EnviroPolitics Blog

More legal support for voluntary cleanups

For years, companies that elected to voluntarily clean up Superfund sites have been at a disadvantage, with legal precedent frustrating their attempts to collect payments from other parties who contributed to the contamination.

But more recent rulings are giving hope to their chances of recouping some of the costs of remediations that often can run into multi-million-dollar figures.

Today’s issue of LAW.com reports on the most recent decision in “3rd Circuit Changes Direction in ‘DuPont’ Environmental Cleanup Case“

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More on New Jersey nuclear advocacy

Yesterday, in “Nuclear energy support from a former foe” , we noted how interesting it was to see the environmentalist and Greenpeace founder Patrick Moore supporting the need for nuclear power in an article published in a state business magazine.

What we did not realize at the time, was that the author, Patrick Moore, is (along with former NJ Governor Christie Whitman) a paid consultant to the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition which receives funding from the Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade association of nuclear reactor operators.

This we learned today in Source Watch, a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy.

The fact that Patrick Moore and Christie Whitman are both paid to promote the nation’s nuclear industry does not, in itself, mean that each may not truly believe that New Jersey needs to expand its nuclear-generated electric power capacity. After all, New Jersey currently relies on nuclear power for some 50% of its total energy supply, the state’s energy appetite continues to grow, and the re-licensing of one of its nuclear reactors is under challenge.

But it does raise valid concerns. Being paid to support a cause is not the same as offering your views voluntarily.

Commerce Magazine, where Moore’s article was published, gets credit for noting that he is:

“Co-chair of an industry-funded initiative, the Clean and Safe Energy Coalition, which supports increased use of nuclear energy”

But the use of the term “co-chair” doesn’t give a reader the entire story. “Paid consultant” adds an other dimension that also serves to inform.

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Nuclear energy support from a former foe

A national figure, in Commerce, the magazine of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, writes:

“Independent environmentalists have come to the conclusion that nuclear power’s electricity, produced with virtually zero greenhouse emissions, is critical if we are to overcome the challenge of global warming.”

No surprise there, you say, someone supporting nuclear energy in a business magazine. But, in this case, the author is Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace and now chairman of Greenspirit Strategies in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In the article, Moore notes that:

“A major new study, conducted for the Nuclear Energy Institute by Polestar Applied Technology, Inc., warns that without nuclear energy, Governor Corzine’s laudable goal of achieving a 10 percent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015 cannot be met. The same holds true, the report said, for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) goals, the benchmarks set by the Northeastern states to reduce emissions from the generation of electricity.”

The full article can be found here.

Do you think Moore’s on the right track? Click on the ‘comment’ line below and share your views with all our readers.

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New Jersey town doubles its recycling

In one week after joining the much ballyhooed RecycleBank™ program, Cherry Hill, NJ saw the amount of recyclable materials collected more than double, according to program officials.

What motivates such a change? Rewards. RecycleBank measures the amount of recyclables collected at each house and converts the total into RecycleBank Points that can be used for purchases at such national outlets as IKEA, Starbucks, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Whole Foods. In Cherry Hill, the rewards also can be used for purchases from such local merchants as ACME, Norma’s, Erlton Bike Shop and Pat’s Pizza.

A RecycleBank press release claims that, after just one week of participation, there has been a 134 percent increase in recycling rates, with the amount of recyclables more than doubling from about 12 pounds per household to nearly 26 pounds.

Sounds like a program that other towns might want to consider, especially since New Jersey’s recycling rates continue to decline. The state was a national environmental leader back in 1995 when it’s municipal recycling tonnage total hit 45 percent. By last year, it had slumped to 32 percent.

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City: Stimulating recycling wouldn’t be fair

Once a national model for municipal recycling, New Jersey has been slipping in recent years, as many towns and counties seem to have lost their environmental zeal for encouraging residents to remove cans, bottles and newspaper from their trash.

But a recent decision by city fathers in New Brunswick, the home of Rutgers, the state university, may signal a new low.

University students, heeding the call to get recycling back on track, petitioned City Hall for additional pickups in two university neighborhoods where recycling bins are often overflowing in advance of the city’s twice-monthly pickup days. Students say people, who otherwise would recycle, are forced to throw their recyclables into the trash.

Are you ready for the city’s response? According to a the Home News Tribune, city spokesman Bill Bray said:

“The city can’t provide any special services or provide any special treatment for any given population. If we were going to institute additional recycling pickups it would have to be citywide and there’s simply no reason for that.”

Oh, really? In other words, if the rest of the town is satisfied with doing less than they can to recycle, then they have, in fact, set the standard for everybody else. And it just wouldn’t be fair for the city to deviate from the norm, would it? Providing added pickup days for those recycling show-offs over at the university would be a “special service.” Downright undemocratic.

In adhering to the lowest-common-denominator approach, the city’s missing a great opportunity to boost its recycling tonnage (and score some great PR headlines) by rewarding those citizens who are willing to do more to recycle.

To be fair, the city notes that it sets no limit on the amount of recyclables it will collect on a pickup day and that those who want to recycle more than what their one-free-bin can hold may purchase additional containers from the Department of Public Works for about $8 each.

One student leader says that’s too much of a burden for undergraduates on a fixed budget.

Well, maybe. But its no more than the cost of a few imported ales. So a student idealist could opt for domestic brews for a bit and then celebrate with the purchase of a nice new 20-gallon recycling bin to hold lots of future empties.

Or some forward thinking, private-sector company in the waste management or recycling business might recognize this for the great opportunity it is and come riding to recycling’s rescue with free cans for all those who promise to fill them.

What do you think? Let us know by clicking on the ‘comment’ line below.

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‘Cap and trade’ coming to New Jersey

Some Trenton insiders are predicting that, before the end of the year, New Jersey state lawmakers will enact environmental legislation creating a “carrot-and-stick” system designed to:

– Limit CO2 emissions from electricity-generating utility plants- Raise up to $70 million annually for energy conservation, solar installation subsidies, and other programs, and- Provide financial incentives to businesses that reduce their CO2 gas emissions.This so-called “cap and trade” system is the goal of seven Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states, including New Jersey and New York. Pennsylvania has not signed onto the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative but is an “observer” the process, along with Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Enacting the legislation in New Jersey may prove a lot easier than subsequent negotiations over such key details as how much utilities have to pay and who divvies up the millions that could be raised for state coffers.

For details, we recommend the story in Sunday’s Bergen Record by environmental writer Alex Nussbaum.

Also:
Energy and Climate in New Jersey
New Jersey Energy Master Plan
DEP ties global warming goal to auto emissions lawsuit
Governors Join in Creating Regional Pacts on Climate Change
Capitol to Buy Offsets in Bid to Go Green

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