Environmental Issues

Louise W. Stump, an accomplished competitive equestrian who continued riding until she was in her mid-70s, died Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Springwell, a Mount Washington senior living community. The longtime Reisterstown resident was 82. Louise Warfield was born in Baltimore, the daughter of Edwin Warfield Jr., a banker who had been publisher of The Daily Record, and Katharine Lawrence Lee. She was raised at Oakdale, her family's estate in Woodbine that had been home to her grandfather, Edward Warfield, who had been governor of Maryland from 1904 to 1908.

Louise W. Stump, an accomplished competitive equestrian who continued riding until she was in her mid-70s, died Monday of complications from Alzheimer's disease at Springwell, a Mount Washington senior living community. The longtime Reisterstown resident was 82. Louise Warfield was born in Baltimore, the daughter of Edwin Warfield Jr., a banker who had been publisher of The Daily Record, and Katharine Lawrence Lee. She was raised at Oakdale, her family's estate in Woodbine that had been home to her grandfather, Edward Warfield, who had been governor of Maryland from 1904 to 1908.

Said city student Kristin Harrison to suburbanite Ebony Custis: "Sprawl -- what is that?"Said Custis, from Bowie, to Harrison, from Baltimore: "I can't believe what you're saying about people illegally dumping trash in the neighborhoods. Is that for real?"They met in a drab conference room at the Baltimore Convention Center yesterday, two of the 900 environmentally aware students and teachers who attended the governor's first Youth Environmental Summit.At first the two 18-year-olds thought their worries were unrelated.

Last month, a Republican-aligned polling firm called on hunters and fishermen nationwide to get their views. Some of the results were unsurprising: Outdoorsmen regard themselves as politically conservative and register Republican over Democratic by a more than 2-to-1 ratio. But here's one response that may have caught President Barack Obama and his re-election team by surprise, if they noticed it at all: A majority of these sportsmen believe global warming is the cause of this past summer's high temperatures and want the White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

HOUSTON - The Bush and Kerry campaigns marked Earth Day yesterday by trading charges about which candidate is the planet's better friend. Democratic Sen. John Kerry wrapped up a three-day environmental issues tour with a rally in one of President Bush's former Texas hometowns to criticize the president's record. "Some things just weren't meant for recycling," Kerry said of re-electing Bush. But he told that crowd, "You've got to give George Bush credit because he has actually proven himself very good at recycling.

The Carroll delegation's voting record on environmental issues ranked among the worst in the state during the 1991-1992 legislative session, says an environmental coalition.Sen. Charles H. Smelser, D-Carroll, Frederick and Howard, received the lowest score possible -- 0 percent -- ranking him among the worst in the General Assembly on the report card of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters Inc., which represents a number of environmental organizations.Mr. Smelser's office said Friday that the senator was unfamiliar with the report and had no comment.

As many as 450 cyclists will bring their mountain bikes and environmental issues to Carroll County in June. The International Mountain Bicycling Association, which has 32,000 members worldwide, has chosen McDaniel College in Westminster for its 2004 IMBA Mountain Bike Advocacy Summit. "This was a real coup to get this group here," said Barbara Beverungen, county director of tourism. "They are international and will be bringing people from all over the country and the world." The conference is set for June 4-8 at McDaniel College, with many participants staying in college housing and nearby hotels.

Maryland voters are increasingly concerned about the health of their rivers, forests and air, are against the rapid introduction of non-native oysters into the Chesapeake Bay, and oppose the sale of state preservation land, the Sun Poll released today shows. In a state dominated by the bay, voters are showing a growing awareness and concern for environmental issues, according to the survey of 800 registered voters conducted for The Sun last week. Behind education, health care and the state budget, respondents said the environment was the issue they most wanted the governor and General Assembly to address in the 90-day session that begins this week.

This is the first of several columns between now and November on environmental issues the candidates for governor ought to be discussing. It's early in the campaign, but neither Bob Ehrlich nor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the leading Republican and Democratic contenders, has indicated a willingness to make a major priority of improving our air, water and land-use problems. Last week, I visited with outgoing Gov. Parris N. Glendening to discuss what he'd focus on if he had another term or two. Glendening, for most of his eight years, has given the environment high priority.

If you want to use the Chesapeake Bay in your lesson plans, you have to experience it first: on the deck of a skipjack in the brutal heat of an August day or on tiny Fox Island in Tangier Sound. You have to hear bay troubadour Tom Wisner sing of the rivers Susquehanna, Wicomico, Severn and Nanticoke, and listen to Earl White, the 83-year-old mate on the Stanley Norman, tell of his days oystering aboard the graceful, 63-foot-long "drudge" boat to get a sense of the history and lore. And you have to get a "bay shower," a bucket of water pulled from the Chesapeake and dumped over your head to cool you off. So nine teachers and two principals boarded the Chesapeake Bay Foundation's Stanley Norman at City Dock in Annapolis yesterday for the first day of a weeklong program in which they will dredge for oysters, set crab pots, explore the marshes of Smith, Tangier and Fox islands, and hear from scientists, watermen and others connected with the bay as part of a teacher training program.

