As temperatures approach 100 degrees downtown and scientists say the first six months of 2006 were the warmest on record, the Baltimore City Council wants to address the problem of global warming locally.
“I know there?s still some debate about global warming, but don?t think you?d hear much argument from people working outdoors this week,” said City Council President Shelia Dixon, one of the sponsors of a resolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city.
The resolution, which seeks to make the city “Kyoto compliant” by 2012, will be debated at 5:05 p.m. at City Hall. The Kyoto Protocols, an international treaty that requires nearly 140 participating countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2012, has been rejected by the Bush administration as too costly for American business. But Council Member Jim Kraft, D-1st District, another supporter of the resolution, said any delay in addressing greenhouse gases could be more expensive in the long run.
Dixon said the council will explore several options to reduce carbon emissions in the city, including converting the city?s fleet to more fuel-efficient vehicles and working with car-sharing services like Zipcar to reduce congestion downtown. Either way, Dixon said the city should do what it can.
“It is timely for us to act now, before the city begins to really grow and brings in more traffic,” she said.
Terry Harris, spokesman for the Baltimore League of Environmental Voters, a local advocacy group, said the city should take the lead on the issue.
