This is the time of the year when we are inundated with pitches from schools, community organizations, outdoors groups and the like to write about their bay projects, bay camps, and bay planting efforts.

The kids are planting grasses in local parks, testing water quality, getting up close and personal with the flow of tides, and otherwise having meaningful bay experiences.

So it shouldn't exactly be a shock that the Living Classrooms Foundation is teaming up with Honeywell to help 350 studetns from Dundalk and Logan Elementary Schools learn how to be more environmentally responsible.

 The press release reads: "They will investigate the water cycle, learn how to conserve water and reduce runoff, map their local watershed, spearhead a neighborhood trash pick up, transform their schoolyards into beautiful green spaces, and, under close supervision, stencil "Chesapeake Bay Drainage - Do Not Dump" on storm drains."

 It was that last part that got my attention. STENCILING? Who's the lucky kid that gets to stick his/her face close to the drain to paint those capital letters? I bet a lot of 5th-grade boys will be interested.

But seriously, this strikes me as an interesting activity to promote awareness. Thinking about throwing that apple core down the storm drain? Well, the sign tells you where it actually is going to go. Maybe you'll think twice. Seems to me if more places had that kind of labeling, we might have less examples of what we see in places like the Gwynns Falls and Herring Run: mounds of trash. it comes from somewhere, and it isn't from the tourists.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Last week, uber-video master and former food editor John Lindner did a fabulous story for Taste on road-side food, or more specifically, gas-station food. Elizabeth Large linked to it on Dining at Large, where Lindner is an occasional contributor.

Much commenting ensued. Someone mentioned the gas station on Kent Island. I'd been there before, so I posted a comment, but I returned yesterday and have much more to add about the Kent Island Depot/BP.

This is a great place to stop on your way to the Shore. It couldn't be easier to find...first exit after crossing the bridge going east is Route 8. Take that, follow it to the right for about a half a mile, and you will see the Depot (second driveway is entrance, not the first.)

What's so special about the Depot? Two words: boxed wine.

No, just kidding. But seriously, I spend a lot of time on the road, and it's a struggle to find healthy, wholesome options out there (and no, Royal Farms chicken doesn't count as healthy, though I find it tastier than Lindner seemed to.)

Some of the Depot's road food options: fruit salad, eggs with salsa, wheat bagels. In the evening, I have seen crab cakes and quiches, plus various pasta salads. They of course have the usual gas-station fare: crackers with peanut butter and the like. They also seem to sell staples, like soaps and things, in case you forgot something.

There is seating, and a bulletin board tells you what's going on in the community.

A friend tells me the place used to be run by a French chef named Gerard. Only on the Shore. I think I actually do remember him. But the new owners haven't really changed things.

I assumed Lindner hadn't been there because he didn't want to take his bike across the bridge. But I was wrong. He loves to do that. So, maybe on his next visit, or yours, you may check out this alternative to the usual fare.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A new report takes the measure of the "carbon footprints" produced by Americans living in the nation's largest metropolitan areas. We in the Baltimore area fare rather poorly - 69th out of 100 - in the amount of carbon emitted per resident.  

The study, the first to try to quantify carbon emissions from U.S. urban centers, was produced by the Brookings Institution, in collaboration with researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology.  The report only fills in half the footprint for now, focusing on the carbon produced by driving in metro areas and by the energy used in housing.  Researchers say they hope to tally up carbon emissions from commercial and industrial activity, and from transit, by year's end.  

Densely settled regions with compact development patterns and rail transit tend to be more energy- and carbon-efficient than sprawling, car-happy metro areas, the report says. 

But per capita emissions vary widely among cities, and some, like Baltimore, still lag, despite having more transit ridership than most.  Spendthrift energy consumption to heat and chill our homes through winter and muggy summer apparently is the culprit.

