A Bad Week to Defend Arsenic-Laced Chicken Feed in Maryland

Some state senators in Maryland are trying to defend the use of arsenic in chicken feed.

Just yesterday, Nicholas Kristof wrote in the New York Times about "a pair of new scientific studies suggesting that poultry on factory farms are routinely fed caffeine, active ingredients of Tylenol and Benadryl, banned antibiotics and even arsenic." Isn't asking poultry farms to stop using arsenic the least we can do?

Learn more from Food and Water Watch about how you can help the arsenic ban get across the finish line. And as the scientists Kristof talked to suggest, next time you're at the grocery store, maybe spend a few cents more to buy organic.

Take a Hike Week: Catoctin Mountain

The Green Miles recently made the 75 minute drive from the DC area up northwest of Frederick to Maryland's Catoctin Mountain. It was one of those days that thunderstorms were a constant menace, but surprisingly the rain held off long enough to make the full 8-mile loop around the top of the mountain.

Part of the Bull Run Mountains, a subset of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Catoctin's highest peak is only about 1,900 feet. But the hike provides a great range of views, from Cunningham Falls all the way up to the Blue Ridge Vista:


Like Virginia's Old Rag Mountain, the peaks feature exposed ancient granite, providing some fun rock-hopping at Chimney Rock:


I decided to start a new tradition this hike, bringing two beers for my friend Dan & I to crack open on top of the mountain. Of course, after lugging the beers up the mountain I then realized I'd left my bottle opener in the car. Fortunately, at the Hog Rock overlook Dan found a sign with some exposed screws that made a great bottle opener. After a long slog up & around the mountain, Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre had never tasted better:


TheGreenMiles.com's Take a Hike Week

Tuesday: Old Rag Mountain
Wednesday: Catoctin Mountain
Thursday: Scott's Run Nature Preserve
Friday: Virginia's Great Falls North

Did you know National Trails Day is Saturday, June 4th? DC, Maryland & Virginia are loaded with fantastic hikes just a short drive away. Find a NTD event near you at AmericanHiking.org, or explore local trails & climbs at HikingUpward.com.

Deep Thoughts: Transportation Edition

Was just listening to Adam Tuss' report on WTOP on the completion of Maryland's ICC.

Now that the ICC is finished, what will be the next Phenomenally Expensive Paving Project That Will Surely Solve All Our Transportation Problems (Paying No Attention To The Fact That Afterwards Traffic Usually Remains Unchanged, If Not Worse)? Expanding I66? I395 HOT lanes? An Outer Beltway?

Surely then every driver from Loudoun & Stafford Counties will be able to cruise from their cul-de-sac to K Street in 20 minutes flat!

Today: Maryland Dining Industry to Collapse Into Quivering Pile of Goo

Maryland bars and restaurants might as well not bother opening their doors this weekend. No one's coming out anyway.

A statewide smoking ban is taking effect today.

We've all seen how the smoking ban has turned DC into a ghost town on nights and weekends. Young professionals head straight to Metro after work, ride home in listless silence, and sit at home reading the collected works of Henry David Thoreau.

OK, so that's all a big lie. Like every other community in the country, DC's smoking ban has had absolutely no noticeable impact on the city's economy. The same can be said of Maryland's counties that had already banned smoking:

In Howard County - smoke-free for eight months - officials have not received any complaints of lost revenue, said Dr. Peter L. Beilenson, the county's health officer. Since the Howard ban took effect, the county's smoking hot line has received about three dozen calls, but no fines have been issued, Beilenson said.

"The biggest news is that there is no news," Beilenson said. "It came in with a bang and went out with a whimper."

While Gov. Tim Kaine is pushing a Virginia smoking ban hard this year and the Virginia Senate is likely to approve it, the House vote will once again be close. Considering a full 70% of Northern Virginians support a ban, the eleven Northern Virginian delegates who voted against the ban last year are especially in focus. The nine Republicans and two Democrats are:

• Dave Albo (R-Springfield)
• Chuck Caputo (D-Chantilly)
• Mark Cole (R-Fredericksburg)
• Jeff Frederick (R-Woodbridge)
• William J. Howell (R-Fredericksburg)
• Tim Hugo (R-Centreville)
• Bob Hull (D-Falls Church)
• Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge)
• Robert G. Marshall (R-Manassas)
• Joe T. May (R-Leesburg)
• Jackson Miller (R-Manassas)

You can contact your delegate directly, or if you don't know who your delegate is, use the General Assembly's search feature.

In the meantime, one clean air activist isn't counting on the General Assembly to do the right thing. He's going to court:

[James] Bogden is the plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against four local restaurants in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. The suit seeks to require the restaurants to become smoke-free, arguing that they must accommodate Bogden's disability, coronary artery disease, and eliminate secondhand smoke so he can eat at them. Each of the restaurants allows smoking in designated areas.

While all the legal and legislative shenanigans are sorted out, Arlington residents have a great resource in the Arlington Civic Federation's list of smoke-free bars and restaurants (recently updated).