Yesterday’s votes on environmental bills in Trenton

Below is a summary of action taken in the New Jersey Legislature yesterday on environmental and energy bills.

(Click on the bill number to see a full version of the legislation. N.B.: The most recent amendments may not yet be available)

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A-2290  McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Gusciora, R. (D-15); Vainieri Huttle, V. (D-37)
Establishes standards for certain fertilizer applications, provides for certification of professional fertilizer applicators, and regulates sale and labeling of certain fertilizers.
Related Bill: S-1411
     Nov 22, 2010 – Assembly amendment (voice vote) (voice vote) (McKeon)
     Nov 22, 2010 – 2nd reading in Assembly
A-2305  Milam, M.W. (D-1); Albano, N.T. (D-1); Riley, C.M. (D-3); Wilson, G.L. (D-5)
Expands “Jersey Fresh” program to include “Made With Jersey Fresh” designation of certain baked goods and other food products.
Related Bill: S-1179
     Nov 22, 2010 – Substituted for another bill: S1179
     Nov 22, 2010 – Passed by the Senate (36-0-0)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Passed by both Houses (Sent to the Governor)
A-2664  Riley, C.M. (D-3)
Revises penalty for destruction of, or damage to, trees, saplings, shrubs or other plants; repeals current law thereon.
     Nov 22, 2010 – Motion to table (voice vote) (DeCroce)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Motion to table (47-32-0) (Quigley)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Passed by the Assembly (76-2-1)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Received by the Senate
     Nov 22, 2010 – Referred: Senate Environment and Energy
A-3130  Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3); Quijano, A. (D-20)
Concerns Watershed Property Review Board in DEP.
     Nov 22, 2010 – Passed by the Assembly (79-0-0)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Received by the Senate
     Nov 22, 2010 – Referred: Senate Environment and Energy
A-3196  DeAngelo, W.P. (D-14); Greenstein, L.R. (D-14)
Allows corporation business tax credits as incentives for redevelopment of distressed shopping centers.
     Nov 22, 2010 – Recommitted: Assembly Appropriations
S-212  Whelan, J. (D-2); Milam, M.W. (D-1); Albano, N.T. (D-1); Quijano, A. (D-20); McKeon, J.F. (D-27); Gusciora, R. (D-15); Watson Coleman, B. (D-15)
Allows construction of wind dependent energy facilities on piers within 500 feet of mean high water line of tidal waters.
Related Bill: A-868
     Nov 22, 2010 – Passed by the Assembly (77-0-0)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Received by the Senate
     Nov 22, 2010 – 2nd reading in the Senate to concur with amendments
S-2108  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Clarifies liability for discharges of hazardous substances that enter NJ waters.
Related Bill: A-3124
     Nov 22, 2010 – Senate floor substitute (voice vote)
     Nov 22, 2010 – 2nd reading in Senate
S-2381  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Establishes a long-term capacity agreement pilot program to promote construction of qualified in-State electric generation facilities.
Related Bill: A-3442
     Nov 22, 2010 – Passed by the Senate (25-10-0)
     Nov 22, 2010 – Received by the Assembly
     Nov 22, 2010 – Referred: Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities


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Scared straight: Out of believing the climate-change story

                                                               Paul Souders – Corbis

Time writer Bryan Walsh reported yesterday that:

“According to forthcoming research by the Berkeley psychologists Robb Willer and Matthew Feinberg, when people are shown scientific evidence or news stories on climate change that emphasize the most negative aspects of warming — extinguished species, melting ice caps, serial natural disasters — they are actually more likely to dismiss or deny what they’re seeing. Far from scaring people into taking action on climate change, such messages seem to scare them straight into denial.“

Walsh remembers working on scary, global-warming stories that reach a peak in 2006 when Time titled its cover story on climate change, crowned with a photo of a lonely polar bear on an ice floe, Be Worried. Be Very Worried. 

“I know why we used the language we did,” Walsh recalls. “Scientists were telling us that global warming really had the potential to wreck the future of the planet, and we wanted to get that message across to readers — even if it meant scaring the hell out of them.”

But all those scare tactics–based on the truth or not–may have had the opposite effect. In his piece,Climate-Change Strategy: Be Afraid — but Only a Little, Walsh reports on how Willer and Feinberg conducted their research and he speculates on how it might effect the future debate over climate change.

 
Environmental organizations whose stock in trade has been the Chicken Little Sky is Falling Approach might do well to give this story and the research it reports on some long, hard thought.  
 
What do you think?  Let us know in the comment box below.
 

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Environmental legislation up for votes today in Trenton

Environment and energy 

legislation up for votes today 
in the Assembly and Senate

 
ASSEMBLY VOTING SESSION – Today – 11/22/10 – 1 PM
For consideration:

A-2664  Riley, C.M. (D-3)
Revises penalty for destruction of, or damage to, trees, saplings, shrubs or other plants;
repeals current law thereon.
      
A-3130  Burzichelli, J.J. (D-3)
Concerns Watershed Property Review Board in DEP.
      