Georgia Tech energy professor Marilyn Brown, a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, suggested that the relatively cheap electricity rates Marylanders enjoyed as a result of utility deregulation in the early part of this decade kept residents from making their homes more energy efficient.   The study only looks at energy use and carbon emissions from 2000 to 2005, before the rate caps came off and utility bills shot up by 70 percent or more.

Paying more for electricity, plus new state energy-efficiency incentives, and a push for more renewable energy could help shrink Baltimore's carbon footprint in years to come, she agreed. 

Meanwhile, Honolulu, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore. topped the list as the three regions with the smallest per capita carbon emissions, according to the study.  Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Lexington, Ky., brought up the rear with the biggest prints.  Urban areas in the West, in fact, tended to have smaller carbon outputs per resident. For more on the study, and the rankings, go here.

The report's authors say the federal government ought to do more to encourage transit and compact development, because two-thirds of Americans live in the largest metro areas, and three-quarters of all economic activity takes place in them.  The payoff to focusing on metro areas, the study says, is that the carbon footprint of an urban denizen is 14 percent smaller than for - and is increasing only half as much. 

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

Tune in to WYPR 88.1 FM in Baltimore tomorrow morning (Wednesday, May 28) at 9:35 a.m. to hear my most recent  "Environment in Focus" program.  This week's essay is on "The Rise and Fall of the American Shad."

If you miss the broadcast, you can listen to a digitally recorded version of this and previous shows by clicking here.

I had a news story in today's Baltimore Sun about how American shad -- so important as a food to the American colonies they've been called "the founding fish" -- rebounded impressively during the 1990's as power companies built fish lifts over dams.  But over the last six years, that recovery has faltered. Their numbers passing through the Conowingo Dam in Maryland have fallen by 90 percent over the last six years. One theory is that striped bass -- once nearly driven to extinction themselves -- are now so populous they're eating up the shad.

There are other theories about the shad's rise and fall, however.  And you can check them out by listening in.

Here's the guy I feature in my radio story tomorrow: Travis Habecker, an avid shad fisherman and 29-year-old cabinetmaker from Ephrata, Pa. He's holding an American shad that he caught Friday in the Susquehanna River near the Conowingo Dam outfalls. Not pictured is the one that got away (when it was eaten by a huge striped bass) (Sun photo by Tom Pelton)

Posted by Tom Pelton at 7:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Continuing our occasional series on how small towns are reacting to mandates from their various states that they must do more to clean up the bay....

Here's this story from The Tidewater News: The county is forcing the Isle of Wight homeowners to pay to have their septic tank pumped out every five years. Town leaders have decried it an unfair and unfunded mandate.

To quote town supervisor Philip bradshaw: "There's no scientific evidence that [septic tanks] are affecting the Bay. "It's not in the best interest of this county to go through with this."

I seem to recall, in a story I did about Goldsboro some years ago, that failing septic tanks have a way of depositing nutrients in the bay. In fact, a large part of the reason why the Severn and other Anne Arundel County rivers are struggling so much is because of all of the septic systems in the county. So I hear.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Last year around this time, I posted a list of great summer getaways. I know we've been doing this weekly now, but I thought I'd repost the list as it's now time to start thinking about our summer travel. to steal Ocean City's new-old slogan, most are about a half a tank or less away. In no particular order, here they are. Enjoy:

1. RIDGE:  Hop on a bicycle and ride through the beautiful green fields of this Southern Maryland town. There's not much in Ridge, or nearby Scotland, but you're near Point Lookout State Park and a great little marina/biker bar where they'll serve you fish that tastes like it was caught right in front of you. Reasonable B and Bs, not many tourists-the place we stayed was probably the nicest B and B I've ever been to, and I think it was only like $110 a night. 
     
