The Baltiomore Sun (see below) reports “the idea of building a green gas station in Baltimore came from the local owner, Eastern Petroleum of Annapolis, and its chairman, J. Kent McNew. Founded in 1969, Eastern sells motor fuels to more than 200 gas stations and marinas throughout the Baltimore-Washington area. McNew is a member of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the South River Federation, two organizations with a record of environmental activism.

McNew said he thought the Key Highway station, close to Baltimore’s harbor and along a prominent approach to downtown, would be an ideal spot to set an example. “If we don’t all do something for the environment,” he says, “we’re all in trouble.” The gas station occupies slightly more than an acre along Key Highway. The two green roofs cover 5,500 square feet of space, or about one-eighth of the total ground surface.”