Population shift from farmlands seen as contributor to wildfires in France and Spain

By Raymond Zhong,  Reporting from London for The New York Times

The giant wildfires in France and Spain are the countries’ largest on record, and at roughly 100,000 acres each, the blazes are bigger than all but six of last year’s wildfires in the American West.

Studies have shown that global warming is driving Southern Europe’s recent increase in sprawling, fast-moving fires that create their own weather and can be all but impossible to put out. But experts say there’s another factor behind the continent’s large fires, one rooted in societal changes that could be hard to reverse.

In parts of Europe, a generational shift away from farming has replaced patchworks of pastures and plowed fields with untamed vegetation that burns intensely during hot, dry summers like this one.

“Climate change needs to be taken into account, but also the social changes are very important,” said Emilio Chuvieco, a professor of geography at the University of Alcalá in Spain. “There is no simple solution to big problems.”

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NJ Governor Sherrill signed these bills today

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Today’s Keyport NJ cancer cluster news

 

By Joanna Gagis, Senior Correspondent, NJ Spotlight News

Sixteen years after Keyport groundwater was found to contain cancer-causing chemicals, the latest samples show the presence of heavy metals plus benzene and vinyl chloride above acceptable levels.

The tests, near the former Aeromarine landfill, were conducted after illnesses in a nearby neighborhood triggered fears of a cancer cluster. More than 400 cases have been reported by residents of Keyport and Union Beach.

Tests 16 years ago found a multitude of cancer-causing contaminants. In June, a company planning to purchase the old landfill, Pacer Partners, contracted with an environmental engineering firm, SESI, to conduct groundwater samples. SESI found benzene and vinyl chloride at higher that acceptable levels for state standards, and heavy metals including lead, cobalt and arsenic.

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Keyport follow-up study finds almost 10 times more cancer cases

 

NJ Advance Media journalist Karin Price Mueller, whose work appears on NJ.com, helped break the story of a potential cancer cluster, reporting about 40 known cases in April. The number since has grown to 415 individuals in Keyport and Union Beach.

View the full interview here

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Atlantic County Utilities Authority receives national clean water award

 ACUA Lab Analyst Matthew McGill performs water testing in ACUA’s water testing laboratory.

Atlantic City, NJ – July 29, 2026 – The Atlantic County Utilities Authority (ACUA) has been honored with a Gold Peak Performance Award by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA).

“This recognition exemplifies the Authority’s continued commitment to environmental protection and is a testament to the hard work of our wastewater team,” said ACUA President Matthew DeNafo. “From performing tests in our laboratory to monitoring the plant’s operations around the clock, their work is essential to protecting the public health of our community.”

The Peak Performance awards are presented annually to NACWA member agencies that demonstrate operational excellence and achieve 100 percent compliance with their National Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. The NPDES permit sets limits and reporting requirements for wastewater treatment facilities to ensure treated wastewater is safely returned to the environment.

“ACUA continually meets and exceeds permit requirements for wastewater treatment,” said ACUA Vice President of Wastewater Joseph Pantalone. “This award brings attention to the important work completed at this facility and the role it plays in preserving local waterways.”

The ACUA Wastewater Treatment Facility serves 14 municipalities in Atlantic County and can treat up to 40 million gallons of wastewater per day. The Authority manages more than 60 miles of pipeline and 22 pump stations. The facility is powered in part by renewable energy and is home to the world’s first microplastic removal project.

To give residents a closer look at this important work, ACUA provides free public tours of its facility every Wednesday in August at noon. Visitors learn how wastewater is treated and see firsthand how ACUA protects the environment. Visit acua.com for details.

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NJDEP says it hasn’t found a link explaining cancer cluster in Keyport


By Amanda Oglesby, Asbury Park Press, July 29, 2026

KEYPORT — New Jersey environmental authorities have found no evidence so far that contamination at a former manufacturing site and landfill along Raritan Bay is connected to cancer in the surrounding community, according to a recent statement from state officials.

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials said they had received the results of soil, groundwater and soil-gas tests conducted in late spring at the former Keyport Sanitary Landfill and the Aeromarine Industrial Park. The agency is also investigating surface water around the landfill for contamination.

The sites have come under public scruti

ny in recent months amid claims by some residents that the properties’ contamination may be connected to cancers in the community.

The Aeromarine Plane and Motor Company manufactured aircraft and engines through the early 20th century at the adjacent site.

Environmental officials have known about the contamination in the area for decades, but the issue has gained public attention in recent months because Pacer Group Holdings LLC is considering purchasing the property.

Read the full article here

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Cherry Hill New Jersey prohibits large-scale data centers

Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher said the township “wanted to be proactive and make sure that we eliminated a problem before it became one.”

 

By Lacey Latch, Philadelphia Inquirer

Cherry Hill just became the latest municipality in New Jersey to formally ban the development of large-scale data centers.

The township council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday night that lists data centers as a non-permitted land use within the township’s borders.

“We don’t think that Cherry Hill should be a guinea pig,” Cherry Hill Mayor David Fleisher said after the council meeting. “So while the technology is evolving, we wanted to be proactive and make sure that we eliminated a problem before it became one.”

The ordinance also clarifies the difference between the now-forbidden data centers used for artificial intelligence or cloud storage and the small server rooms used by standalone businesses for file storage, which will still be permitted.

The move is consistent with the goals outlined in Cherry Hill’s master plan, said Christopher Dochney, a certified city planner who worked with the township on the ordinance.

This includes “maintaining Cherry Hill as a garden suburb, maintaining a desirable visual environment and attractive community, and wanting to preserve natural resources,” he said.

It also aligns with the economic development portion of the plan, he said, which prioritizes job creation, job retention, and “providing an economic boon to the residents of Cherry Hill.”

“[Data centers] consume a lot of land, they use a lot of water, they take up a lot of energy, and they also tend to be very big, ugly buildings,” Dochney said. “Things that are all directly inconsistent and contradictory to the stated goals of your master plan.”

For a data center to be built in the future, a developer would need a land-use variance from the township’s zoning board — generally the most difficult land-use approval to obtain, he said.

Up to this point, no data center developers have approached the township, “and we wanted to keep it that way,” Fleisher said.

The full story here.

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