2. WHITEHAVEN: My dental hygienist grew up in this Wicomico County hamlet and confirms it's every bit as serene as it looks. It's the sort of place where you can imagine a one-room schoolhouse and kids in dresses with little bows tied in back running through the fields. There's a ferry that goes across the river to Somerset County; watching it and the birds are what passes for entertainment. There's a nice hotel here, The Whitehaven, but I stayed at the B and B where, bonus, the owners give their guests cordials before bed. Also, it's so homey I ended up listening to her son's piano lesson as I typed my story-that was the only place with an Internet connection.
     
3. ROCK HALL: Everybody and their shopping-happy aunts seems to have found Chestertown, and I won't dis it. It's one of the most beautiful towns on the shore, or anywhere for that matter. But Rock Hall has the watermen and Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge. If you're going to one, it's worth a trip to the other.
     
4. TILGHMAN ISLAND: It's beyond St. Michaels, but worth the extra miles. There's a unique used bookshop, excellent seafood and a real oyster shucking house.
     
5. DENTON: I can't help but have a soft spot for Denton. It's trying so hard. When I was there a year ago, the mayor proudly told me that even the bright green trash cans were locally made. And if you're going to Rehoboth, you'll be right near there anyway, why not swing by? I have gotten some good deals at the antique shops in town and the courthouse lawn is quite lovely. There is riverfront, too, but you have to go hunting for it. Adkins Arboretum isn't far away, and neither is the so-called strawberry capital of the world, Ridgely.
     
6. EASTON: Ok, it's not exactly a hidden treasure, but if you haven't gotten off the road in a couple of years to check it out, I think you'll find it looks different than the last time. It's chock full of elegant restaurants, semi-famous chefs and pretty parks. There's an art museum and a theater for concerts, as well as fine coffee shops and a cool toy store.

7. GALENA: When you pull in to your parking space here you might wonder why I recommended this northern Kent County town. It's simple- for the antiques. Then drive up the road to pretty Georgetown, home of the Kitty Knight House, where charming Miss Kitty convinced the British not to burn her town. Good thing-it's lovely, and Kitty's place stands as a restaurant as well as a B and B-though last time I passed by it was closed. 
     
8. CAMBRIDGE: I know parts of it have seen better days, but there's something about the rustic, unpolished town that makes me smile. Plus, you have to love that view of the Choptank. 
     
9. SNOW HILL/PUBLIC LANDING: Public landing is just that-one of the few public places in the state where you can enjoy a view of the water and a picnic.  Snow Hill has the stores, the cafes and the people, but public landing has the view.
     
10. BERLIN: it was good enough for Julia Roberts and that girl from Gilmore Girls, and it's still far less crowded than nearby Ocean City. The architecture feels to me like a step back in time, and I mean that in a good way. 
     
Fellow bloggers, I'm sure, have their own favorites. And readers, too. Tell us yours -- and be careful on the Bay Bridge.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 1:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

Yesterday, I saw something I'd never seen before: the Park and Ride on Kent Island had hardly any spaces at 8:30 a.m.

I am not exactly a regular at the Park and Ride, but a few times a year I end up meeting someone there, either from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the Dept. of Natural Resources. We choose it because it's an easy place to leave your car and then go exploring. There are often more empty spaces than full ones.

But yesterday, nearly every space was full. People parked their pickups, their SUVs and their small passenger cars and took the bus to D.C.

This is obviously a reaction to the high gas prices: the 50-mile drive to the District has got to cost close to $80 a day in a gas-guzzling SUV, and that's before you park. However, a lot of times habits developed during times of economic hardship stick when prices come back down, as people find riding the bus is a lot more pleasant and convenient than they thought it would be.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

With all the wet stuff we've been getting in May, I've been watching a lot of murky water running down the street lately past my house.  At the end of the block, it drops into a storm drain that empties into a concrete-lined "stream," which makes its way to the Patapsco River - and ultimately to the Chesapeake Bay.

There aren't any construction sites up the hill from our house in Catonsville.  But even in established, older neighborhoods like mine, heavy rain has a way of scooping up silt and loose dirt, especially when it washes off homeowners' driveways and lawns. 

