GOV. CHARLIE BAKER, who six years ago expressed skepticism about the science of climate change, signed an executive order on Friday setting the state on a course to develop a comprehensive plan to mitigate and adapt to the fallout from rising greenhouse gas emissions.
The order requires the Baker administration to pursue reductions in greenhouse gases, to set annual emission targets, and to prepare for the impacts of climate change. The order sets out broad goals but offers little insight on how they will be accomplished.
The order begins by saying “climate change presents a serious threat to the environment and the Commonwealth’s residents, communities, and economy.” In signing the order, Baker took note of the extreme weather conditions that have gripped Massachusetts just since he took office in 2015. Massachusetts faced one of the toughest winters ever when Baker first took office and the state is currently in the midst of a prolonged drought.
In 2010, when he ran unsuccessfully for governor, Baker was more skeptical about climate change. “I’m not saying I believe in it. I’m not saying I don’t,” he said then. “You’re asking me to take a position on something I don’t know enough about.”
The governor agreed to issue an executive order on climate change in July to gain the full backing of some senators for energy legislation that passed in the final hours of the session. The senators were threatening to hold up the bill if climate change adaptation measures were not included in the legislation.
Sen. Marc Pacheco of Taunton, one of the senators, thanked Baker on Friday for doing what he said he would do. “Thank you for following through, for understanding the science, and for understanding the importance of this,” he said.
Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington, who did not attend the signing in the State House press room, said he was disappointed in the executive order. A Supreme Judicial Court decision in May ordered the state to establish declining annual, volumetric greenhouse gas emission targets by industry sector; currently, Massachusetts has developed statewide emission targets for only 2020 and 2050. The 2020 target calls for emission levels to be 25 percent below what they were in 1990.
Barrett pointed out that the executive order doesn’t require the new annual targets to be in place until Aug. 11, 2017, which means 2018 will probably be the starting year. Because of lag times in reporting climate data, Barrett said the state probably won’t find out whether it met the 2018 target until 2020, long after the next gubernatorial election. “Isn’t that convenient,” said Barrett.
Barrett said the state cannot afford to let all of 2017 go by before addressing greenhouse gas emissions. The senator warned that the state is moving far too slowly. “We’re not going to meet the 2020 goal. It’s almost a certainty,” Barrett said. “It’s an important failure.”
Wonder what figure that little signature padded his bank account up to, corruption has to be stomped out!
But global warming is settled science… every single liberal ‘climate scientists’ said that by the year 2000 (16 years ago) nyc and most costal cities would be underwater and the polar ice caps where going to be completely gone… how much more settled do you want?
Look, just because they were wrong about the ice caps, and the frogs, and the bees, and in the 70s they said it was humans causing a cooling of the planet, and the ice caps grew last year, and we were supposed to have run out of oil, food, etc, oh acid rain… and everything else, doesn’t mean they’re wrong about this. I mean blind squirrels and all.
Bake is a known progressive infilTRAITOR so this really comes as no surprise…..sad and economically hobbling….but not a surprise. Baker is marching in lockstep with his Greencoat pal and former GOP legal mouthpiece, Vincent DeVito. DeVito was exposed a couple of years ago as being a stealth UN Agenda 21 lapdog when this 2010 grant application to HUD was uncovered. See section 3.1(a) and you’ll understand why Baker does what he does. NOTE: DeVito is also the point person for the Trump campaign in Assachusetts too.
https://www.dropbox.com/home/Agenda%2021…
Very disappointing Governor Baker. In 2010, you were unsure. 6 years later, after record snowfall (which is definitely due to global WARMING?), you have put the state on a course which will be disastrous to the economy. Higher energy prices are not only a factor in driving out business, it disproportionately hurts the poor. And to “support” this, NASA is FAKING the numbers. Check out “Ramping Up the Global Warming FRAUD” http://greaterbostonteaparty.com/?p=3947
The original article I summarize cites changes NASA made to temperature data from a Russian station, going back to 1935. How can they change numbers going back 61 years? Then I did my own experiment. For BOSTON, taking data NASA posted for 2011, versus data they posted in 2015, you note they have fudged the number to make it appear there is global warming!! For Boston, NASA went back 131 years!! Did someone at NASA invent a time machine and go back, and re-calibrate 131 year old thermometers? (see the attached image – article links directly to NASA web site graphs/data).
Governor Baker, try listening to MIT Climate Scientist Dr. Richard Lindzen. Unless you think one of Massachusetts premier institutions of higher learning hires hacks.
Invest in guns ,ammo, and toilet paper!