Baltimore County Jobs Going Green

The green industry is helping to create Baltimore County jobs and make the city more sustainable.

The Baltimore Office of Sustainability recently released its first annual report on the Baltimore Sustainability Plan, which was developed by more than 1,000 citizens and adopted by the Baltimore City Council during March 2009.

The annual report will outline the progress made to date toward achieving goals of the BSP and highlight the work underway to benefit the economic, social and environmental health of the city.

"Sustainability becomes increasingly more important to us as a city, a state and a nation because we recognize that our global resources are finite," Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said. "By making smart decisions about how we use resources, and involving residents in the process, we can save money, improve quality of life, and position Baltimore to benefit from growing investment and job creation in the green economy."

The report identifies the seven goal areas of the plan, including: cleanliness; pollution prevention; resource conservation; greening; transportation; education and awareness; and green economy.

Each of those sections includes a feature story highlighting the accomplishments that have been made in an effort to achieve the goal of sustainability, as well as steps citizens can take to move the process forward.

The report also delves into the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, which improves health outcomes for households in Baltimore while saving residents money on their energy bills and reducing their environmental impact.

In addition, the report takes a look at the recent expansions of Baltimore's public transportation system, including the Harbor Connector water taxi service and the Charm City Circulator.

The water taxi average 200 trips per day during an eight-month period, reducing traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. The CCC is a system of hybrid buses that offer free service to passengers.