Our Impacts Upon the World

We are fortunate to live less than an hour away from the greatest estuary in the word - the Chesapeake Bay. But along with that privilege comes the responsibility of protecting it from further degradation, and implementing lasting solutions that will restore its health for generations to come.

The Problems:

The public is often not aware of alternatives to their daily living that could reduce harmful impacts upon the environment.

Despite continual efforts from the environmental community, the health of the Bay is declining.

Despite the county's efforts to recycle, we continue to throw away far more material each year than we recycle. Some of this ends up in our water supply, endangering us, our children's future and the world around us.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation reports that:

"The leading threat to the health of the Chesapeake Bay is excess nitrogen and phosphorus pollution that destroys habitat and causes fish kills. Top sources of these pollutants include agriculture, sewage treatment plants, runoff from urban and suburban areas, and air pollution from automobiles, factories, and power plants. Other threats to the Bay's health include sprawl, toxic pollution, and poor fishery management."

Despite the lower initial cost of many materials that are pollutioning our County, in the long run we are all paying more in the form of hidden costs that we all end up paying.

The Solutions:

Utilize existing no-cost forms of County advertising to educate the public on the environmental impacts of their consumer choices.

Consider banning products which cause environmental harm, for which other safer products are available.

Eliminate loopholes in current County regulations that allow ongoing degradation of our environment.

Advocate for State cooperation to strengthen our Stormwater Management regulations.

Ban the sale of packaging materials that cause environmental damage, and for which other degradable materials exist.

Implement mandatory penalties for those persons and entities who are found to have violated our environmental waste laws.

Enact incentives for those who work to reduce their waste and use of natural resources, and fees for those who chose not to do so.

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