We’re at the start of a new movement, and N.J. is leading it

By Former New Jersey Governor Jim Florio

To effectuate major public policy changes, it is helpful, if not essential, for a citizen movement to lead the cause. The civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, and the gay rights movement are obvious examples. Movements of this sort entail mobilizing people — real average people — to become engaged in and informed about the substantive policy direction that needs to be taken. “Engaged in” because that’s our political system: participatory democracy. The system doesn’t work by itself, as the time it took to win those battles and others proves we have to work at making it work. Becoming informed about the policy is especially necessary today because the issues are becoming more complex and the policy alternatives so numerous. You can’t fix the problem if you don’t understand the problem. I was pleased as a young state legislator in the late 1960s to be part of such a movement. One that sought to lift the level of public awareness to the problems associated with almost a century of industrialization that was unmindful of environmental considerations. The results were a host of abnormalities: rivers caught on fire, polluted communities had to be abandoned, hazardous water and air disasters occurred. New Jersey at the center of the chemical and petro-chemical industries until the 1950s, suffered more than its share from polluters’ ignorance or blatant disregard for public health or safety. We had, and still have, more Superfund hazardous waste sites than any other state. In her groundbreaking book, “Silent Spring” (1962), Rachel Carson wrote about pesticides causing wildlife deaths and challenged the nation to become engaged and informed. Arguably, that was the birth of the environmental movement as we know it today. Policies changed, thoughtful people stopped debating whether or not we wanted a strong economy or a healthy environment because they came to see that we need and can have both. I sense we are at the start of a reawakening – a new movement – that will build around a cluster of environmental issues that will revolve around climate change. A key component will involve being around safe, clean and affordable energy sources in general and offshore wind power in particular. We are at the beginning of an era of clean offshore wind power generation that is totally new for the United States and New Jersey, but proven and established in Europe for over 20 years with installation of over 4,000 wind turbines and employment of over 80,000 people. New Jersey is in the process of becoming the leader – if not already the leader – in bringing this industry to the U.S. More work has been done in less than two years under Governor Murphy than in the previous eight years. Ørsted, a Danish company, and the global leader in offshore wind, is planning an 1100 megawatt “Wind Farm” 15 miles off the coast of Atlantic City that will be the third such largest facility in the world! The new clean energy environmentalism will yield benefits for public health and in the effort to cope with climate change. I believe that many people cannot yet fully appreciate the extent of the economic benefits that will come from what amounts to a whole new business sector – not just the turbines and the resulting union labor jobs, but a whole business chain that includes: offshore wind port development, marine activities/services, fabrication and manufacturing, research technical and workforce development and training. We should all be missionaries for this cause. Those who lead this movement will look back years from now and be proud they were there at the beginning. Let us begin… James J. Florio, Esq. is founding partner at the law firm of Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Cappelli, LLC and the 49th governor of the state of New Jersey, serving from 1990-1994.