Maryland has been called America in Miniature and perhaps reflects our nation’s dilemma over fossil fuel burning and resolving environmental catastrophes from a warming planet. The Maryland General Assembly mirrors this quandary in enacting legislation to cheapen gas prices at the pump by suspending the 36-cent per-gallon tax at the same time it is trying to pass measures to deal with global warming by reducing dependence on fossil fuels.

The gas tax suspension for 30 days will cost the Transportation Trust Fund $94 million that would have gone to fund highway, bridge, and mass transit improvements. The basis for this tax has always been that those who drive the most, pay the most for such improvements. Instead, this election year boondoggle benefits the wealthiest 20% who consume three times as much fuel as those in the bottom 20%. The $94 million could have gone to fund retirement of gas hogs and their replacement with electric or hybrid vehicles.

“Suspending the gas tax for 30 days is part of a larger, unified global response to help deter Russia’s growing aggression,” explained House Speaker Adrienne Jones.

Really? The way to stop Putin is to do all we can to end our reliance on oil and natural gas, which funds this megalomaniac’s ability to invade a sovereign nation and threaten use of nuclear weapons.

In majoring in economics in college, one of my first lessons learned was the law of supply and demand. So, to understand the logic of making gas cheaper, we spur more consumption, and this is going to deter Putin’s invasion of Ukraine when without oil and gas he would be nearly powerless?

The legislature (up for reelection) passed this suspension unanimously. It was promoted by Gov. Larry Hogan (a putative candidate for president) and Comptroller Peter Franchot (a candidate for governor). This comes after the price was slowly receding.

 This makes Maryland gas at the pump cheaper than all but two states at $3.77 as of March 23. By comparison, the national average was $4.23 a gallon. The previous peak of $4.11 in July 2008, when adjusted for inflation, comes to $5.37 a gallon. The U.S. price per gallon is now cheaper than more than 112 other nations including most of Europe and Canada and Mexico.

A Sun editorial got it right: Penny wise and pound foolish: Suspending the gas tax may sound good, but it’s a bad idea. Are our elected officials blind to the fact that almost nine out of every 10 barrels of oil used in Maryland are consumed by the transportation sector and that 36% of greenhouse gas emissions come from motor vehicles? Or that Americans use more oil than any nation, exceeding the next highest nation by 54% while consuming 20% of all oil with only 4% of the world’s population?

Some in the media spread the myth that such high oil and gas prices have been caused by President Biden and environmentalists’ push for renewable energy, crackdowns on pollution from the oil and gas industry, and restrictions on drilling. This is not true. Our country is producing more oil and gas than any other nation in the world, and crude oil production per day is up from 2021.

The post-COVID 19 economic recovery has pushed up demand as global supply chains struggle and Putin’s invasion has led to a supply crunch causing rising prices which inure to his benefit. In response, the International Energy Agency last week released a 10-point plan of practical actions governments and citizens can take to achieve significant reductions in oil demand in a few months.

These measures would shrink Russia’s hydrocarbon revenues, help lessen dependence on oil, reduce risks of a major shortage, lessen economic damage, reduce climate warming emissions, and help improve air quality. Conservation also helps avoid catastrophic oil spills that have contaminated our waters from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico. Measures we can all strive to achieve in solidarity with besieged Ukrainians include:

Using electric and hybrid vehicles; reducing speed by at least 5 mph; working from home; supporting car-free Sundays in cities; using and making public transport cheaper; walking and cycling; alternating private car access to roads in large cities; reducing fuel use; promoting more efficient freight and delivery trucks; using trains instead of planes where possible; and avoiding business and pleasure air travel where alternatives exist.

The actions above would save 2.7 million barrels of oil daily. The 29 IEA industrialized countries, including the U.S., have already released millions of barrels of emergency oil stocks, but we need to lessen demand and do our part. This IEA report comes on the heels of the frightening new UN report documenting apocalyptic effects already occurring and much worse projected for our future unless we act now.

Climate activists projected this support on the State House for Senators to pass the Climate Solutions Now Act but the bill was gutted of this key provision. Courtesy: The Chesapeake Climate Action Network Action Fund, Jamie Demarco. (Courtesy Photo)

On March 14, the Maryland Senate passed the Climate Solutions Now Act but only after the most important requirement was deleted that would have required all new buildings to use electric power rather than fossil fuels for space and water heating by 2024. This provision was the top recommendation of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change. Legislators bowed to lobbying pressure from the utility and natural gas industry.

The bill raises the state’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goal from 50% to 60% below 2006 levels by 2030 while requiring net zero emissions by 2045. It requires greater state reliance on clean energy, switching the vehicle fleet to electric cars, directing millions of dollars to building net-neutral schools and for retrofitting large buildings, and establishes a green bank to invest funds in private emission reduction projects.

Unlike the gas tax vote, all Republicans opposed the climate legislation in a 32-15 party-line vote. The climate bill is now in the House, where lawmakers introduced their own set of companion bills instead of one sweeping measure. It faces an uncertain future as similar legislation died last year when the House could not agree with the Senate measure.

Maryland had enacted legislation requiring 20% of electrical energy to come from renewable sources by 2022 and 50% by 2030. But in 2020, renewable sources in Maryland generated only 11% of electrical power and 40% of this came from hydropower from the Conowingo dam, which was completed in 1928. Solar and wind energy provided less than 6% while coal was at 9%, natural gas at 38%, and nuclear at 41%. The goal of 50% renewable by 2030 seems like a distant dream since the renewable legislation has done little to move clean power.

We buy 100% renewable energy which you can, too. We also conserve, with our last three winter months of electric bills costing less than $300 total, including heat and charging an electric hybrid Prius.

The MaryPIRG Student Climate Action Coalition, consisting of activist college students, is pressing again for enactment of legislation to force state four-year colleges to reach carbon neutrality, with reductions set by 2025 and neutrality by 2035. The legislation related to this push is called the FUTURE act, which stands for Facilitating University Transformations by Unifying Reductions in Emissions, and is pending with no action taken.

In 2021, perhaps spurred by student demands, the University of Maryland at College Park announced it will achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2025. The university now procures 100% of its purchased electricity from renewable sources, offsets 100% of air travel emissions, is reducing energy consumption by 20% in buildings, and will move to a vehicle fleet with zero emissions by 2035. It also created a popular Sustainability Studies Minor, while educating more than 17,000 students in their first semester about sustainability challenges and opportunities.

The university could induce recalcitrant legislators to take these courses and act with the extreme urgency warranted by the climate threat to Maryland before it is too late. Maryland is especially vulnerable with its 7,719 miles of shoreline with great flooding potential.

 Gerald Winegrad represented the greater Annapolis area in the General Assembly for 16 years. Contact him at gwwabc@comcast.net.