EnviroPolitics Blog

Anemic post-Covid ridership forces NJ’s oldest bus company to end commuter service

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

One of New Jersey’s legacy bus companies, which started as a stagecoach line in 1870, is ceasing commuter bus service on April 7.

DeCamp Bus Lines, which will continue to operate charter and casino service, will stop operating its seven commuter routes due to ridership that never returned to pre-COVID 19 pandemic levels, said Jonathan DeCamp, vice president and chief operating officer of the Essex County-based bus company.

“The ridership hasn’t returned, on a monthly basis, we are carrying less than 20% of what did pre-COVID, that’s why the tough decision was made,” he said. “We were able to sustain it up to this point because of the various federal and state programs.”

But that aid has run out and the company can’t keep running that service at a loss, meaning the last commuter routes will be run on April 7, he said. Pre-COVID, DeCamp ran seven commuter routes; three of them returned to service on abbreviated schedules.

Passenger levels dropped from an average of 6,800 riders pre-COVID to 1,250 passengers, DeCamp said.

Read the full story here

f you liked this post, you will love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation

Anemic post-Covid ridership forces NJ’s oldest bus company to end commuter service Read More »

The Race to Save Dwindling Commercial Fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay

Predatory invasive species are blamed for causing blue crab and other commercial stocks to drop significantly, prompting a renewed effort to remedy the situation.

*J.C. Hudgins shows a blue crab he caught in the Chesapeake Bay in Mathews, Virginia, on Friday, June 10, 2022. Credit: Kristen Zeis/Deep Indigo Collective for Inside Climate News*

By Aman Azhar, Inside Climate News

Alarmed by plummeting stocks of commercial fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay, officials in Maryland and Virginia are scrambling to control invasive fish species that are causing at least part of the problem.

On Thursday, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore asked the federal government to carry out an evaluation to determine if the situation amounts to a declaration of a “commercial fishery disaster,” which would qualify the state for federal assistance.

Related Chesapeake Bay news

Toxic Releases From Industrial Facilities Compound Maryland’s Water Woes
Enviros Hope a New Law Will Cleanup Wastewater Treatment in Maryland
Why the Chesapeake Bay’s Beloved Blue Crabs Are at an All-Time Low

In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Moore said the state is increasingly concerned about the explosive growth of invasive fish species in the Chesapeake Bay, including blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakehead. “There is mounting evidence around the deleterious impacts of these species on the native ecosystem and the communities dependent on the commercial fisheries,” Moore wrote.

The blue catfish, flathead catfish, and snakehead were Introduced in Virginia in the 1970s to create a recreational fishery. They have since spread to tributaries throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The Chesapeake Bay office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) identified invasive catfish as a persistent challenge facing the Chesapeake ecosystem several years ago. Known for their voracious appetite, catfish out-compete native species for both habitats and food and threaten key commercial fisheries including blue crab, striped bass, white perch, yellow perch, and American eel.

Read the full story here

The Race to Save Dwindling Commercial Fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay Read More »

Why did residents of a small town in Texas go almost five years without safe drinking water?

The Texas attorney general finally filed suit last year. Still, some residents in Toyah say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was “negligent” and want to know what took so long.

Ed Puckett helps operate Toyah's water treatment plant on a volunteer basis. During a tour of the plant in early February, he maintained that the water is safe to drink. Credit: Mitch Borden/Marfa Public Radio — Ed Puckett helps operate Toyah’s water treatment plant on a volunteer basis. During a plant tour in early February, he maintained that the water is safe to drink. Credit: Mitch Borden/Marfa Public Radio

This story was reported and produced in collaboration with Mitch Borden, a reporter at Marfa Public Radio.

By Martha Pskowski, Inside Climate News, March 15, 2023

TOYAH, Texas—It all began simply enough: A boil water notice was issued. A state inspection followed. A list of violations arrived. It’s a well-known pattern in small Texas towns that struggle to maintain their water systems.