S-212  Whelan, J. (D-2); Milam, M.W. (D-1); Albano, N.T. (D-1); Quijano, A. (D-20)
Allows construction of wind dependent energy facilities on piers within 500 feet of mean high water line of tidal waters.
Related Bill: A-868
   
SENATE VOTING SESSION – Today – 11/22/10 – 2 PM
For consideration:

A-2305  Milam, M.W. (D-1); Albano, N.T. (D-1); Riley, C.M. (D-3); Wilson, G.L. (D-5)
Expands “Jersey Fresh” program to include “Made With Jersey Fresh” designation of certain baked goods and other food products.
Related Bill: S-1179
      
S-2381  Smith, B. (D-17); Bateman, C. (R-16)
Establishes a long-term capacity agreement pilot program to promote construction of qualified in-State electric generation facilities.
Related Bill: A-3442

Environmental legislation up for votes today in Trenton Read More »

Follow NPR down New Jersey’s tragic Passaic River

National Public Radio’s Art Silverman locates the headwaters of New Jersey’s
Passaic River and follows the waterway to the sea, through its industrial history
and layer-upon-layer of environmental abuses.

It’s not a pretty story but it’s lively and instructive, and it introduces us to a song
or two about the river and to a few quintessential New Jersey characters.

Listen to the story here. Then check out its video companion below.

Related:
Halliburton objects, so PA limits fracking disclosure rules  

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New date, location for NJ climate forum, but no governor

                                                                                           Vanity Fair image

New Jersey environmental organizations are jumping all over Gov. Chris Christie’s admission last week that he is skeptical about man’s role in global warming (Scientists ask climate-doubter Christie to stay after class).

They scheduled a climate forum “to present the overwhelming scientific findings linking human activity and climate change” and they invited the governor and his staff to attend.

If you’re planning to go, please note that the date and location have been changed to:

New Jersey Climate Change Science Forum
Noon, Tuesday, December 7
Committee Room 1, New Jersey Annex
Trenton, NJ
Speakers: Rutgers Professors Alan Robock, Jim Miller, and Paul Falkowski
Sponsors: Environment New Jersey, NJ Sierra Club, NJ Conservation Foundation, NY/NJ Baykeeper, and the NJ Highlands Coalition


A spokesman for Governor Christie says the state’s chief executive has declined the invitation.

(You don’t get to be governor by walking blind-eyed into media traps like this one).


The organizations say they subsequently offered the governor a private meeting to discuss climate-change science with the Rutgers scientists “at any that would convenient to the governor.” So far, they’ve received no response.
 
We suspect the last polar ice cap could dissolve before that RSVP is returned.
 
With Mr. Christie’s swelling national popularity among the Republican right and talk of a presidential run (not this time, but next) there’s little political advantage for him to admit to being anything but skeptical about global warming.

After all, there is not a single Republican in the House or Senate’s incoming class who admits to believing that the science supporting global warming is real.

Amazing, isn’t it, how quickly public opinion can shift?  How did this happen?
Share your thoughts in the comment box below. If you’re worried about getting caught on the wrong political side of the argument, you can answer anonymously.    

 

Related:
As Glaciers Melt, Science Seeks Data on Rising Seas

Our most recent posts:
Scientists ask climate-doubter Christie to stay after class
Enviro-Events Calendar for NJ, PA, DE & NY

Halliburton objects, so PA limits fracking disclosure rules  

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Scientists ask climate-doubter Christie to stay after class

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie told a town hall audience last week that he needs to see more science to convince him that humans are responsible for global warming. Today, a number of  university scientists offered to provide just the tutorial he needs.

In a letter, Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton University and Jim Miller, Judith Weis, and Paul Falkowski of Rutgers University invited the Governor and his staff to a Dec 7 (revised date) climate forum in Trenton organized by Environment New Jersey and other environmental organizations. Oppenheimer, and Miller will be joined on the panel  by Alan Robock of Rutgers University.
“I would be happy to help inform Governor Christie about the scientific evidence of climate change, and its potential impacts to the citizens of New Jersey and the nation.  The evidence that climate change is directly related to human activities is compelling, and the fundamental data are not in dispute,” said Paul Falkowski of Rutgers University, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.
“New Jersey must forge ahead to implement solutions to climate change. As these scientists have asserted, the debate about whether humans are a leading cause and thus if we should act has largely been settled,” said Dena Mottola Jaborska, Executive Director of Environment New Jersey in a news release.

On Sunday, New Jersey Sierra Club director and chief quipster Jeff Tittel declared that the governor’s comment “has more to do with political science than sound science.” 

“By aligning himself with the right wing of the Republican Party, the Tea Party and other groups funded by coal industry, the governor may get political gain but will impose long-term consequences to New Jersey’s environment and economy,” Tittel added in an op-ed piece in The Record.

Our most recent posts:
Enviro-Events Calendar for NJ, PA, DE & NY

Halliburton objects, so PA limits fracking disclosure rules
Video: A new way to hammer home your opinion
NJ-based Langan expands to California with acquisition

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Scientists ask climate-doubter Christie to stay after class Read More »