The Alberta government helped block global warming legislation in the state of Maryland, according to Premier Ed Stelmach.
But the actual author of that legislation isn't so sure.
In early 2009, then-House of Delegates representative Roger Manno introduced a clean energy law designed to show state leadership on climate change.
That bill, known as the Oil Sands Responsibility Act, would have prohibited state agencies from purchasing high-carbon fuel derived from places such as Alberta's oil sands.
Maryland imports virtually no oil sands energy. The bill in a certain sense was symbolic, Manno told the Tyee -- a chance for policymakers to learn more about the industry's contribution to global warming.
Gary Mar, Alberta's U.S. representative, travelled to Maryland to voice his province's opposition.
"With respect to the state of Maryland, [Mar] worked very diligently with the Legislature there to remove its anti oil sands bill," Premier Ed Stelmach told the provincial legislature in April 2009.
Manno disagreed. He said policymakers were concerned the bill would be hard to implement because suppliers often sell fuel blended from many different sources.
"I don't remember the Albertans or oil companies having any big influence," Manno told the Tyee.
Mar's Maryland excursion was only one of many attempts to influence climate-concerned American policymakers. He's met with dozens of political leaders and industry reps since being appointed to lead Alberta's Washington Office in 2007.
Mar has also advocated against climate change laws being proposed in states across the eastern and midwestern U.S., the Tyee reported Thursday.
Last year, the Washington office cost Albertan taxpayers $1.22 million. Premier Stelmach believed in 2009 the province was getting good value for its money.
"We have a revenue stream of approximately $40 billion at stake," he told the provincial legislature. "We're going to have to put a full-court press on the United States, including all the governors, all of the public administration that we're dealing with."
Mar's office did not respond to requests for an interview.
Geoff Dembicki reports for the Tyee.
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Meme Mine
1 year ago
Our War of WMD's and lies and fear.
The remaining Climate Change believers are damaging the Planet Earth and it’s people by dividing environmentalism and dragging progressivism down with it. This was our Iraq War and I can't keep scaring my kids with our CO2 death threats. We need love, not windmills. We need courage, not fear, fear and more fear of the unknown. We are better than this folks.
-Meanwhile, the UN had allowed carbon trading to trump 3rd world fresh water relief, starvation rescue and 3rd world education for just over 25 years of climate control instead of population control.
The news editors are the real one’s responsible for the CO2 mistake.
Sask Resident
1 year ago
Representative Government
Well, wasn't the Alberta government elected to protect the province, its people and the jobs of its people? The Maryland law was stupid and meaningless, since they use oil from Venezuela which has a higher carbon footprint than the Alberta oil sands oil and a much worse human rights record. Oh, I forgot, people don't matter so nobody should care about human rights records of where the oil comes from, only its calculated or perceived potential carbon emissions. In addition, the vast majority of the carbon emissions are produced when it is burned not when it is produced.
mopled
1 year ago
The farce of Cancun
"The Cancun deal commits all countries to keeping temperature rise below 2C (3.6F) by reducing emissions. Rich countries have agreed to consider an extension of the Kyoto Protocol while poor countries will sign up to emission cuts for the first time. There are also a series of key decisions on setting up a green fund to help poor countries cope with climate change and halting deforestation."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8196074/Cancun-meeting-reaches-climate-change-agreement.html"
BUT
according to this new NASA model.
Doubled CO2 means just 1.64°C warming
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/08/new_model_doubled_co2_sub_2_degrees_warming/
So a country can double its CO2 emissions and still satisfy the Cancun accord. What a brilliant solution!
The Banksters get their "green fund" and life goes on as usual.
I can't wait to see what happens next year's conference in South Africa, especially since the Greenbots signed petitions to outlaw Dihydrogen monoxide and bring down the US economy at Cancun during record setting cool weather.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/jamesdelingpole/100067478
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/12/10/gore-effect-on-steroids-six-straight-days-of-record-low-temperatures-during-cop16-in-cancun-mexico//ban-dihydrogen-monoxide-now/