Apr 3 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Natalie Garcia The Providence Journal, R.I.

Environmentalists, college students, religious leaders and scientists packed into a House committee meeting at the General Assembly on Tuesday to support a global-warming bill that would cap and reduce greenhouse-gas pollution produced by the state, from power generation to tailpipe emissions.

The Rhode Island Global Warming Solutions Act (H 7884) would create limits on at least eight greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and diesel soot, and align Rhode Island emission standards to mirror the recommendations by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which calls for an 80-percent reduction of 1990 levels of greenhouse gases by 2050 to avoid the most devastating effects of climate change.

The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management would be in charge of determining the sources of pollution that it would regulate, defined in the bill as entities "whose emissions are at a level of significance."

"We as the Ocean State have a higher awareness of things," said Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, the bill's lead sponsor, referring to Rhode Island's vulnerability to coastal flooding, damage to valuable aquaculture and tourism industries.

Before witnesses were heard, the committee voted to keep the bill for further study.

About 15 other states are considering or have passed similar legislation, said Michelle Manion of the Northeast States for Coordinated Use of Air Management, a nonprofit group consisting of representatives from all the New England states plus New York and New Jersey.

California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Washington have passed emission-reduction bills, and lawmakers in Connecticut and Massachusetts are debating them as well, the Conservation Law Foundation said.

If passed, state-sponsored initiatives such as the bill proposed by Handy, would probably complement a federal bill on emission caps, Manion said.

Most states do not want to create their own monitoring programs, but they may be useful to track smaller polluters while the federal government targets the largest emitters, she said.

"To do effective greenhouse-gas regulation, you need detailed information," she said.

A large part of how government agencies track and monitor greenhouse-gas emissions is related to fuel use, Manion said, and depending on the source, direct observations may also be used.

For large stationary sources, such as a power plant, it would be practical to employ both methods, she said, but for a passenger vehicle, it would make more sense to calculate fuel usage and gas-mileage efficiency.

Cynthia Giles, the director of the Conservation Law Foundation's Rhode Island chapter, said the turnout at the hearing reflected the opinion she has heard from state residents. On the lack of industry opposition, Giles said she hoped it was a sign that businesses have accepted mandatory pollution cuts and are committing to comply with the regulations when they come.

"Action against global warming is coming; it's inevitable," she said. "The best way to deal with it is to get out in front of it."

The bill also focuses on reducing vehicle miles traveled in the state and tightening up building-efficiency regulations on new construction.

Proponents of the bill, including the CLF, Environment Rhode Island and the Rhode Island chapter of the Sierra Club, are pushing for increased public transit and concentrated growth to cut down on miles traveled within the state.

The Rhode Island Builders Association was the only entity to sign the witness list in opposition, but lobbyist Tom Hanley did not submit testimony Tuesday because he was in another committee hearing.

Hanley said a provision in the bill that requires builders to adopt new codes within six months of their publication was not practical, and another that mandates new heating and cooling systems to exceed current efficiency standards by 20 percent is an arbitrary goal.

The strongest presence at the committee hearing, praised by Chairman Jan Malik, D-Warren, were student-led environment coalitions, who occupied more than half of the seats in the room.

Mostly from the University of Rhode Island and Brown University, they advocated passionately for the adoption of the bill, and at the chairman's request, listed the ways they were contributing to the health of the planet.

Some sold their cars and take the bus, and one student runs his vehicle on used vegetable oil.

"You better care about it," Malik said, "because I won't be around then."