Destiny Watford in Baltimore on April 11. (Doug Kapustin/For The Washington Post)

It was inspiring to read the April 18 Politics & The Nation article "Leading a charge against air pollution," about Destiny Watford, who earned a Goldman Environmental Prize for fighting off plans to build a giant, polluting incinerator near her home as a Baltimore high school student. Then it hit me: The kids are way ahead of the grown-ups — at least the grown-ups in Maryland's legislature.

A few weeks ago, the legislators had an opportunity to stop giving incentives for incinerators such as those Ms. Watford fought. They voted on whether to remove trash incineration from the eligible sources in Maryland's Renewable Portfolio Standard. By just one vote, they opted to continue to promote the burning of trash, with its high emissions of mercury and lead. I hope they read the article about Ms. Watford and that it inspires them to vote differently the next time this comes up.

Marion Edey, Silver Spring