Chesapeake Bay
Energy and the Bay
The Impacts of Air Pollution on the Bay
- Air pollution from power plant smoke stacks and vehicle tail pipes is the source of one-third of the nitrogen deposited in the Bay each year.
- Pollution from power plants is the primary source of mercury contamination in the Bay and in the fish who live in the Bay.
- Learn More: Chesapeake Bay Program - Impacts of Air Pollution on the Bay
The Impacts of Climate change and the Bay
Carbon dioxide, another byproduct of burning fossil fuels for electricity, is also contributing to the warming of God’s planet and changing local climates across the globe, including the community around the Bay. Sea level rise, a likely impact of global climate change, could destroy miles of habitat along the Chesapeake shoreline and flood thousands of acres of land primarily in Dorchester County, MD. The photo on the left shows areas in the Chesapeake Bay vulnerable to sea level rise.
Learn More: U.S. Environmental Protection agency - Impacts of climate change on coastal areas.
Energy Efficiency: What Congregations Can Do 
Congregations that commit to substantially reducing energy use can cut utility costs by 25-30 percent.
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Want an Energy Audit, Need new Lighting want to buy Clean Energy? Download Lifestyles of Stewardship. In this document you can learn how to select an auditor, prepare for the audit and make the most out of an Energy Audit. Lighting is one of the easiest ways for congregations to reduce electricity use, limit their contribution to harmful air and water pollution, and reduce operating cost is to install energy efficient lighting technologies.Clean energy uses renewable sources of energy such as wind and solar, rather than fossil fuel based energy that pollutes God’s air and water.
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Check out the Carbon Reduction Campaign to learn more about purchasing and installing CFL's, Occupancy Sensors, and LED Exit signs.
- Learn More:
- EPA's Green Power Partnership
- Maryland Energy Administration - Maryland Facts and Programs
- U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy