Maryland should increase its efforts to protect natural resources, reduce waste and promote renewable energy as a way to attract and retain jobs in fast-growing green sectors, according to a report by a governor-appointed task force to be unveiled Wednesday. Recommendations of the Green Jobs & Industry Task Force, part of Gov. Martin O'Malley's initiative to create or retain 100,000 green jobs by 2015, include increasing the state's reliance on wind power and solar energy, improving public transportation and promoting high-density development around transit hubs.

"A number of things will drive green jobs beyond reducing energy consumption," said David Costello, a member of the task force and governor's representative on the Green Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee, set up to find ways to create green jobs. "The green economy is almost the greening of almost anything we do."

The report will be presented to business owners and cabinet members Wednesday during a green economy forum at the Maryland Department of the Environment in Baltimore. The work group will use the report's recommendations to set priorities and create more detailed plans.

lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com

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