Environmental Problems

Jenn Donello has less than a year until she turns 21 years old, a condition that kept her -- and several friends -- out of the 21st observance of Earth Day here.Yesterday's event was supposed to have taken place at Baltimore's Druid Hill Park, but as rain and windy conditions continued throughout the day, organizers moved it inside to Max's on Broadway, a Fell's Point Bar that doesn't admit anyone who is not of Maryland's legal drinking age."It's crazy," Donello said outside the bar, to loud agreement from half a dozen friends.

Scientists, economists, politicians, educators and even an artist gathered Monday in Annapolis to mark the launch of an unusual University of Maryland think tank that aims to bring academic disciplines together to tackle thorny environmental issues. The aim of the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center is to foster collaboration among natural and social scientists so they can help policy-makers, businesses and the public find ways to balance the needs of people and the environment.

The discovery in 1991 of a double-packed small vessel of lethal nerve agent in a building with two pressurized containment-seal systems at Aberdeen Proving Ground should surprise no one. After all, that's where chemical warfare substances were tested for decades under controlled conditions.The metal container was found during a thorough two-year sweep of the infamous Pilot Plant laboratory building, which had been shut down in 1986, and was promptly reported to state environmental authorities.

For a group deeply worried about mankind's survival in a world racked by escalating environmental problems, Earth Forum of Howard County takes an approach that dovetails nicely with the county's campaign for civility. While the four-year-old church-sponsored organization promotes a respectful exchange of ideas among all on issues relating to global warming, sustainable living and care of the environment, its heart beats with a passion for radical change in how we treat the planet.

Residents and entrepreneurs from South Baltimore and northern Anne Arundel County met in Curtis Bay last night to discuss environmental problems that might be addressed by a year-old community-business partnership.The Community Partnership for Environmental Protection is part of an effort by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to improve the environment in the heavily industrialized neighborhoods in the southern Baltimore metropolitan area. "We want to be seen as a facilitator, not an actor here," said Bill Sanders, director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics in Washington.

When J. Craig Venter was ousted from the Rockville company he created to decode the human genome, scientists doubted it would be the last anybody would hear from the maverick geneticist. Yesterday, they were proved right. Three months after he left the spotlight, the 55-year-old scientist leapt back in, announcing he would use the more than $100 million he earned at Celera Genomics and previous ventures to educate the public on the possibilities - and potential dangers - of genetic advances.

Mace Tokumi Miyasaki, an electrical engineer who applied his scientific expertise to commercial development and solving environmental problems, died at his Cedarcroft home Feb. 24 a week after open-heart surgery. He was 65. "Mace was probably one of the best problem-solvers I ever met in my life. He was an incredible out-front ... thinker," said Steve Seymour, a business partner who is also president of Rockland Investments. A scientist and businessman active in a number of organizations, Mr. Miyasaki drew praise for his abundant energy.

Harry M. Caudill, 68, a retired lawyer and state legislator whose 1963 expose of Appalachia's social and environmental problems, "Night Comes to the Cumberlands," helped inspire President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty in the 1960s, killed himself Thursday in Pikeville, Ky. Mr. Caudill taught Appalachian history for eight years at the University of Kentucky until 1985.

Scientists, economists, politicians, educators and even an artist gathered Monday in Annapolis to mark the launch of an unusual University of Maryland think tank that aims to bring academic disciplines together to tackle thorny environmental issues. The aim of the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center is to foster collaboration among natural and social scientists so they can help policy-makers, businesses and the public find ways to balance the needs of people and the environment.

An unusual number of cancer cases at Jessup Elementary School has triggered an investigation by county health officials.Seven staff members at the 630-student school have contracted cancer, including atleast five teachers, officials said.No student is involved in the investigation.Health officials are trying to determine whether the cancer cases are related, said Evelyn Stein, spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel Health Department.Ifthe cancer cases appear related, investigators will look for asbestos, lead-tainted water or other environmental problems, she said.

A quick question: What's the biggest environmental problem facing humanity today. Is it global warming? One would certainly think so judging from the actions of various governments, which are trying to reduce those manmade greenhouse gas emissions we hear so much about. Is it dwindling energy resources, running up against the limits of agricultural technology in feeding the earth's population, or perhaps diminished supplies of fresh water, without which life cannot be sustained? All of the above are exacerbated by the continued growth in the number of people living on this planet.

