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Sauna-like heat, low rain help keep Chesapeake Bay clean
Posted by Washington Post: Darryl Fears on July 16th, 2012
Washington Post: The weirdly mild winter, the dry and toasty spring, and the hottest summer heat wave on record apparently had at least one upside: a cleaner Chesapeake Bay. Last year around this time, the bay was smothered by one of its largest dead zones — low-oxygen water caused by pollution where fish and plants cannot survive. This year, with so little rain to move pollution from farms and city streets into waterways, the zone “absolutely is much smaller,” said Bruce Michael, director of the resource assessment...
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Solar homes showcase students’ energy, creativity
Posted by Washington Post: Darryl Fears on September 23rd, 2011
Washington Post: University of Maryland students didn’t compete in the last Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t show up. Dozens of them carried clipboards and furiously scribbled notes while eyeballing solar-powered houses designed and built by other students from around the world.
They were preparing to vie for this year’s event, which started Thursday at West Potomac Park and runs through Oct. 2. U-Md. is unveiling WaterShed , a house inspired by the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem....
Chesapeake Bay Foundation spent extra to make its headquarters eco-friendly
Posted by Washington Post: Darryl Fears on January 25th, 2011
Washington Post: While leading a tour of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's headquarters in Annapolis, Mary Tod Winchester stepped into a restroom and waved her hand across a toilet as elegantly as a game-show model on "The Price Is Right."
It wasn't just any commode. There was no flush handle, no knob, no pulley. At the foundation's ultra-green workplace, there wasn't any water in the toilets, either. As far as the organization's leaders are concerned, it's a waste. They'd rather compost than send more polluted...