The amount of air pollution caused by greenhouse gases could be slashed in the state if a bill before the Maryland General Assembly passes.
The bill, introduced by state Sen. Paul Pinsky, D-Prince George?s County, is modeled on a recently enacted California measure that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent.
In Maryland, the measure would require the state to cap its carbon dioxide output at the state?s 1990 level by the year 2020. That would represent a 25 percent reduction from current levels.
That would mean each person and business would have to pollute much less than they did 17 years ago. Maryland?s total population in 1990 was about 4.8 million, whereas about 6.3 million people will live in the state in the year 2020, according to the state Department of Planning.
It?s time for Americans to do their part to slow the pace of global warming, said state Sen. Brian Frosh, D-Montgomery County, one of 23 co-sponsors in the Senate.
“Americans contribute a much greater share of greenhouse gas emissions per capita than folks in other countries. It?s incumbent on us to take steps to ratchet that back,” Frosh said.
Conserving energy and resources as outlined in the bill may actually help businesses in the long run, Frosh said.
“This can be done without an adverse effect on businesses,” Frosh said.
The Maryland Chamber of Commerce did not yet have a position on the bill Tuesday, said spokesman Will Burns.
“This is the gold standard for climate legislation,” said Joshua Tulkin, organizing director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, a group that works to curb global warming.
“It?s the only logical way of making sure we make the reductions we need to make. It would set us on the path to dealing with the global warming problem internationally,” Tulkin said.