But there was nothing simple about Toyah’s water woes, which were years in the making and remain unresolved. A boil water notice issued in June 2018 is still in effect. In the shadow of the country’s most prosperous oil and gas fields, the residents of Toyah, many low-income and Hispanic, have gone nearly five years without safe drinking water.

Elida “Angel” Machuca, a former city council member and mother of two, has made it her mission to expose Toyah’s water crisis. She holds the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) responsible for allowing the town to stall and remain out of compliance with hundreds of drinking water violations it filed against Toyah over the past five years.

It wasn’t until Sept. 30, 2022, that at TCEQ’s request, the Texas Attorney General brought a civil suit against Toyah to place the public water utility in a receivership.

After years of agitating, Machuca is finally seeing results. But residents still have no clear answer of when the water will be safe to drink.

A cascade of mistakes and mismanagement has left this small West Texas town without safe drinking water, Inside Climate News and Marfa Public Radio found in reporting that included over a dozen interviews and a review of hundreds of pages of public records.

Read the full story here

If you like this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

Why did residents of a small town in Texas go almost five years without safe drinking water? Read More »

Princeton University students are all crazy liberals, right? Hold on there, dude

Another New Jersey resident, a Princeton student, has been charged for their alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

*This image of Larry Fife Giberson, circled in annotation by the justice department in the Statement of Facts supporting the arrest of Giberson, shows him outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan 6. 2021.*

By P. Kenneth Burns, WHYY

Larry Fife Giberson, of Manahawkin, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with felony civil disorder and related misdemeanor offenses.

Video shows Giberson making his way to the Lower West Terrace entrance of the U.S. Capitol, also known as the tunnel entrance, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Other news coverage:
Princeton senior arrested in U.S. Capitol riot (Daily Princetonian)
Princeton University student charged in Jan 6 riot (Planet Princeton)

It claims Giberson was part of the first coordinated “heave-ho” push against the line of officers, after making his way to the front of the crowd. During this time, an officer was crushed between a door and a shield held by a rioter.

Officers were eventually able to regain control of the tunnel and pushed out the rioters, including Giberson. While other rioters attempted to regain entry, Giberson stood nearby as one officer was dragged into the crowd, according to the complaint. He allegedly yelled “drag them out” and cheered as weapons and pepper spray were used against police officers in the tunnel.

Interview with FBI

Giberson, 21, was released on his own recognizance. Under the terms of his pretrial supervision, he must notify the court if he plans on traveling outside of New Jersey, any trips outside of the continental U.S. must be approved by a judge, and he can’t possess any weapons.

Read the full story here

Princeton University students are all crazy liberals, right? Hold on there, dude Read More »

Wonder of wonders: Political Conservatives who love renewables!

While Republican politicians castigate Wall Street over ESG, some are trying to win over red states on the shift to clean energy

By Saijel Kishan, Bloomberg Green Daily Newsletter

While Republican politicians castigate Wall Street over its climate initiatives, another group of conservatives is trying to change hearts and minds in rural counties and state capitals on the benefits of the nation’s shift to clean energy.

In town halls, courthouses, and statehouses across the Midwest, South, and Appalachian states, members of the Conservative Energy Network have been meeting with farmers, landowners, Evangelicals, and state lawmakers to convince them that wind, solar and other forms of renewable power are good for their wallets, rights, and votes.

The group does however eschew the term “green energy.’’ And while its members say they believe the science underpinning climate change, “net zero’’ and the Paris climate accord aren’t top of mind. Instead, their message squarely focuses on energy independence, free markets, land rights, and consumer choice.

“Quite frankly, our conservative voice has been missing from policy debates for too long, especially at the state and local levels,’’ says Brittany Tisler, interim chief of the Michigan-based nonprofit.

CEN was started in 2016 by late Republican strategist Mark Pischea, who worked in Michigan politics and at the National Republican Congressional Committee. By 2021, CEN was bringing in $7.4 million in donations, according to its latest tax filing, with funding from groups including the Energy Foundation, which partners with other foundations including those tied to Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Home Depot Inc. and the late hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson.

