Oregon & Maryland Governors Push for Ambitious GHG Limits

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is supporting a bill that would reduce carbon emissions 25 percent by 2020. A similar bill was killed in the state senate last year by opposition from unions and manufactures, but this bill is expected to pass after proponents essentially exempted manufactures from strict targets.  At a news conference, Gov. O'Malley said Maryland is the "fourth most vulnerable state in America" to the effects of climate change. Read more at Baltimore Sun

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski recently made a rare appearance before the state legislature to push a state-level cap-and-trade system that would eventually cover 90 percent of the state's greenhouse gas emissions. The governor argued that limiting carbon dioxide could lead to environmentally-friendly energy sources, transportation and housing. In 2007 Oregon established a goal of reducing emissions by 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. Read more at OregonLive.com