Current Column
Tipping Points For The Bay
By Tom Horton
Although scientists understand much about how the bay works, some things still confound them. Why are some areas improving more than expected, and why are some worse? Tom Horton writes about these unseen tipping points in this 800 word commentary.
06/02/2009 more...
Recent Columns
Go Play in the Dirt
By Cindy Ross
It doesn't take rotating compost bins or fancy tools to grow a good garden, writes Cindy Ross. All it really requires is a willing attitude, labor, and a bit of knowledge to get the freshest vegetables you'll ever eat, and save money. 793 words.
05/26/2009 more...
The President's bold stroke for conserving Chesapeake landscapes
By David O'Neill
It could be easier for people to get to the bay, and irreplaceable landscapes and ecosystems could be conserved as a result of the President's new Executive Order, writes David O'Neill. O'Neill is executive director of the Friends of the John Smith Chesapeake Trail, a new national historic trail in the Chesapeake.
05/19/2009 more...
What comes after the great economic adjustment?
Robert Wieland
With the stimulus package kicking in to restore the economy, Robert Wieland wonders whether we will create an economy that is more sustainable, or return to past practices that have unbalanced both our balance sheets and our environment. Wieland is a resource economist working to expand the application of economic analysis in environmental decision-making.
05/13/2009 more...
Helping Restore the Bay, One Battlefield at a Time
By Bill Thompson
How can muskets save mollusks, asks Bill Thompson? He found the answer in the non-profit Civil War Preservation Trust, and the battlefields they conserve. Thompson reported and wrote editorials for The Baltimore Sun. He is also the author of magazine articles and books about the Chesapeake region. 753-words.
05/05/2009 more...
Ride the big yellow bus
By Jim and Sarah Minick
School buses offer a green alternative for busy parents wanting to get their children safely to school, write Jim and Sarah Minick. School buses save fuel, reduce global-warming gases and congestion on the roads, and ease the strain on families. How come there's still a line of cars at every school?
04/28/2009 more...
A Breath of Fresh Air
By Carrie Madren
Spring provides time to renew gardens, and attitudes, writes Carrie Madren in this 736-word piece. Take advantage of it, soon we’ll be swatting sweat bees, she cautions.
04/12/2009 more...
Trees: On the ground aid for an ailing planet
By Liza Field
Arbor Day, April 24th, is one of the nation's oldest "environmental" holidays. It remains a practical and perfect moment to do good for Mother Earth, writes Liza Field in this 751 word commentary (730 without the quote from Berry). Edit first sentence as needed for timing. Field teaches philosophy and English in Virginia Governor's School and Wytheville Community College and writes a weekly column for newspapers in southwestern Virginia.
04/12/2009 more...
Grounding the connection to what kids eat
Cindy Ross
Farm to School programs create markets for local farms and help connect children to a healthier understanding of where food comes from, writes Cindy Ross. Most state's in the mid-Atlantic have Farm to School programs. Cindy Ross writes about the outdoors. She has authored six books.
04/07/2009 more...
Students provide gauge for energy conservation success
By Amy Marasco Newton
A band of high school students in a Virginia town have started an effort to easily conserve gasoline. They hope their effort will spread across the mid-Atlantic. It's a common-sense approach to conservation that we can all follow, writes Amy Marasco Newton. Newton is president of the Newton Marasco Foundation, a nonprofit that designs innovative programs to foster learning, appreciation and caring for our natural environment. 753 words.
03/31/2007 more...
Taking Out the Trash
By Carrie Madren
River cleanups start this month. While picking up litter may not solve the big environmental issues, it is a great way for people to be introduced to what it means to take care of our environment, writes Carrie Madren. 786 words. NOTE: We have included a list of other clean ups in the mid-Atlantic and corresponding websites. Editors can use this as a box, or edit the story to include a local cleanup.
03/24/2009 more...
Power to the People!
By Chris Bolgiano
Power to the People! says Chris Bolgiano in this piece that illustrates the many benefits of distributed generation -- or little power plants on every house. Bolgiano is a resident of western Virginia and has written five books and many articles for regional and national publications. 784 words.
