EnviroPolitics Blog

Make school buses electric, advocates urge

By Tom Johnson NJ Spotlight

As the state moves to electrify its transportation sector, one significant segment remains largely left out — the more than 15,000 buses transporting kids to and from New Jersey schools each day.

Few students, if any, make that trip on electric school buses, though some communities have taken steps to phase out diesel-fueled buses and switch to zero-emission vehicles now in use in 33 other states. Only 1,439 electric school buses are now in use, less than 1% of all school buses on the road now.

Clean-energy advocates, however, are pushing to change that dynamic, urging state officials to step up funding and incentives to get students out of buses that expose them and surrounding communities to unhealthy pollutants caused by the combustion of diesel engines.

At a day-long webinar, sponsored by the Electrification Coalition and World Resources Institute, various speakers made a case for widespread deployment of electric school buses in New Jersey.

Besides improving public health and accelerating the decarbonization of the transportation sector, that step could reduce operating expenses for school districts, lead to cleaner air and create new jobs, according to Justin Balik of WRI.

The biggest hurdle to converting diesel buses to zero-emission vehicles is the higher upfront cost of the latter. Electric school buses can cost upward of $300,000, triple the cost of the more conventional diesel bus, said James Woods of First Student, a company that is one of the largest providers of transportation in North America.

“The key barriers are financial — first and foremost,’’ agreed Peg Hanna, assistant director of the Division of Air Quality in the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Still, First Student said it hopes to convert 20,000 buses to electric by 2030, Woods said. Other electric-bus suppliers were also bullish about prospects for converting the nation’s fleet of nearly 500,000 school buses to electric buses.

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DEC Announces Completion of Shellfish Restoration Effort at Shinnecock Bay Sanctuary

Bags and piles of clams on a boat for the restoration project

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the completion of shellfish stocking at Shinnecock Bay Sanctuary to help to restore critical marine environments, improve water quality, support the local fishing industry, and build stronger coastlines. A total of 1.5 million adult clams were stocked at the Sanctuary, which is part of the Long Island Shellfish Restoration Project (LISRP) that is benefitting Long Island’s coastal communities.

“New York State is committed to working collaboratively with public and private partners to protect and restore our environment, water quality, and natural resources affected by our changing climate and human interaction,” said Commissioner Seggos. “Today’s milestone at the Shinnecock Bay Sanctuary demonstrates the State’s sustained progress to enhance and restore New York’s valuable marine environments. We are grateful to our partners for continuing this effort to enhance marine ecosystems while supporting New York’s shellfish industry.”

DEC oversees LISRP in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE), Stony Brook University, municipalities, and volunteer organizations. The Shinnecock Bay Sanctuary was established on underwater lands regulated by the Southampton Town Trustees. This large-scale shellfish restoration initiative established five shellfish sanctuary sites to be stocked with juvenile and adult shellfish over several years to meet the target densities necessary to support maximum water quality benefits and shellfish enhancement.

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Multiple wildfires still raging in California

Alisal Fire: Blaze shuts highway, forces evacuations; wildfire burns man in northern California

By the Associated Press

At least 200 firefighters battled the Alisal Fire, which had scorched 12.5 square miles along coastal Santa Barbara County and remained completely uncontained.

SOLVANG, Calif. – Evacuation orders were expanded Tuesday for a growing wildfire driven by intense winds that has shut down a key Southern California highway for more than a day.

The fire erupted Monday on a ridge and blasted toward the ocean, forcing closure of U.S. 101, the only major highway on that section of the coast. Evacuation orders and warnings were in place for several areas of the lightly populated region.

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“The fire is burning in dense chaparral and is being pushed by strong winds and growing at a rapid rate of speed,” a fire update said Tuesday. Gusts reached 70 mph in some areas, officials said. .

In northern California, fire crews increased containment of a blaze that destroyed 25 mobile homes, 16 RVs and a park building at the Rancho Marina RV Park in Sacramento County. At least 20 structures were still threatened, according to the River Delta Fire District.

No injuries were reported, and the cause remained under investigation.

To the south in San Joaquin County, a man suffered burns and about five mobile homes were damaged by flames that raced through the Islander Mobile Home Park, Lathrop-Manteca Fire Chief Josh Capper told Fox40-TV.

The injured man suffered severe third-degree burns over most of his body, Capper said.

Powerful gusts that swept through the state on Monday also toppled trees and whipped up blinding dust clouds. Red flag warnings for critical fire danger remained in effect Tuesday for much of the interior of northern California, with lesser wind advisories continuing in Santa Barbara County.

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Rutgers professors see Covid-19 as cause of historic disruptions to the global supply chain

Supply chains disruptions that have been occurring as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic will likely stay into next year, Rutgers professors say. Photo by Pixabay.com

By Kithmy Wickramasinghe The Daily Targum

Global supply chains are currently facing historic disruptions, with more than 70 cargo ships recently getting stuck off the California coast and ports in key export markets like China facing numerous shutdowns.

Warren Cohen, assistant professor of professional practice in the Department of Supply Chain Management, said that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for the global supply chain that will affect the upcoming holiday season and likely extend well into the next calendar year.

“These disruptions are affecting consumer goods, manufacturing capabilities and raw materials, ultimately raising prices on goods and services along with increasing inflation globally,” he said. “If other (COVID-19) variants develop along with the current delta surge, we could experience even greater shortages of supply and increased disruptions.”

