(Muke) – According to the Baltimore Sun, Martin O’Malley committed Maryland to significant (?) cuts in pollution:
The plan would commit the state to a 25 percent reduction by 2020 in climate-warming pollution — mainly carbon dioxide — as last year’s bill did. Dropped from last year’s original language is any long-term goal or target of 80 percent reduction by 2050 — but that was cut in last year’s efforts to craft a last-minute deal.
In deference to labor leaders and manufacturers, whose loudly voiced fears of plant closings and job losses killed last year’s bill, the carefully crafted compromise this time gives manufacturing a pass on having to reduce its emissions unless and until action is mandated either nationwide or on a regional, multistate basis.
This seems great for the environment, questionable for the economy, and a great-big-cuddly-bear-hug for O’Malley’s image. Luckily Baltimore has few industrial jobs left to lose! Hur.. ah?
(Evan) – Reminds me quite a bit of the perhaps overly ambitious attempt by the city that I refered to last year to increase the tree canopy in Baltimore to 40% in …30 years. Wow a 25% reduction by 2020? That’s like, a quarter! I seem to recall government mandated timelines on emissions reductions popping up all over the place in years past that certainly won’t be honored anytime soon due to horrific economic conditions, and we all know that industry won’t voluntarily meet these figures ahead of schedule, but will instead wait until the last minute and then push the deadline back and or complain about the flagging economy – which by 2020 will probably be in the shitter again. More than likely, these figures could be met through market pressure on transportation and individual lifestyle changes (brought on by peer pressure style guilt). The tech trend toward energy efficiency is also fairly undeniable, which by my completely scientific estimate will reduce carbon emissions in MD by a full 6% alone.
I mean hell, let’s be really ambitious; by 2020, I pledge to reduce my personal carbon emissions by 200%. That’s right, I will actually start absorbing carbon in the next 11 years. I’M GOING TO SAVE HUMANITY.