Maryland Offshore Wind Debate

Baltimore City Voters Pack Town Hall Meeting With Senator Pugh, Delegate Robinson

Maryland Senator Catherine Pugh of Baltimore City heard vocal support for offshore wind power from dozens of her constituents and an array of local Baltimore organizations and businesses at a packed town hall meeting Nov. 30th at Saint Mark's Church. This town hall comes just a few weeks before the start of the 2012 General Assembly session in which Gov. Martin O'Malley will promote a bill to tap the power of wind blowing off Maryland's Atlantic coast. Senator Pugh (D) sits on the Senate Finance Committee which will review this legislation.

Senator Pugh was joined by her colleague in the House of Delegates, Del. Barbara Robinson, and a variety of panelists who spoke about job creation, health benefits and climate change reduction that offshore wind power can provide.  The District 40 town hall meeting on offshore wind power in Baltimore, November 30th.

MD State Senator Catherine Pugh addresses the District 40 town hall meeting

One moderate sized offshore wind park would create 2400 jobs, and there are over 1000 Maryland businesses, employing over 30,000 workers, that could participate in offshore wind development.

A packed audience heard from labor, faith, health, business, and environmental leaders

Christine D. Keels, a 30-year Baltimore resident with severe asthma, spoke emotionally about her yearly hospitalizations and complications from asthma over the last decade and highlighted the importance of Maryland moving toward a clean energy future.

Left to right: Health activist Christine Keels; business leaders Ross Tyler and Joe Gaskins; labor leader Rod Easter

With offshore wind, Maryland families will save over $4 billion over 25 years by preventing premature deaths. Marylanders cannot afford to continue paying higher medical bills for asthma attacks, emergency room visits, and lung disease.

Maryland cannot meet its statutory clean energy standards without offshore wind power. The state's renewable electricity standard and the carbon reduction standard are required by historic acts of the General Assembly. Offshore wind energy will help to meet these responsibilities.

Christine Keels, speaking about the health benefits of offshore wind power

Contact: Tom Carlson, Maryland Campaign Director, Chesapeake Climate Action Network
(w) (240) 396-2035
(c) (651)-587-0730
http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/