While spending four years and $17 million studying whether it would be a good idea to try Asian oysters in the Chesapeake Bay, it seems researchers discovered newfound promise in the sick old native oyster.

The massive draft Environmental Impact Statement weighing the pros and cons of various oyster restoration strategies in the bay makes no recommendation, as I reported today in The Baltimore Sun .  Whether trying to repopulate the bay with the Asian imports, or letting private oyster growers use sterile Asian shellfish, it's impossible to say for sure whether either effort would succeed, or cause more problems, the study concluded.

Asian oysters - originally from the seas off China and Japan - apparently can fend off the two diseases that have decimated the native bivalves.  But scientists and environmentalists worry that the imports might crowd out what's left of the natives, and cause more, as yet unknown, ecological trouble.  Some have suggested putting sterile Asian oysters in the bay instead to alleviate that threat.  Seafood dealers would like that, because they grow really fast and big.  But there's still a risk they'll wriggle out of their chemical chastity belt after a while and hook up in the murky waters of the Chesapeake.

Perplexing as all that is, researchers seem to agree they found one truly encouraging thing.  Sterile native oysters also grow a lot faster - fast enough to beat the diseases that normally kill them. 

Tommy Leggett, a Virginian who raises his own oysters on the side, got a chance to try both types of sterile oysters.  Of the natives, he says that by keeping them in floating racks near the water's surface, he could get them large enough to sell to restaurants within 12 months.  Others grown on the bottom got big enough to eat in about 18 months, still before the diseases would take their toll. 

"I think we have a native alternative to the non-native oyster," says Leggett, whose day job is with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. "There's no risk, they don't need a permit.  There's no possibility of introducing something (bad), because it's our native oyster."

The debate over Asian oysters is likely to drag on for at least a few more months.  For more background on it, look here and here.   

Regardless of how that debate turns out, though, it seems the native oyster may still have some market appeal - as long as it swears off sex. 

Speaking personally, I sure hope this promise bears out, as Chesapeake oysters have been one of my favorite foods since childhood.  I've sampled those grown and harvested from the East, West and Gulf coasts - and even some from Europe.  All had their points - but the best I ever slurped were fresh-plucked from the bottom of the Wye River one brilliant fall morning. In the future, more of the oysters we eat from the bay may come from floating cages like the ones at right, rather than foraged from the wild as I once did.

(Photos: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

When was the last time you or your child walked to school?  If you haven't lately, here's your chance to do it, with more company than usual.  Wednesday, Oct. 8, is "International Walk to School Day."

Just another "cause-for-a-day," perhaps.   But advocates point out this one is for a cause that promises benefits for kids' health, the environment and community safety. 

Obesity rates among children have more than doubled in the past twenty years, even as the percentage of students who walk to school has dropped from 50 percent to 15 percent or less.  Hoofing it to class won't cure kids' weight problems, of course.  But advocates see it as the first step, literally, in combating the physical inactivity endemic among youth.  

If more kids walked to school, there might also be less air pollution as well, advocates argue, as parents would burn up less gas ferrying their youngsters back and forth.  And communities where kids walk freely to school would also be safe ones, they point out.

There are 64 different walk-to-school activities planned around Maryland on Wednesday.  Go here to check the list.   I'm surprised there aren't more, especially in Baltimore and its suburbs, where there are plenty of schools within walking distance.  Why only one in the city?  Why just a handfull in Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties?  (I originally faulted Anne Arundel for having none, but an astute colleague at the Annapolis Capital pointed out that I'd over looked Arnold.  We both apparently missed Severna Park, too.  I stand corrected)

It's going to take more than a day or even a month a year of PR stunts to get more kids walking to school.  My kids are grown now, but rarely walked to or from school in our suburban neighborhood.  A bus picked them up in front of our house to take them to elementary school, though it was about a half mile away up a trail through some woods.  High school was a mile or so away, but walking even then was a rarity - not cool for teen-agers.

One of the larger aims of this walk-to-school day movement is to get grownups to demand more walkable communities - with centrally located schools and sidewalks linking them to the neighborhoods they serve.

For those interested in learning more, the Maryland Department of Planning recently published some dry but useful guidelines for building what it calls "community-centered schools."  You can find it here and scroll down the home page to the item about the department's "27th models and guidelines."  

