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World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) – an international education and outreach program to involve the public in monitoring and protecting [...]

World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) – an international education and outreach program to involve the public in monitoring and protecting water resources – takes place on September 18 each year. WWMD volunteers use a simple test kit [...]

Mute swans (Cygnus olor) were introduced to North America from Eurasia during the late 1800s and have since increased to over 14,000 birds in the Atlantic Flyway.   Unlike the native tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus), mute swans inhabit the Chesapeake Bay year round.   Grazing by the swans on the underwater grasses during their growing season negatively [...]

About 16 species of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) inhabit the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries.  Salinity is the determining factor in the distribution of these species throughout the bay.  SAV provide numerous benefits to the ecosystem.  The presence of an SAV bed slows down wave energy allowing suspended sediment to be trapped within an SAV [...]

Water conservation puts less strain on our drinking water supplies, while also reducing wastewater discharges that pollute streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.  Conserving water puts less strain on a community during drought and dry weather.
Viewer Tip: Divert water from roof and air conditioning runoff directly into planters or rain barrels for use in landscaping.  [...]

A large adult oyster can filter up to two gallons of water an hour.  Scientists speculate that the oyster population prior to the mid-19th century decline could filter the entire volume of water in the Chesapeake Bay in under a week!  At the present severely depleted population, this task has increased to about a year.
Viewer [...]

As part of the National Lakes Assessment, the U.S. EPA selected and sampled 116 lakes in the Coastal Plains Region (covering the Mississippi Delta, north along the Ohio River, Florida, eastern Texas and the Atlantic Seaboard to New Jersey) to characterize the condition of more than 7,000 lakes throughout the area. What did researchers find?

47 [...]

Did you know that almost 60 percent of Americans live an area with unhealthy levels of air pollution? Just like a recipe, the atmosphere needs all the right ingredients to make ground-level ozone – a harmful air pollutant that is common during the summer months.  When the temperature rises and the sun is shining, heat [...]

Have you ever wanted to help keep your community by reporting severe weather?  SKYWARN is a volunteer network of nearly 290,000 trained severe weather spotters around the country.  SKYWARN spotters help keep their local communities safe by providing timely and accurate information to the National Weather Service about weather events like thunderstorms, winter weather and [...]

Do you rent your home or apartment? You’re not alone – about 33 percent of U.S. residents were renters between 2006 and 2008. Taking energy-saving steps can seem challenging when you don’t own your home and cannot make major changes to your living space. But, did you know that there are easy ways to save [...]

During the 2009 beach swimming season, more than 3,800 beaches were monitored for possible swimming risks – 43 percent of those beaches had at least one swimming advisory or closure. Beach advisories and closures often follow heavy rainfall, when sewer overflows may occur and rain water can wash trash and other pollutants into swimming areas. [...]

Mowing the lawn is a typical summer activity. Did you know that when you mow, you can actually “stress out” your grass? This can lead to a brown, weedy and patchy lawn. But, by increasing your mower height, you can reduce stress on turf species as well as the incidence of some common turf weeds. [...]

May is National Bike Month and May 17-21, 2010 is Bike to Work Week.  The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that there is one adult-sized bicycle per U.S. household, but few adults report taking a bike trip outdoors.  Taking your two-wheeler for a spin not only helps keep you healthy, it also saves money, reduces [...]

Earth Gauge Video is available for this tip.
Are you going fishing this season? Many people head to local lakes and streams during nice weather.  A new, four-year, multi-agency study shows a nearly 50 percent chance that the fish you catch will contain mercury. Some levels are so high that pregnant women and children should not [...]

Residential driveways can account for up to 15 percent of the total paved area in a city or state. These paved surfaces are “hot spots” for accumulation of pollutants like motor oil, antifreeze and yard care chemicals. During a storm, rain water picks up pollutants from paved areas and heads to the storm drain, which [...]

Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson proposed the first Earth Day, which took place on April 22, 1970, as a national “teach in” about the environment. On that day, over 20 million Americans participated – including 10,000 elementary and high schools, 2,000 colleges and more than 1,000 communities. Today, as Earth Day turns 40, the event is [...]

B-roll video is available for this tip.
Spring is here and there’s no better time to get outside, enjoy the weather and do some wildlife watching!  And, you don’t have to live in the country to do it. There’s an amazing diversity of wildlife in the suburbs – and even in the city.
Viewer Tip: Fill a [...]

Wednesday, April 7 is Maryland Arbor Day. Trees add beauty to our landscape, but they also provide many other benefits:

Just one acre of forest puts out about four tons of oxygen – enough for four people for an entire year.
Adding trees around your home can increase its value by up to 15 percent.
One young, healthy [...]

Showering accounts for about 17 percent of residential indoor water use – up to 30 gallons of water per household per day. According to EPA, we use 1.2 trillion gallons of water every year in the U.S. just for showering. That’s enough water to meet the water needs of New York and New Jersey for [...]

How much hazardous waste does the average American household accumulate in one year? Ten pounds? Fifty? Actually, the typical home accumulates up to 100 pounds of household hazardous waste in just one year! Think of paints, pesticides, cleaning supplies, oil, antifreeze and other products that hide away in the basement, garage or shed. These products [...]