Marylanders Thinking Green?

Who wants to help support the cleanup of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries?

A new poll suggests most people in Maryland do. Better than four in five of the 500 residents polled on behalf of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation said making the nation’s largest estuary cleaner should be a state funding priority, the group announced Thursday.

The results come as the foundation pushes for a new fee on hard surfaces to support a “green fund” to the tune of around $85 million per year. The money would help the state meet commitments it made with other states in the watershed to reduce pollution by 2010.

But it may be tougher to get businesses and large property owners to pay 1 cent per square foot of hard surfaces. Those who own big houses (more than 3,000 square feet) in the state would pay $40 per year into the green fund, while a warehouse owner could pay up to $5,500 per year.

One side says this is fairer than previous green fund plans that would tax new construction — and say the bay needs the money.

Others say it’s still to costly, especially for folks like food retailers — given other taxes that are on the table right now. What do you think?

-ANDY ROSEN, Business Writer

WSSC turning to the tap

The utility that provides almost 2 million Marylanders with water is boycotting its bottled form.

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission announced Monday that it will forgo giving away bottled water at community events, citing the impact on the environment. (For anyone unawares, most of the bottles stack up in landfills, contributing to already-overburdened trash stockpiles).

From the release:

"One of WSSC’s core values is environmental stewardship. Every day, an estimated 60 million plastic water bottles are thrown away. Most are not recycled. Millions upon millions are ending up in our landfills," said Jim Neustadt, Director of Communications and Community Relations. "By ending our use of bottled water, hopefully we can inspire others to make a change."

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Feds go crabbing

A Crisfield seafood wholesaler, MeTompkin Bay Oyster Company, pled guilty last month to federal charges of purchasing and selling undersized crabs. The AP reports the company was hit with a $50,000 fine, and was ordered to hand over 3,200 dozen undersized crabs.

Being a regular consumer of Maryland’s most well-known crustacean, the revelation of undersized crabs on the market is no shock. Thinking back many summers, the size and meatiness of the Chesapeake Bay bottom-dwellers sold now doesn’t even compare to a bushel I would madly dig through as a 12-year-old hopped up on Old Bay. If anyone thinks I’m delusional from all the ingested phosphates and nitrates in the bay, feel free to set me straight.

The only good news out of this nefarious seafood scandal? The undersized crabs seized in the sting will be donated to the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore for two North American river otters’ dining pleasure. Dinner time is today, in case anyone wants to watch and celebrate the one-time evidence disappearing.

—FRANCIS SMITH, Special Publications Assistant Editor

Honest TeaEO out to save the world

Seth Goldman, better known as founder of Bethesda-based Honest Tea, seems to be single-handedly taking on global warming - at least, inside the (Washington) beltway.

Goldman hosted a press conference this afternoon (with special guests MoCo Executive Ike Leggett and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown) to show off Honest Tea's new eco-friendly office space in downtown Bethesda and to announce the creation of the "Bethesda Green Zone."

It should be noted that many of the attendees were most concerned with getting their hot little hands on a pomegranate white tea with acai.

But I digress.

Truly "in the zone," Goldman and Honest Tea seem to be leading the environmental effort, setting goals of additional bike racks for Bethesda employees' use and converting area restaurants' waste grease into biodiesel fuel.

Anthony Brown hit the nail on the head when he remarked:

"[The O'Malley-Brown Administration is] trying to make advances in healthcare - you're doing it; trying to make advances in business development - you're doing it; trying to make advancements in environment and energy - and you guys are doing it."

Brown chuckled as he went on to say, "You're really holding the governor's feet to the fire."

Is it time for area business leaders to become community leaders - and partner with the state on issues like the environment?

As Seth Goldman seems to advocate, do small businesses have an inherent social responsibility?

If so, tell us what your business is doing on this front. If not, tell us why.

Above: Seth Goldman poses outside the old Honest Tea office on Wilson Lane in Bethesda.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Multimedia Editor

Have you ever heard of Inspector O?

Well neither have I, but I came across a mention of him/her yesterday when I was doing some Web surfing. According to the Baltimore city Web site, Inspector O is quite possibly the nation's first advice column on environmental health and hygiene regulation.

