WASHINGTON POST                                                                               Oct. 26, 2014

By Spencer S. Hsu and Nia-Malika Henderson

One day after governors in New York, New Jersey and Illinois imposed a mandatory 21-day quarantine on medical workers returning from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa, public health officials in the District, Maryland and Virginia did not follow suit Saturday, intensifying a national debate over how to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health officials are working to develop a consistent approach for the area around the nation’s capital. Joxel Garcia, director of the D.C. Department of Health, said that a mandatory quarantine was not scientifically justified and could have a chilling effect on the medical personnel, many of them volunteers, needed to treat Ebola patients at home and overseas.

The differing views highlight challenges confronting federal and state politicians as well as health officials as they race to keep up with fast-changing circumstances and competing political, scientific and legal demands, experts said.

NPR                                                                         Oct. 24   12:04 PM

by Scott Neuman                            

BETHESDA, MARYLAND-- Dallas Nurse Nina Pham, who became the first person to contract Ebola on U.S. soil while treating patient Thomas Eric Duncan, is now free of the virus and has been discharged from a special facility at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

Nina Pham, 26, who became the first person to contract Ebola within the United States, is set to be released after testing free of the virus.--AP

Speaking at a news conference, Pham said ...

"Although I no longer have Ebola, I know it may be awhile before I get my strength back," Pham said, asking for the media to respect her privacy.

NPR                           Oct. 16, 2014

WASHINGTON --A top government health official confirms that Nina Pham, the 26-year-old nurse who became infected with Ebola after treating a patient with the disease at a Dallas hospital, will be transferred to a high-level containment facility at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said in testimony before a House committee that Pham will be admitted to the NIH tonight.

There she will will be given "state of the art care" in a high-level containment facility, he says.

Officials have said Pham's condition is good. Another nurse, Amber Vinson, who also cared for index patient Thomas Eric Duncan has also contracted the disease. Duncan died from the disease last week.

See full story

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/10/16/356594638/house-panel-hearing-to-examine-public-health-response-to-ebola-outbreak

reuters.com - By Ryan McNeill, Deborah J. Nelson and Duff Wilson - September 4, 2014

As the seas rise, a slow-motion disaster gnaws at America’s shores

Part 1: A Reuters analysis finds that flooding is increasing along much of the nation’s coastline, forcing many communities into costly, controversial struggles with a relentless foe.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

csbcouncil.org

The Chesapeake Sustainable Business Council is a business-led educational and advocacy organization whose mission is to promote sustainable business viability, awareness, and impact within the Chesapeake region (MD, DC and VA).

(CLICK HERE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION)

usresilienceproject.org - October 31, 2011

U.S. Resilience Project (USRP) reports are designed to showcase how public policy can benefit from private-sector best practices in security, business continuity, risk management, and disaster preparedness.

Harness the Power of Intelligent Networks and Social Media

The focus for national preparedness should be on creating situational awareness, enhanced decision-making and rapid response; Platforms like the U.S. Resilience System, that are based upon distributed intelligent social networks and crowd-sourcing, can enable far more agility and adaptability than a highly structured, hierarchical capability with significantly better outcomes at far less cost. Exploiting U.S. leadership in this area has the potential to create significant engagement in preparedness, disaster response, and regional resilience building.

A waning crescent moon hangs over the Chesapeake Bay just before sunrise in North Beach, Md.  Twenty one states are challenging the Obama administration's plan to clean up the bay.  (Ray K. Saunders / The Washington Post)

washingtonpost.com - by Darryl Fears - February 5, 2014

Attorneys general in 21 states are backing an attempt to derail the Obama administration’s Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan, fearing that the government will use that authority to regulate wastewater in other watersheds, including the Mississippi River Basin.

ecowatch.com - by Brandon Baker - December 31, 2013

It wasn’t what Professor Mark Jacobson was saying—if you’re an advocate of renewable energy, you hear this kind of talk on a daily basis—as much as it was the platform. Solar and wind energy simply don’t get the late-night limelight.

mayor.dc.gov - January 6, 2014

Services Are Available to Those Who Need a Warm Place to Stay During Dangerous Weather

REPORT - Fracking by the Numbers - Key Impacts of Dirty Drilling at the State and National Level (47 page .PDF report)

CLICK HERE - Fracking by the Numbers - Key Impacts of Dirty Drilling at the State and National Level

CLICK HERE - Fracking by the Numbers - New Report First to Quantify Damage Done by Gas Drilling

Growing concerns over radiation risks as report finds widespread environmental damage on an unimaginable scale in the US

theguardian.com - by Suzanne Goldenberg
October 4, 2013

Fracking in America generated 280bn US gallons of toxic waste water last year – enough to flood all of Washington DC beneath a 22ft deep toxic lagoon, a new report out on Thursday found.

A home destroyed during the landfall of Superstorm Sandy is pictured in Mantoloking, New Jersey March 22, 2013.  Credit: REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

reuters.com - by Barbara Liston - September 24, 2013

(Reuters) - More than a million homeowners living in older houses along the coastlines and riverbanks of the United States are being jolted by federal flood insurance rate hikes under a law passed in the wake of devastating storms.

Carol Giovannoni, 51, of St. Pete Beach, a barrier island community off Florida's west coast, is one of the people dreading October 1, when the law takes effect. Giovannoni said the annual flood insurance premium on her standard 1950s concrete-block, ranch-style home on the waterfront will jump from $1,700 to $15,000 over the next few years.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

CLICK HERE - Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012

submitted by Gina Angiola

climatechangecommunication.org

This report present findings from a survey mailed to over 2,000 adults about public perceptions and policy preferences regarding the health implications of energy choices and climate change in Maryland. The report can be downloaded here (44 page .PDF report):
Public health, energy and climate change: A survey of Maryland residents, summer 2013.

Akerlof, K., Maibach, E. W., & Mitchell, C. S. (2013). Public health, energy and climate change: A survey of Maryland residents, summer 2013. Fairfax, VA: Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University; Baltimore, MD: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Survivors of Hurricane Katrina arrive at New Orleans Airport where FEMA's D-MAT teams have set up a medical hospital and where people will be flown to shelters in other states.New Orleans is being evacuated as a result of floods and damage caused by hurricane Katrina. Photo: Michael Rieger/FEMA

asianfortunenews.com - by Jewel Edwards - July 24, 2013

In the wake of the Boston Bombings and a rash of destructive tornadoes in the Midwest, emergency preparedness is arguably more important in the U.S. than ever. Resilient DC is working to construct a framework by which communities in the Metropolitan area can map their assets, organize, and respond to disasters before they strike. The program is particularly helpful to ethnic and cultural minorities, who need more assistance navigating the chaotic environment that large scale catastrophic events bring about.

(READ COMPLETE ARTICLE)

Under Governor O'Malley's leadership, Maryland set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

WATCH LIVESTREAM OF TODAY'S (JULY 25TH) CLIMATE CHANGE SUMMIT HERE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF PLAN

ADDITIONAL PUBLICATIONS REGARDING MARYLAND CLIMATE CHANGE PLANS