Ballast

THE UNITED STATES has declared war on alien invaders -- the potentially dangerous infiltrators of American waters that secretly travel in ballast water tanks of giant ocean-going ships.That's especially good news for the Chesapeake Bay, where more than 3 billion gallons of foreign water are dumped by cargo vessels each year. Hidden in that ballast water (taken on by ships for stabilization) are thousands of exotic, alien organisms that pose dramatic threats to the ecology of the estuary.The new National Invasive Species Act calls for ships to discharge their ballast tanks 200 miles from coastal waters, monitoring of the voluntary effort and funding of research to develop anti-invader techniques.

For the first time, the federal government will protect the Chesapeake Bay and other watersheds across the nation from invasive species carried by foreign ships.The National Invasive Species Act, signed yesterday by President Clinton, sets up a program to prevent contamination during the release of ballast water carried by giant ships from around the world.The policy is intended to halt the "game of biological roulette," said Dr. James Carlton, an authority on marine invaders."Right now, we don't [know]

THERE WAS A HUM in the kitchen. At first I treated the hum the way all veteran homeowners treat strange noises. I pretended it would go away.When it didn't, I checked out the usual suspects, the kids, the radio, the refrigerator. All were known noise offenders. The percentages were usually pretty high, that at any given moment, one of them would be guilty. But in this case, they were innocent.The "hummer" turned out to be a fluorescent light fixture. It was the first of four such fixtures, each about 2 feet long, that were attached to the bottom of the kitchen cabinets.

Two weeks ago, after Navy committed six turnovers in the second half and bowed to a then-winless Wake Forest team, 30-7, several members of the defense vowed that they would not suffer another embarrassing loss this season."

The Chesapeake Bay needs federal and even international help to prevent "invasions" by exotic fish, plants and parasites carried as stowaways aboard globe-trotting ships calling in Baltimore and Norfolk, Va., a new report says.Warning that visiting ships play "ecologic roulette" with the bay by discharging ballast water teeming with non-native organisms, committee of scientists, shipping agents and state and federal officials says an individual state like Maryland can do little to combat the threat.

Like oceangoing Trojan horses, ships calling in Baltimore carry hidden invaders: alien marine organisms that could damage the Chesapeake Bay, a scientist warned yesterday.They reach the bay in the 200,000 gallons of ballast water released hourly by ship traffic to Baltimore and Norfolk, ballast picked up in ports around the world, said Dr. James T. Carlton, director of maritime studies at Williams College-Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Conn.The ballast -- from Europe, Asia and Central and South America -- teems with tiny crustaceans, worms and the eggs and larvae of crabs, fish and shellfish that could harm the bay's native species, Dr. Carlton told the Chesapeake Bay Commission, a panel of bay-region legislators meeting in Annapolis.

The state ordered a contractor to remove railroad ballast dumped in a Baltimore County sinkhole this month, just weeks after the federal government announced plans to test soil from the same rail bed for contamination.The State Highway Administration two weeks ago ordered the removal of two truckloads that a contractor had dumped into the sinkhole on Falls Road, just south of the Baltimore Beltway, said Charles Harrison, SHA district engineer for Baltimore and Harford counties.The state cited concerns that the ballast had not been tested for pollutants, although the firm that hauled the rocks claims they were clean.

Replacing even one incandescent bulb in your home with a compact fluorescent is, unfortunately, a bit of an adventure. But it is well worth the effort, and once you have the system figured out, it will be easier to replace others. Each bulb you replace will save you between $24 and $48 over its lifetime, depending on your area's electricity rates. And it will help reduce acid rain and other nasty forms of air pollution.First, a novice's guide to what's out there. If you are interested in learning more about the technology, check the sources below.

GALESVILLE -- Teri Nilsen was still hooked to the trapeze when the gust hit Gandalf, a sleek Chesapeake 20, as it tacked, forcing the sailboat to heel until it almost dipped its spreader in the water.Nilsen scrambled to windward to add her human ballast to the battle with the wind to keep from capsizing. Seconds later, she had rehooked her line and was standing somewhat horizontally on the rub strip. Beneath her, Gandalf was surging through the 3-foot chop of West River again like the fast and beautiful lady the late Captain Dick Hartge had meant her to be when he built her back in the mid-1930s.