Other

Little Green Axman                                                                   Massanutten Gov. S.-Newcomer

Logger                                                                                                                      3/31/2008

As members of the logging industry, we believe it is very important to maintain our

environment while still getting the job done. Being part of the logging team in the

Chesapeake Bay watershed we have major roles to play in protecting our environment. Every

 year, 4 billion trees are harvested worldwide. This can affect the atmosphere by increasing

 CO2 levels and therefore increasing temperature, disturbing water quality by exposing it to

 soil erosion, allowing excess nutrients to runoff into nearby streams and rivers, and adding

to the amount of debris clogging waterways. While continuing to harvest trees, we can use

Best Management Practices (BMPs) that help us maintain the health of the environment.

Clear cutting to some may be considered a dangerous way to harvest hardwood, yet the

dependency of lumber pushes us to think of ways to harvest wood while keeping the

environment intact. When harvesting near the Bay, a logging team would have to look at the

big picture. If we obtain lumber near a watershed we would take into affect

establishing/maintaining a riparian buffer as a BMP. This would prevent sedimentation and

soil runoff from penetrating the watershed. Once the area of land chosen for lumber has

been clear-cut, we would then replant trees in place of the ones we had harvested. Clear

cutting can be beneficial if done properly. Studies have shown that the thinning of trees

promotes the development of old growth characteristics and the diversity of plants and

shrubs while attracting a more diverse animal population. The negative effects of clear

cutting increase with the size of the area cut. Forest Fires become more intense and are

able to scorch and damage the soil itself. An alternative to clear cutting is selective

cutting. This process involves selecting lumber to be harvested. In general, this protects old

growth lumber from harvest.  Sometimes only a single tree is chosen out of an area, or

small groups of trees are cut. By implementing selective cutting we keep up with the demand

 while managing and improving the forests at the same time. It creates a better habitat for

local animals, and attracts animals from the surrounding area, increasing the biodiversity of

the area. It makes the forest more resilient to fire because you have a stand of trees of

different ages and sizes.By utilizing BMPs we are able to protect the environment and

keep up with the supply and demand of the economy. We therefore set an example for

other companies that are attempting to keep up with the growing markets and go green at

the same time, and show that it is possible.

Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond

Thoughtful Questions

  From:   DORY-DORY FISH - Waterman - MHS                                        Ask

                                                                                             4/8/2008

            do you believe in clear cutting the trees? do you think it is wise to strip the trees?

  From:   fishies - CB_Ecosystem - MHS                                                     Ask

                                                                                             4/8/2008

          Logging is an important job and many thanks go to those who do such a job for a

     living. But, couldn't they do a little more? Something should be planted in place of

            clear cutting to help the soil, no matter how far away water may be.

  From:   Chicken Kickers'' 101 - farmer - MHS                                        Ask

                                                                                             4/8/2008

     If the demand for lumber would go up signiffiently would you still try to use the

     pactices you have set?

  From:   The Red Neck Yacht Club - recreation - JWHS(F)                     Ask

                                                                                             4/9/2008

     The Little Green Axmen POV said that after an area of forest has been clear cut,

     they then go back and replant new trees to replace the ones they took. My question

     is: Do you replant the same species of trees that were harvested? I know that

     certain species of animals need specific kinds of trees. If the trees in an area were

     replaced with a different species of foiliage, what would happen to the animals that

     were dependent on the orriginal growth? (This POV did make me feel better about

     the logging industry since they explained that the trees were replanted and that they

      left a repraian buffer to help control soil erosion).

  From:   Home Jackets - homeowner - MHS                                                            Ask

                                                                                                                                      4/11/2008

     The problm with clear cuting and replanting is that 90% of the time they cut hard

     wood(oak, hickery) and plant soft woods.(pine, cider).  What do you think about tree

            farming?

  From:   DORY-DORY FISH - Waterman - MHS                                                   Ask

                                                                                                                         4/17/2008

     Couldn't you replace the area that you cut with bamboo? Bamboo is a renewable

     resource and it takes only three years to fully mature.

       Response    Industry Minimizing Pollution - Other - MRGS

                                                                                                                      4/23/2008

             Although you're correct that bamboo matures more quickly than hardwood, it

             wouldn't provide the right kind of habitat for the existing ecosystem.

