I am on a motorboat pounding across the waves of Tangier Sound in the southern Chesapeake Bay. It is a mild September morning, the winds are strong, and the skies are streaked with clouds.

In the distance, a tiny square rises out of a vast, empty expanse of water. Motoring closer, it becomes clearer. A 19th century farmhouse sits on a tiny island, next to patch of sand and reeds swaying in the wind. Waves lap at the house's foundation. White paint peels off the shingles. Pelicans perch in the damp yard.

This is the last home on Holland Island. In the early 20th century, this marshy fragment of land was 217 acres of farms and forests. It supported a town with a post office, church, school and several stores. Now it is almost entirely under water, and no humans live here anymore.

But claiming the vanishing real estate are hundreds of brown pelicans. The giant, awkward-looking fishing birds with floppy pouches preen and socialize around a skeletal tree.

The last human residents abandoned Holland Island in 1992. It was the most recent of five Chesapeake Bay islands to be swallowed by rising sea levels over the last century. As the people were leaving, the same force driving them away global warming, which melts polar ice and drives up water levels around the world -- brought the brown pelicans here.

These fishing birds normally live in South Carolina and Florida. Never in history did pelicans nest in the Chesapeake Bay, until the 1990's when the warming of winters allowed them to move north.

Read the full article and learn how global warming cleared an island in the Chesapeake Bay of humans and allowed a Florida fishing bird to move in.

Given the Bush administration's admission that the federal government and states will fail to meet their commitment to improve water quality sufficiently to remove the Chesapeake Bay from the federal 'dirty waters' list by 2010, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) issued its first federal blueprint for restoration. Restoring Clean Water and the Chesapeake Bay: A Plan for America's Next President outlines 16 specific actions that the next administration and Congress must take to reduce pollution, meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act, and improve local economies.

Read the press release

Bays, estuaries and rivers throughout the U.S. are suffering from "dead zones" of oxygen-deprived water, pollution from sewage treatment plants and runoff, and seriously depleted fish, crab, oyster, and other marine populations.

In the thick of the national race to claim the White House in November, what are the Presidential candidates saying about the pressing need to address the nation's clean water problems?

Captain John Smith* represents a voice for the Chesapeake Bay and clean water nationwide. Although you won't find him on the ballot, his platform provides clear direction for the next president of the United States to restore the Chesapeake and provide a national model for ecological restoration.

Make Clean Water a Presidential Priority! Sign the petition today!

**Let me know you signed the petition and I'll add you to my Top Friends!**

*The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. It does not endorse candidates. CBF is running a fictional candidate, Captain John Smith, to elevate the Bay and clean water in the presidential election.
 

Make a donation to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation now thru June 30th and our Board of Trustees will MATCH your contribution! Your $25 will equal $50. Your $50 will equal $100.

When you make your donation, let me know and I'll add you to my Top Friends list!

Captain John Smith, the Colonial soldier of fortune who helped found Jamestown, VA., and explored the Chesapeake Bay in 1607-09, announced yesterday he is running for president on a platform to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and rivers and streams nationwide.

"But I stand not just for a clean Chesapeake Bay; I stand for clean rivers and streams all across America. For if we can clean up the Chesapeake Bay — and working together we bloody well can — we can clean up every stream, river, and bay in this country. We can make the Chesapeake a model for restoration success, for the rest of the nation and for the rest of the world."

Visit votethebay.org to get involved John Smith's campaign today.
Sign our petition and help us get 10,000 signatures by sharing it with your family, friends, coworkers and on your social networks.
Download web badges, screen savers, and more to show your support.
Talk it up on your website, blog, or social networking site.
View photos from yesterday's historic event. 

* The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is an independent, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers and streams. It does not endorse candidates. CBF is running a fictional presidential campaign to elevate the Bay and clean water in the presidential election.

This week, the United States Senate will begin to debate legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are already causing warmer water and higher sea levels in the Chesapeake Bay. It is vital that Marylanders tell their senators to support this important piece of legislation and strengthen it if possible. Join us in signing this petition in support of the Climate Security Act.

Now it's time to cast your vote!

All the photos are in! Over the past few weeks, we've received several photo submissions! Following are the top 10 entries as selected by our panel of judges. We will select three top winners by June 30th.

The Viewers' Choice Award is your chance to vote for your favorite shot. You have till June 10th to cast your votes and let your voice be heard. Our Viewers' Choice winner will be posted on June 16.

Cast your vote now.

Feel free to vote for as many photos as you like and to come back and vote often.

http://www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_sub_photocontest_vote