One of the intriguing tidbits I spotted in the state's guidelines was a graph (page 19) showing that state spending on school construction in the outskirts of communities has actually increased in the past year, from 24 percent to 40 percent.  This, despite the O'Malley administration's stated emphasis on promoting Smart Growth.  State officials say they're not sure why that's happened, but acknowlege it's a concern.  Ponder that as you try strolling to school.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

A study led by scientists from Texas and Maryland has found that the bluefin tuna anglers are catching off the East Coast include a lot of trans-Atlantic travelers - tuna spawned in the Mediterranean Sea. 

It's a finding that should prompt fishery managers to rethink how they're going about rebuilding the badly diminished population of this sought-after fish, says David Secor, researcher at the University of Maryland's Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons.  You can read a press release summarizing the study here.

Until now, many experts had believed that the tuna in the western Atlantic and in the Medterranean were two separate stocks.  But after studying the chemical makeup of the ears of fish caught off the US and Canadian coast and in the Mediterranean, the researchers determined that young tuna from Europe evidently were swimming across the ocean to mingle with their western relatives before returning to the Med to spawn.

The study appears in the current issue of the journal Science (abstract only, subscription required). The findings ought to give pause to fishermen who love the thrill of catching bluefins off Ocean City.  It seems we've had an inflated notion of how healthy the stock is along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, since it's been spiced up with European immigrants. 

"Those fish we're catching depend on the health of the Mediterranean population," Secor said.  Recently that population has been declining because of overfishing, he pointed out, adding, "That doesn't create a very good outlook."

For more on bluefin tuna and how their catch is regulated now, go here.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

A federal judge in Washington has ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to reinstate rules aimed at protecting right whales, humpbacks and fin whales from becoming fatally entanged in fishing gear.  The court issued a preliminary injunction Friday in a lawsuit brought by Defenders of Wildlife and the Humane Society of the United States.

For details on the groups' lawsuit and their concern about fishing gear trapping and killing whales, go here.  Right whales were hunted almost to extinction for their oil and their baleens, which once provided the support in corsets.

For more background on right whales, which migrate along our Atlantic coast, I recommend an article by Douglas Chadwick in this month's issue of National Geographic.  The photos by Brian Skerry are not to be missed, either.  The one at right is not his, but from NOAA.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Hardly a day goes by that I don't get email or telephone pitches from public relations folks touting this or that "green" innovation or commitment by their business.

Here's a sampling from the past week:

"'Tis the Season to Go Green": A press release offering "tips on how to decorate for the holidays while remaining environmentally friendly."  Mixed in among the useful, if not exactly orginal ideas of recycling your gift wrap and using fewer lights on the old yule tree are suggestions that you buy a couple specific brands of window shades.  The precocious release (it's not even Halloween yet!) came from Hunter Douglas, a company that makes window shades, among other things.

"Eco Friendly Car Rental Site ... Announces U.S. Launch":  Vroom Vroom Vroom, an Australian-founded car-rental outfit, has crossed the ocean to offer US drivers "a fast, hassle-free and environmentally friendly" ride while on the road.  In addition to promising quicker, cheaper rentals, the company also offers free "carbon offset" credits with each rental.  I haven't had a chance to vet just how free these offsets are, or whether they truly negate all the carbon dioxide your trip would generate.  There's nothing on the company's home page, though, about how green their rentals are, so maybe they're not that proud of that after all. 

"Pepsi Ups Its Online Eco Efforts": Instead of sending me her own press release, the rep this time saved some energy and emailed me an article from a marketing magazine touting the soft-drink giant's unveiling of a pair of "green" Web sites.  One offers consumers "Pepsi Stuff" points for taking a quiz about recycling, redeemable for "green" apparel or even a SmartCar.  The other Web site spells out Pepsi's "Eco Challenge," a takeoff on an old marketing slogan that commits the company to reducing its water, electricity and fuel consumption in making its drinks.  Soft drink manufacturers have been under assault for the health and environmental impacts of their products, in case you hadn't heard.  Check back in 2015 or so to see if they fulfilled their pledges.

These and other business pitches came on the heels of another email, also from a public relations company, Makovsky & Company. The grabby headline on it was "Exposing the 'Green Gap.'"  The release said a recent Harris Interactive survey had found that the vast majority of corporate leaders say they are personally concerned about climate change and the environment.  However, the release also reported that far fewer executives say their companies are actually following their personal convictions. 

All of the company products, policies and pledges mentioned above may well be sincere and legitimate.  I have no reason to think otherwise.  But when taken together, I'm reminded that actions speak louder than press releases.  Caveat emptor.

