MD Gov. O’Malley is a Clean Energy Hero!
Posted by susanna on 23 Jan 2009 | Tagged as: Maryland
Gov. Martin O’Malley announced his support today for a global warming bill CCAN and the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions have been pushing for the last two years. Sponsored by Sen. Paul Pinsky, Del. Kumar Barve, and O’Malley as lead, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act will protect Maryland’s environment and economy while also spurring action at the federal level to address global warming nationwide.
Join us in thanking him for his leadership>>
This makes Maryland the sixth state in the nation in calling for statewide reductions in global warming pollution. The bill requires reductions in statewide greenhouse gas emissions of 25% from 2006 levels by 2020, and directs the Maryland Department of the Environment to craft a plan and a timeline to achieve those goals.
“This law will put Maryland at the forefront of controlling greenhouse gas emissions and should push the federal government to follow our lead and get serious about this issue,” said Del. Barve. The bill follows the recommendations of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change, established by Governor O’Malley in 2007, and closely resembles the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008. The commission offered 42 specific policy proposals to achieve the 2020 reductions, and the authors emphasized the importance of those early and aggressive actions if we hope to mitigate future global warming.
“Maryland can take a big step with this bill, and I urge immediate action,” said Mike Tidwell, Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. “Now we need a simultaneous and very strong federal carbon cap that complements Maryland’s effort by creating a level national playing field for our state’s industries and workers.”
Governor O’Malley and his staff at MDE worked tirelessly in the past couple months to help craft the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act. MDE facilitated dozens of hours of negotiations involving major Maryland groups and individuals with a stake in climate policy. Parties included labor leaders, manufacturers, and the environmental community. This final agreement, if passed without major amendments, will represent a huge and culminating step in Maryland’s multi‐year efforts to address global warming. The bill would add Maryland to six other states that have set mandatory statewide emission reduction levels (CA, WA, HI, CT, MA, NJ).
While cutting greenhouse gas pollution, the bill will simultaneously help boost our state’s ailing economy. The commission’s 42 policy options include everything from better land use to green buildings to expanded recycling. Several key reductions policies have in fact already been passed by the General Assembly, including the state’s renewable electricity standard and the clean cars law. All told, the commission estimates a net $2 billion in savings will be realized in the state under this comprehensive emissions reduction approach.
If this bill passes, Maryland will have achieved the lion’s share of its responsibility in addressing the climate crisis. Still, the overall job will be incomplete without swift action from the U.S. Congress to cap nationwide carbon pollution at the levels determined by international scientific consensus. Such a cap, if properly structured, would complement the Maryland bill by regulating industries not covered in the early years by the state bill, including the state’s carbon‐intensive manufacturing sector. At the federal level, any financial burden on the manufacturing sector can be offset through tariffs on imported products, a mechanism that is not possible at the state level. Any federal cap must be fair and create a level playing field for all economic sectors.
10 Comments »
on 23 Jan 2009 at 5:57 pm 1.Ed said …
There’s no such think as global warming and there’s no such thing as alternative fuels. If any, any of the so-called alternative fuels was the slightest bit viable in the commercial market, it would be out there already competing for market share. The fact that the morons in government have to underwrite these alternative-fuel hoaxes tells you that they are decades from commercial viability. Besides, if there’s no such thing as global warming, why do we need alternative fuels?
How do you respond to the fact that by all measures, the Earth has been cooling for the last 10 years? And don’t tell me that global warming causes global cooling. Surely you have better than that.
on 24 Jan 2009 at 12:17 am 2.Charles Myers said …
The scientists have never really said ‘global warming’ per se. ‘climate change’ is the actual terminology. Besides that, it is documented fact that our current energy technologies are causing damage to human health and welfare. Coal mining and burning cause serious, deadly health problems such as black lung, emphysema, and asthma. There is no such thing as clean coal, so we must get off of it asap!
Just look at countries in Europe and Asia, and you will see that they are WAY ahead of us in the SUCCESSFUL use of solar, geothermal, and wind energy technology. Wake up, America, let’s join the rest of the civilized world now, so we don’t lose the important opportunities. If the rest of the world is already using alternative energy, why can’t we?
on 24 Jan 2009 at 10:39 am 3.ed said …
The only commercially viable alternative fuel is nuclear. That’s what the Europeans have realized and our nutty environmentalists prevent us from developing it. If you want to talk about pollution, fine, but don’t try to scare everybody into using extremely inefficient solar and wind fuels with doomsday scenarios involving the global-warming hoax.
on 25 Jan 2009 at 9:30 am 4.blogmarshall said …
Europe and asia are way ahead of us because of NUCLEAR power. We have not put a new nuclear generating plant on line in 30 years. Joining the civilized world means telling anti nuclear activists to sit down shut up and enjoy the zero carbon emmissions of nuclear power. That what France did and now they are here buying our companies so they can build nuclear power here. BTW plug in hybrids are not possible on any scale without a huge increase in power generation.
on 25 Jan 2009 at 12:10 pm 5.Gov becomes Clean Energy Hero « Bethesda Green said …
[...] health, campus, and business groups have been strongly supporting for the last two years.
on 25 Jan 2009 at 2:23 pm 6.holly said …
Ed, if need for the government to underwrite a source of energy was a barrier for its use, we would NEVER have built any nuclear power plants (which are ONLY possible with huge subsidies from the federal government). By your logic, we should also not be giving billions of dollars in subsidies for oil companies – which I’m all for. If you’re going to preach free market solutions, at least apply them to all of our energy sources.
on 27 Jan 2009 at 5:25 pm 7.CCAN Blog » Schools, the dealth penalty, and global warming said …
[...] O’Malley’s list of legislative priorities. It’s on page 10. Oh, and by the way, thank our favorite clean energy superhero if you haven’t [...]
on 30 Jan 2009 at 2:54 pm 8.Tom Pelton said …
Do you all think nuclear power is “green” and helpful in fighting global warming? Should Constellation Energy and a French utility build a new nuclear reactor on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay?
Voice your opinions on the new environmental blog, Bay Daily, at http://www.cbf.org/baydaily
Bay Daily has listed the CCAN blog as a publication to read on our blogroll, and it would be great if our friends at CCAN posted Bay Daily on your blogroll.
Keep up the good work, and let me know if you want any CCAN articles or events publicized.
Tom Pelton
http://www.cbf.org/baydaily
on 28 Mar 2009 at 2:00 am 9.Richard said …
A majority of Maryland counties do not have a permitting process in place that allows for residential wind energy systems to be installed. The majority of the counties that have addressed this issue have made it nearly impossible for the average homeowner to obtain a building permit, or at best spending thousands of dollars in the process. This is not the kind of leadership we need and only goes to curtail the efforts of many trying to do their part for the environment and security of our country. I have written Governor O’Malley many times in the past concerning clean wind energy development in Maryland and never have received a response. I have asked for help from CCAN and for the most part have been brushed off.
on 29 Mar 2009 at 2:25 pm 10.funnystuff said …
Ed, I have to say I'm impressed by your comments. Yeah, those solar panels powering the lights on my back deck are just a dream right? According to you I must just be imagining the light they emit. You also must be some kind of climate genius to dispute the 1000's of highly trained scientists who all agree that climate change is already here. Wow! I've got to meet you and see your laboratory. You must have all kinds of sophisticated instruments at your house that you should really share with the scientists. Are you willing to share your methods in a published peer reviewed journal just as all the real scientists do? After all, your instruments must be measuring temperatures all over the globe and interpreting the results differently than the rest of the scientists all over the world. Amazing stuff, Ed.