In response to Ms. Kobell’s comment “Somebody, tell me something good!” I’d say “but Environmental Defense’s report IS good news!”  The report, “Farming for Clean Water” lists faster, more efficient ways to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.  And while more money would help (did you ever see a report saying that more money would NOT help?) the report recognizes the reality of tight state budgets and limited federal funding.  With that in mind, the report calls for doing more with the money we already have, and finding ways to make environmentally-friendly farming pay for itself.  

For example, the report’s recommended objectives include:
 
*Targeting funds and attention to conservation practices that have proven most cost-effective in reducing farm runoff

*Increasing resources for technical assistance and financial rewards for farmers who produce clean water and other environmental benefits

*Embracing innovation in farm management systems and practices — such as dairy feed management and alternative cropping systems — that will help both the Bay and farmers’ bottom lines

Ms. Kobell is right that if we keep doing more of the same we’ll continue to get the same “doom and gloom” news year after year.  What we need now is leadership – from our elected officials and the agencies they oversee – to redirect cleanup efforts so that we get to our goal – a clean Bay – faster and more cost-effectively.  Environmental Defense’s report gives us a roadmap for doing just that.

Eileen McLellan
Chesapeake Bay Project Coordinator
Environmental Defense