Gov. Martin O'Malley convened a forum on sustainability, the third in a five-part series designed to elicit feedback and ideas as he prepares for his second term. The forum focused on laying the groundwork for a sustainable future and gathering input from various stakeholders, including recommendations for legislation and actions related to clean energy, natural resource management, agriculture, and smart growth.
"As a State, we must move forward on a smart, sustainable path," says Gov. O'Malley. "Building upon our recent successes, we need to create a foundation for both our future and our children's future. We have to make tough decisions, governing through green initiatives and living our own lives as examples."
The event gathered together more than 750 participants, including conservationists, farmers, and business owners, who attended plenary sessions and discipline-specific workgroups. Discussion topics for the breakout groups included Smart Growth, Bay Restoration, Clean Energy/Climate Change, and Resource Based Industries.
Following the work sessions, Gov. O'Malley convened a discussion of outcomes and recommendations with all forum participants.
Recommendations included:
Bay Restoration: Continue to ramp up Bay Restoration efforts, including building upon Maryland's Phase 1 Watershed Implementation Plan, to ensure reaching our Bay Restoration goals by 2020 �five years earlier than any other State in the watershed.
Clean Energy/Climate Change: Aggressively pursue the development of offshore wind generation as a clean energy solution as well an avenue to create thousands of green jobs.
Smart Growth: Increase support for development projects in transit oriented, sustainable communities through funding, financing, tax credits, and other incentives. Continue to promote public transit ridership, which has increased 17 percent since 2006.
Resource Based Industries: Develop new policies and programs that provide economic incentives for rural landowners, including farmers, to conserve their land instead of developing it; develop new programs to support environmentally friendly resource-based industries, including sustainable agriculture and forestry, aquaculture, and nature-based tourism.
"The world is changing as a result of these issues, and Maryland can choose to be either a leader or a follower in the resulting New Economy that is upon us," says Gov. O'Malley.
Source: Office of the Governor
Writer: Walaika Haskins