Dredging millions of tons of sediment from the Susquehanna River upriver of the Conowingo Dam would potentially cost billions of dollars and do little to help the Chesapeake Bay compared with cleanup efforts already underway, a new federal-state study found.

Gov.-elect Larry Hogan and critics of the current pollution-fighting strategies contend that removing massive amounts of sediment flowing down the river would help restore the Chesapeake more than controversial measures to levy stormwater fees, restrict septic-based development or limit farming practices.

The study, to be released Thursday by state officials and the Army Corps of Engineers, concludes that the sediment washed into the bay from the Susquehanna after extreme weather mostly hurts a small part of the upper bay. The study was launched following Tropical Storm Lee three years ago.

Nutrient pollution from sewage plants, farms and urban runoff across the six-state watershed is the main threat to the bay, the study found,...

A movement is underway to fill some of Baltimore's 14,000 vacant lots with flower farms, where residents could grow zinnias and toad lilies and hyacinths to sell to local florists or invite the public to come pick their own bouquets.

The city's spending panel agreed Wednesday to contribute $5,000 for a consultant's study of the potential for leasing empty lots to flower farmers as an outgrowth of the farm-to-table push.

Ellen Frost, who owns Local Color Flowers in Charles Village, said she's looking for nearby growers to fill her orders and help shrink the industry's environmental footprint by using blooms that have been treated with fewer chemicals and traveled fewer miles.

"Flowers are a good option for people who are interested in farming but want to try something different or have a niche that sets them apart from food growers," Frost said. "For us, it's exciting as a viable entrepreneurial option for farmers, and to eliminate blight."

Flowers can be a good use for vacant lots that may...

Are you ready for another Snowmageddon? More flooding from the next big rainstorm? The next derecho-driven blackout?

Baltimore's Office of Sustainability is urging city dwellers to plan now for how they'll cope with the next natural or even man-made disaster.

With flooding on the rise in Baltimore and elsewhere, and extreme weather events hitting over and over in the past decade, city officials say climate change means it's not a question of "if" a disaster is going to strike, but "when."

"We're attempting to get communities more prepared for the impacts," explained Kristin Baja, the city's climate and resilience planner. "Any preparation you do is going to help."

Since last spring, city planners have met with hundreds of residents from about 25 different neighborhoods, and they're hoping to deliver that message at more community gatherings before the year is out.

"We're trying to bring [together] communities that are most vulnerable to heat and flooding and focus on them," said Alice...

 China will aim for a peak in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, while the United States will strive to cut total emissions by more than a quarter by 2025, as the two countries try to drive through a new global climate pact in Paris next year.

According to a joint announcement by President Xi Jinping and U.S. counterpart Barack Obama in Beijing on Wednesday, China will aim to reach peak CO2 emissions by "around 2030" and strive to achieve the target earlier, while the United States would slash emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent from the 2005 level.

Senior U.S. administration officials said the commitments, which are the result of months of dialogue between the world's top two CO2 emitters, would encourage other nations to make pledges and deliver "a shot of momentum" into negotiations for a new global agreement set to go into force in 2020.

"It is a very good sign for both countries and injects strong momentum (into negotiations), but the targets are not ambitious enough and there is...

David Flores first spotted the red diamond placards — numbered to designate crude oil shipments — about two weeks ago on a long line of rail cars idling on a trestle over Interstate 695, near Hollins Ferry Road in Baltimore County.

"I don't know at this point whether or not those cars were filled and headed to a facility in Baltimore, or if they were empty cars that were just passing through," said Flores, the harbor waterkeeper for Blue Water Baltimore, a nonprofit that advocates for clean waterways.

Nevertheless, Flores shot video of the train to document its presence in the area — something he said public officials and railroad executives have refused to do.

"There's a legitimate concern about public access to information," he said, "about just what's being transported through our cities."

While the railroads and city officials insist the transport of crude oil is safe, a growing number of environmentalists in Baltimore have stepped up their efforts in recent weeks to confront the...

Baltimore's City Council moved to ban plastic bags handed out by grocery stores and big-box retailers Monday after dumping a proposal to charge a 5-cent fee for the bags to discourage their use.

The proposed ban would make Baltimore one of the first East Coast cities to outlaw plastic bags — decried for littering Baltimore's waterways. But it faces many obstacles before becoming law.

Retailers, stunned by the council's move, pledged to fight the ban. And Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she would veto it. Shoppers could end up paying more, the mayor said, noting that paper bags cost merchants at least twice as much as plastic.

"The bill has the potential to be a backhanded tax on residents," she said.

She also said she was dismayed by the lack of public input on the bill. The council gave preliminary approval to the ban after holding a hearing focused on the 5-cent fee.

"If you dramatically and essentially change legislation with anticipation of passing it without public...