WASHINGTON -- Insurance companies refuse to underwrite new flood policies along coastal areas of the Eastern Shore. Rising sea levels eat away at islands in the Chesapeake Bay. The federal government blocks the state from enforcing greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks.
These are the challenges that concern environmental advocates in Maryland. That is why many are gratified to see climate change became an important issue in the presidential campaign leading up to Maryland's the primary vote tomorrow.
"One of the most critical questions for the candidates has been their stance on global warming," said Josh Tulkin, deputy director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network. That's good news, Tulkin says, for Marylanders.
"All the EPA modeling shows that the Chesapeake region, especially Maryland, is one of the most vulnerable regions to sea-level rise, severe weather and other impacts of global warming," he said.
"This isn't about polar bears. This is actually about an impact on people in Maryland."
"Global warming is the exact right [issue] for them to be focused on," agreed Brad Heavner, the state director for Environment Maryland.
"We want in Maryland and across the country to build the clean energy economy, and it can have huge benefits from the beginning and deal with this enormous environmental problem."
The campaigns have taken notice.
"What kind of a planet are we going to pass on to the next generation of Americans?"
Sen. John McCain asked during a debate in December. Of climate change, the Arizona Republican said, "It's real, we've got to address it, we can do it with technology, with 'cap and trade,' with capitalist and free enterprise motivation."
The major candidates in both parties all have talked about curbing the greenhouse gases that scientists say contribute to global warming and promoting clean new energy sources.
That could mean good news for the likes of BP Solar, which is more than doubling its solar panel manufacturing plant in Frederick, and U.S. Wind Force, the Pennsylvania company that wants to lease state forest lands in Western Maryland to build electricity-generating windmills.
But Will Baker says it isn't enough. Baker, the president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, wants to hear the candidates address environmental issues beyond climate change and alternative energy.
"Certainly our polling and other polling shows people are very concerned about clean water and clean air as basic, fundamental rights," he said. He spoke of how low-oxygen "dead spots" in the bay and a proliferation of toxic algae are threatening health, the food supply and recreational activities.
"All of these, I think, are critical not only to the Chesapeake Bay but to the planet as a whole," Baker said. "While energy independence is one aspect of the environment, simply stopping pollution at its source is another."
So far, the candidates have confined their comments largely to climate change and energy independence. McCain drew criticism from then-opponent Mitt Romney for his sponsorship of legislation that would curb greenhouse gases with "cap and trade" - placing a limit on emissions and requiring polluters to obtain permits that could be bought or sold.
Romney, who supported a similar program when he was governor of Massachusetts, said the McCain-sponsored bill would drive up energy costs. He agreed with McCain and another Republican candidate, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, on promoting clean new energy sources.
"Is global warming an issue for the world? Absolutely," Romney said in a December debate. "Is it something we can deal with by becoming energy independent and energy secure? We sure can.
"But at the same time, we call it global warming, not America warming. So let's not put a burden on us alone and have the rest of the world skate by without having to participate in this effort. It's a global effort," said Romney, who withdrew from the race last week.
There is more agreement among the Democrats. Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois have detailed lengthy proposals to address climate change and energy independence with cap-and-trade programs, increased fuel efficiency and renewable energy standards, and tax breaks and investment to promote alternative energy sources.
"We will enhance our security by making it clear to the oil companies and the oil-producing countries we are not going to be dependent and be basically taken advantage of any longer," Clinton said during a campaign stop last month in New Hampshire. "And we can do it to deal with global warming."
Obama said in December that his thinking on climate change was still evolving.
"I've put forward one of the most aggressive proposals out there, but the science seems to be coming in indicating it's accelerating even more quickly with every passing day," Obama said. "And by the time I take office, I think we're going to have to have a serious conversation about how drastic [are the] steps we need to take to address it."
The League of Conservation Voters has not decided whether to endorse a candidate, but spokesman David Sandretti called the proposals from Clinton and Obama "very good."
"They address the overall need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and they set forward goals that accomplish those," Sandretti said. "On the Republican side, clearly one candidate stands out, and that's John McCain. He has been working on this issue for a number of years, he has legislation that will reduce greenhouse gases, has a target, it's economywide. Unfortunately, his goals are not what we feel are necessary to stem the worst effects."
Maryland is one of 15 states that were blocked by the federal EPA in December from introducing limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new cars and trucks. Clinton and Obama have signed on to legislation that would enable the states to enforce the new rules without EPA approval.
In a Republican debate last month, Huckabee, McCain and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas all said the states should be free to develop their own regulations.
None of the candidates have offered details specific to the Chesapeake Bay. Baker, of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, hoped that would change when the candidates came to the region to campaign.
"We'd like them to see the Chesapeake Bay, to see the rivers like the Potomac, the Susquehanna, the Rappahannock, the Patuxent that drain into it, and to see the kind of support cleaning up this national treasure has among the people," he said. "We've found that when elected officials from Gov. [Robert] Ehrlich to Gov. [Martin] O'Malley in Maryland, Gov. [Tim] Kaine in Virginia, when they learn about the issues and sense the importance of them among the electorate, they will work to try and improve them."
matthew.brown@baltsun.com