The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Baltimore $190,000 to help the city's nonprofit community save energy and money on utility bills. The Johns Hopkins University also will provide a 51 percent match to the federal Climate Showcase Communities grant. The funds will be used for training local college students and providing energy bench-marking and audits. The nonprofits will also be connected to resources for energy-efficiency upgrades. City officials say the money will help Baltimore achieve its goals of reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2015 and providing training for green jobs. In a separate grant, the city will receive $200,000 in economic stimulus money from the Department of Energy to expand its emergency-preparedness plans so Baltimore can recover and restore power more quickly after a disruption.

- Meredith Cohn