Climate-change alarmism fell far short of persuading enough Maryland politicians to sock their state?s economy with higher taxes and energy prices. From Environment & Climate News:
The Maryland General Assembly has rejected the Global Warming
Solutions Act of 2008, which would have required a statewide 25 percent
reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.Although the bill had the support of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and
received strong backing from environmental activist groups, it was
weakened in the Senate and then defeated in the House.As first introduced, the bill was the most ambitious environmental
proposal in Maryland this year and a top priority for the state’s
environmental activist groups. Environment Maryland, an activist group
that claims global warming is a crisis, worked especially hard in favor
of the bill.The bill proposed ambitious goals for slashing carbon dioxide
emissions but did not specify mechanisms for doing so. The bill had
momentum early on but was strongly opposed by labor unions and
manufacturers, who feared it would dramatically raise energy costs,
causing an economic slowdown and rising unemployment.
The greatest enemy of regulatory overreach is the immediate prospect of politicians facing angry voters.