       Response    Anti-Wilderness Progressive Movement - developer - JWHS(T)

                                                                                                                      4/23/2008

             what type of bamboo? There are over 1000 different varieties of bamboo each

             growing at different rates. You ,ust also consider that the 3 years mentioned is in

              a tropical climate. Bamboo may take a much longer time to mature in an area with

              less rain. Also what would the cost of the bamboo be? If it would cost an

             unreasonable amount of money how would this be effective as it would deter

             many developers from purchasing the lumber.

       Response    Little Green Axman - Other - MRGS

                                                                                                                      4/23/2008

             As loggers we are not proposing to clear cut, but instead use selective cutting.

             Selective cutting (as its name suggests) entails selecting specific trees to be cut

             and leaving the remaining forest generally untouched.

             In response to the Bamboo issue brought up by the watermen, you generally want

              to avoid implementing introduced species because they have no natural predators.

              The bamboo is easily capable of phasing out the naturally occuring trees in the

             area, leaving groves of bamboo in the place of forests of trees.

             Yes, we would use the BMP's listed because sustainability is ultimately more

             important then making a quick profit.

Other

Ecstatic Environmentalists                                                         Massanutten Gov. S.-Newcomer

Environmentalists                                                                                                      3/31/2008

As environmentalists, our goal is to promote the health of the Chesapeake Bay by preventing

 pollution, educating the public, guaranteeing the clean up of streams and rivers, and caring

for the wildlife in the watershed. We will strive to protect the bay and its watershed and

one way is through improving agriculture. The future of agriculture in this region and the

future health of this bay are interdependent. Implementing agricultural practices will

enhance the water quality of the bay, prevent erosion, and reduce run-off. Simple BMP’s

such as riparian buffers, tree and shrubbery planting, and cover crops will help keep extra

sediment and nutrients from getting into streams and rivers that eventually lead to the bay.

A way we could enable this is through agricultural incentive programs that actually reward

farmers for using best management practices, such as the Farmers Union’s Carbon Credit

Program. The program allows farmers to receive income from storing carbon in the soil

from no-till crop production or capturing methane.

Education is important to the future of the bay, because it informs future generations

about the current condition of the Chesapeake Bay.  Most states of the Chesapeake Bay

watershed require schools to teach students about the bay once in each elementary, middle,

 and high school.  Each state of the Chesapeake Bay watershed has different goals for

educating students on the bay’s problems. Virginia’s department of education website offers

 lesson plans on the Chesapeake Bay and a rough itinerary for teachers.  The lesson plans

range from lessons lasting one and a half hours to lessons lasting two to three weeks.

Teaching students what things are helpful and harmful to the bay throughout their school

career is a practical long term solution.    Stormwater runoff from streets and urban

areas is a large source of pollution entering the Bay; contributing about as much as

industries and sewage treatment plants. Every year, 10,800 thousand pounds of heavy

metals and 1,512 billion gallons of industrial wastes, among other toxins, invade the bay. A

variance of around 1,000 different chemicals can be found in almost every area of the bay.

 Defects and mortality in fish from diseases and stress are among the main results of such

pollution; as well as decline in shoreline and underwater vegetation due to the reduced

oxygen levels in the bay. The survival rate of certain fish species (percentage of fish that

don’t prematurely die from unnatural causes) in the bay has been decreasing. Take the

striped bass for example: their survival rate has decreased from about 70% of all bay bass

 in the mid-1990s to around 50% recently. How can we make sure this tragic decline stops

before the bay becomes extinct?

The average person can do more than you think to affect the watershed. They could make

simple changes around their house and yard to have a positive influence on the Chesapeake

Bay. Planting a rain garden, making a permeable driveway, or installing a rain barrel at the

end of your downspout could be ways to prevent the flow of runoff. Inside the house, they

could use energy efficient appliances to help save money and the environment at the same

time. ENERGY STAR appliances are recommended because they use 10-50% less energy

and water than standard models and save you approximately $80 a year in energy costs.

Also, if every American home replaced just one light bulb with a compound fluorescent light

 bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than

 $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the

emissions of more than 800,000 cars (EnergyStar.gov). Every simple change could affect

the watershed and the Chesapeake Bay itself by intercepting general pollution as well was

bay-specific inhibitors.

