Sea levels are rising, and so are risks to the Port of Baltimore

BALTIMORE — Officials at the Port of Baltimore, one of Maryland’s biggest economic assets, have acknowledged that sea levels are rising, but their efforts toward combating climate change are a work in progress. “We rely on the water,” said Kristen…

Sustainability and climate change emerge in architecture schools across the country

BALTIMORE — Nicole Ponce, a senior architecture student at the Maryland Institute College of Art, visited a freshwater lake in the Netherlands as part of a class last summer. Her assignment: to envision sustainable housing and commercial uses for the…

More domed stadiums, fewer ski resorts: Expect climate change to affect sports around the world

If a thunderstorm had loomed over the stadium, or a downpour had erupted or a heat wave had rolled through Houston that October night, the tens of thousands of fans watching Game 7 of the World Series in Houston’s Minute…

Baltimore Lags Behind Other Cities In Adoption Of Cool Roofing

BALTIMORE — In East Baltimore, home to neighborhoods with the hottest summer temperatures in the city, Saahil Panikar credits the white roof on his Butchers Hill rowhouse with how comfortable his home is year-round. “I keep my thermostat on the…

Planting trees to fight climate change

BALTIMORE — As a field specialist at the Baltimore Tree Trust, Kwamel Couther spends most of his time planting and maintaining trees throughout the city. “I can’t stop thinking about work,” Couther says, “even in my sleep.” The Baltimore Tree…

A plastic bag ban, green agriculture and zero waste: legislators’ climate plans for the 2020 session

ANNAPOLIS — When the Maryland legislature reconvenes in January, legislators of both parties say they will continue the battle against climate change. Some of their plans are much more aggressive than others. Del. Brooke Lierman, a Baltimore Democrat, said she…

Rising temperatures mean bigger worries for pregnant women and children

BALTIMORE — Caren Bloom had never passed out before, but she knew the warning signs — spots in front of her eyes, ringing in her ears. Bloom, four months pregnant, had just begun her shift on an unseasonably hot September…

Cold weather? Hot weather? New blend of grasses keeps sports fields lush no matter the season

Dr. Gregg Munshaw knew the history around mixing cold season grasses with warm season grasses. He knew of the attempts in California in the 1950s and heard of a University of Maryland researcher trying it again in the 1970s. Both…

Has climate news coverage turned a corner?

Some good news, for a change, about climate change: When hundreds of newsrooms focus their attention on the climate crisis, all at the same time, the public conversation about the problem gets better: more prominent, more informative, more urgent. In…