News
Chesapeake Bay: An Open Toilet
(Posted by Scott Edwards.)
The old grey mare just ain’t what she used to be. And for that matter, neither are those chickens. Or the cows. And you just wouldn’t recognize the pigs. Even if you could see them. But you can’t. Because they spend their entire, short life in darkened, crowded, filthy sheds. Nope, farms just aren’t what they used to be. In fact, they aren’t really even farms anymore. They’re factories. Every bit as much a factory as a papermill. Or a chemical processing plant. Put away your pastoral picture book – there’s nothing quaint or country about them.
Read MoreAgriculture & the Decline of Smallmouth Bass
(Posted by Robert A. Bachman.)
In a resolution passed unanimously at its winter quarterly meeting on January 10, 2010, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission made the following declaration:
Read More…The Board of Commissioners of the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission hereby expresses deep concern for the health of the Susquehanna River’s smallmouth bass fishery and asserts there is evidence showing that the water quality of the Susquehanna River has become increasingly impaired to the level that it is seriously impacting important elements of the Susquehanna River fishery, especially its nationally-reputed smallmouth bass fishery.”
Video: Are Farmers the Bad Guys?
When it comes to who’s responsible for polluting the Chesapeake Bay, farmers can feel singled out. Gerald Winegrad sets the record straight.
Read MoreAgriculture and the Bay: What the Science Shows
(Posted by Ed Hatcher.)
Dear Bay Action Plan Readers,
Welcome to Day 1 of the Bay Action Plan’s month-long focus on Agriculture and the Bay: What the Science Shows.
Former Maryland state Senator Gerald Winegrad discusses how agriculture contributes to bay pollution:
See all our videos here.
Click to view a one-hour webinar on “Reaching Our Nutrient Reduction Allocations,” conducted by Dr. Russell B Brinsfield, and Dr. Ken Staver, both of the University of Maryland Wye Research and Education Center. (Webinar will open in a new window.)
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Regulating Agriculture: Taking the Profit Out of Pollution
(Posted by Howard Ernst.)
Agricultural practices in the Bay region today remain grossly under-regulated, giving a tremendous economic advantage to those who pollute our waterways with environmentally irresponsible farming practices. Industrial agricultural production is the single biggest source of pollution to the Bay because the current rules (or lack of them) make this form of food production the most profitable. Sensible agricultural regulations level the playing field, take the profit out of pollution, and are absolutely essential to restore the Chesapeake Bay.
Read MoreWho’s Watching the Watchers?
Posted by Fred Tutman.
Last week I had the edgy and unwelcome task of informing an elderly resident in Gambrills that our testing of her well water revealed huge amounts of Thallium, Barium and Aluminum. This was most likely caused by a nearby former coal waste disposal site. This gentle soul whom I suspect has lived in the same home and consumed the water there for her entire life, has lately been living with cases of bottled water sitting on her porch provided courtesy of some energy company.
But she still does not have justice.
Read More