The site offers this description:
"Inspector O: There is a new sleuth about town to help Baltimore residents understand environmental regulations and other related mysteries. The Baltimore City Health Department is proud to introduce Ask Inspector O, a Web-based advice column for businesses and city residents about such issues as rat control, restaurant safety, pool hygiene and other important but little-understood facts of life. To ask your own question, please send an email to: AskInspectorO@baltimorecity.gov "

I'm glad to hear about the service, but I'm also a little curious about Inspector O, and what other important but little-understood facts of life he/she could be talking about. I'm thinking of some great stuff to ask Inspector O right now.

What would you like to ask Inspector O? Let me know and I'll post an upcoming blog entry about the answers.

-TODD ZIMMERMAN, Presentation Editor

Calvert County OKs nuclear

In a world gone "green," Calvert County officials have given the thumbs-up to an old yet controversial standby: nuclear energy. A recent AP article says that the county’s elected officials sent a letter to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission giving their support for building a new reactor at Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant.

Constellation Energy Group, based here in Baltimore, filed a partial application for the 1,600-megawatt reactor in Lusby. It would be the first commercial reactor built in the U.S. in approximately 30 years.

To counter those who are sure to bring up Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, Constellation is estimating that the reactor could employ about 2,500 people and that the Calvert Cliffs facility expansion would bring another 400 full-time jobs. The county is expecting about $16 million in taxes this year from the facility — 8 percent of the county’s tax revenue. Jobs and revenue aside, there’s also the eco-friendly allure of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The flip side of that, according to groups like Beyond Nuclear, is nuclear waste — how much of it will be left over, and where can we store it safely. And this may be yet another target in the U.S. for a terrorist attack. Of course, what isn’t, these days? But should we really be adding to the 11 nuclear plants already in the Chesapeake Bay watershed?

Whether we poison the sky with an overloaded carbon cycle, or we bury a toxic combustible byproduct, policymakers seem to struggle with bringing innovation into our energy policy. Yes, wind and solar are picking up some steam in certain areas — but how long has that taken? Not as long as the wind and sun have been around, but long enough.

What do you think?

-FRANCIS SMITH, Special Publications Assistant Editor

Where have all the trees gone?

Well, not exactly all of the trees, but at least the 10 or so that used to line St. Paul Street between Saratoga and Franklin in downtown Baltimore. I have enjoyed their shading during the summer as I walked past Mercy Hospital on my way to work, but recently they were all cut down to the base and painted with red paint.

I looked both ways in confusion. Maybe my memory was a little off. Was I just imagining that they were here? When did they disappear? Was the Lorax in town? Did someone remember that Baltimore City thief a few years back cutting down the light poles and selling them for scrap metal? Maybe someone's cutting down the trees and selling them for mulch?

It made me wonder who's in charge of planting and maintaining trees and shrubbery in the city? So after a little Web-based digging I discovered Baltimore City has a Forestry Division. (It's really the Department of Parks and Recreation, but they still handle it.) I'm going to do a little more investigating and I'll let you know when I find those missing trees.

-TODD M. ZIMMERMAN, Daily Record Presentation Editor

A green-er fleet

When folks talk about efficient government, they might not be referring to lower taxes. Are Maryland taxpayers willing to pay more to make the state as “green” as it can be?

At the next meeting of the state Board of Public Works, Gov. Martin O’Malley, Comptroller Peter Franchot and Treasurer Nancy Kopp plan to discuss the prospect of bringing more hybrid vehicles into the state’s fleet.

Franchot first broached the subject, during a discussion over purchasing standards for vehicles. It could be touchy, though, while the state faces a looming budget shortfall.

Franchot said a setting goal — potentially around 20 percent of the state’s fleet — would help the state advance its efforts to fight global warming. He called it “something that without breaking the bank … would move us in that direction.”

Still, hybrids tend to cost more than their plain gasoline-powered counterparts (a new basic hybrid Honda Civic costs about 50 percent more than a non-hybrid), and many of the most established brands are made in other countries.

Treasurer Kopp suggested that the state could move in the right direction on the cheap by purchasing gasoline-powered vehicles with better fuel economy.

Is it important for the state to buy American? Are hybrid state vehicles the answer to environmental woes?

-ANDY ROSEN, Daily Record Business Writer