Growth and development have made stormwater runoff the fastest growing source of pollution degrading the bay and its tributaries.  State and local governments are working to get a better handle on the problem with tighter regulations on new construction.  Meanwhile the good news is there are relatively inexpensive things existing homeowners can do to minimize their contribution to the bay's woes.  One is to create a "rain garden." 

A rain garden is just a natural or man-made shallow depression that can collect stormwater runoff from a roof, walk or driveway - or even from a compacted lawn.  They're planted with trees, shrubs and plants to soak up the moisture.  Besides being good for the bay, they can be pretty to look at, as they tend to be the best-watered spots in the yard. 

For those who'd like to see what one looks like, you're in luck - the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council have created a demonstration garden at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C.  The photo at left shows volunteers putting the finishing touches on it recently.  It's part of the Botanic Garden's exhibition, entitled, One Planet - Ours!  It opens this Memorial Day weekend and runs through Columbus Day, Oct. 12.

The landscaping council's portion of the exhibit is actually a series of rain gardens linked by a dry stream bed, featuring rain barrels, native plants and porous pavement to show what can be done in the typical residential yard.  The U.S. Botanic Garden's at 100 Maryland Ave. SW in Washington., and you can find the council's Rainscaping exhibit by the Conservatory, facing the U.S. Capitol.

If you'd like to know more about rain gardens, the Bay Journal has published some simple guidelines and links for more info.  You can also find more detailed advice about landscaping to curb runoff at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Web site.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

This is a short post, as I've just returned after a loong day on the Shore, but it occurs to me that if you want to see a slice of the Chesapeake Bay watershed that looks more like Iowa and less like, say, St. Michaels, you might try the area around Tuckahoe State Park.

There's a large pond stocked for fishing, and wheat crops shimmer as the wind hits them.The pond eventually hits the Tuckahoe, which hits the Choptank. Here, the Choptank looks more like a creek, and it's surrounded by lush trees.

I noticed nary a home development, and only one "for sale" sign on a large farm after hours of driving. I guess the real estate slowdown has definitely hit the Shore; three years ago, those "For Sale" signs were everywhere.

Don't forget Adkins Arboretum...it's nearby. And Martinak State Park isn't far out of the area either. 

Posted by Rona Kobell at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

  CHINESE MITTEN CRAB

As you're vacationing this Memorial Day weekend, keep an eye peeled for suspicious-looking crabs.  They're not terrorist threats.  But they could pose a threat to the Chesapeake Bay's ecology. 

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center is asking people to report Chinese mitten crabs, a hairy-clawed, spidery-legged exotic species.  They've been popping up here and there in the bay the last three years, some in the Baltimore area, others south of Annapolis.  The concern is that they're sneaking into the bay aboard freighters from Asia. And they could explode in populations, as they did in Germany and England -- competing with native crabs.

(They're also reportedly quite tasty, and they're considered an aphrodisiac in China.  But don't eat them!  Do your duty to science and turn them in to the authorities.)

The Smithsonian reports: "For anyone finding a Mitten Crab, please:

• contact the Mitten Crab hotline at SERCMittenCrab@si.edu or 443-482-2222."

Posted by Tom Pelton at 5:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

We've heard about rising costs of oil and coal.  But apparently the cost of building wind turbines is also skyrocketing.

The blog Treehugger reports that the cost of building new land-based turbines has shot up 74 percent over the last three years, in part because demand is rising rapidly.  Offshore wind turbine prices are up 48 percent, according to the news article.

It will be interesting to see how these higher prices impact proposals to build wind turbines off the beaches of Ocean City, Md., and in the mountains of Western Maryland.  As wind turbines become more expensive, how competitive will their electricity be compared to power produced by burning coal or natural gas?

"The price of offshore turbines rose 48 percent to 2.23 million euros ($3.45 million) per megawatt in the past three years, according to BTM Consult APS, a Danish wind power consultant....