UPDATE: VroomVroomVroom now has a prominent blurb on its home page touting its cost-free carbon offsets.  Maybe they do see some profit in promoting their green-ness.  Their PR account executive emailed me that earlier, "the page was technically up, but there was a glitch adding the link from the home page." I'm pretty digitally illiterate, so I'll take her word for it.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 2:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

We won't know until Monday how much Maryland and other states got in this week's auction of carbon-dioxide pollution allowances.  But some experts are saying the launch of the nation's first mandatory program to regulate carbon dioxide already has been a success, no matter how much revenue it raises.

Power plant owners and others bid electronically on Thursday for the rights to emit 12.5 million tons of carbon dioxide in the 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states that are partcipating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Inititative.  The group had specified a minimum bid of $1.86 per ton.  The auction is part of a multi-state effort to combat global warming by curtailing power plant emissions of the chief gas linked with rising temperatures.

Some observers have wondered if the upheaval in the financial markets would dampen interest in the carbon auction.  Monday may tell.  But Dallas Burtraw, a senior fellow with Resources for the Future, says the sale already has proven its worth.

"It's pretty heroic that they've done it in the first place," said Burtraw, who was among a group of experts commissioned by Maryland to review the potential impact of the auction.  Many thought it impossible, Burtraw pointed out, that a group of states could collaborate on something this complex and untried without support from the federal government in Washington.   The Bush administration, worried about the economic impact, had refused to regulate carbon dioxide until a Supreme Court ruling that it had the power and obligation to do so.

Burtraw, an economist, said he thought the carbon auction scheme was well designed and is a good model for a national plan to regulate climate-changing pollution from power plants.  The revenues from the auction are used by government to promote energy efficiency among consumers.

Even if Monday reveals there was some glitch in this initial bidding, Burtraw said, the auction already has influenced regulators in Europe, where there's been a market for carbon-dioxide allowances since 2005.

Europeans have been giving away their carbon pollution allowances for free, rather than selling them off.  And indeed, when they started, the Europeans gave away far more than industries were actually emitting - so many more that their allowances were virtually worthless to anyone holding them. But some in Europe had doubted that industries would willingly bid for the allowances, so the launch of the U.S. auction has largely overcome those fears.

"The heads of the EU have spun around with what RGGI has done here," Burtraw said. 

Malachy Hargadon's head wasn't exactly spinning when reached at his office in Washington.  But the environment counselor for the European Commission's delegation to the United States acknowledged that the U.S. decision to sell off its carbon pollution allowances, rather than give them away, has impressed him and his colleagues in Europe. 

"We learned that there are advantages to moving to auctions for allowances," Hargadon said.

European nations may well put up for bid the next batch of carbon allowances that they're due to issue in 2013, he said.  They could yield quite a lot of revenue, if so - Hargadon said allowances have been trading recently in Europe for about 25 Euros a ton.  A Euro is worth about $1.46 US. 

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

A Pennsylvania-based coal company has proposed tunneling beneath the Casselman River, a popular trout stream in western Maryland.  According to this report on forbes.com by David Dishneau of the Associated Press, the mine owner and state regulators say there's no reason to think it can't be done without harming the stream or its fish.

The head of the Maryland Bureau of Mines told the AP that it could take up to a year to review the mining plan filed by Maryland Energy Resources LLC, a subsidiary of Joseph Peles Coal Co. of Indiana, Pa.

The AP story quoted a Sierra Club representative, Sam White, who was skeptical that the mine would have no impact. But John Carey, the chief state mining regulator, recalled that Mettiki Coal Corp. had been allowed to tunnel beneath the North Branch of the Potomac River several years ago in Garrett County.  Carey said there had not been any problems in that case.

The mine would be some 400 feet beneath the Casselman's South Branch, near Grantsville.  The company foresees extracting an estimated 360,000 tons of coal annually for 20 years from the seam.   It would be the state's largest deep mine, the AP says, though tiny by comparison to large coal operations in neighboring states. 

The state is expeded to post a public notice about the mining application on Oct. 7.  The state plans a public meeting on the project.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

There's been another sizable fish kill near Annapolis this week.

According to the Maryland Department of the Environment, about 40,000 menhaden were found floating at the head of Bear Neck Creek off the Rhode River.  The photo at right of the dead fish comes from Chris Trumbauer, riverkeeper for the West and Rhode rivers. He also provided the map below, with the creek highlighted inside the box.

