EnviroPolitics Blog

Previously thought contained, North Jersey Fire Continues Burning

Fire on the mountain in West Milford. Photo Credit: Amy Kistler

Authorities confirmed Wednesday night that a brush fire in West Milford, NJ that initially appeared contained had grown to 250 acres in size.

Nearly a dozen homes or other structures were threatened by what was dubbed the “Kanouse Wildfire,” which ignited off Route 23 near the Charlotteburg Reservoir shortly before 2 p.m.

Members of the New Jersey Forest Fire Service were working throughout the night building fire lines, authorities said.

West Milford Mayor Michele Dale insisted there was no reason for concern.

Related news:
Crews battle massive brush fire (ABC 7)

“The State Forest Fire Service is on-site to backburn to contain the fire and prevent further spread, which is why residents are still seeing and smelling smoke,” Dale said shortly before 8 p.m.

Northbound Route 23 remained closed between Germantown Road and Union Valley Road. Echo Lake Road was closed between Rt. 23 and Macopin Road, which itself was open to through traffic, the mayor said.

“The only homes currently in a potential risk area are located on Blakely Lane, but a team of engines from West Milford Volunteer fire companies are on-site for structural protection,” Dale said. “All horses have been evacuated from Echo Lake Stables.

Read the full story here

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Plastic Recycling Plant Could Send ‘Forever Chemicals’ Into the Susquehanna River

A man walks along the Susquehanna River near the proposed Encina plastics recycling plant looking for a fishing spot in the summer of 2022. Credit: James Bruggers

By James Bruggers, Inside Climate News

Warnings that a large-scale plastics recycling plant planned along a floodplain in Central Pennsylvania could flush toxic PFAS into the Susquehanna River, a major source of drinking water for millions, are stirring a budding opposition movement.

The Houston-based startup company Encina, which proposes to build the $1.1 billion advanced recycling plant in Northumberland County, says it will not produce any of the synthetic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in its manufacturing process. The industry uses the term “advanced’’ to include recycling processes that convert plastic waste into chemical ingredients for new plastic products or fuel.

But Graham F. Peaslee, a professor of physics at Notre Dame University who researches PFAS and plastic, said that PFAS would “absolutely” be a “serious issue” for a recycling operation that washes vast quantities of post-consumer plastic and discharges the wastewater into a river, as Encina plans to do. Some of that plastic waste would likely be coated in PFAS, he said, and some of them would escape from the plastic during the washing stage and get into the river.

The result could be trouble for drinking water systems downstream from the proposed Encina plant, said Peaslee, a co-author of a recent study that detected PFAS in an entire class of commonly used plastic containers. “I suspect somewhere downstream, some utility will find that water is not a great source of drinking water,” he said.

Read the full article here

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EPA plans rules to drive up electric car sales tenfold

In what would be the nation’s most ambitious climate regulation, the proposal is designed to ensure that electric cars make up the majority of new U.S. auto sales by 2032.

President Biden, a white haired man in a dark navy suit, stands at a podium inside an automobile plant that features a line of white vehicles.

President Biden delivered a speech at a General Motors electric vehicle assembly plant in Detroit in 2021.

By Coral Davenport, New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is planning some of the most stringent auto pollution limits in the world, designed to ensure that all-electric cars make up as much as 67 percent of new passenger vehicles sold in the country by 2032, according to two people familiar with the matter.

That would represent a quantum leap for the United States — where just 5.8 percent of vehicles sold last year were all-electric — and would exceed President Biden’s earlier ambitions to have all-electric cars account for half of those sold in the country by 2030.

It would be the federal government’s most aggressive climate regulation and would propel the United States to the front of the global effort to slash the greenhouse gases generated by cars, a major driver of climate change. The European Union has already enacted vehicle emissions standards that are expected to phase out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035. Canada and Britain have proposed standards similar to the European model.

At the same time, the proposed regulation would pose a significant challenge for automakers. Nearly every major car company has already invested heavily in electric vehicles, but few have committed to the levels envisioned by the Biden administration. And many have faced supply chain problems that have held up production. Even manufacturers who are enthusiastic about electric models are unsure whether consumers will buy enough of them to make up the majority of new car sales within a decade.

