Should the federal government allow oil drilling rigs off of Assateague Island? If you've ever wandered on the pristine beaches of this national seashore, you can imagine the impact of an oil spill.

That's why the Chesapeake Bay Foundation today urged Congress not to approve a proposal by the Bush administration to allow drilling more than 50 miles out in federal waters.

"Even at 100 miles out, an oil spill could cause signficant damage along the shoreline, from Assateague Island to Chincoteague," said Roy Hoagland, vice president of environmental protection and restoration at the advocacy organzation. "We have a lot of soft shorelines along the coast and in the bay. You get oil in marshy areas and it's almost impossible to remove."

On the other hand, gas prices are high and rising even higher. Perhaps more drilling far out into the ocean, and in Alaska, could help ease prices and make America less dependent on foreign oil. 

The proposal by the Interior Department to allow drilling off of Virginia's coast would also allow drilling in areas that are also currently off limits in Alaska'a Bristol Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.   Since an oil spill off California in 1982, Congress every year has passed a moratorium on drilling off of the East Coast and West Coast, and lawmakers would have to reverse course to allow the Bush adminsitration's proposal.

With Democrats now in charge of Congress, it's not clear that Bush's proposal will go anywhere.

Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey, a New York Democrat, vowed to use his position on the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee to try to thwart the plan, The Los Angeles Times reported. "President Bush and Vice President Cheney are definitely addicted to oil, and it's up to Congress to enter them into rehab," Hinchley said.

Is the price of affordable fuel more offshore drilling?

 

Posted by Tom Pelton at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)
                    

If you want unfettered access to bald eagles, you might consider heading to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. The Associated Press is reporting high numbers of America's signature bird at the wildlife preserve near Cambridge.  Here's the story.

Though once endangered, the eagles have made a comeback in the Chesapeake Bay region, which now has about 8 percent of the nation's nesting pairs. Maryland has so many eagles now - close to 400 - that we gave some to Vermont so the Green Mountain state could establish populations there.

One place you probably can't go to watch the national raptors - Aberdeen Proving Ground. Two years ago, staff was kind enough to let me in to their restricted areas to look at the many nesting pairs on the Harford County base. The eagles, apparently undaunted by both the loud military activity and the rumblings of BRAC, which will bring thousands more families to Harford County.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

 Did you know that your lawn care might be hurting the bay?  It's true - over-fertilizing the lawn may make your neighborhood association happy, but all of those chemicals are no good for the fish and crabs that call the Chesapeake home.
 So the folks at Scotts Miracle-Gro Company have launched a campaign including seven simple lawn-care tips that will help save the bay. Here they are: 
 
 
 
1. If applying fertilizer in the spring, do so after the grass is actively growing.
2. Apply fertilizer at the spreader setting shown on the bag.
3. Sweep fertilizer off hard surfaces to prevent it from entering storm sewers.
4. Keep grass clippings, tree leaves and pet waste off hard surfaces to prevent them from entering the storm sewer.
5. Mow at the highest lawn mower setting.
6. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to improve its health and quality.
7. Fall is the best time to fertilize your lawn, for quickly improved vigor and a healthier, greener lawn next spring.

Tell your neighbors

Posted by Rona Kobell at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Welcome to the Sun's environmental and Chesapeake Bay weblog. We hope to become your news source for all things bay. In this space, we'll be covering everything from crabbing and oystering to new information about air pollution and how to care for your lawn in the greenest way possible. We also hope to tell you about great bay getaways for spring weekends, good places to launch a canoe and anything else you might want to know about the environment. We'll take your questions, too, and look forward to a lot of dialogue with our readers. Please email us anytime.
 
 And now, a few words about who we are:
 
 Tom Pelton covers the environment for The Baltimore Sun.  He's been at The Sun for 10 years, winning several awards from the Society of Environmental Journalists, Maryland-DC-Delaware Press Association, Associated Press and other organizations. He wrote for The Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, New Haven Register and Charlottesville (Va.) Daily Progress before moving to Baltimore. He lives in the Evergreen neighborhood of the city with his wife and two daughters.
 
 
 Chris Guy, an Eastern Shore native, has covered the region for The Sun since 1998. Prior to opening his one-person bureau in Easton, Chris worked for nearly 10 years as an editor at the paper, including three years as The Sun's Carroll County bureau chief. Before his long career at The Sun, Chris worked as a legislative reporter for the Carroll County Times and covered county government for the Prince George's Journal.
 
 Rona Kobell is The Sun's Chesapeake Bay reporter, a beat that often takes her to the Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland and the Upper Bay. In her seven years with The Sun, she's visited clam farms in Virginia, a peeler pen on Taylors Island and a small market on Smith Island that serves what many people consider the best crab cake in the world (To judge for yourself, head to the Drum Point Market in Tylerton.) When she's not reporting on oysters, crabs and other bay critters, Rona enjoys spending time at her Baltimore home with her husband and daughter.     
 
 
 Tim Wheeler covers growth and development for The Sun. He's been a reporter and editor since 1985, covering the environment, state and local government, science and medicine, higher education and transportation over the years. Before coming to Maryland, he worked for newspapers in Norfolk, Va. and Richmond, Va. and for a news service in Washington, D.C. A native of West Virginia, Tim studied economics at the University of Virginia and earned a master's in journalism from Columbia University.  
  
  
  .  

Posted by Rona Kobell at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)