Horton Bids Adieu

For years, columnist Tom Horton has written about the Bay and the environment, serving as one of its foremost advocates in the pages of the Baltimore Sun, and the numerous books he has written. He's decided to hang up his column, and take on other pursuits.

Horton's been writing his incisive, heartfelt column for 13 years, and has written several acclaimed books on the Chesapeake, including: Turning the Tide, Bay Country, Water's Way, and An Island Out of Time. This past fall, he and a colleague paddled 445 miles around the Delmarva, to complete the first recorded circumnavigation of the peninsula by kayak. [pictures and photos are available here].

In his closing column, he points out a number of the ridiculous paradoxes that endure, despite near universal support for trying to "Save the Bay", including: " Prattling about "planned" growth while zoning most of the landscape for development; Promoting oysters as the great filterers and cleansers of the bay while expanding techniques such as power dredging to catch the last that remain; and, Staffing the leadership of Maryland's Department of the Environment, whose mission is "protect and preserve the state's environmental resources," with former businesspeople and industry lobbyists." He then slips in a few suggestions on how each of us might lighten our strain on the Bay, and ends with a farewell.

So long, Mr. Horton. Though your column is in its twilight, we know you won't rest as the sun continues to set on the Bay.