Action Plan
Chicken industry wins again, crippling Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts
In 2022, the industrialized Delmarva chicken industry produced 596 million chickens in 4,889 chicken houses—a record 4.4 billion pounds of chicken and $5 billion in wholesale value. This was a 38% broiler increase in a decade. These chickens produced 1.5 billion pounds of chicken excrement — equal to the weight of two Statues of Liberty! Corn and soybeans grown for feed are highly nitrogen intensive, adding more nitrogen to the bay.
Read MoreThe devastating Chesapeake blue crab collapse
Other factors affecting crab numbers include a failure to restore bay grasses (crab nurseries), polluted waters and invasive species. But the harsh reality is that the increasing harvest pressure triggered by astronomical crab prices is the only readily controllable fix to prevent an imminent crab collapse. However, all harvest restrictions — both existing and new — are rendered meaningless in Maryland because of nearly nonexistent enforcement. Tragically, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has chosen a laissez-faire approach to enforcement, allowing crabbers to act with impunity.
Read MoreEnding population growth is a mark of progress
Economic growth does not require population increases. We can grow our economy by using education and technology to increase productivity. We live in a world of finite resources with food, water, and health care insecurity. With slower or zero population growth, we can make greater progress toward resolving economic and environmental issues and boost our productivity as a nation and the quality of life for all of us. Calling for population growth to increase the number of workers flies in the face of the need to find employment for the 6.3 million currently unemployed.
Read MoreWith the climate crisis bearing down, Maryland legislators cave in to fossil fuels
Suspending the gas tax may sound good, but it’s a bad idea. Are our elected officials blind to the fact that almost nine out of every 10 barrels of oil used in Maryland are consumed by the transportation sector and that 36% of greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicles? Or that Americans use more oil than any nation, exceeding the next highest nation by 54% while consuming 20% of all oil with only 4% of the world’s population?
Read MoreReport finds Maryland is lax in regulating poultry industry pollution
By Gerald Winegrad A new report, “Blind Eye to Big Chicken,” documents a near complete abdication by Maryland agencies of their responsibilities to enforce critical pollution control regulations to rein in massive poultry industry pollution. The report by the watchdog group Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) details how chicken growers continue to violate state laws with…
Read MoreChesapeake Bay cleanup efforts have failed. Radical change is needed
Disturbing elements of CBF’s report card include an F for oyster recovery. This critical Bay keystone species has declined to 1% of historic levels inhibiting its ability to filter-cleanse Bay waters. Underwater grasses scored a D-. Along with oysters, their ecological functions make them the Bay’s Most Valuable Players, helping keep water clear and healthy by absorbing nutrients, trapping sediments, reducing erosion and acidity, adding oxygen, and providing essential habitat for crabs.
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