Read the full story here

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Report forsees NJ economic growth with reactivated rail service

By JOHN REITMEYER, NJ Spotlight | APRIL 7, 2023

Reestablishing a rail connection between New York City and Scranton, Pa. could generate more than $80 million in new economic activity for a region that includes northern New Jersey, according to a recent analysis of the proposed project.

Using a route that would serve stations in Blairstown, Dover, Morristown, Montclair, and Newark in New Jersey, the proposed line would also deliver so-called societal benefits by getting people off highways and thereby reducing air pollution, according to the analysis.

The analysis, conducted jointly by Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority, explored the revival of a rail service between the two cities that was discontinued more than 50 years ago.

*Map of proposed Scranton-New York rail service*

Researchers assumed three roundtrips could occur daily between New York City and Scranton, with service beginning as early as 2028. Trains would reach speeds of up to 110 miles per hour during certain portions of what could be a less than three-hour trip between the two cities, according to the analysis.

The results were released late last month and drew immediate praise from both federal and state officials, including representatives of the highway-reliant section of New Jersey where the envisioned rail service would operate.

“Passenger rail is inaccessible for many residents in the western part of my district, forcing them into long commutes on congested highways,” said U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-Morris).

“This project would help to revitalize the area, bringing new residents and tourists to the community while also reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions,” she said.

National infrastructure renewal

Rebuilding the nation’s transportation infrastructure has been a core policy goal for President Joe Biden, a Democrat who took office in 2021.

During his first year in office, Biden enacted a law that calls for more than $1 trillion in spending on infrastructure renewal, including road, rail, and water systems. Among other projects, the infrastructure bill included funding to advance a planned “Gateway” rail tunnel under the Hudson River between New Jersey and New York, something transportation advocates have long identified as a national priority.

Read the full story here

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Washington State Senate votes for ban on assault weapons

The Washington state Senate on Saturday approved a ban on assault weapons including AR-15s, AK-47s and M-16s. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press, 2017) — *The Washington State Senate on Saturday approved a ban on assault weapons, including AR-15s, AK-47s* , *and M-16s. (Elaine Thompson / The Associated Press, 2017)*

By Jim Brunner, Seattle Times political reporter

The state Senate on Saturday approved a ban on the sale of assault weapons in Washington, setting up the measure to go to Gov. Jay Inslee for a signature in the final weeks of the legislative session.

After more than four hours of debate, the Senate approved the assault weapon ban, House Bill 1240, on a 27-21 vote. The proposal passed the state House last month on a 55-42 vote.

Because the bill was amended in the Senate, it must now go back to the House for a vote to concur on the final language. Inslee has expressed his support for the ban and is expected to sign it once the House gives final approval.

During the floor debate on the ban, which has been proposed but failed to pass for the past several years in the Legislature, the majority Democrats pointed to the unending string of mass shootings carried out by people using AR-15s and other assault-style weapons.

“We have to take stock in the common denominator in all of these tragedies. … When we’re talking about mass shootings, and the killing of people quickly and without warning, we’re talking about assault weapons. And that’s why we’re here today. We’re here to say enough is enough,” said state Sen. Patty Kuderer, D-Bellevue, who brought up the recent massacres at schools in Uvalde, Texas, and Nashville, Tenn.

Republicans blamed mental health problems and moral decay for mass shootings and said the ban would only punish law-abiding citizens who own semiautomatic guns for hunting, recreation, and self-defense.

Read the full story here

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First-ever hybrid ferry planned for New York Harbor

By the Brooklyn Eagle Staff

The city government and the Trust for Governors Island released plans on Wednesday to create the first-ever hybrid vessel in the ferry fleet.

According to the mayor’s office, it will be launched next summer, traveling between Governors Island and Manhattan through the New York Harbor.

The new ferry will be equipped with a hybrid propulsion system that will reduce air pollution by allowing it to toggle between zero-emission battery-only power and battery-assisted hybrid with diesel backup.

The battery-assist mode will allow the new ferry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 600 tons annually. Future plans for rapid vessel charging installation will enable the ferry to operate with zero-emission battery-only propulsion, at which point emissions will drop to nearly zero.

After criticism from the public and city officials last summer, ferry usage in Brooklyn is remaining steady. The city’s restoration of the stop at India Street in Greenpoint last November – and the new hybrid Governors Island Ferry – shows the high potential of ferry transit in waterfront neighborhoods.

Read the full story here

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