EnviroPolitics Blog

Opinion: As struggle against climate change flounders, Trump enters

*US President Donald Trump arrives to attend the G20 summit in Hamburg, northern Germany, on July 7, 2017.*

By Ishaan Tharoor with Kelsey Baker, Washington Post

Even before the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House, global climate action was in a tricky spot. Major gaps exist between countries in the developed and developing world over how to collectively bring down emissions, mitigate the calamitous effects posed by a warming planet and fund these efforts. Within some Western democracies, there’s a growing backlash to green policies, with voters resenting onerous carbon taxes, the loss of fuel subsidies and the prospect of stricter environmental regulations that raise household costs.

All the while, the planetary warnings are blaring at full pitch. Scientists expect this year to be the hottest on record, supplanting 2023, the titleholder. “It will also probably be the first full calendar year when temperatures rose more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average — a critical line signaling that Earth is crossing into territory where some extreme climate effects may be irreversible,” noted my colleague Kasha Patel.

World leaders, activists, policymakers and corporate executives are in Baku, capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan, for the annual U.N.-backed climate conference. The two-week mega-summit, dubbed COP29, opened Monday, but many prominent heads of state, including President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, have skipped it. (For some, the session of the Group of 20 major economies in Brazil takes precedence.)

COP29 is not going smoothly. Inside, attendees vent their frustration with the slow pace of negotiations over a new deal intended to raise $1 trillion in climate financing for poorer nations. Outside, campaigners lament the presence of more than 1,700 lobbyists from the fossil fuel industry. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said it was “beyond absurd” that such a critical meeting was being hosted by “an authoritarian petrostate.” But that’s now par for the course for the COPs — the previous two summits were held in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

And then there’s the shadow of Trump.

Read the full story here

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Walk this way. How ants broadcast trails to the best food finds

From Science Daily

It’s a common sight — ants marching in an orderly line over and around obstacles from their nest to a food source, guided by scent trails left by scouts marking the find. But what happens when those scouts find a comestible motherlode?

A team of Florida State University researchers led by Assistant Professor of Mathematics Bhargav Karamched has discovered that in a foraging ant’s search for food, it will leave pheromone trails connecting its colony to multiple food sources when they’re available, successfully creating the first model that explains the phenomenon of trail formation to multiple food sources

Read the full story here

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Drag your beach chair outside at midnight tonight and look skyward

By Kara Seymour, Patch Staff

The Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend, giving Pennsylvania residents the chance to see one of the best shooting star shows of the year — weather permitting.

Right now, the National Weather Service forecast through the weekend calls for clear skies throughout the Philadelphia region. Some clouds could surface in the western part of the state, potentially obstructing the view for residents in that area.

The full beaver supermoon will appear to be full through the weekend and could interfere with the peak of the Leonid meteor shower peak Saturday through Monday. But the Leonids aren’t ordinary meteors, so it’s still worth a trip outside.

These sometimes colorful meteors travel at an extremely fast 44 miles per second and are known for impressive fireballs with persistent streaks that meteor experts say could peek through the moonlight.

Because the moon will stay bright all night during peak activity for the Leonids Saturday through Monday, the darker the sky, the better the chances of seeing shooting stars and fireballs.

Read the full story here

Drag your beach chair outside at midnight tonight and look skyward Read More »

New Jersey and Philadelphia region under drought water ban

Montgomery County has a 30-day ban starting today. Delaware County’s already in effect.

From NJ Spotlight News

Weeks without rain have led to drought conditions and burn bans in the Philadelphia suburbs and throughout all of New Jersey.

Montgomery County has a 30-day ban starting Saturday.

Delaware County’s went into effect last week.

The entire state of New Jersey is under fire restrictions after fighting a record number of forest fires over the last few weeks.

“Wood, leaves, tree debris, anything like that, you’re not supposed to be doing anything at all,” said Delaware County Emergency Management Coordinator Larry Bak.

The rules of the burn bans can vary by county and municipality, but the state’s guidance is this: no open burning on the ground, in a barrel, or in a fire ring.

