Chesapeake Bay Health 01 – Sites to See

I’ve come across a number of amazing sites in my quest to learn more about the history of the Chesapeake’s decline. One I particularly like is the sitemaintained by the Chesapeake Bay Program — the regional partnership that’s led and directed the restoration of the Bay since 1983.

Taks a look at the Chesapeake Bay Program siteand you’ll find a ton of info in a very nice package!

On the Homepage you can scroll through multimedia treatments of the Top Stories where current topics range from a discussion of groundwater to six ways African-American history helped shape the Chesapeake. The Top Story items link to the full story. On the upper-right of the page, you’ll find links to The Bay in the News items and my favorite — ways to Stay Connected. This is the place to read The Bay Blog and to sign up for the Bay News, as well as Chesapeake Currents – the monthly enewsletter.

Further down on the homepage you’ll find BayTube with videos and interviews. Right now there’s a Chesapeake Stories interview with Arthur Tuers that you’ve got to see! You’ll also find sections for How You Can Help, Spotlight On…, and Featured items.

Other pages on the site cover the Bay in general, pressures on the bay, restoration of the bay, info on the partnership… Excellent background and detail information.

Take the time to check it out. You won’t be disappointed.

Chesapeake Bay Health: 02

I’ve been trying to decide the best way to get a handle on the health of the Bay. I know it’s terrible and not improving any time soon. I know all the run-off from the snow this winter is going to make things worse. I get it that the Bay has been studied and recommendations have been made and conditions are worsening despite all of that.

The first steps seem to me to find out (1) when the health of the Bay came into question and why and (2) which indicators are used to determine the Bay’s health. The answer to (1) is in the works. The answer to (2) varies by source – but only in some of the details. They seem to agree on the key points so let’s take a look at the Chesapeake EcoCheck Indicators page – which doesn’t always appreciate hyperlinks. (So I’ll include this tiny url here to take you to the first page: http://tinyurl.com/ygqbc3o. Unfortunately, you’ll have to cut and paste it into your browser if these links won’t work.)

Their Bay Health Index assesses the state of six indicators by totaling two Indices – the Water Quality Index and the Biotic Index. Basically, what this means is that Water Clarity and the state of the aquatic grasses determines the health of the Bay.

When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. Murky water, full of decomposing plant life, reduces the oxygen level in the water. Murky water also reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the plant matter necessary to the health of the bay.

Aquatic grasses help keep the water clear. They also serve as the habitat for many of the Bay species. In short, if there’s not enough thriving aquatic grass, you have less oxygen and a loss of habitat.

These indicators are ones that are easy to understand. In the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at how they’re assessed and what the trends have been over the time they’ve been tracked.

Here’s to a healthy Bay!

Chesapeake Bay Health

I’ve been living an hour or so from the Chesapeake Bay for about 25 years now. It’s a gorgeous body of water, stretching from north to south beyond the horizon. It glitters in the sun and there’s usually a line of supertankers waiting to make their way under the Bay Bridge spans.

All that’s just fine. But each new report details worsening conditions. Despite what seem to me to be significant efforts on the parts of citizens, we’re just not making significant progress in saving the Chesapeake.

I’m determined to understand this a bit more. To learn why it’s so difficult to make a difference in the life of this bay. And to discover what we can realistically do – as individuals – to make things out.

First up – What is the Chesapeake Bay?

Second – What are indicators of Bay health?

Chesapeake Bay Update

Bad news from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Their 10th Annual State of the Bay report shows no significant progress in pollution reduction. That’s discouraging in the extreme, given the attention that’s been focused on the problem for a decade.

They’re calling for the EPA “to use every possible tool available to stop” the trashing of the Bay. For starters, they’d like strict pollution reduction criteria under the Clean Water Act. Specifically, they want the EPA to stop issuing permits for new development projects that increase pollution, to require reductions in polluted runoff, and to deny air pollution permits for every new coal-fired power plant that pollutes waterways in the region. And they want the EPA to do it now.

Given the EPA has the regulatory authority – not to mention the mandate – to do all this, it’s preposterous it hasn’t already been done. The Bay ecosystem is vital to this region and beyond. There’s no way we can know all we do about the interdependence of ecosystems and take the position that the Bay is only a concern for the Mid-Atlantic. And there’s no way we can turn our backs on our role in the continued decline of this treasure.

There are so many environmental problems without a clear place to start. This is not one of them. We know that runoff carries pollutants to the waterways. We know that pollution in the air winds up in those same waterways. We know that new development, if not done with reduction of runoff in mind, contributes to pollutants that, along with industrial and sewage treatment discharges, wind up in the waterways.

There’s absolutely no excuse for letting this go on any longer when there’s so much at stake and such clear action that can be taken.