Environment America Research & Policy Center
Maryland needs to quickly ramp up its solar siting and production to meet statewide goals. As suggested in the Abell Report “Getting Solar Siting Right in Maryland,” rooftops and parking lots of big box stores are ideal for solar energy installations as they build on already-developed infrastructure and do not disturb undeveloped, productive agricultural or forested land. Grant funds will enable Environment America to conduct research on the viability of rooftop solar on big-box retail stores in Maryland and other states and launch an advocacy campaign to encourage corporate investment in solar installations in Baltimore and Maryland.
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) initiated oyster gardening efforts as a nature-based solution to pollution with the knowledge that a single adult oyster can filter and clean up to 50 gallons of water per day and oyster beds provide essential habitat for fish and other Bay creatures. The oysters will be grown on a novel solar powered and automated production system on a floating platform to replenish native oyster populations at Fort Carroll. CBF will provide a complementary environmental education and oyster gardening workshops to teachers and community members on the restoration challenges of the Chesapeake Bay.
Baltimore City Office of Sustainability, Fiscally Sponsored by Baltimore Civic Fund
Climate change already affects communities, from worsening asthma and other respiratory problems to spurring heat waves and other extreme weather. Disadvantaged and marginalized communities bear a disproportionate burden of climate change impacts. Recognizing this, Baltimore City will undertake an Update to the Climate Action Plan (CAP), first completed in 2012. Abell funding will be used for the design and implementation of an equitable community engagement strategy for the CAP Update.
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) works with the Port of Baltimore, one of the City’s largest and most concentrated sources of emissions, to reduce air pollution associated with freight and cargo transportation. EDF’s capable science and policy staff bring data analysis and evaluation skills, environmental information sharing, and best practice emissions reduction and clean energy implementation from their work with ports across the country.
Energy Justice Network
Energy Justice Network (EJN) supports grassroots communities threatened by polluting energy and waste technologies through grassroots strategy and organizing support, research, and innovative mapping. EJN believes there is an opportunity in Baltimore to make productive use of recycled glass through the development of a social enterprise model that will generate revenue and create jobs for its Glass Recovery and Sustainable Systems (GRASS) initiative. GRASS intends to recover used bottles from restaurants and residences and resell them to local breweries, or reform the glass into new pieces – products like cups, plates, vases, and more for sale. This grant provided support for staff costs associated with social enterprise model development.