In an opinion item published today in the Gazette, Senate President Mike Miller argues for a balanced approach to preserve both the environment and agriculture. From the opinion piece:
The Chesapeake Bay and our precious natural resources are a critical part of our Maryland traditions and must be protected for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations. Our family farms and shorelines are agricultural gems and economic engines that also must be supported and sustained.
These are not two contradicting thoughts, as members of our farming community are some of the best stewards of our environment, and the actions the state has taken over the last couple of years show that.
President Miller discusses the pursuit of numerous initiatives to advance these goals:
We plan to do even more this year by expanding our uses of alternative, green energy, and will continue down our very successful path of keeping more than 330,000 pounds of nitrogen out of the bay. We hope to continue to invest in our environment by creating wind farms off the Eastern Shore, while doing more to remove the sediment runoff from the Conowingo Dam.