One of CEN’s biggest challenges is fighting disinformation surrounding renewable power. “We spend a lot of time trying to convince people that they aren’t going to get cancer from wind turbines,” Tisler says. “We try to neutralize the political toxicity of clean energy issues.’’

As well as seeking to educate local and state officials, CEN has placed ads on right-leaning websites like the Daily Caller and Fox News to get their message out. They also conduct polling: their latest survey shows 80% of American voters want government action on boosting renewable energy.

CEN says it works with other conservative groups in 24 states. A grassroots project it runs—the Land & Liberty Coalition—has worked with local officials who approve renewable projects and helped secure permits for wind and solar farms that produce at least 2.8 gigawatts of power, Tisler says.

This excerpt is from Bloomberg‘s Green Daily newsletter. Sign up to receive it in your inbox.

Wonder of wonders: Political Conservatives who love renewables! Read More »

Delaware Riverkeeper Network “wholeheartedly endorses” EPA’s proposed regulations for PFAS

*The EPA estimates this rule could reduce PFAS exposure for nearly 100 million Americans, decreasing rates of cancer, heart attacks and birth complications. (Shutterstock)*

Michelle Rotuno-Johnson, Patch Staff

NEW JERSEY — The Environmental Protection Agency gave water officials in New Jersey more information Tuesday on what they’ll have to do to reduce harmful PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” in water supplies.

PFAS, or per-and polyfluorinated substances, don’t degrade in the environment and are linked to a broad range of health issues, including low birthweight babies and kidney cancer. Drinking water is a significant way that people are exposed to PFAS across the nation and towns across New Jersey, the agency said.

The EPA said limiting these chemicals to the lowest level tests can detect will save thousands of lives and prevent serious illnesses, including cancer. This is the first time the EPA has proposed regulating a toxic group of compounds that are widespread, dangerous, and expensive to remove from the water.

The agency also estimates the rule could reduce PFAS exposure for nearly 100 million Americans, decreasing cancer rates, heart attacks, and birth complications.

Don’t miss environmental news like this Click for free updates

No state is untouched by PFAS contamination, according to a map compiled by the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization sometimes criticized for exaggerating certain toxicity risks. But a growing body of scholarly and government research backs the assertion of both the EPA and EWG that, even at low levels currently, these chemicals can cause harm over a person’s lifetime.

PFAS can be found in water systems throughout the state, according to the EWG’s interactive map.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network “wholeheartedly endorses” the EPA’s plan to propose national drinking water regulations for PFAS compounds. Deputy Director Tracy Carluccio said this action would “finally” protect Americans from exposure to toxic chemicals in their drinking water in a statement Tuesday.

“The science-based foundation developed by EPA for this rule provides incontrovertible evidence of the enormous risks to health posed by these PFAS compounds, including declaring both PFOA and PFOS to be “likely carcinogens,” said Carluccio. “The benefits calculated by EPA include the prevention of tens of thousands of deaths per year, making immediate action imperative. The federal rule has been a long time coming and we will advocate that the public rulemaking process move ahead on urgent footing.”

The Environmental Working Group has a large number of PFAS contaminations recorded in New Jersey on its site; these comprise quantities both above and below proposed limits and are found at schools, fire departments, water utility providers, and other locations around the state.

Cities or areas in New Jersey where PFAS contamination has been detected in the water supply include:

Read the full story here

Delaware Riverkeeper Network “wholeheartedly endorses” EPA’s proposed regulations for PFAS Read More »

Anemic post-Covid ridership forces NJ’s oldest bus company to end commuter service

The Race to Save Dwindling Commercial Fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay

Related Chesapeake Bay news

Why did residents of a small town in Texas go almost five years without safe drinking water?

The Texas attorney general finally filed suit last year. Still, some residents in Toyah say the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was “negligent” and want to know what took so long.

Princeton University students are all crazy liberals, right? Hold on there, dude

Interview with FBI

Wonder of wonders: Political Conservatives who love renewables!

Delaware Riverkeeper Network​ “wholeheartedly endorses” EPA’s proposed regulations for PFAS

Delaware Riverkeeper Network “wholeheartedly endorses” EPA’s proposed regulations for PFAS