"As we reported recently, GE can't make wind turbines fast enough and there's certainly no recession going on for the wind power industry. The fact that demand is so high pushes prices upward, but that will only serve to attract more players; investors will see that there's money to be made with wind power and large industrial companies might shift more resources to their wind power divisions. In fact, demand has been high for long enough to show the market that wind power is not simply a passing fad," the Treehugger article reports.

Posted by Tom Pelton at 6:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

Amid commencement frenzy this week at Maryland's colleges and universities, five young men and a woman are collecting master's degrees in real estate development - the first products of a new University of Maryland curriculum aiming to teach sustainable design and land use.

Now all they need are jobs, to put the "smart growth" principles they've learned into practice.

"The program's fantastic," says Tyler Abrams, 23, a Bethesda native.  He had worked briefly for a Washington architectural firm designing houses before deciding he wanted to be involved in development on a larger scale.  At UM, he took classes in architecture, urban studies and planning as well as those focused on the business of real estate.

"You get a real exposure to what goes behind the design," Abrams says, "the social implications ... things aside from finance."

Though he and the other master's recipients will have commencement this week, Abrams says he still has a little more work to do on his "capstone" project - a case study of a mixed-use development proposed in College Park.   Once that's finished by the end of the summer, he hopes to find work with a developer.

A couple of the grads already have jobs.  One's with a Washington development firm, and another is a planner in Carroll County.   While the real estate market's in a funk, Abrams says he thinks this is actually a good time for graduates of this program to try to break into the business.

"There are definitely probably more openings for government-type jobs," he says, but he's hoping to find private employers looking for his skillls because more developers are incorporating "green" design and materials into their projects.

"These graduates have an orientation that meshes with changes in the industry,'' Margaret McFarland, director of the program, says in a press release issued about the newly minted masters.  "There's a growing recognition that development needs to get smarter and greener.  As our graduates move up in the field, they will hasten the changes." 

"It's more than just profit, it's the satisfaction of building a physical asset and contributing to a social good," says another grad, Derek Meyers, 24, of Hagerstown.  He says he's begun his career in local planning, first in Boonsboro and now in Carroll, "to understand the political process which shapes our built environment."  

As the first crop sprouts, there are more graduates being nurtured. About 75 students in all have enrolled in the University of Maryland's two-year-old master's program in real estate development, which is housed in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 2:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Luke Hamilton didn't stand a chance.

Sweet as he seemed, the South Carolina oyster farmer was competing with buff guys, rich guys, and even a martial-arts instructor with interesting hair for the heart of DeAnna Pappas, the Southern Belle with Greek roots who is this year's Bachelorette.

 They wear wingtips; Luke wears waders. They wear cologne. Luke wears eau de Folly Beach. Personally, I prefer the smell of salt marshes to Brut or Drakkar Noir, but I learned long ago that I am out of touch with what the rest of the world wants. (And at any rate, happily married and not looking to find true love on a TV show.)

For those of you who have better things to do than watch reality TV, here's a recap (much of which I have picked up from watching the show at the gym, I swear!):

DeAnna was last season's last woman standing, and she was hoping to get a marriage proposal from Bachelor Brad Womack, but instead he said he couldn't tell her he loved her. As DeAnna said last night, it broke her heart, her family's, and America's.

ABC invited DeAnna back to find true love, and she says she intends to do so; the charming brunette met her 25 suitors last night. I didn't watch the whole thing, as my elliptical trainer timed out and the gym closed, and I would miss the end by the time I got home, but fortunately, there are blogs to give away the ending.

So aw-shucks Luke told the camera he was just a humble oyster farmer from Folly Beach, and he hoped to win the Bachelorette's heart with a pearl necklace he took out of an oyster shell. Wonder what species that was, as our Virginicas do not have pearls in them.

I was kinda rooting for him, as well as the humble science teacher-geek from Binghamton. At least he's still in it.

