Bay & Environment: Cool Maryland - Chesapeake Bay, blue crabs, Maryland, global warming and climate change

One major bill should be added to the list of hottest issues for this spring's session of the Maryland General Assembly: The Global Warming Solutions Act.

The same green team of lobbyists and activists that over the last two years have won approval of the Healthy Air Act (which cleaned up coal-fired power plants) and Clean Cars Bill (which cuts car pollution) this year is pushing legislation that would greenhouse gases from all sources by 20 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050. It would follow California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's model of allowing the state government to devise a sweeping plan to ramp down carbon dioxide emissions from every industry and segment of the economy.

The green team includes bill sponsor Sen. Paul Pinsky (above, with fellow global warming fighter), as well as Brad Heavner of Environment Maryland, Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cindy Schwartz of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters, Brenda Azfal of the University of Maryland School of Nursing and many others. Nurses marching door-to-door in Annapolis and buttonholing lawmakers has proven to be highly effective.

Last year, the bill was killed without even a vote in committee. Senate President Thomas "Mike" Miller (below) blocked all fee-generating legsislation that didn't include tax hikes or slot machine gambling he thought was needed to close the state's looming billion-dollar budget gap.

Constellation Energy, in a presentation to Miller, warned that carbon-dioxide limits in Maryland (but not in neighboring states) could have a crippling effect on the state's economy, and even restrict how much commuters can drive, boaters boat and farmers farm. The bill's supporters say this was the same kind of exaggerated doom-and-gloom forecast that the power companies gave before the passage of the Healthy Air Act two years ago, which certainly didn't put Constellation out of business. (Although it could have playing a role in killing their plans to sell out to Florida Power & Light).

Right now, the O'Malley administration has a task force studying possible solutions to global warming. This commission will come out with recommendations this winter. The green team is hoping that it will include legislation similar to that passed by California, with a goal of cutting 80 percent of global warming gasses by 2050. If not, Pinsky could reintroduce his bill from last year, with some tweaks.

Here is a letter that the Green Team sent to The Sun about global warming:

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As a coalition of environmental, health, and faith-based organizations that fought for last year’s Clean Cars Act, we applaud the Sun’s editorial “A boost for clean cars” (September 14).

Passing a strong bill to limit pollution from vehicles in last year’s General Assembly Session was not easy. Advocates for clean cars faced an enormous -- and well-financed -- opposition that used scare tactics and claimed that the Clean Cars Act threatened everything from Maryland jobs to consumer choice. In particular, the auto industry argued that the state had no authority to cut pollution from cars and that the new limits would be unworkable for manufacturers.

As the Sun editorial points out, last week’s ruling from a federal judge proved the opposition wrong.

Though it seemed at first that we were facing an uphill battle, strong support from Governor O’Malley, who even came out in person to testify for the bill, helped make Clean Cars a reality.

This year, our organizations are continuing in the fight against global warming. Along with nearly ten thousand Marylanders who have signed a petition, we’re asking the Governor’s Commission on Climate Change to set science-based reductions for global warming pollution. To avoid the worst impacts of global warming (in a state particularly vulnerable to this climate crisis), the state must cut our global warming pollution by at least 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

If we do not act, scientists warn us of the serious repercussions: a rising sea level and loss of coastline, stronger storms and hurricanes, agricultural damage to due irregular weather, health problems, and heat waves.

We expect those who oppose reducing global warming pollution to use similar misleading and untrue arguments, as did opponents to the Clean Cars Act. But this recent ruling gives us hope that once again science and the facts will prevail, and a state like Maryland can and should take bold action to cut global warming pollution.

Signed,

Mike Harold, Audubon Naturalist Society;
Mike Tidwell, Chesapeake Climate Action Network;
Brad Heavner, Environment Maryland;
Lee Hudson, Lutheran Office on Public Policy;
Cindy Schwartz, Maryland League of Conservation Voters;
Betsy Johnson, Sierra Club - Maryland Chapter;
Brenda Azfal, University of Maryland School of Nursing Environmental Health Education Center

The authors make up the Steering Committee of the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions, a coalition of environmental, health, and faith-based organizations working to ensure that Maryland establishes a firm commitment to science-based reductions of global warming pollution of at least 20% by 2020 and of 80% by 2050.