03/17/2009 more...
Time for green groups to reassess
By Bill Thompson
Who watches the watchdogs, Bill Thompson asks? He suggests that the environmental groups engaged in restoring the Chesapeake Bay review their progress and develop strategies to energize the region's environmental movement. Thompson reported and wrote editorials for The Baltimore Sun. He is also the author of magazine articles and books about the Chesapeake region. 774 words.
03/10/2009 more...
Forests face big challenges from small bugs
Cindy Ross
Tent caterpillars and web worms may look creepy, but these native insects present little danger to our forests, writes Cindy Ross. However, a steady invasion of aggressive, exotic species and the changing climate do hurt the woods, and present foresters from Virginia to New York new challenges.
03/03/2009 more...
You too can contribute to the scientific record
By Sarah Minick
Our readers and yours have been invited to contribute to the scientific record by joining in Project BudBurst, an effort to record the dates of natural events, like the first blossoms of spring or the arrival of migrant birds. Their record, reports Sarah Minick, will contribute to a database of observations reaching back to Henry David Thoreau and help answer big questions about our earth. Minick is a knitter, basket maker, and reading teacher. She hikes and gardens in Virginia. 730-words.
02/24/2009 more...
Stimulus could build green infrastructure, create jobs
By Tom Horton
The stimulus package the President plans to sign Tuesday ( 2 17 09) contains a small category of spending for water quality and green infrastructure improvements. Tom Horton reminds us that under President Roosevelt a similar effort created millions of jobs and some of our nation's most lasting treasures. Horton is author of several books on the environment and a free lance writer.
02/17/2009 more...
Taking the Birds to Heart
Valentine's Day is for the birds, literally, says Liza Field. So as the bluebirds start to scout for nest sites and other birds begin to stir, it's time for us to get outside, and pay attention to the decline in many of our best loved songbird species. Field teaches English and philosophy in the Virginia Governor's School and Wytheville Community College and writes a weekly column for local papers.
02/10/2009 more...
Time for new approach to bay restoration
By Robert Wieland
The effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay's health has failed to achieve its goals, notes Robert Wieland, a resource economist working to expand the application of economic analysis in environmental decision-making. So, perhaps we should try a different and market-based approach to how we spend public money and create environmental policy. Wieland owns Main Street Economics and wrote "Why People Catch Too Many Fish" (Center for Marine Conservation) and "Fish, Markets, and Fishermen" (Island Press).
02/03/2009 more...
Backyard Chickens Represent a Return to Basics
By Sara Kaplaniak
The quest for healthy food of known provenance has fueled renewed interest in keeping chickens, an idea that's out of synch with community rules in many towns and suburbs, writes Sara Kaplaniak in this 732-word piece. But could backyard chickens be good for the region's environment, and for our diets?
01/27/2009 more...
Clean water advocates find legal gold in desert stream
By Karl Blankenship
A dispute over a stream in the Arizona desert may provide clean water advocates with an effective tool for cleaning up our region's waters, reports Karl Blankenship. But the tool, the product of a court case, comes with ramifications. Blankenship is a veteran environmental journalist and edits the 50,000 circulation Bay Journal. He has reported for daily newspapers in Michigan and Pennsylvania, won numerous awards for his work and been widely published in regional and national magazines.
01/20/2009 more...
Bank executives see what President Bush did not
By Jim Minick
Recently Bank of America said it would no longer finance surface mining projects that bury streams, yet President Bush ratified a change in federal law that takes away a buffer that protected mountain streams. Jim Minick suggests we need to take back the moral high ground. Minick teaches English at Radford University in Virginia. 668 words.
01/13/2009 more...
Swans bring a winter message
By Tom Horton
Tundra swans fly to the Chesapeake's rivers from as far away as Alaska's North Slope, looking for the perfect place to winter. Their long migration tells us something about the value of protecting forests, a place these big waterfowl would never land, writes Tom Horton in this 697-word commentary.
01/06/2009 more...