Local Government

Local Government                                                                                              Musselman HS

                                                                                                                                3/19/2012

            The  Local  Government  has  been  struggling financially  with  the  water  pollution  in 

the  Chesapeake  Bay  watershed.  We  have  been  trying  to  find  solutions  to  the 

problems  we  have  been  finding.  Pollution  is  one  of  our  biggest  concerns  at  this 

point  because  it  affects  the  environment  in which  our  people  live  their  daily  lives. It

  is  our  job  to  make  sure  everyone  within  our  community  has  a  safe  and  secure 

environment  for  both  them  and  their  families  to  live.  As  of  right  now  we  have  a 

few  things  in  mind  to  solve  these  on-going  problems,  but  they  can  be  expensive.

One  of  those  things  are  making  water  run  offs  saving  the  land  around  us  from 

eroding.  We  have  to  plant  trees  and  right  now  we  have  a  few  partners  helping  us

 with  that. There  are  many  things  we  can  do  to  take  action  and  solve  these 

problems  and  with  help  from  people  within  our  community  this  could  be  an  easy 

fix. We  must  have  help  from  our  community  because  this  problem  is  too  large  for 

the  government  to solve  itself.  Support  is  a  huge  help  when  it  comes  down  to

solving  these  problems  and  we  would  like  to  thank  everyone  that  has  been  helpful 

in  this  process.

The  Local  Government  within  the  Chesapeake  Bay  watershed  takes  this  very 

seriously.  We  are  trying  to  find  every  solution  possible  to  make  this  a  better, 

cleaner  environment  to  live  in.  It  is  very  important  to  work  together  to  clean  the 

Chesapeake  watershed. If  we  don't  take  action  then  later  on  it  may  be  too  late.

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    From:   JACT - homeowner - EHHS                                                                     Ask

                                                                                                                        3/27/2012

       What are some of the ways to make the water run-off safer and is there any way to

       apply the solutions cheaply and not lose their effectiveness?

    From:   The Mean Green Governing Machine - local_gov - MdS                         Ask

                                                                                                                        3/27/2012

       In your POV, you mention that "As  of  right  now  we  have  a 

       few  things  in  mind  to  solve  these  on-going  problems,  but  they  can  be 

       expensive." How are you going to pay for these measures?

    From:   Ninja Kangaroos - Other - EHHS                                                            Ask

                                                                                                                        4/18/2012

       As the local government, what could you all do to fit in pollution control in your budget?

Local Government

Fallin up =D                                                                                                       Musselman HS

                                                                                                                               3/20/2012

We the Local Government have been noticed pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

We have been trying to find solutions to the problems. We have been finding.  Pollution is

one of our biggest concerns at this  point  because  it  affects  the  environment  in which 

our  people  live  their  daily  lives. It's our job to make sure everyone within our community

 has a safe and secure environment for both them and their families to live.  As of right

now we have a few  things  in  mind  to  solve  these  on-going  problems,  but  they  can  be

  expensive.

One  of  those  things  are  making  water  run  offs  saving  the  land  around  us  from

eroding. We  have  to  plant  trees  and  right  now  we  have  a  few  partners  helping  us

with that. There  are  many  things  we  can  do  to  take  action  and  solve  these 

problems  and  with  help  from  people  within  our  community  this  could  be  an  easy

fix. We must have help from our community because this problem is too large for the

government to solve itself.  Support is a huge help when it comes down to solving  these 

problems  and  we  would  like  to  thank everyone  that  has  been  helpful in this process.

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    From:   The Local Goverment Wants to Make a Difference - local_gov -          Ask

                                                                                                                        3/31/2012

       You said that the plans to clean up the bay are expensive. You then say that we need to

        plant trees to help with erosion. Planting trees can also be expensive.  What are some

       inexpensive ways to help clean up the bay?

    From:   alligator pancakes - Waterman - EHHS                                                   Ask

                                                                                                                        4/11/2012

       You need to stop asking more from the community and start getting more effort from

       the government.  What kind of effort would you plan on doing? 

    From:   JACT - homeowner - EHHS                                                                     Ask

                                                                                                                        4/11/2012

       How do you propose to get help from the community?

Local Government

P & P Government Officials                                                                              Musselman HS

                                                                                                                               3/23/2012

As government officials, our position on environmental issues is important. When it comes toPOV:

 the very real issue of the water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we are serious

 when we say we want to do our part.

  However, it is not always that simple. While the local government wants to take part in

cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we are having trouble paying the cost of it. In

order for us government officials to do our job and provide the people with clean, safe

water, the people need to cooperate. Getting them to do so isn’t always easy, but we are

working on new plans to strongly encourage our area’s residents to partake in helping us

clean up the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

  For example, we are sending local government representatives to schools in our area to

encourage students of all ages to plant trees and other plants. Since run-off water causing

 erosion is one of the non-point source pollutants, our representatives are putting emphasis

on the importance of forest conservation and ways to conserve it. We have also

recommended that all schools pick a few days out of the school year to have a "Going

green" day where the students plant trees on their school property and on the school

rooftops (if possible).

  Another solution for non-point source pollutants we have been considering is to tax the

local residents to acquire some more money. We have been lucky to gain a few sponsors

and partners and receive some donations from companies and businesses, but we still need

more money if we want to really fix this pollution problem.

