10 best faux meatballs in the country.

The other winners were in states including California, New York and Massachusetts. But there was also one winner in Texas. They made soups, pastas and other meals out of their meatballs.

I couldn't find this item on One World's menu online. Maybe it's a special? Anyone had the One World creation?

Anyone know of other good places to acquire a good meatless meatball?

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcwashington.com/video.

DC is taking this bike to work thing seriously. Instead of just adding a lane for bikers, the city traffic folks have added a lane that is separated by a barrier so cars can't use it. It's just a pilot program, but could be expanded to other roads. So far, according to the local NBC affiliate, the lane is getting a good response from locals.

With all the talk about vegetarianism becoming more common, we decided to feature recipes on B'More Green. We have plenty to choose from in Baltimoresun.com's recipe database, but we also want to hear from you. If you have a favorite vegan or vegetarian dish, email us with the recipe, source (if it's not your own) and photo (if you have one), and we may feature it in future posts. If we choose your recipe, we may also send you a book related to vegetarian or green eating. 

To kick things off, here's a recipe from our vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes page. 

 Stuffed Butternut Squash with Wild Rice, Apricots

1 large butternut or Hubbard squash
1/3 cup fat-free, reduced sodium vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chopped apples
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 cup toasted* bread crumbs
1/4 cup toasted* pine nuts, optional
1/3 cup chopped celery
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Halve squash and scoop out seeds. Set aside.

Pour broth into a 10-inch nonstick skillet and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring, 8 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, apples, apricots, sage, thyme and wild rice. Cook 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Stir in bread crumbs, pine nuts, if using, celery, salt and pepper. Mound mixture over squash halves. Place on baking sheet and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour or until squash shell is soft. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer or until stuffing is lightly browned. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Per serving (with pine nuts): 242 calories, 8 grams protein, 5 grams fat, 47 grams carbohydrates, no cholesterol, 159 milligrams sodium, 17 percent calories from fat.

Per serving (without pine nuts): 207 calories, 6 grams protein, 1 grams fat, 46 grams carbohydrates, no cholesterol, 158 milligrams sodium, 6 percent calories from fat.

*To toast nuts or bread crumbs: Spread in a single layer on separate baking sheets and toast in a 350-degree oven 5 to 10 minutes or until golden. Use a spatula to turn bread crumbs or shake the pan to turn the nuts.

 So speak up vegetarians. What are your favorite holiday dishes?

AP file photo