If the environmentalists were to disappear, then the effectiveness of every other

stakeholder group would begin to decline because they would have no foundation to base

their works on. Fisherman and farmers may begin to lose business and diseases and illnesses

 would begin to spread around due to the chemicals getting into the water. Businesses and

industries wouldn’t care anymore about their greenhouse gas emissions and there would be

no group there to enforce the laws and regulations of keeping the bay clean. The health of

the bay would probably decrease because no one would be there to implement the plans of

saving the bay.

The effectiveness of our plans being implemented would result in the increase in the

restoration of the bay. If successful, we will continue our plans and projects to make the

bay even cleaner for future generations. But, we have to make sure that the future

generations continue applying our plans or our work will be all for nothing. We want to

encourage today’s generation as well as future generations to take action in helping

preserve the Chesapeake Bay.

Works Cited: "Carbon Credit Program." 2008. National Farmers Union. 2 Mar 2008. <http://nfu.org/issues/environment/carbon-credits>.

Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 2006. 2 Mar 2008.

<http://www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homev3>.

Energy Star. 2 Mar 2008

<http://www.energystar.gov>.

Peirce, Carolyn. "Lawmaker: Teach kids about environment."  17 July 2007. 3 Mar 2008 <http://www.examiner.com/a-831769~Lawmaker__Teach_kids_about_environment.html>.

"Lessons from the Bay Lesson  Plans." Virginia Department of Education. 3 Mar 2008

Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond

Thoughtful Questions

  From:   The Red Neck Yacht Club - recreation - JWHS(F)                     Statement

                                                                                             4/9/2008

     I just wanted to make the comment that I really enjoyed reading your POV. It made

      a lot of sense to me. Even though my group was for the torism bureu, at heart I am

     an environmentalist. I was wondering if in your reaserch you came across any

     program that was set up to teach the public about the bay habbitats. I work with a

     Center that helps teach the public about the importance of keeping the natural

     ballance of species in an area equal. Is there any group or organization that teaches

     the public about the importance of NOT introducing non-native speices into the bay

     watershed? I know that in other bodies of water invasive species have taken over

     (the sea-lamp-ray, zebra musscle, and snake-head, to mention a few). I just wanted

     to know if anyone was informing the public on this problem and how to prevent it.

Other

The Counting Coals                                                                    Massanutten Gov. S.-Newcomer

Miner                                                                                                                       3/31/2008

We are writing on behalf of the coal miners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Coal miners

in this area are vital to the economy and are relied upon as an energy producer. Coal

accounts for 49.7% of our nation’s electricity – over twice more than the next leading

source. Coal power is reliable, abundant, and domestically produced. 82,959 people are

employed by coal mines in the nation. 33,348 (40.2%) of them work in mines in the

watershed. That number does not include the countless jobs that result from the coal

industry such as equipment manufacturing. The industry is vital for the region’s economy as

well as the livelihood of thousands of area families. The industry is as part of America’s

heritage as the Grand Canyon and has certainly had a bigger impact on the average

American’s life.

The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are in danger. Eutrophipication is suffocating marine

 life. Heavy metals are putting people and animals at risk of cancer and poisoning. Acid mine

drainage is pushing life past its range of pH tolerance. We are aware of the problems and

that we are a contributor to them. We care about the ecosystem and are willing to work to

improve it.

The two largest contributions to pollution from the coal industry are acid mine drainage and

 acid rain. Both are caused by sulfur escaping the mines and infiltrating the area’s wetlands,

 making the water too acidic for much aquatic life to tolerate. Acid mine drainage occurs

when sulfuric acid is formed by the oxidation of iron sulfide minerals. During mining, the

pyrite is exposed to air and water to form said sulfuric acid. Possible solutions to the

problem include precipitation of metal sulfides, or constructing wetlands.  Precipitating

metals sulfides entails introducing basic metals to the acidic water that has free sulfides.

The two react chemically, resulting in neutral water and metal sulfide concentrate that

could possibly be sold for a profit. The problem with this technique is that it is time, labor,

and material intensive. Constructing a wetland around the mine that has resilient plants can

filter out heavy metals and the anaerobic bacteria can neutralize the pH. Building an

artificial wetland is relatively cheap, it is a one time installment, and it is aesthetically

pleasing. The downside to utilizing wetlands is that it is a very slow process and its

effectiveness varies greatly by the season.