As in prior fish kills reported in the area this year, low dissolved oxygen -- aggravated by algae growth -- is the suspected culprit, says Kim Lamphier, MDE spokeswoman. 

Low dissolved oxygen is frequently listed by MDE as the likely cause of fish kills, according to state data you can see here.  MDE lumps such kills among those attributable to "natural" causes.

Yes, oxygen levels do drop naturally at night in ponds, streams and coves.  The algae in the water, which in daytime pump oxygen into the water through photosynthesis, stop at night when the sun goes down. But that decline can be sudden and extreme in waters where the algae in the water has grown so thick that bunches of it die, sink to the bottom and begin to decay - using up oxygen in the process.  Sharp drops in oxygen can prove fatal for fish in confined waters, such as ponds, coves and headwaters, as the fish suffocate without enough oxygen getting through their gills.

Menhaden are particularly vulnerable, it seems, because of their tendency to travel in schools.  But it's too easy to blame the victims. Before anyone says it's the menhaden's fault or stupidity for not turning around and swimming to safer water, keep in mind that the algae growth in streams is fed by nutrients in the water.  Likely as not, those nutrients are being washed into the creek from fertilizer used on farms and lawns, from septic systems leaking into shallow ground water and from pet (and yes, wildlife) droppings left on streets and lawns. 

By the time MDE inspectors get to the site of a fish kill, it can be hard to be sure of the cause.  Oxygen levels may have recovered, as the fish stopped breathing and algae began supplying more oxygen with the sunrise.  And algae blooms may have dissipated, with the tides or current.   But the bay and its tributaries are known to be overloaded with nutrients, from people and their activities - providing an all-you-can-eat buffet for algae blooms whenever conditions are ripe. 

So when seen that way, such fish kills don't seem quite so natural. 

UPDATE: It turns out there was a sewage spill into Bear Neck Creek on Wednesday - after the fish kill. 

Anne Arundel County officials reported that the Mayo sewer collector system overflowed.  Officials said most of the wastewater had been treated, according to an Associated Press report.  But apparently there were enough harmful bacteria present to prompt health authorities to close the creek and warn against human contact with the water until further notice.

The human health threat from partially treated sewage will abate in a few days.  But nutrients from that same wastewater could help spur more algae growth - exposing more fish to the risk of death from "natural causes."

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

If you've wanted to give someone in authority a piece of your mind about growth in the Baltimore area, here's your chance.  The Maryland Department of Planning and a state task force on growth and development will be having a "listening session" Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Woodlawn High School, 1801 Woodlawn Drive. 

This is the fourth of six "listening sessions" being held around the state.  There'll be another Thursday night for Washington area residents at James Blake High School in Silver Spring.  The final forum will be Thursday, Sept. 25, at Bridge of Life Church in Hagerstown.  For more information or maps showing locations, go here.

The task force, formed by the legislature, is expected to report its findings and recommendation by the end of the year.  Growth issues are expected to be on the agenda at next year's General Assembly.

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

The House has blessed a bill sponsored by Rep. John Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat, that would funnel more federal funds into getting kids outdoors and learning about the environment. 

The "No Child Left Inside Act," which passed 293-109, was heavily lobbied by environmental groups, including the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.  CBF takes more than 40,000 students and teachers on state-subsidized field trips a year now, ranging from one-day boat trips to weeklong retreats at its education centers around the bay.

Advocates say federal spending on outdoor environmental education needs to be boosted because kids spend half as much time outside today as did children a generation ago, and are increasingly disconnected from nature.  Surveys have found that many youngsters put more than 40 hours a week into playing video games, watching TV or browsing the Web.   Research suggests that kids who spend significant time outdoors before they turn 11 are more likely to develop a life-long conservation ethic, they say.

The bill would create new federal grants to states to provide more "hands-on" environmental education, among other things.  Even though the measure sailed through the House, supporters are going to have to start all over again next year, because the Senate is not expected to take the bill up. 

Meanwhile, for those parents who don't want to wait, the National Wildlife Federation has some suggestions here for a "Green Hour," getting children to spend an hour outside a day.  So does the bay foundation here.   

Sept. 24-30, by the way, is national "Take A Child Outside Week," designed to get parents, grandparents and caregivers to pledge to do just that, with organized outings and activities. Check the above link for tips and events planned near you.

(Chesapeake Bay Foundation photo) 

Posted by Tim Wheeler at 6:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)