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So your brother/aunt/neighbor/friend walks to the supermarket in their hemp shoes with their reusable bags and buys only organic groceries, and then recycles the majority of the packaging. Maybe you would like to be more like them but find the idea of incorporating environmentally friendly habits in to your lifestyle a little overwhelming? Here’s your chance… it’s a New Year!!! First and foremost, I think the biggest key to success in any effort is the famous Chinese Proverb, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Here are three easy suggestions to start your year and get you on your way. Once you get a taste for how easy it is to make a positive impact on

Ah, Spring. After this weird winter, who knows how early everything is going to start growing and blooming. I’m itching to start dividing some perennials, moving stuff around and adding new plants. It’s all good. Except for my lawn – which I hate. So this year I’m going to really put some effort into it – research, science, new ideas. Here’s what I’ve got so far: Soil Test – This is the first step. Of course, this makes sense. You wouldn’t start taking medicine without getting tests done by a doctor. Well, maybe you would, but it’s a really bad idea. So, soil test - The Columbia Association (CA) is offering FREE soil testing. Why are they doing this? Because

We all do it. It’s how we live. We eat, we grow, and then we get on a treadmill to cut back our size. Then the circle starts over again and we eat and eat (because it just tastes so good!) only to obsessively work out some more. Surprisingly enough, this seems to make us only a distant relative to grass. That’s right, forget the apes. We are like grass. Turf grass to be specific. We water and fertilize and water some more until the grass grows and needs to be cut. Then we repeat. Only problem is we have a tendency to force-feed the grass and then obsessively cut it. Whoever decided this circular waste of time and money

If you’re anything like me your inbox is frequently filled with newsletters, some important, many not so much. (I often wonder what the world would be like if we were only allowed to send 3 emails a day. Better make them good!) So while I was cleaning out my inbox the other day, I came across Craig Highfield’s Forestry for the Bay newsletter. After having attended a workshop by Craig, who is the Forestry for the Bay Program Manager, I’ve learned his newsletters are typically not what you want to delete before reading. I put Craig’s email to the test, to make sure it wasn’t just interesting to me, and tweeted a link to one of the documents he recommended

First: Please know that we love our pets. This post is about human behavior, not pets! Have you heard of the Poop Fairy? The first thing you should know about her is that she doesn’t exist. Many municipalities use the myth of the Poop Fairy in campaigns to remind residents that there is no magical way to make dog poop “go away”. Just like with littering, some people may not realize the impact their behavior has on waterways, and some may simply not care. Some may even think it’s good to leave it to fertilize the grass. Besides the immediate issues, like the fact that it looks bad, smells gross, and that unfortunate (and subsequently irate) people step in it

Yesterday, on my way home from work the driver of the car in front of me rolled down her window and threw a candy wrapper onto the street. I just do not understand that mentality. I mean, who did she think was going to pick up that wrapper? I wonder, while preparing dinner does she toss the empty pasta box out the kitchen window? Or, while getting the mail does she pitch her unwanted junk mail onto her lawn? I would assume that like most folks she keeps her property neat and clean, but thinks nothing of littering our public spaces. Just who are those people who toss whole bags of fast food remnants, soda cans, 12-packs of empty beer

Ah, back to school time. Many parents in Howard County are doing dances of joy or are dreading the things that come with it like waking up grumpy kids, nagging over homework, etc. So I want to get to you all while you are still eager and fresh to recommend an activity that is easy to do in a school setting, or on your own. World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) is an international program for volunteers to test local water and report the results. It is easy and educational in so many ways. Basically, you buy a kit online that comes with simple instructions and equipment for 4 tests – pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and temperature. OK, maybe that sounds

I got a new poster for my office that stares at me each morning when I arrive to work. The message is short but thought provoking. It reads: IRRESPONSIBILITY: No Single Raindrop Believes It Is To Blame for the Flood. Think about that for a minute. The message puts the challenge of stormwater management in simple perspective. For the record, it is not just raindrops and the flood but also the candy wrappers in the buildup of litter, the pet waste adding nutrients to waterways, the people whose many behaviors affect the Chesapeake Bay, etc. The impact of any one ‘drop’ can usually be mitigated by various natural environmental systems. However, as the numbers grow, be it raindrops, discarded wrappers

You know a story is significant when it makes the front page of the Washington Post – above the fold. Must admit, I never thought I would see a news story about stormwater placed so prominently, despite the fact that stormwater runoff is the largest growing source of pollution to our streams and the Chesapeake Bay. But, on July 16, there it was. The Post headline read; “Heat has upside: less bay pollution –Dry, warm months reduce runoff, meaning smaller ‘dead zone’.” It is sad to think the weather that wreaks havoc on our vegetable gardens and general comfort here in the Mid- Atlantic could actually improve the health of the Bay. No rain, no runoff, no pollution, no dead

Environmental awareness, education, campaigning, promotion, marketing, blah blah blah. Here we are doing all of this work, and Dr. Seuss had it figured out all along! The Lorax is a book I read from time to time to my four-year-old daughter. What? You have never read The Lorax? It is the quintessential story of character v. nature, and though this part may not sound good, it does end with character very much still in the lead. While reading it the other night it occurred to me that it would make an excellent blog topic. But of course Hollywood had to come along and trump my idea and create a feature-length film based on the book (in theaters March 2nd). In