GreenLaurel: Will rain levels ever go back to normal?

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October 9, 2018

When being no. 1 is not optimal. Credit: N.O.A.A.

This edition of GreenLaurel is sponsored by the upcoming Chesapeake Film Festival. On Saturday, October 13, the waterfront Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) will host a day of environmental films as part of the film festival. Click here for the full schedule of films.

To answer that question in the headline–no. This is a taste of the new normal. Scientists answered the rain question decades ago. Now we’re living with climate change, and it’s catching a lot of us off guard. Your next step might be awareness, then action and adaptation. We have a few ideas for all three.

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A guide to switching your home’s energy supply to wind power (no turbines needed)

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Laurel Peltier

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May 31, 2018

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Are Maryland’s energy suppliers mailing and calling you advertising prices supposedly lower than BGE’s? Have you wondered if it’s worth it to switch, or if these firms are even legit?

These are good questions. Maryland’s deregulated energy market is tricky. However, there is a hassle-free way to choose renewable energy for your home, save cash and skip the hassle of third-party suppliers altogether.

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Greenlaurel: Moveable Orchards, a brilliant solution to help Baltimore’s food deserts

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Laurel Peltier

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April 19, 2018

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Photo by Bengt Nyman, via Wikimedia Commons

While many of Baltimore’s urban spaces don’t have the proper soil conditions to support a newly planted orchard, the folks at the nonprofit Civic Works have come up with a solution: Make the orchards portable, and bring them to the communities that need them.

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Greenlaurel: Bring birds and butterflies to your backyard with native plants

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Laurel Peltier

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April 5, 2018

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Crossing your fingers that lots of butterflies, birds, and bees will visit your outdoor space this summer? Integrating native plants into your backyard is the secret to building habitats for these pollinators. Plus, natives are affordable and just as beautiful as the usual garden plant suspects.

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Greenlaurel: ’Unprecedented recovery’ in Chesapeake Bay’s sea grasses directly tied to clean-up efforts

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Laurel Peltier

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March 8, 2018

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Sea grasses in the Chesapeake Bay. Photo credit: Jon LefCheck, via UMCES.

A first-of-its-kind study has revealed that the decades-long “Save the Bay” effort is working. Underwater sea grasses, vital to the bay’s ecosystem, are at their highest levels in nearly 50 years. Not only is this good news for the Chesapeake Bay, but the research provides hope for other impaired estuaries, proving that a coordinated government collaboration focused on reducing pollution can lead to real restoration.

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Greenlaurel: Camp Small, once a costly pile, is now a buzzing, zero-waste wood-salvaging initiative

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Laurel Peltier

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February 22, 2018

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These 20-foot-high piles of wood are just a fraction of Camp Small’s inventory. Photo by Laurel Peltier.

Have you ever noticed that massive wood pile when you drive southbound on I-83, between the Northern Parkway and Cold Spring Lane exits? That “wood dump,” if you will, is actually Baltimore’s Camp Small Zero Waste Initiative, a vital supply of home-grown timber, mulch and firewood logs for the city. And what’s more, those money-making logs are sitting atop some interesting Civil War history.

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Greenlaurel: Baltimore-Based Scientists Answer Common Climate Change Questions

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Laurel Peltier

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February 8, 2018

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Screenshot from @realDonaldTrump’s Twitter account

Climate change was a confusing topic long before President Trump began weighing in online, so we used our phone-a-friend lifeline to ask Baltimore’s scientists to get some answers to common questions about global warming.

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Greenlaurel: Tackling Trump’s Environmental Mess, Maryland Legislators Propose Important Eco-Bills in 2018

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Laurel Peltier

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January 25, 2018

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In one short year, Trump has reversed more than 60 federal environmental regulations. The gutting of federal green regulations makes state-level environmental legislation proposed in this year’s Maryland General Assembly session that much more critical.

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Greenlaurel: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making a Smart Electricity Supply Choice in Maryland

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Laurel Peltier

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January 11, 2018

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To help you navigate Maryland’s deregulated — and frankly, confusing — energy supplier marketplace, we called on the experts to offer their practical tips to help you make energy deregulation work for your household. Grab your BGE bill, paper and pencil, and a calculator would’t hurt, too.

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Greenlaurel: Eco-Friendly Tips for Keeping Your Walkways Ice-Free this Winter

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Laurel Peltier

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December 21, 2017

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Homeowners can use simple de-icing choices, along with a few tricks, to keep sidewalks and driveways safe while also mitigating harm to plants, pets and waterways.

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Laurel Peltier

This edition of GreenLaurel is sponsored by the upcoming Chesapeake Film Festival. On Saturday, October 13, the waterfront Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) will host a day of environmental films as part of the film festival. Click here for the full schedule of films.

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