Sound Bites: 30th Anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement | Water & The Columbia Gas Pipeline | An Amazing Radish

10/17/13 Photo by Timothy B. Wheeler / Baltimore Sun Staff.  Baltimore, Md.  Baltimore City Mark Cameron of the city Office of Sustainability and Stuart S. Schwartz of University of Maryland Baltimore County (in ballcap) examine forage radish plants sprouting in vacant lot in Northeast Baltimore.  Curbing polluted runoff can be daunting in cities with lots of pavement and relatively few green spaces. A researcher with the University of Maryland Baltimore County has sowed forage radishes on a recently cleared vacant lot in East Baltimiore to see if they can serve as natural storm-water controls. Also known as Daikon or Japanese radishes, the plants' giant roots grow deep into the soil. Stuart Schwartz hopes they'll be able to break up hard-packed dirt enough so that it willl soak up rainfall and keep it from washing trash and pollution down the nearest storm drain into the harbor. ORG XMIT: 1144165December 17, 2013 – Segment 3

In 1983 the governors of Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Delaware, the mayor of Washington, DC, and the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency signed an agreement outlining a plan to restore the Chesapeake Bay. We begin the hour with a look at the 30th anniversary of the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, with: former Maryland State Senator Gerald W. Winegrad, attorney and Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy where he has taught a graduate course on Chesapeake Bay Restoration since 1988; and Dr. Beth McGee, Chesapeake Bay Foundation‘s Senior Water Quality Scientist.

Then, we look at the implications of the controversial Columbia Gas pipeline, which will cut through 21 miles of Baltimore and Harford Counties in Maryland. In-studio to talk about the pipeline will be Gunpowder Riverkeeper Theaux Le Gardeur. To see the narrative map of waterway impacts along the pipeline, click here.

We close out the show with a fascinating look at a new type of radish that can be used to fight storm water runoff. Joining us to talk about this dynamic root vegetable will be Dr. Stuart Schwartz, senior research scientist at the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).

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