What kind of people want to kill Maryland's mute swans, those lovely, long-necked birds with snowy white feathers that look like creatures out of a fairy tale? There are only about 500 of them in the whole state, yet they are accused of destroying the Chesapeake Bay -- something about eating underwater grasses -- and driving "native" species to extinction. To hear the state Department of Natural Resources tell it, you'd think swans were evil incarnate.

Yet who hasn't come upon these magical creatures and stopped to stare in awe at their preternatural beauty, which has inspired poets, painters and musicians from time immemorial? Slaughtering these magestic animals is not going to solve the bay's problems, especially if we keep dumping half a billion tons of sewage into the water every year. Make the politicians fix that, and leave the swans alone.

And since when did eating "underwater grasses" become a capital crime anyway? If that's a killing offense, let them eat lettuce (or arugula, or whatever). Has anyone ever written a great ballet about underwater grasses for crying out loud?

As for driving out "native" species -- the swans originated in Central Asia, where for centuries they were revered as symbols of eternal love -- does immigrant-bashing have no limit these days? Give it a rest. As the immortal Bard wrote in Sonnet LXV: "How with this rage shall beauty hold a plea, whose action is no stronger than a flower?"

When it comes to swans, I don't care what the scientists say. Whenever I catch sight of these birds floating serenely across the water with heads held high it still takes my breath away. I'll take them over the local weeds any day.

Here's another link to scenes from Tchaikovsky's homage to the swan. For a synopsis of the story, click here.  

(Sun photo)

Posted by Glenn McNatt at 1:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (18)
Categories: Environment
        

Six years ago, a coalition of state and federal agencies launched an effort to eradicate nutria from Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge where the animals, a species native to South America, had destroyed thousands of acres of marshland. They appear to have succeeded and the effort is seen as a great victory for the environment.

Maryland officials have also been trying to remove another invader, mute swans that have destroyed submerged aquatic vegetation, habitat that is considered extremely valuable to many native Chesapeake Bay species. But instead of a triumph, the next and perhaps final step in this effort is seen as a "slaughter" of the remaining 500 or so of these "beautiful" animals by protesters.

What's the difference? The only significant one is human aesthetics. People love to look at swans with their white feathers and elegant long necks. Not so much with nutria, which might generously be described as a cross between a beaver and a rat.

Mere aesthetics is no way to manage a complex ecosystem. Aren't we past this sort of arrogance? If aesthetics are to rule the day, we might as well turn forests into manicured parks, kill all the snakes and other species we deem ugly or frightening, and watch the laws of unintended consequences bite us in the tail feathers.

Continue reading "An invasive species is an invasive species" »

Posted by Peter Jensen at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Environment
        

The head of Baltimore County's solid waste management bureau wrote a letter to the editor this weekend protesting our editorial of a week before criticizing the county for accepting fewer kinds of recyclables than other counties and Baltimore City do. The county felt we did not give due deference to the success of its program, which it said is ranked first in the state by the Maryland Department of the Environment.

That claim is both technically true and misleading. Here's the document the county cites to back up its claim. It shows that, among the kinds of materials the state tracks, Baltimore County's recycling rate is 62.27 percent, 6 points higher than the next highest county (Howard) and 18 points above the state average. If you scroll through the numbers, you'll notice something interesting. The state gives figures for compostables, paper, plastic, glass and metal, all very straightforward. Then there's a category called "misc." Baltimore County recycles way more "misc." than anyone else, about 540,000 more tons than the rest of the state combined.

What do you suppose "misc." is? I called the Department of the Environment to ask. Of the 963,632 tons of "misc." Baltimore County recycled that year, 838,531 tons of it was "industrial slag" from one source: Sparrows Point. That means that about 69 percent of the county's recycled material came from one source. Take that out of the equation, and Baltimore County's recycling rate drops out of the top 10.

It's certainly good and important that Sparrows Point is recycling so much material. But Baltimore County shouldn't be using that fact to make its recycling program look better than it really is.

Posted by Andy Green at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Environment
        

For too long, Maryland's seafood industry has been dependent on the harvest of wild stocks of fish and shellfish. As the region's population has grown and the impact of water pollution and overharvesting have become more pronounced, it's become clear this approach is unsustainable.

The alternative is aquaculture, and Gov. Martin O'Malley earlier this month signed a law to set Maryland on exactly that course. The farming of hard shell clams in coastal bays is among the most lucrative forms of aquaculture, and state officials have high hopes such an industry can be created in Worcester County. In Virginia, it's become a $50 million business.

That's why it's disappointing to hear that Ocean City's mayor and council hate the idea that aquaculture of any kind might eventually find its way to the Assawoman, Isle of Wight or Sinepuxent bays. They think it will interfere with the lucrative tourist trade and want it stopped before a single project is even considered.

Posted by Peter Jensen at 12:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Environment
        

Spring exploded in Baltimore Saturday. If you looked closely, you could almost see it happen - buds budding, grass growing and birds singing. It was the first really warm day of the season and it couldn't have provided a better backdrop for Spring Cleanup, a day when neighbors gather to give local streets, alleys, parks and public areas a good going over.

The shared effort was a reminder of cooperative spirit needed to sustain Baltimore's urban renaissance, neighborhood by neighborhood. And the beautiful spring day reinforced that spirit.

The city provided trucks to haul away the tons of paper, plastic and metal cans accumulated by an estimated 5,000 members of neighborhood groups across the city.

The annual cleanup is probably the day of the year when the reality of Baltimore as a city of neighborhoods is most apparent. From Reservoir Hill to Mount Vernon, Patterson Park and more than 100 other Baltimore communities younger urban pioneers worked along side long time residents to pick up everything from crack vials to cans, diapers and glass bottles to make their neighborhood beautiful.

Their mutual committment helped the volunteer cleanup crews appreciate the bonds of friendship and joint effort that can make Baltimore's neighborhoods beautiful in another, more lasting way.

Residents clean up in Reservoir Hill. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)

Posted by Larry Williams at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Environment
        

Better late than never for the U.S. EPA, which Friday finally recognized that greenhouse gases represent a threat to public health. While carbon dioxide gets much of the bad press, the agency pointed the finger at six pollutants altogether, including methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.

The EPA's "endangerment" finding recognizes not only that these gases are major contributors to climate change but that the unprecedented levels they've reached are a result of human activities. In other words, things are getting hotter -- and our cars and power plants and other greenhouse gas-producing behavior is largely to blame.

The consequence of this? Sea level rise, drought, heat waves, wildfires, more intense storms, and damage to our water supplies, agriculture, wildlife and ecosystems. There are even serious national security implications as nations are destabilized by potentially dramatic losses of natural resources. The process is so far along it's not even clear how much can be ameliorated.

Continue reading "The EPA finally feels the heat" »

Posted by Peter Jensen at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Environment