E-Car rebates: Too much of a good thing?

Buyers drain NJ’s all-too-popular $4,000-per-purchase program

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI, Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey residents looking to buy or lease an electric vehicle won’t be able to get a government rebate — at least temporarily — because the state program is so popular that it’s already running out of money, officials said.

The Charge Up New Jersey program has disbursed an estimated $35 million for the fiscal year ending this July, according to the state’s Board of Public Utilities. The board said Monday it was putting the program on pause because all the earmarked funding will soon be disbursed, based on the current rate of application approvals and eligible vehicle orders.

Now in its third year, the program gives state residents up to $4,000 right when they buy or lease a new electric vehicle. On average, EVs now cost more than $58,000, according to Kelley Blue Book, a price that’s beyond the reach of many U.S. households. Federal tax credits and other incentives are designed to bring prices down and attract more buyers.

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Climate change contributing to longer NJ wildfire seasons

Wildfire numbers already up for 2023 compared to previous years

Credit: (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) April 12, 2023: Charred trees in the Pine Barrens after the Jimmy’s Waterhole fire in Manchester Township, N.J.

By P. KENNETH BURNS, WHYY NEWS | APRIL 17, 2023

The Jimmy’s Waterhole wildfire in Manchester Township, Ocean County — which destroyed more than 3,800 acres and caused residents from about 170 homes to evacuate — sparked last Monday afternoon just as New Jersey entered peak wildfire season.

Experts say climate change is a factor contributing to longer wildfire seasons.

“Typically, we wouldn’t mark spring wildfire season until about March 15,” Greg McLaughlin, administrator and chief of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service, said. “And then that usually ends when that deciduous vegetation leaves out fully and is full of moisture. That’s about the middle of May. But we’re starting to see fires happening in the early part of March, even in mid-February.”

McLaughlin adds that his agency had seen wildfires into late June and early July.

“We’re seeing this peak fire season that was confined to about a 2-3 month period extending into a 4-5 month period,” he said.

John Cecil, the assistant commissioner of state parks, forests, and historic sites for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said he is concerned about extreme fluctuations in the climate that make it difficult to prepare for fires.

For example, 2019 was one of the wettest years in recent history, while 2022 saw a prolonged dry period with little precipitation this past winter. February was the 11th-driest on record in the Garden State since records were kept, starting in 1895.

“We see these ups and downs; it makes it very difficult for all of us to be mindful of how we’re engaging with our homes and our yards and how we’re taking care of things,” Cecil said.

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Weekend fire in NJ Pinelands consumes 1600 acres

*The Log Swamp Wildfire in Little Egg Harbor Township Photo Credit: New Jersey Forest Fire Service*

By Cecilia Levine, Ocean Daily Voice

A more than 1,600-acre forest fire that spread across parts of Ocean County this weekend has been placed under control.

The Log Swamp Wildfire in Little Egg Harbor Township had been 100 percent contaminated as of 8 a.m. Sunday, April 16, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

The blaze burned portions of, the Stafford Forge Wildlife Management Area, and the Warren Grove Bombing Range.

“Forest Fire Service staff will remain on scene to continue improving containment lines and monitor the area to ensure public safety,” the NJFFS said. “While portions of the state received substantial rainfall overnight, the area of the fire only received 0.04 inches of precipitation.”

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Environmental Justice Advocates Urge California to Stop New Drilling Permits in Neighborhoods

Gov. Newsom says the state is holding “Big Oil” accountable; fenceline communities say he’s leaving them behind.

In Signal Hill, California, an oil pump jack stands idle near homes, in February 2023. California law S.B. 1137, which required a safety buffer zone of 3,200 feet around homes and schools for new oil and gas drilling, was suspended after the petroleum industry last year collected enough signatures in a petition campaign to place a referendum on the 2024 general election ballot. The bill was originally signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom last year and also banned new drilling near parks, health care facilities, prisons, and businesses open to the public. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images.

By Liza Gross, Inside Climate News

The first thing Nalleli Cobo wanted to do when she heard the oil well in her South Los Angeles neighborhood was shutting down was scream. She had so much pent-up energy she didn’t know what else to do.

Cobo grew up breathing foul-smelling, toxic emissions from an oil production site just 30 feet from her home. She sometimes caught whiffs of chocolate and citrus, which she thinks came from chemicals used to mask the fetid smell. At first, she didn’t connect the unexplained ailments she couldn’t shake—uncontrolled nosebleeds, punishing headaches, stomach pains, and crippling body spasms—to the oil wells next door.

Cobo’s mother and sister suffered from similar health problems. When they started comparing notes with neighbors, they realized headaches, nosebleeds, and other ailments were rampant in their close-knit community, where most residents are low-income and Latino. They blamed the cluster of neighborhood wells that bordered their homes, a daycare, a senior living facility, and a school for students with disabilities.

Cobo was just 9 years old when she started organizing to end drilling at the facility that was making her community sick. That was 13 years ago.

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Wind energy turbines heading to Antarctica

Three new wind turbines will be installed on Ross Island in Antarctica, where they’ll power stations that belong to New Zealand and the US.

By Michelle Lewis, Electrek

Wind turbine maker EWT has signed a contract with Antarctica New Zealand to supply and install three DW54X-1MW turbines. They each have a rotor diameter of 54 meters (177 feet) and a hub height of 40 meters (131 feet).

New Zealand’s Scott Base and the US’s McMurdo Station are both on Ross Island, in the Ross Sea – the southern extension of the Southern Ocean, off the coast of Victoria Land. They’re a few miles apart from each other, and the three turbines will be installed halfway between the two at Crater Hill. (Ross Island is formed by four volcanoes.) The turbines will be connected to a microgrid that provides electricity to both stations; Scott Base is undergoing a redevelopment, which is expected to be completed in 2028.

The wind turbines are part of an extensive upgrade program, including the replacement of three existing smaller and less powerful 300 kW turbines, the replacement of the existing flywheel storage system with a large battery storage system, an upgrade of the high voltage network, and the replacement of the Scott Base’s diesel generators.

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Large New Jersey brush fire finally contained

But not until 972 acres are scarred in West Milford

By Jerry DeMarco, Ocean Daily Voice

THE WORST IS OVER: The wildfire that marched through West Milford the past three days is 100% contained, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service reported on Saturday.

The blaze, which was beaten back at first but then grew steadily over the previous 48 hours, finally topped out at 972 acres on April 15 – and that was it, the service said.

Fire officials also said this would be the last of the updates from the “Kanouse Wildfire,” the largest blaze in North Jersey since 2010.

Ten structures in all were threatened – half of which were evacuated – yet none were seriously damaged thanks to the support of fire companies from Passaic and Morris counties, the NJFFS said.

No injuries were reported.

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