Making a commitment to job growth means making a commitment to nature

All images and audio by Meghan Hoffman/CBF Staff.

Earlier today, Governor Martin O’Malley announced his proposal to contribute nearly $23 million in funding for Maryland’s state parks and other public lands this year. “We're very blessed to live in a state that has such natural beauty,” he said, “and our parks are not only tremendous assets for our quality of life--opportunities for all of us to get in touch with nature, opportunities for us to be able to raise our children with the love and respect for god's creation--but it also points to a critically important need that we have in the United States and in each of the states and that is to create jobs.” With 11 million annual visitors to Maryland State Parks and roughly $650 million generated from them each year, these parks are, as O’Malley rightfully called them, “a tremendous economic engine.”

This is not the first time that nature—whether in the form of state parks or the environment as a whole—has been credited with spurring job growth and the economy. The governor’s announcement comes on the heels of an investigative report we released just last week, explaining how environmental standards actually encourage—not discourage—job growth across the Bay region. Read the full Debunking the "Job Killer" Myth: How Pollution Limits Encourage Jobs in the Chesapeake Bay Region report here.    

Listen to Gov. O’Malley’s entire announcement, wind and all, here:

Download GOV. O'MALLEY SPEAKS @ SANDY POINT 1_13_12

—Emmy Nicklin