A July 29 Baltimore Sun editorial expresses support for Governor Martin O’Malley’s recently unveiled climate change plan and argues for the importance of Maryland being a leader in enacting climate change measures. The editorial argues that the environmental, health, the potential economic benefits of addressing climate change now outweigh the arguments that other jurisdictions are not as much to address the issue.
But to choose inaction because neighboring states aren’t doing as much to reduce emissions (or even because neighboring countries aren’t) would be the equivalent of not bailing out a sinking life raft because the other occupants are too slow to do the same. You don’t wait, and you don’t crow about moral victories or leadership (sorry, environmental community); you do it because you don’t want to drown — or for the next generation destined for the raft to drown either. …
Can Maryland by itself reverse the global levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (recently measured by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at 400 parts per million, the highest level in 3 million years)? Of course not. But to postpone the needed actions would be like ignoring public pension debt until, like Detroit, it’s time to file for bankruptcy. Delay only makes the consequences worse, with this additional caveat: One can survive bankruptcy, but there isn’t a spare planet available. The sooner action is taken, the easier the transition will be and the sooner the state will enjoy the benefits of those policies. All that’s lacking is the political will.