They're rolling out a green carpet.

Almost 500 global warming activists are expected to wave signs and unveil a long green carpet at 11 a.m. tomorrow (1/17/08) on Lawyers Mall outside the State House in Annapolis.

Their goal: convince state lawmakers to stroll down the symbolic rug and endorse a law that would reduce global warming pollution by 25 percent by 2020 and 90 percent by 2050.  The sponsors of the "Global Warming Solutions Act" are state Sen. Paul Pinsky, a Democrat from Prince George's County who is chairman of the senate environmental matters subcommittee, and Del. Kumar Barve, also a Democrat and the House majority leader. They proposed a similar bill last year -- but it got bottled up in committee after power company lobbyists argued it could hurt the state's economy.  Skeptics of such limits worry they would drive up costs of energy for consumers and impose burdensome regulations for business, while supporters argue that Maryland's economy would be hurt more by the storms and rising sea levels brought by climate change.

Those urging action to fight global warming hope that Gov. Martin O'Malley will stroll the green with them tomorrow.  O'Malley appointed a commission, which is meeting in Annapolis tomorrow, that has advised him that the state needs to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent by 2050. But O'Malley hasn't yet said whether he supports that goal -- or the Global Warming Solutions Act.

"This would be the strongest limits in the country if it passed," said Dawn Stolztfus, deputy director of the Maryland League of Conservation Voters. "This might also be one of the largest environmental rallies ever in Annapolis."

For more on the proposal, click here to visit the Alliance for Global Warming Solutions.