Press Release

BALTIMORE, MD (July 26, 2007) – Maryland is moving forward in charting a path for the future to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work to prevent sea level rise and coastal flooding. Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Secretary Shari T. Wilson today announces the appointment of 75 members of the Commission on Climate Change Working Groups.

“The 75 members of the working groups are critical to the mission at hand,” said Secretary Wilson. “Their broad range of expertise will prove invaluable in developing recommendations for a comprehensive strategy to address the challenges facing Maryland as a result of climate change.”

Governor Martin O’Malley signed an Executive Order on April 20 establishing the Maryland Climate Change Commission. Since that time, the Commission has met twice, including receiving a briefing from a national leader on climate change strategy and government action.

Under the Commission serve three working groups that are comprised of a broad range of stakeholders including municipalities, scientists, environmentalists, energy industry experts, Maryland businesses and citizens. The first working group meeting, which will be the Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Mitigation Working Group, is scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow at MDE headquarters.

The Commission, chaired by MDE, is charged with collectively developing an action plan to address the drivers and causes of climate change, prepare for the likely consequences and impacts of climate change to Maryland with and establish firm benchmarks and timetables for implementing the Commission’s recommendations.

The Commission on Climate Change is charged with addressing Maryland’s climate challenge on all fronts. The Commission and its working groups will:

undertake an assessment of climate change impacts, calculate Maryland’s carbon footprint, and investigate climate change dynamics with the assistance of the University System of Maryland;
work together with the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Energy Administration and a broad set of stakeholders, including renewable and traditional energy providers and the business community, to develop a comprehensive greenhouse gas and carbon footprint reduction strategy; and,
coordinate with the Maryland Departments of Natural Resources and Planning, and a comprehensive group of planners, emergency responders and environmental organizations, as well as business and insurance representatives, to develop a strategy for reducing Maryland’s vulnerability to climate change, with an initial focus on sea level rise and coastal hazards.

Following is a list of the full membership of the Commission. A copy of the Executive Order, which outlines the specific tasks for the Commission and each of the working groups, is available at: www.gov.state.md.us/executiveorders/01.07.07ClimateChange.pdf.

Commission on Climate Change

MDE Sec. Shari T. Wilson, Chair
MDA Sec. Roger L. Richardson
DBM Sec. T. Eloise Foster
DBED Sec. David Edgerley
State School Supt. Nancy S. Grasmick
DNR Sec. John R. Griffin
MDP Sec. Richard Eberhart Hall
MDOT Sec. John D. Porcari
Governor’s Office of Homeland Security Director Andrew Lauland
MEA Director Malcolm D. Woolf
DHCD Sec. Raymond A. Skinner
MIA Commissioner Peggy J. Watson
MEMA Director John Droneburg
Public Service Commission Chair Steven B. Larson
University System of Maryland Chancellor William E. Kirwan
DGS Sec. Alvin C. Collins
Senator Brian E. Frosh
Senator Paul G. Pinsky
Senator E.J. Pipkin
Delegate Kumar P. Barve
Delegate Virginia P. Clagett
Delegate David D. Rudolph

Scientific and Technical Working Group

Donald F. Boesch, UMCES, Chair
William Boicourt, UMCES
Antonio J. Busalacchi, University of Maryland
Don Cahoon, U.S. Geological Services
Russell Dickerson, University of Maryland
William Eichbaum, World Wildlife Fund
Brian Fath, Towson University
Patti Glick, National Wildlife Federation
Raymond Hoff, UMBC
Curtis Larsen, Retired - Citizen
David Kimmel, UMCES
John Kostyack, National Wildlife Federation
Andy Miller, UMBC
Margaret Palmer, UMCES
Louis Pitelka, UMCES
Steve Prince, University of Maryland
David Secor, UMCES
Brian Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University
Claire Welty, UMBC

Greenhouse Gas and Carbon Mitigation Working Group

Tad Aburn, MDE, Chair
Malcom Woolf, MEA, Co-Chair
Uri Avin, Parsons Brinckerhoff
Michelle Harris Bondima, Baltimore City Community College
Paul Chan, Citizen
William Chandler, Transition Energy
Drew Cobbs, Maryland Petroleum Council
Robert D’Amato, Office of the Comptroller
Robert Driscoll, Mirant
Nancy Floreen, Montgomery County Council
Jonathan Gibralter, Frostburg State University
Ed Guiliano, AES Warrior Run
Brad Heavner, Environment Maryland
Frank Heinz, Citizen
William Hellman, Rummel, Klepper & Kahl
Peggy Horst, W.L. Gore
Debra Jacobsen, DJ Consulting
Mark Joseph, Yellow Transportation
Thomas Kach, Curtis Engine & Equipment
Elizabeth Martin, Natural Resources Defense Council
Mike Replogle, Environment Defense
Lise Van Susteren, Citizen
Joel Dunn, The Conservation Fund
Michael Mallinoff, City of Annapolis
Dr. Cindy Parker, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
John Quinn, Constellation Energy
Matthias Ruth, Center for Integrative Environmental Research
Scot Spencer, Annie Casey Foundation
John Szallay, BP Solar

Adaptation and Response Working Group

DNR Secretary John Griffin, Chair
MDP Secretary Richard Eberhart Hall, Co-Chair
Jenn Aiosa, Chesapeake Bay Foundation
Rodney Banks, Dorchester County
Ronald Bowen, Anne Arundel County DPW
Sherwood T. Brooks, Century21 Newport Bay Realty
Carl Bruch, Environmental Law Institute
David Burke, Burke Environmental Association
Russell Brinsfield, UMD, Wye Research
Ron Cascio, Retired – Citizen
Phillip Conner, Marine Trade Association
Peter G. Conrad, Baltimore City Planning
Gilbert Dissen, Dissen & Juhn Corp.
John Frece, National Center For Smart Growth
Bill Giese, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Julia Gorte, Pax World Management Company
Lara Hansen, World Wildlife Fund
Lynne Heller, Citizen
Jason Holstine, Amicas Green Building Center
Jesse Houston, Ocean City Department of Planning
Anthony Janetos, University of Maryland
Joan Kean, Somerset County
Dennis King, UMCES
Peter Lefkin, Allianz of North America Corp.
Joseph Maheady, U.S. Green Building Council
Karen McJunkin, Elm Street Development
William Miles, Retired – Citizen
Joy Oaks, National Parks Conservation Assoc.
Robert Pace, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
Dru Schmidt Perkins, 1000 Friends of Maryland
Court Stevenson, UMCES
Sue Veith, St. Mary’s County

###