The United States may have withdrawn from the Kyoto Protocol on
global warming, but the united states are ready to comply. Last
week Glenn Scherer of Salon.com reported that a bipartisan
group of governors from several Northeastern states are expected to
announce their commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gases and
the implementation of sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel. ‘I
think what you’ll see is nearly every Mid-Atlantic and New England
state agreeing to join in a regional [carbon dioxide] cap and trade
regime,’ said Bradley Campbell, commissioner of New Jersey’s
Department of Environmental Protection.
Campbell also noted that many Republican governors have reported
pressure from the Bush Administration not to participate in the
regional program. Scherer predicted that as many as six states with
Republican leadership are expected to enact the environmental
legislation, including Gov. Pataki of New York, Gov. Benson of New
Hampshire, Gov. Rowland of Connecticut ‘and possibly’ Gov. Douglas
of Vermont. Pennsylvania’s Governor, Edward Rendell, is undecided,
as the state’s economy is heavily dependent on coal.
Thus far, Maryland is the only state to side with the White
House. According to Campbell, Governor Erlich ‘has largely aligned
himself with the pollution policies of the Bush administration
which has been hostile to even acknowledging climate change as a
problem.’
— Erin Ferdinand
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