It's unclear whether DeAnna gave Luke back the necklace, but the oyster farmer acknowledged the chemistry just wasn't there.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)
                    

I couldn't answer some of the salient questions last week about the red crab, but here's someone who can: Don Webster, who works for the University of Maryland's Wye Research and Education Center and has been involved in fish/aquaculture/oyster studies for more than 30 years.

His take:

Posted by Rona Kobell at 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

If you ever visited Sandy Point State Park and noticed how clean and safe it seemed, you can thank Bill Kraemer. The longtime maintenance supvervisor was recently named the Maryland department of Natural Resources' employee of the year, beating out some tough competition from long-serving DNR staff.

Here's the whole release.

Posted by Rona Kobell at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

 RED CRABS

We know Virginians are adventurous eaters, or at least adventurous marketers. Chefs there have tried to make a market out of rays, or skate, those cow-nose creatures that sting hard and devour crabs.

Now comes word that some enterprising fishermen, with the help of scientists, are trying to market the "red crab," a species found deep in the ocean in a ribbon of water stretching from North Carolina to Canada. Newport News reporter Patrick Lynch has the story here.

The guy fishing for the crabs moved his dock to Newport News, in large part due to fuel costs, but his timing couldn't be better, market-wise. With restrictions on the blue crab in the bay, maybe customers would want to eat the reds, which go for $60 a bushel.

Take a look at these guys. They're huge!

An interesting fact from Lynch's story: no one was really eating red crab until the early 1990s, when some fishermen decided to try to catch the species because other fisheries in New England were kaput, or at least no longer lucrative. So one wonders, in a few years, will be we hearing about restrictions on the red crabs? If we do, I wonder what they'll think of next. Jellyfish stew?

(AP photo above)

Posted by Rona Kobell at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

 TEAM BIKE

Suddenly, riding a bike is fashionable.  But it can also be wet. 

Today (Friday, May 16) was "Bike to Work Day" in the Baltimore area.  Among other political leaders participating, Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith led a group of about 100 bicycle commuters on a ride of green pride starting at the Baltimore County Courthouse at 8:15 a.m.

But an obvious drawback to biking to work was on display: it rained.  A lot.  Cars spew greenhouse gases.  But they also have that nifty thing over your head called "a roof."  Which can make it eaiser to look presentable at that 9 a.m. business meeting. On the other hand, nothing like a little extra shower to wake you up.

Sun photographer Jerry Jackson biked through rain to work this morning as part of the city's "Bike to Work" day festivities.  He reported that the hardy didn't mind the dampness a bit. But he was bummed that one of the sponsors wimped out: Caribou Coffee, which was supposed to serve free coffee to the bike commuters in Memorial Plaza in front of City Hall.  There were  snacks for the damp bikers. But the coffee people melted away in the rain.  And you know how cranky people can be when they expect a cup of coffee -- and don't get it. 

Despite today's foul weather today locally, bike mania breaking out all over the country. With soaring gas prices and concerns about global warming, more and more bikers are hitting the road.

The Associated Press reports that $4-per-gallon gasoline is fueling bicycle sales across the country.  And more people are dusting off the old banana seats and pulling their old rides out of the garage.  About 18 million bikes have been sold in the U.S. recently. "Bicycle shops across the country are reporting strong sales so far this year," the AP reports. "'We're seeing a spike in the number of calls we're getting from people wanting tips on bicycle commuting,'" said Bill Nesper, spokesman for the League of American Bicyclists.

Recently in Baltimore, Mayor Sheila Dixon's administration has painted bicycle lanes on many streets (including Roland Avenue in North Baltimore) to make it easier for bikers to get around.

But what else needs to be done to encourage more people to ride?  Anyone out there have comments as to what barriers remain to bike commuting -- like narrow suburban roads that lack shoulders?

(Above: Sun staff photo)

Posted by Tom Pelton at 5:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)