Should these enviro events be on YOUR calendar?



Interested in learning about What’s Next in Energy, Water & Hydrogen?  The New Jersey Technology Council will present an array of research and development efforts from the region’s companies and universities on January 16. The presentations will focus on CHP/Cogeneration, desalinization and hydrogen projects plus more. 

On January 17, the New Jersey Alliance for Action presents Offshore Wind Energy & Electrical Transmission’ Reinforcing NJ’s Electrical Infrastructure with experts from the offshore wind energy industry.

For details on both events–and many more in NJ, PA, NY & DE, visit our
Enviro-Events Calendar.

When you do, be sure to use the form in the upper-right corner of the site to get free email updates whenever the calendar is updated.

Should these enviro events be on YOUR calendar? Read More »

Will Lisa Jackson next run NJ? Or Princeton?

What’s next for Lisa P. Jackson?  Photo: Kevin Wolf/AP

Almost as soon as Lisa Jackson announced this morning that she will not stay for another term as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the rumors started to fly about her next move.

Will she take on New Jersey’s super-popular Republican Governor Chris Christie next year? Or is she clearing her schedule in hopes that Princeton University will call?

The New York Times and Washington Post are reporting that Jackson may be a candidate for president of Princeton. Shirley Tilghman, the university’s current president, plans to step down at the end of the current academic year.

No doubt there would be other top-notch candidates for such a prestigious academic position, but the prospect of challenging Christie looks more like a kamikaze mission than a wise career move.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who many Democrats believed/hoped/prayed would give Christie a run for his (and donors’) money, decided last week to go after the low-hanging fruit instead. He announced plans to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Democrat Frank Lautenberg, a fellow Democrat, should Mr. Lautenberg, who turns 89 next month, seek another term in Washington.

Reducing the odds of a Christie challenge even further is the fact that State Democratic Chairman John Wisniewski says Jackson so far has not dialed him up–the polite (and savvy) thing to do if she’s contemplating any campaign on the Democrat ticket.

We hope Mrs. Jackson keeps us guessing for a while. Something to look forward to in 2013.

Who do you think would make a good successor at the EPA? Will Congress cooperate? Tell us what you think in the opinion box below. If one is not visible, activate it by clicking on the tiny ‘comments’ line

Related environmental news stories:

Jackson, from EPA to Princeton? 
Lisa Jackson resigns, fueling talk about run for N.J. governor 
E.P.A. Chief to Step Down, With Climate Still Low Priority 

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 

Will Lisa Jackson next run NJ? Or Princeton? Read More »

Lisa Jackson announces she is resigning top EPA post

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson at Clean Air Act 40th anniversary event

Lisa P. Jackson, who was credited today by the Washington Post with pushing through
the most sweeping curbs on air pollution in two decades, announced this morning that
she will resign her post as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shortly after President Obama’s State of the Union address next month.
The former New Jersey DEP Commissioner “has not accepted another job at this time, according to several individuals who have spoken with her,” reported the Post today in
a story that said of her term in office:

“Outspoken on issues including climate change and the need to protect disadvantaged communities from experiencing a disproportionate amount of environmental harm, Jackson pressed for limits on emissions from coal-fired power plants as well as the dumping of mining waste into nearby streams and rivers.”

Jackson released the following statement:
I want to thank President Obama for the honor he bestowed
on me and the confidence he placed in me four years ago this month when he
announced my nomination as Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency. At the time I spoke about the need to address climate change, but also
said: “There is much more on the agenda: air pollution, toxic chemicals and
children’s health issues, redevelopment and waste-site cleanup issues, and
justice for the communities who bear disproportionate risk.”   As the
President said earlier this year when he addressed EPA’s employees, “You help
make sure the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat are safe. You
help protect the environment not just for our children but their children. And
you keep us moving toward energy independence…We have made historic progress on
all these fronts.” So, I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in
the right direction, and ready in my own life for new challenges, time with my
family and new opportunities to make a difference.”
Check
back for additional coverage and reaction stories in the days ahead. If
you are not already receiving email updates, use the signup form in the
upper-right corner of the page.

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
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Our most recent posts: 
‘Recyclers’ guilty in illegal e-waste exports to China

Electronics recycling benefiting rural New York towns
In Sandy’s wake, NJ lawmakers crank up generator bills
Ex-Verizon boss to run Montclair U. entrepreneur center

Lisa Jackson announces she is resigning top EPA post Read More »

‘Recyclers’ guilty in illegal e-waste exports to China

CRTs in an e-waste smuggling depot in Hong Kong. Photo: May 2008 Basel Action Network

It took four years, but the combined actions of an environmental watchdog, a national news program, federal prosecutors and a Denver trial jury have delivered environmental justice in the case of a business that pocketed millions by disguising illegal foreign dumping of hazardous waste as responsible recycling.