Areas such as inventory management and transportation have been affected greatly, with many companies who were unprepared for the supply chain disruptions also facing nontrivial inventory shortages, Cohen said.

“These disruptions have weakened the global supply chain,” he said. “We are experiencing massive shortages of manufacturing components, micro chips that are used in so many products today, delivery delays, lack of shipping containers and rapidly increasing transportation costs.”

David Dreyfus, assistant professor in the Department of Supply Chain Management, said the pandemic has also caused a gap in the workforce. One reason for this is because people who were ill or caring for family members were unable to work, often for weeks at a time.

“Many businesses have been unable to hire enough employees to meet demand, thus orders have (been) delayed or not accepted due to the inability to ramp up production any further,” he said.

Additionally, many people have decreased their traveling or stopped altogether, which has had a huge impact on the economy’s service sector, Dreyfus said. The money typically spent on traveling was instead spent on material goods, resulting in businesses being unable to respond effectively to the increased demand, because of both lack of labor and lack of input material.

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California adopts new recycling label and PFAS laws

Laws governing recycling labels, plastic waste exports and PFAS signed in California

By Adam Redling Waste Today

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of legislation Oct. 5 designed to raise consumer awareness and industry accountability pertaining to recycling. Additionally, Newsom signed bills designed to protect Californians and the environment from harmful chemicals.

Among the measures signed is SB 343, introduced by Sen. Ben Allen of Santa Monica, which requires products to meet certain benchmarks in order to be advertised or labeled as recyclable. This legislation will help consumers to clearly identify which products are recyclable in California.

“California’s hallmark is solving problems through innovation, and we’re harnessing that spirit to reduce the waste filling our landfills and generating harmful pollutants driving the climate crisis,” Newsom says. “With today’s action and bold investments to transform our recycling systems, the state continues to lead the way to a more sustainable and resilient future for the planet and all our communities.”

In September, Newsom announced that the California Comeback Plan’s $15 billion climate package—the largest such investment in state history—includes $270 million to support a circular economy that advances sustainability and helps eliminate short-lived climate pollutants from the waste sector. To raise demand for recyclables and attract green industry to California, the package includes funding to support the work of CalRecycle’s new Office of Innovation in Recycling and Remanufacturing. Additional funds will support organic waste infrastructure, food recovery efforts and composting, and remanufacturing and recycling infrastructure. These funds include investments in disadvantaged communities.

Newsom also signed AB 881 into law Oct. 5. The bill, introduced by Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego, discourages practices resulting in exported plastic that becomes waste and ensures that only exports of truly recycled plastics count toward state waste reduction and recycling metrics. SB 619, introduced by Sen. John Laird of Santa Cruz, provides local governments additional paths to meet the climate goals of California’s Short-Lived Climate Pollutant law; AB 1311, introduced by Assembly Member Jim Wood of Santa Rosa, allows more flexible operations for beverage container recycling centers to reduce overhead and increase redemption access statewide; and AB 1201, introduced by Assembly Member Phil Ting of San Francisco, strengthens labeling requirements to ensure products labeled “compostable” are actually compostable and to keep harmful chemicals out of California’s compost stream.

To further reduce exposure and increase awareness surrounding perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Newsom signed AB 1200, introduced by Assembly Member Ting, which prohibits disposable food packaging from containing intentionally added PFASs and requires cookware manufacturers to disclose the presence of hazardous chemicals such as PFAS on product labels and online. AB 652, introduced by Assembly Member Laura Friedman of Glendale, bans the use of toxic PFAS in products for children, such as car seats and cribs, beginning July 1, 2023. Earlier this year, the state required manufacturers of carpets and rugs to consider less toxic alternatives to PFAS, which poses a particular exposure risk to children when used in carpets and rugs.

A list of the bills signed by Newsome, including the full text, is available online.

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NJ enviros oppose increased funding for beach replenishment

It’s good for wealthy owners of beachfront properties but bad for the envronment, they say

By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

A coalition of environmentalists, waterfront access advocates and surf fisherman gathered on the Jersey Shore Thursday to denounce beach replenishment as an exercise in futility that destroys natural ecosystems and subsidizes wealthy beachfront homeowners at taxpayers’ expense, particularly as worsening storms resulting form climate change demand investment in more permanent solutions to beach erosion.

“We have continued to watch failed beach replenishment projects pump millions of dollars of sand on our beaches that just wash away in the next storm,” Taylor McFarland, acting director of the Sierra Club’s New Jersey chapter, said during a midday press conference on the beach in Deal. “That is why it’s critical that our legislators look at an overall comprehensive approach to beach erosion, shoreline damage from storms, and sea-level rise.”

The Sierra Club, the state chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, the Asbury Park Fishing Club and more than a dozen other groups oppose legislation pending in the state Assembly that would increase funding for beach replenishment projects, which are typically state and federal joint ventures carried out by the federal Army Corps of Engineers.

The bill, A-639 in the Assembly, would double the share of the Realty Transfer Tax that’s devoted to the state Shore Protection Fund from $25 million to $50 million annually. The fund finances the state portion of replenishment projects, which replace sand washed away gradually or by storms with new supplies typically dredged up from the ocean floor. The bill has already been approved by the state Senate.

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