Chesapeake Bay Action Plan
After decades of effort, the voluntary, collaborative approach to restoring the health and vitality of the Chesapeake Bay— the largest estuary in the United States—has not worked and, in fact, is failing.
A diverse group of 57 senior scientists and policymakers have joined forces to save the Bay. This is our plan.
GERALD WINEGRAD: NO GOVERNMENT HAS AUTHORITY TO TAKE SOMEONE’S LIFE | COMMENTARY
Two weeks after the pope’s comments cited in the column, he harshly criticized the death penalty as “an attack” on human dignity following Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s plans, initially supported by President Donald Trump, to conduct a public execution by firing squad. The administration canceled the public showing of the execution only after widespread condemnation.
GERALD WINEGRAD: IT’S A TRAVESTY FOR CHESAPEAKE THAT A 56% GRADE IS CELEBRATED | COMMENTARY
As a student for 19 years and a graduate school professor for 11 years, a report card grade of 56% would always be an F, an embarrassingly low failure. But in a world turned upside down, a 56% rating for the health of the Chesapeake Bay is celebrated.
GERALD WINEGRAD: HELP SAVE OSPREY CHICKS FROM STARVING | COMMENTARY
By Gerald Winegrad Your support is urgently needed for long-overdue major restrictions on the Virginia-based slaughter of tens of millions of individual menhaden a year. Thousands of osprey chicks in higher-salinity waters of bay country are dying slow, horrible deaths from starvation because of corporate greed decimating the ospreys’ major food…
GERALD WINEGRAD: THE SHOCKING TRAGEDY OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY | COMMENTARY
Like Vito Corleone, the Godfather tending his tomato plants, in my supposed retirement, I spend each summer day tending my two crab pots on my Oyster Creek pier. I cherish catching my favorite food and feasting on steamed crabs in Old Bay with Maryland corn on the cob with Carol and others. This is how…
GERALD WINEGRAD: WHAT THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE MEANT FOR NATIVE AMERICANS | COMMENTARY
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of declaring our independence from England and its king, there has been a torrent of written and visual reflections on our hallowed Declaration of Independence and its global historical importance. One example is the harsh reality of Native Americans trapped in a lose-lose situation during the Revolutionary War. Tribes…
GERALD WINEGRAD: TRUMP’S SENSELESS ATTACKS ON CLEAN ENERGY | COMMENTARY
Last week’s column covered President Donald Trump’s insane blockage of clean and cheap sustainable energy from wind power. Equally appalling is his attack on solar power, energy efficiency and electric vehicles. His policies spur higher energy prices and diminish electrical supplies while promoting greater usage of polluting and costlier coal, oil and natural gas. At an April…
Gerald Winegrad: Trump’s insane war on wind energy | COMMENTARY
“The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind.” Bob Dylan (1962) Since taking office again on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has taken a wrecking ball to our nation’s conservation efforts, dismantling approved legislation, regulations and funding. Many bedrock initiatives were enacted under Republican presidents and with bipartisan efforts. Some date…
GERALD WINEGRAD: WHAT THE CHESAPEAKE BAY IS REALLY TELLING US | COMMENTARY
Maryland’s Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain recently posted an op-ed, “What the Chesapeake Bay is trying to tell us.” The secretary left many gaps, omitting what the bay is really telling us. First, the Chesapeake is loudly telling us now and has been for decades that it is not its warming waters that are the major…
We are senior Chesapeake Bay scientists and policymakers from Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania who have concluded that after decades of effort, the voluntary, collaborative approach to restoring the health and vitality of the largest estuary in the United States has not worked and, in fact, is failing. Our group unanimously recommends that all states draining into the Chesapeake Bay adopt our 25 action items in their Watershed Implementation Plans (WIP) and implement them to improve the Bay’s water quality and to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act.
Sign up for news & updates from Patuxent Riverkeeper