Gerald W. Winegrad presented What Needs to Be Done to Restore the Bay? The Inconvenient Truths of Bay Restoration at the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association Annual Meeting March 7, 2009, 11a.m. to 1p.m., at Trinity Church Parish Hall in St. Mary’s City.
The former state senator and current adjunct professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy discussed the decline of the Chesapeake Bay and what needs to done to restore it. Winegrad was called the “environmental conscience” of the Senate by the Washington Post and Tom Horton wrote that “he is the person who more than any other set Maryland’s environmental agenda over the last 16 years.”
His presentation outlined why the Bay is in serious trouble after 25 years of recovery efforts under the Bay Program and the expenditure of billions of dollars. Winegrad detailed the necessary actions for improvement, such as regulatory controls for agricultural pollutions (the Bay’s greatest source of nutrient and sediment pollution) and the increasing problems of storm-water runoff from development. He also presented startling data on the impacts of growth and agricultural pollution on the Bay’s decline.
Winegrad is a former state senator and for 16 years was the leading environmentalist in the Legislature. He was responsible for many Bay initiatives including the phosphate detergent ban. He chaired the Senate Environment and Chesapeake Bay Subcommittee and also served on the Chesapeake Bay Commission for 12 years. In 2002 he was presented the prestigious Life Time Achievement Award by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Winegrad is currently an adjunct professor at the graduate School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, where he teaches courses on Bay restoration and wildlife management.
This event was co-sponsored by the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Center for the Study of Democracy, The St. Mary’s Parish Outreach Committee, and The Boeing Company.
Attrendees were very receptive to his meassage. We encourage you to read through his PowerPoint slide presentation. It can be downloaded in PDF format. Click here: DOWNLOAD THE SLIDE SHOW - PDF-format [2.8 MB}
Door prizes will likely include tee shirts, hats, local libations, high efficiency bulbs, bumper stickers, and a rain barrel.
