Commentary

American carnage is a phrase Donald Trump used in another context. Of course, it is hyperbolic. But the damage to the environmental cause done during the reign of Donald Trump is hard to overstate. He rolled back more than 100 anti-pollution rules, sold off national resources, abandoned enforcement of environmental laws, purged government agencies of scientists and replaced talented technocrats with political hacks. President Joe Biden’s administration will surely do its best to reverse the damage but it will be a lengthy undertaking.

Sometimes, lawmakers are just messing with our heads. That must be the explanation for state Sen. Ed Reilly’s non-binding resolution that would ask school systems in Maryland to add “female monthly cycle tracking for adolescent girls” to the school health curriculum. Reilly, whose views on reproductive health are based partly on his faith, knows this idea isn’t going anywhere. And even if it did pass, it is unlikely the Maryland Department of Education would add it to the health curriculum for schools.

Avid Maryland Matters readers — particularly my colleagues in the legislature — know that for several months I’ve advocated for a Maryland stimulus package that helps Marylanders, small businesses, and communities most impacted by the COVID-19 crisis. For months, I’ve urged Gov. Larry Hogan to tap into the more than $1.5 billion in reserves in the state’s treasury — our $586 million surplus from Fiscal Year 2020 and the almost $1 billion in our Rainy Day Fund — to provide immediate cash assistance to low-income families and struggling small businesses who are barely keeping their heads above water.

Do you want your children eating food treated with a chemical linked to learning disabilities, autism, pediatric cancer, pre-term birth, asthma, ADHD and more? Who would possibly say yes? Unfortunately, this brain-damaging pesticide, called chlorpyrifos, is widely applied in the production of fruits, vegetables, nuts and other conventionally grown crops — even though it has been found to damage children’s brain development.

As an infectious disease physician, I spend my days understanding and treating illnesses that spread in our communities. With COVID-19, many of my colleagues and public health professionals have fought diligently as this highly contagious and serious illness ravaged our nation. I personally have cared for many patients with the disease, and sadly, despite outstanding care, some lost their lives. To motivate me and remind me why tireless efforts in fighting COVID-19 must continue, I keep the death notice of a long-time patient in my inbox.