Most living creatures, whether they walk, swim, or crawl, are harmed by poor air quality. And if the EPA rolls back two critical Clean Air Act initiatives, our climate, health, and water quality could suffer.
EPA's proposed Safer Affordable Fuel Efficient Vehicles rule freezes emissions standards at the 2020 levels through 2026, meaning no required improvements in fuel efficiency for six years. With automobiles, trucks, and other vehicles a major source of air pollution, this is unacceptable.
The Clean Power Plan (CPP) is also on the EPA's chopping block. The CPP set the first-ever limits on carbon pollution from U.S. Power plants. If implemented, CPP also would significant reduce Bay-polluting nitrogen oxides. EPA has proposed to repeal the CPP, and replace it with the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, a significantly weaker program.
These EPA proposals weaken Clean Air Act regulatory programs that are needed for the full implementation of the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint to save the Bay. The rollbacks will impede our progress. As a third of the nitrogen pollution int he Bay comes from air pollution, the proposals will also result in worsening climate change–of which the Bay is already suffering–and have terrible health-related consequences (including problems such as shortness of breath, wheezing, and headaches) for people living in our watershed.
This Week in the Watershed: Mighty Mussels, Sweet Oysters, and Susquehanna Coal Ash
- Folks throughout Maryland and Virginia are fostering the next generation of Chesapeake Bay oysters through CBF's oyster gardening program. (Chesapeake Bay Magazine)
- Sweet! Domino Sugar installed an oyster garden at its refinery in Baltimore and will plant the oysters next spring with CBF on a sanctuary reef near Key Bridge. (Baltimore Sun—MD)
- A Pennsylvania power plant is under the spotlight again for polluting local waterways, as several environmental groups sued the Brunner Island plant for illegally discharging contaminants from coal ash into a Susquehanna tributary. (Bay Journal)
- Two thumbs up to this editorial celebrating the restoration of oysters in Virginia's Lafayette River and calling for more oysters in the Bay. (Virginian Pilot—VA)
- Another bivalve is starting to gain attention for its water-filtering prowess—the mighty mussel. (Bay Journal)
What's Happening Around the Watershed?
October 27
- Baltimore, MD: Join CBF in caring for the next generation of Bay oysters by cleaning oyster cages in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Register here!
November 1
- Easton, MD: Join us for our Chesapeake Book Club, diving into Florence Williams' The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative. Williams takes readers on an adventure around the world investigating the restorative benefits of nature. Learn more here!
November 6
- Piney Point, MD: As more local oyster farms are producing oysters, join us to indulge in some this beloved bivalve and learn more about this growing industry from a local oyster farmer. Learn more and register here!
November 10
- Baltimore, MD: Join CBF in caring for the next generation of Bay oysters by cleaning oyster cages in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Register here!
November 13
- Virginia Beach, VA: As more local oyster farms are producing oysters, join us to indulge in some this beloved bivalve and learn more about this growing industry from a local oyster farmer. Learn more and register here!
November 15
- Annapolis, MD: Join us for a very special evening as author Earl Swift joins us with two prominent lifetime Tangier residents and watermen, Cook Cannon and Ooker Eskridge, for a discussion moderated by CBF President Will Baker on Tangier's past, present, and tenuous future. Register here!
November 17
- Hopewell, VA: Join us for a fall tree planting at the newly restored Woodlawn Park. Register here!
- Baltimore, MD: Join CBF in caring for the next generation of Bay oysters by cleaning oyster cages in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. Register here!
November 27
- Alexandria, VA: Join us for our most in-depth adult education program available to our members and the public. VoiCeS, which stands for Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards, is a program to reach out to local volunteers and their communities to create a deeper understanding of the Bay and the efforts to restore it. The Northern Virginia VoiCeS class is an intensive multi-week course meeting on weekday evenings: Nov 27, 28, and Dec 4, 6, 11, and 12. Learn more and register here!
December 6
- Easton, MD: Join us for our Chesapeake Book Club, reading Tom Hortons' An Island Out of Time: A Memoir of Smith Island in the Chesapeake. Learn more and register here!