It started when Basel Action Network (BAN). a watchdog group, tipped off the CBS news program, 60 Minutes. about illegal shipments of computer monitors and other electronic waste to third-world nations. CBS investigated and ran a story in November 2008 alleging that a Colorado company that claimed to be be properly recycling the scrap material in the U.S. was actually dumping it abroad. The story was updated on Aug 27, 2009. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office took it from there, indicting Englewood, Colo.-based Executive Recycling and its CEO Brandon Ritcher, 38, and VP of operations Tor Olson, 37. 


On Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, following an 11-day trial, a jury in Denver found the pair guilty on multiple counts of mail and wire fraud, environmental crimes, smuggling and obstruction. They will be sentenced in April.


“For years this company also deceived the public by falsely advertising an environmentally friendly U.S. recycling business plan.  Instead, it regularly exported obsolete and discarded electronic equipment with toxic materials to third-world countries, and took actions to illegally hide these practices from government officials,” federal prosecutors said.  


According to BAN, prosecuting the Executive case was very difficult as the Justice Department had to make its case using fraud, smuggling and other charges since U.S. export laws are “vague and ineffective.”  BAN is part of the Electronics TakeBack Coalition and the Coalition for American Electronics Recycling which are pressing Congress to pass the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act which would bring the U.S. into compliance with international Basel Convention decisions forbidding export of hazardous electronic waste to developing counties. 

“Executive Recycling was caught this time,” said BAN Executive Director Jim Puckett, “but it has been almost impossible for the government to prosecute this kind of very common activity due to a lack of appropriate legislation. If we can pass the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act in Congress we could put a quick halt to the horrors of criminal waste trafficking.”


Here is CBS 4 Denver’s report at the start of the trial.


According to CBS 4 Denver:

A 2008 “60 Minutes” edition followed a shipping container full of electronic waste from Englewood to Hong Kong. The dangerous hazardous waste included old computer monitors containing CRTs, or cathode ray tubes, made of toxic lead.

The defendants regularly negotiated the sale of electronic waste to brokers who represented foreign buyers or who sold the electronic waste overseas. The foreign buyers often paid the defendants directly.

To transport the electronic waste, the defendants used shipping cargo containers which were loaded at the company’s facility. The containers were then transported by rail to domestic ports for export overseas

Executive Recycling touted itself as a green company that would responsibly recycle, or re-purpose old computers, cellphones and other electronic components within the U.S.

The company collected electronic waste from private households, businesses, and government entities.

The defendants made $1.8 million in illegal activity and shipped more than 100,000 CRTs to foreign countries, including China.

Related environmental news stories:
Electronics Recycler Convicted for Illegal Exports to Developing Countries
Recycling Company and Executives Found Guilty of Fraud

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
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Our most recent posts:


Electronics recycling benefiting rural New York towns
In Sandy’s wake, NJ lawmakers crank up generator bills
Ex-Verizon boss to run Montclair U. entrepreneur center

‘Recyclers’ guilty in illegal e-waste exports to China Read More »

Finance, not technology, drove solar energy in 2012

2012 was a big year for solar, both domestically and globally, with some unlikely
players throwing their hats into the ring and upping the ante on achievable power generating capacity.

Writing in Renewable Energy World, Vince Font wraps-up of some of the year’s most impactful events in the solar industry, with a little added perspective from some experts
in the field.


Read the entire story at  Look Back at Solar Energy in 2012    

Related environmental news stories:
How On-Site Solar Energy Projects are Changing the World


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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in
New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily
newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
**********************************************************************************************************

Electronics recycling benefiting rural New York towns
In Sandy’s wake, NJ lawmakers crank up generator bills
Ex-Verizon boss to run Montclair U. entrepreneur center
Fishermen’s Energy gets $4M fed grant for offshore wind


Finance, not technology, drove solar energy in 2012 Read More »

New Jersey Assemblyman Robert Schroeder indicted

NJ Assemblyman Robert Schroeder – Bergen Record Photo

New Jersey Republican Assemblyman Robert Schroeder has been indicted on charges he allegedly stole more than $1.8 million from individuals who loaned him money for a business venture in North Dakota and for writing more than $3.4 million in bad checks to creditors, the Bergen Record reported this afternoon.

“We allege that as the financial house of cards he built collapsed, Schroeder lied and stole in an attempt to prop it up, defrauding creditors of in excess of $5 million, between his theft of loan funds and passing of bad checks,” said Attorney General Jefferey Chiesa in a statement. “This indictment, which would carry a substantial prison sentence upon conviction, demonstrates that nobody is above the law.”

See the full story here

***********************************************************************************************************For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment
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Our most recent posts:

Electronics recycling benefiting rural New York towns
In Sandy’s wake, NJ lawmakers crank up generator bills
Ex-Verizon boss to run Montclair U. entrepreneur center
Fishermen’s Energy gets $4M fed grant for offshore wind
Nominations to environmental boards advance in NJ  


New Jersey Assemblyman Robert Schroeder indicted Read More »