There is no reason that the U.S. shouldn't be energy independent in 10 years. Yes, we would have to drill some more, but as Peter Morici points out ("Obama's bad bet," April 3), we would manage the environmental issues much better than others. The geopolitical and economic upside would be enormous. Solar (I do have a solar-powered water heater) and wind can be good supplements, but we have to wean ourselves from being dependent on Middle East and Latin American countries. Lyle Rescott, Marriottsville

As Congress continues its rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law, there is one proposed change that should draw overwhelming approval. That's the mandate - added to the bill last week by a Senate committee - to require U.S. public schools to teach environmental literacy. The need for environmental education has never been greater. Every day, the country seems to be facing new and difficult choices touching on environmental issues, ranging from how to meet energy needs to how to deal with toxic materials that might pollute our air, water or soil.

I read with interest the commentary by Kathi J. Heron entitled "Don't backpedal on environmental ed" (Feb. 11). She is right that environmental education should be a critical component of education in Maryland, particularly from the perspective of developing and nurturing environmental stewardship in our children. However, there is another side to this coin, and that is the relationship between the environment and human health. In teaching environmental education this connection is often missed: What humankind does to the environmental comes back to bite us with regard to our health.

David H. Cordle Sr. began his college career as an entomology and applied science major. After an unpleasant meeting with organic chemistry, Cordle realized his heart was in criminal justice - a field that he has dedicated himself to for 30 years and hopes to use if elected to mayor of Annapolis. "That's one of my priorities as mayor, is public safety," said Cordle, a Republican. "That's the most paramount function of municipal government." Cordle works as chief criminal investigator for the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office and coordinator of the Witness Security Program, which he created in 1995.

Many Howard County members of the General Assembly are using their summers for professional travel, going as near as Washington and as far as Kazakhstan. While Del. Guy Guzzone attended a weeklong seminar in Washington last month, state Sen. Allan H. Kittleman is preparing to go halfway around the world for a cultural exchange trip to the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan with Maryland schools Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick and others. This large, former portion of the old Soviet Union, skewered a few years ago in the comedy film Borat, will host the Marylanders from Friday to Aug. 16. Kittleman, a Republican, said he is looking forward to it. "I've been very involved with literacy in Maryland," he said.

Baltimore Green Week has branched out over five years to include an array of issues under its environmental umbrella. According to program director Carol Silldorff, the organization began with a group of people interested in environmentally friendly building methods in the city. "Over the years," she said, "it has grown immensely. ... No longer is it at all connected to one issue." That much is clear from the schedule of events, which kicks off with a reception tomorrow at the Walters Art Museum and gets rolling Saturday with the fifth annual EcoFestival, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Druid Hill Park.

A cast of unlikely political allies strode into Lexington Market to defend William Donald Schaefer yesterday, decrying Gov. Parris N. Glendening's tactics against the comptroller and jokingly comparing his adversaries to the slimy creatures in the fishmongers' cases. During a noontime campaign swing through Baltimore, some Democrats put aside their differences to embrace Schaefer and scold Glendening for recent attacks - the latest of which is a new radio ad labeling Schaefer as "missing in action" on environmental issues.

As Congress continues its rewrite of the No Child Left Behind law, there is one proposed change that should draw overwhelming approval. That's the mandate - added to the bill last week by a Senate committee - to require U.S. public schools to teach environmental literacy. The need for environmental education has never been greater. Every day, the country seems to be facing new and difficult choices touching on environmental issues, ranging from how to meet energy needs to how to deal with toxic materials that might pollute our air, water or soil.

When Marylanders go to the polls tomorrow to vote in the presidential primary, their concerns will represent many of the interests and issues at play in the national campaign. As this map represents, the state has a major urban area, growing suburban communities clustered around Washington, D.C., and largely rural areas in the west and on the Eastern Shore. The economy taxes , the role of the federal government, environmental issues and national security are much on the minds of Marylanders -- liberals, conservatives and moderates.

Former Gov. Parris N. Glendening endorsed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for president yesterday, citing the fellow Democrat's commitment to environmental protection and fighting global climate change. "As secretary of energy, he was a leader on mass transit and smart growth issues," Glendening said in a statement released by the Richardson campaign. "As governor of New Mexico, he has turned around an economy while also protecting the environment." A former two-term Democratic governor, Glendening is best known as a champion of anti-sprawl development policies.