It would set a goal of reducing and eventually eliminating green house gas emissions.
Frederick, Md (KM) A resolution declaring a climate emergency is being considered by the Frederick County Council
The measure was discussed at Tuesday’s Council meeting. It would set a goal of reducing green house gas emissions by 50% by 2030, and 100% by 2050. A second would be establishing a Climate Emergency Mobilization Work Group to develop ways to achieve the reduction of green house gas emissions in the county.
The resolution was drafted by Councilmembers Jessica Fitzwater and Kai Hagen. “We have–all of us up–have heard a lot of public comment over the past year of folks coming up during our regular meetings and express concerns about the impending climate change crisis as well as just some questions in terms of the county’s cohesive strategy and how we’re going to combat climate change locally,” said Councilwoman Fitzwater.
Councilman Hagen said local jurisdictions need to take action against climate change. “The county has already done significant things that help in terms of addressing the climate change issue,” he said. “It affects us in many ways. Big problems call for many small solutions.”
Part of the workshop on this resolution include a panel discussion. One of the panelists was Joyce Sutton, a chemistry teacher whose also a NOAA Climate Steward and a member of the Middletown Sustainability Commission She called on the Council to take action. “It’s really, really vital for all of us to recognize that, yes, we are a small jurisdiction, but we are part of one rock floating in space,” she said.
Another panelists was McKenzie Smith, a Walkersville High School Graduate whose attending Loyola University in Baltimore. “My peers and I are about to enter the workforce, also known as the real world uncertain of our planet’s future,” she says. “Many of my peers and I are also science majors in a time when it seems that people think science is a matter of opinion and not a fact.”
Sutton told the Council that 77 jurisdictions around the country have adopted similar climate resolutions, including Montgomery County and the City of Alexandria, Virginia.
By Kevin McManus