Coal, especially bituminous coal, contains sulfur deposits. When coal is burned for

electricity the sulfur is released in to the atmosphere. There it mixes with water and

creates sulfuric acid rain. A solution available to coal plants that are putting sulfur in to the

air could be scrubbers. Scrubbers are very efficient and effective but their cost outweighs

 their benefits. The average cost of scrubbers today is $300 per kilowatt. People are

normally charged eight cents per kilowatt.  For a regular sized power plant to install

scrubbers in all their facilities, it would cost around $300 million.

Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond

Thoughtful Questions

  From:   DORY-DORY FISH - Waterman - MHS                                        Ask

                                                                                             4/8/2008

     i think your paper was very well structured, but your information is not all correct, i

     think that you need to update it, and then repost it.

       Response    The Counting Coals - Other - MRGS

                                                                                                                      4/23/2008

             Our information was checked and we obtained it from a reliable and present

             source. I think you may want to tell us what you think is incorrect, because we

            are sure that all of our information is correct

  From:   Representing Luke Mill - Other - KHS(K)                                                Ask

                                                                                                                         4/17/2008

     Is that 300 million per factory or 300 million for all the factories?

       Response    The Counting Coals - Other - MRGS

                                                                                                                      4/23/2008

             The 300$ million would be for each individual factory, not all of the factories

            together.

Other

Rollin' in the Green                                                                   Massanutten Gov. S.-Newcomer

Municipalities                                                                                                           3/31/2008

Municipalities have always been major contributors to environmental pollution sources.

Recently, some very efficient Best Management Practices have been developed to combat

the effect of these cities on the environment. Combined with the use of Best Management

Practices, smart city pollution management is possible for everywhere, from small towns to

large cities.      The Chesapeake Bay is a very important resource to the communities

surrounding the bay, including our city. Unfortunately, due to the nature of cities, which is

to have large amounts of people polluting in a confined environment, our city is also one of

the major contributors to the pollution of the bay. The bay is an important economic and

aesthetic resource, which we are dedicated to preserving.       

First, we must identify the sources of our pollution. Starting with the roadways, runoff is a

very large concern. Oil and other car byproducts are deposited on our roadways daily,

polluting the bay through runoff. This problem is further compounded by the non-porous

asphalt. Non-porous asphalt allows oil and other contaminants to run directly into the bay

without filtration. Another major contributor to the problem is construction within the city.

Concrete used in construction annually contributes almost 8% of humanity’s carbon dioxide

emissions. Storm water discharge around the construction site is also a major concern with

pollution. As water flows into the drains around a site, it carries with it any chemicals or

contaminants that are being used within the construction. This may include asbestos,

mercury, and contamination from advanced oil based products used during the construction

process. Finally, the last major contributor to the pollution is the one that is easiest to

control: the public. Public awareness of pollution is still a factor into the pollution controls

within the city. Despite years of recycling programs and years of public service

announcements concerning these programs, many people continue to throw everything away.

 This ends up in the streets and landfills, where the materials contained within these

products are washed out into the bay.  

All of these problems are major, but all of them can be solved with little or no effort, just

a raised awareness of the solutions. Roadways with a permeable surface have been tested

within Europe, with the effect that the same chemicals that would have been washed into

the bay are absorbed into the roadway, filtering through the ground. This removes most of

the heavy metals and oil in the contaminants, resulting in mostly clean water reaching the

bay.      Construction has some very simple solutions, but these are almost always ignored.

Simply recycling the un-used materials from construction can cut down on the amount of

new materials used in each new project. Problems with the chemical contamination can be

solved with a two part solution. First, the most obvious solution is to only perform

construction in dry weather. Unfortunately, this isn’t always possible due to deadlines for

construction, so this is where the permeable asphalt comes into play. The same chemicals

that would normally flow into the stream from the construction site are now absorbed and

filtered out through the same process as the road chemicals being filtered out.
 

Finally, on the topic of raising public awareness, the same old tactics will probably not work

anymore. The possibilities include monetary incentives for recycling essential metals;

implement a program for the unemployed, in which the unemployed will have the option of

working for the city to help clean up the roads and the bay instead of the standard welfare

 programs.

In conclusion, several easily implemental programs can drastically reduce the amount of refuse and pollution the municipality produces and puts into the Chesapeake Bay. Best Management Practices such as the ones outlined in this paper can help achieve this goal.

Ask a Thoughtful Question or Respond

Thoughtful Questions

  From:   We Care, As Long As You Care - developer - CHS                     Ask

          &nbs