The Baltimore Banner thanks its sponsors. Become one.

Adam Willis

Adam

Adam Willis reports on climate and the environment across Maryland for The Baltimore Banner. He previously covered Baltimore City Hall for The Banner. He has also worked as a historical researcher in Washington, D.C., as a freelance reporter for national magazines and reported on state government, energy and the environment for the Fargo Forum in North Dakota.

The latest from Adam Willis

Teslas can be seen parked at the Tesla Dealership in Owings Mills, MD on Saturday, March 29, 2025.
Trump pulled the plug on Maryland’s EV transition. What’s next?
Electric vehicle sales already lagged far below Maryland’s benchmarks, and so far the state isn’t fighting to preserve the policy, targeted by Republicans.
A sign protesting the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project power line stands in a yard in Parkton, on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.
Judge allows company to survey route for contentious Maryland power line
The proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project would cross some 400 different properties across the three counties.
Harbor jumpers leap into the waters of Fells Point during the Harbor Splash event in 2024.
Harbor Splash swim in Baltimore harbor postponed due to storms
The event, meant to showcase the harbor’s safety for swimming and recreation, will instead take place July 19.
Harbor jumpers leap into the waters of Fells Point during the Harbor Splash 2024 event on 6/23/24 in Baltimore, MD.
Is Baltimore’s harbor really clean enough for swimming? Environmentalists disagree.
Environmentalists discuss the question in decidedly different ways.
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 18: From left, U.S. Rep. Riley Moore (R., W.V.), Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.V.), EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum celebrate after signing a Water Policy Announcement at the Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters on February 18, 2025 in Washington, D.C. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made a water policy announcement and held a signing ceremony with members of the West Virginia Congressional Delegation.
Baltimore judge orders EPA to restore $180M in environmental justice grants
A Baltimore nonprofit is among three that the judge says should be able to use the funds to distribute grants.
A turtle pops its head up through the water in the Lancaster Street Canal after an oil spill last week.
Johns Hopkins Hospital’s 5,000-gallon fuel spill never should have happened
Johns Hopkins Hospital initially estimated the spill was around 200 gallons before revising that figure to 2,000 gallons and, finally, reporting Friday that it totaled 5,000 gallons.
The Patapsco River, although rated “poor” in the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science’s health assessment, is considered a bright spot because of its progress.
A year after record score, Chesapeake Bay slips in new health assessment
Scientists say the Chesapeake Bay is still improving, even if this year’s grade marks a step back.
People walk past the end of the Lancaster Street Canal as bright-colored oil covers the water on Thursday, June 5, 2025, after an oil spill on Wednesday.
Johns Hopkins now says about 5,000 gallons of fuel spilled in Baltimore Harbor
The diesel, used to power backup generators on the Hopkins medical campus, flowed into stormwater drains.
Crews assess an oil spill at an inlet at South Caroline and Lancaster streets Thursday.
Hundreds of gallons of diesel removed from Baltimore Harbor as spill cleanup continues
Officials said that roughly 18,000 gallons of water have been removed from the Inner Harbor, though it remains unclear how much of the 2,000 gallons of red-dyed diesel fuel that spilled a day earlier were included.
Crews work to lay down absorbent sheets to clean up a diesel spill at an inlet at South Caroline and Lancaster streets.
Baltimore races to clean fuel spill that turned portion of harbor red
Efforts to clean up the spill could cause traffic problems in the Harbor East area on Thursday.
A boater heads out toward the Chesapeake Bay at the Susquehanna Flats.
Trump finally leaves Chesapeake Bay cleanup funds alone — cold comfort to advocates
Maryland environmentalists had braced for Trump to again take a sledgehammer to the Bay Program.
Big concrete pipes sit on on a grass-covered lot.
In rushed vote, DC suburb approves park expansion deal with $3.5M equity state grant
After years of legal battles over the property, Hyattsville convinced state leaders to earmark funding this session for the Prince George’s County city to purchase the land.
Officials said 21 million gallons of partially-treated wastewater from Baltimore’s Patapsco Wastewater Treatment Plant seeped into the headwaters of the Patapsco River to the mouth of Bodkin Creek.
21M gallons of partially treated sewage seep into Patapsco River from Baltimore water treatment plant
The Baltimore City Department of Public Works released a statement about the water overflow confirming it was not a health hazard
An empty field at David Driskell Community Park in Hyattsville last month. The city is considering purchasing an adjacent parking lot to expand the park.
Could a DC suburb bail out a developer to expand a park? Maryland would help
Owning this land would fulfill a dream for many Hyattsville leaders, who have watched the property become blighted.
Kellie Fiala, Maryland oyster restoration coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, prepares to dump a basket of young oysters into Fort Carroll sanctuary on Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
Sigh of relief at Fort Carroll sanctuary as the oyster population rebounds and planting resumes
When the Key Bridge wreckage was cleared, environmentalists expected to find the oysters dead. They were happy to be wrong.
The first group of Harbor Splash jumpers, including Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott and Comptroller Brooke Lierman, leap into the Baltimore Harbor at Fells Point on 6/23/24 in Baltimore, MD.
Want to swim in the Baltimore Harbor? You’ll get another shot next month
Harbor Splash will return for a second year, this time welcoming 200 participants, the Waterfront Partnership announced Wednesday.
Gov. Wes Moore returns to his office as reporters continue to shout questions toward him following a news conference at the Maryland State House in Annapolis on Thursday, May 15, 2025.
How much has climate change cost Maryland? Gov. Moore vetoed a bill to find out
The RENEW Act was among 23 bills Moore vetoed Friday, many of which he said put an unnecessary burden on the state as it manages a strapped budget.
Aaron Fitzgerald wades through the flooded parking lot of Westernport Elementary School to retrieve belongings from his mother waterlogged car after a catastrophic storm hit the area on Tuesday.
Gov. Moore declares state of emergency in flood-ravaged Western Maryland
Heavy rains this week led to the worst flooding parts of Allegany County has seen in nearly 30 years. Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency.
Baltimore Banner reporter Giacomo "Jack" Bologna jumps into the Baltimore Harbor alongside other participants as a part of the Waterfront Partnership's Harbor Splash 2024 event held last June.
As Baltimoreans start swimming in the harbor, water quality remains murky
A new report by Blue Water Baltimore found that water quality has declined somewhat in the harbor and its watershed since 2013.
The Roland Park Community Foundation has raised $9 million in recent years to purchase 20 acres of the Baltimore Country Club’s former golf course to turn into a public park.
Maryland wanted to make poor areas greener. It boosted a rich Baltimore neighborhood instead.
Maryland wanted to make poor areas greener but instead it boosted the already rich and green neighborhood of Roland Park in Baltimore.
Load More Stories
Oh no!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists, please contact customer service at 443-843-0043 or customercare@thebaltimorebanner.com.