Campfires are allowed in rings in state-designated campgrounds. Typically charcoal grills and propane and gas stoves are still allowed.

Delaware County’s officials are asking people to use fire as little as possible.

“In the month of October, we had well over 100 brush fires dispatched,” said Bak. “Even to the point of improperly disposing of smoking material can start a fire.”

No charcoal fires are allowed and no agricultural burning.

New Jersey and Philadelphia region under drought water ban Read More »

New Jersey Proposes Substantial Changes to Community Solar Rules

By James H. Laskey of Norris McLaughlin P.A.

On Oct. 7, 2024, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (“BPU”) approved a Notice of Proposed Substantial Changes Upon Adoption to Proposed Amendments to the Community Solar Energy Program (“CSEP”) Rules (the “Notice”). CSEP is a program that enables developers of large solar energy projects to resell the energy generated by their projects to multiple subscribers (homeowners, renters, and businesses) in the local community at a lower price than the standard retail price charged by local utilities.

Community solar began in New Jersey several years ago, but the formal regulations still reflect arrangements for a pilot program, even though the BPU has concluded that program was a success and should be replaced by a permanent program.

The BPU first proposed amendments to the pilot program rules to create the permanent program in September 2023, but those rules were never adopted. Instead, the BPU reviewed comments received on the proposed permanent program and has now proposed this Notice. In addition to adopting the proposed 2023 amendments, this Notice proposes revisions responding to the public comments received for the September 2023 proposal related to program eligibility, subscription requirements, cost recovery, Administratively Determined Incentive (“ADI”) Program eligibility, and the Successor Solar Incentive (“SuSI”) Program registration process. The pertinent proposed revisions are as follows:

CSEP Program Eligibility

BPU proposes adding “mining sites” to the list of permitted site types in the CSEP. This term would be defined as “a sand mine, gravel pit, or mine on land classified as “Extractive mining” in Level II of the modified Anderson classification system within the most recent Land Use/Land Cover GIS [Geographic Information System] data layer produced by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. A mining site would exclude forested land as defined at N.J.A.C. 14:8-12.2.”
BPU proposes modifying the co-location requirement of the CSEP to remove language distinguishing adjacent buildings with the same beneficial owner from those with different beneficial owners. The new language would not deem projects to be co-located if they are located on rooftops of separate buildings on different properties with different beneficial owners.
BPU proposes allowing electric distribution companies (“EDCs”) to own community solar projects under limited circumstances. EDCs would be allowed to register projects in the CSEP for any capacity that is not fully subscribed by the end of an energy year.

Read the full post here

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From a NJ diner, Rep. Josh Gottheimer announces his governor bid

By Cecilia Levine, Daily Voice, 11/15/2024 3:43 p.m.

The 49-year-old dad and former speechwriter, who was re-elected to his seat in North Jersey’s 5th congressional district in the House of Representatives earlier this month, launched his campaign Friday morning, Nov. 15, from the Runway Diner in South Hackensack.

Gov. Phil Murphy is not eligible to run for re-election in 2025 due to term limits.

Gottheimer vows to tackle affordability and fight for the values he says define the Garden State, pledging to lower taxes, reduce costs, and help families get ahead.

Gottheimer’s daughter Ellie introduced her dad at the launch, calling him her role model and “twin.”

Wiping tears from his eyes, Gottheimer took the podium

“Everything good in Jersey starts in a diner, and man after last week do we need some good news, What better way to take off than from here at the Runway Diner in South Hackensack,” he said.

The New Jersey congressman faces stiff competition for the Democratic nomination. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Montclair Mayor Sean Spiller, and former New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney have declared their candidacies while Rep. Mickie Sherrill, D-NJ, is expected to enter the race Monday.

From a NJ diner, Rep. Josh Gottheimer announces his governor bid Read More »

Opinion: As struggle against climate change flounders, Trump enters

Walk this way. How ants broadcast trails to the best food finds

Drag your beach chair outside at midnight tonight and look skyward

New Jersey and Philadelphia region under drought water ban

New Jersey Proposes Substantial Changes to Community Solar Rules

From a NJ diner, Rep. Josh Gottheimer announces his governor bid

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