A federal judge gave Maryland the go-ahead yesterday to begin construction of a long-debated highway in the Washington suburbs, flatly rejecting environmentalists' challenges to the $2.4 billion project. Judge Alexander Williams Jr. of the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt denied the plaintiffs' request for an injunction against the Intercounty Connector, a six-lane, 18.8-mile toll road connecting the Interstate 95 corridor with Interstate 270 in Montgomery County. The judge's decision, unless overturned in what would be a long-shot appeal, removes the final obstacle to construction of the Laurel-to-Gaithersburg highway, first included in Washington-area transportation plans in 1953 as part of an Outer Beltway around Washington.

A deal the state struck last month to buy a 74-acre property at the northern tip of Kent Island has been put on hold to allow the seller time to clean up a small area of environmental contamination, officials said yesterday. General Services Secretary Alvin C. Collins notified members of the Board of Public Works yesterday of the delay in settling the $7.2 million purchase of the Langenfelder Marine property, which the board approved Aug. 1 in a 2-1 vote. Under the terms of the contract, the property owner - Atchafalya Holdings LLC - has 180 days from the date of the vote to fix any environmental problems on the site, said David Humphrey, a spokesman for the General Services Department.

Mace Tokumi Miyasaki, an electrical engineer who applied his scientific expertise to commercial development and solving environmental problems, died at his Cedarcroft home Feb. 24 a week after open-heart surgery. He was 65. "Mace was probably one of the best problem-solvers I ever met in my life. He was an incredible out-front ... thinker," said Steve Seymour, a business partner who is also president of Rockland Investments. A scientist and businessman active in a number of organizations, Mr. Miyasaki drew praise for his abundant energy.

An Oklahoma Indian tribe is the latest group interested in developing a landfill on a 481-acre parcel near Odenton - a project neighbors and Anne Arundel officials have opposed for more than a decade. County officials said they're also concerned the tribe might attempt to open a gambling facility on the land, though the Delaware Nation of Anadarko, Okla., has not indicated any such plans. County Executive Janet S. Owens sent a letter to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs last week criticizing the proposed purchase by the Delaware Nation.

In Baltimore City Man seriously hurt in shooting in 1994 dies of his wounds A 30-year-old man who was seriously injured in a shooting in 1994 died Sunday morning, and his death was ruled a homicide by a state medical examiner yesterday, police said. Lloyd Jarrett of the 2900 block of Westwood Ave. died about 3:30 a.m. at St. Agnes HealthCare, police said. Jarrett was shot Dec. 13, 1994, in the 5600 block of Midwood Ave. He was wounded in the back, buttocks and hand, and suffered kidney damage, police said.

WASHINGTON -- The World Bank urges adoption of "people-first" environmental policies in a report to be published today, warning that food production will have to double and industrial output triple for the 3.7 billion people expected to be added to global population by the year 2030.Providing adequate water, sanitation, electricity and roads for the increased population, with adequate environmental safeguards, will cost an additional $75 billion a year by the turn of the century, the report estimated.

The Board of County Commissioners agreed Monday to proceed with a study to determine how to zone industrial property with environmental impacts in mind.James C. Threatte, director of the county Office of Economic Development, said the county should consider environmentalimpacts before land is zoned for industrial use."From an industrial point of view, it's unnecessary for us to be at odds with environmental groups. We've got to get smarter," he said.The county will work through its Industrial Development Authority to obtain a matching $20,000 grant from the state for the study, Threatte said.

When J. Craig Venter was ousted from the Rockville company he created to decode the human genome, scientists doubted it would be the last anybody would hear from the maverick geneticist. Yesterday, they were proved right. Three months after he left the spotlight, the 55-year-old scientist leapt back in, announcing he would use the more than $100 million he earned at Celera Genomics and previous ventures to educate the public on the possibilities - and potential dangers - of genetic advances.

Thirty-eight years ago this spring, the most devastating coastal storm in New Jersey history inundated Long Beach Island, drowning seven people, uprooting 600 houses and tearing the slender barrier island into six pieces. Along the Eastern Seaboard, from North Carolina to New York, the great Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962 killed 22 people, pounded 50,000 houses and left $1.3 billion in damage. So shocking was the destruction that state and federal officials suggested the unthinkable: restoring the vulnerable shoreline to its natural state -- a buffer zone off-limits to risky development.