The Washington Post

By Mike Tidwell

On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, what environmental legislation should we celebrate most? What bill has really stood tall for our fragile planet? The Endangered Species Act of 1973? The Clean Air Act of 1990? Or … the District of Columbia's plastic bag tax of 2010?

New tax incentives for businesses that use renewable energy sources such as solar panels could help offset the costs of a recently-passed state program to accelerate solar energy mandates.

Maryland regulators must revise the permit for a Baltimore incinerator after U.S. EPA determined that the state failed to address concerns that the permit weakened pollution limits and failed to include adequate monitoring requirements.

Opponents of a proposed fly ash landfill in Curtis Bay have flooded the Maryland Department of the Environment with hundreds of cards, letters and e-mails urging them to block the plan.

Constellation Energy says that by the end of the year, 28 wind turbines will be up and running in Garrett County, in the Eastern Panhandle section of Maryland. The power generated by the wind farm will be enough to power 23,000 homes.

A local forum about the proposed coal-fired plant in Surry County drew around 80 to the Williamsburg Regional Library Theatre Tuesday morning. Although the plant would be situated across the James River, electricity demands well beyond Surry are fueling it and the region would shoulder environmental and health effects that come as part of the price of those demands.

The Maryland Department of the Environment filed suit Friday against an Atlanta-based power company, alleging that its coal-ash landfill in Prince George's County is polluting groundwater and a nearby creek.

One by one, they took turns at the microphone, telling state officials why they should say no to a planned fly ash landfill in Curtis Bay.

The substances dumped there will pollute the air and water, they said. The Maryland Department of the Environment doesn't have enough controls in place to monitor it. Residents of the neighborhoods along the Anne Arundel County-Baltimore City line already live in the shadow of heavy industry.

Calling themselves "Clean Energy Patriots," dozens of environmental leaders today asked the U.S. Senate to quit serving the interests of "Big Oil" and take action on behalf of Americans who want clean energy and climate solutions.