  As for point-source pollution, we have been encouraging farmers to use different types of

 fertilizers. The ammonia emissions from agricultural lands are a significant part of the

pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and we are doing our best to inform farmers of

why it is harmful and why their cooperation is necessary. We have also been creating

effective regional nutrient management plans to help with the nutrient balance.

  In regards to the affect our cities and towns have on the Chesapeake Bay watershed, we

have created new building ordinances. Environmentally-friendly site designs and low-impact

development techniques are a major part of these new requirements for building.

  In addition, we have highly encouraged our residents to be mindful of what they pour

down their drains, what they flush down the toilet, and what liquids and chemicals they

dump on their lawns. All of these things are non-point source contributing factors to the

pollution in our watershed.

  In conclusion, our position as local government officials is very important to the clean-up

of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. We are currently doing all we can to lower the amount of pollution in our watershed and are always looking for new solutions. Although money is an issue along with the cooperation of our residents, we are doing our best and understand that action needs to be taken now and fast if we want to preserve the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

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    From:   The Mean Green Governing Machine - local_gov - MdS                         Ask

                                                                                                                        3/27/2012

       You mention some measures to reduce agricultural point pollution.  However, how are

       you going to convince the farmers to participate with your programs? Are the

       programs going to law-enforced or voluntary?

Local Government

The Mean Green Governing Machine                                                               Mount de Sales

                                                                                                                               3/26/2012

REVISED:

    As local government representatives, we want to find the solution that best balances the interests of our constituents while maintaining and preserving the Bay’s ecosystem, because it is important that we do our job, which is to help institute environmental laws and enforce them.

One of the first steps to balance our constituents and conservation of the Bay is to educate the citizens so they know the advantages of protecting the Chesapeake. These problems, regarding the Bay’s health, are affecting not only the ecosystem, but also the government, even the government needs to be properly educated about the Bay’s current problem’s, because if we help address them, it may help us not only be re-elected, but also help our neighborhoods and local industries and business, who’s taxes and income help finance the government. For example, in Al Todd’s article “Native Guides,” he points out that although deforesting seems to help industry and development, protecting forests is actually the most cost effective strategy for keeping the Chesapeake’s water clean.  This is a fact that is not immediately obvious, and thus, a campaign to educate the citizens will help further promote the drive to save the Bay.  Protecting the Bay is costly in the immediate future, but preserving the Bay and its resources will be extremely beneficial for future generations because it will preserve a major industry in the area.  The constituents need to be aware of this fact so they can vote for officials who will better promote and execute measures to save the Chesapeake area and industry.

In recent years we have implemented voluntary programs, or “soft strategies” according to Dennis M. King’s article “Compelling look at why voluntary strategies aren't in Patuxent's best interest,” to help clean up non-point source pollution; however, the health of the Chesapeake continues to decline.  Thus, we need to reconsider our course of action and possibly look at some “hard strategies” to help clean up the Bay. For example, one way to improve the health of the Bay is to make factory farms legally responsible for the waste of their animals, so that the excess nutrients do not run off into the waterways. Unfortunately, hard strategies require enforcement and thus money. We propose that we find a way to finance such measures without raising taxes, perhaps by adding it to the state budget without increasing the state budget. 

We recognize that the plan to clean the Bay may be too expensive for farmers to maintain, we have come up with some solutions to such possible problems.  One program we have in mind is that if perchance a farmer is not financially viable, the government can offer the farmer subsidies which they have to use to farm and produce things that will help the economy.  If that does not work, the farmer can sell some of his land to the government, which will then use the land as it needs, theses solutions are going to cost the government a lot of money, however, all uses of such land will benefit the state and local businesses, which will bring more money back into the government.

Overall, the government’s best interest is to provide a healthy environment to better benefit the citizens and the economy, because being favored by the citizen’s for helping the environment and their businesses affects whether local government officials are re-elected or not, and if we are not re-elected we lose our jobs and our lively hood will be in jeopardy.

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Local Government

The Local Goverment Wants to Make a Difference

Mount de Sales

3/27/2012

REVISED

I am the local government, I help make decisions about how to improve storm water systems, sewage treatment plants, growth patterns, and management practices to reduce pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. I want to focus on strategies that will help the bay in the long term and leave a healthier environment for future generations. 

I want to clean up the bay effectively and inexpensively. Programs to clean up the bay are suffering due to cutting costs.  Coming up with inexpensive ways to clean up the bay has been difficult and is an issue that I am still working on.

Some of the bay’s non point source clean up plans have been voluntary. Farms are a major contributor to the non point source pollution in the bay.  Clean up strategies for farms have been mainly voluntary.  People are more interested in their own best interests and those are not always the best for the bay. Creating non voluntary plans may be a vital step in cleaning up the bay. A balance between voluntary and involuntary methods is needed. I want to reduce the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution in the bay along with improving water quality. Coming up with strategies is just one part of cleaning up the bay, people need to act on these strategies.

People want to blame others for the pollution in the bay, but everyone who lives in the bay’s watershed affects the bay’s waterways, even me. I represent the people and if the people do not like the decisions I make it will affect me job.  The solutions should involve everyone who lives in the watershed.  Every little bit of help can make a big difference in the bays watershed.

I need to work together with the federal and state governments in order to clean up the bay effectively.  Together we need to create strategies to improve sewage treatment plants, and nutrient management strategies.  We can plant buffers, reduce the use of fertilizers, and create inexpensive ways to treat sewage. These will improve water quality and help the organisms living in the bay.

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Local Government

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