Today MD House Economic Matters Committee is considering the Global Warming Solutions Act. If passed out of committee, the House and Senate are expected to pass the bill quickly before session ends at midnight tonight. For a good overview of the narrative of events, check out the Baltimore Sun’s Blog.

The debate over this bill, I think, is going to be indicative of the struggle ahead for two reasons:
1. Separation of green jobs opportunities and job losses
2. Strong leadership support

Green jobs have the potential to create an entire new industry in Maryland. By encouraging development of a green jobs sector now, before the mad rush begins, Maryland gets ahead in building the infrastructure, knowledge, and expertise in the industry. Jobs may be lost in some industries, but those workers could be provided with a just transition to this new, lucrative, green economy. Opposition has pitted job losses against the bill without making the connection to green jobs opportunities. Specifically, MD’s United Steelworkers have come out to oppose the bill because of potential losses at Sparrows Point steel mill. Despite the opportunities that green jobs would create for these workers and despite the support of the national arm of United Steelworkers for a transition to green jobs, the local group has launched a concentrated attack on this bill.

The other important element of this fight is the presence of overwhelming leadership support. Governor O’Malley’s “strong, strong support” of this bill has been a cornerstone of this campaign. The environmental community has come together and formed one of the strongest coalitions in Maryland to date. The Alliance for Global Warming Solutions has brought together over 100 partners in support of this bill. For a list of all the organizations, go to the Alliance website here:http://www.alliancemd.org/plan.htm.

We have yet to see whether the house and senate leadership can come together today. Stay tuned for more updates!