Senator MIcael Testa and Assemblymen Erik Somonsen and Anwan McClellan
From a Republilcan legislative news release
Senator Michael Testa and Assemblymen Erik Simonsen and Antwan McClellan (all R-1) said opposition is growing to Governor Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan (EMP), which would cost every New Jersey homeowner tens of thousands of dollars and put residents at risk during emergencies.
“Governor Murphy’s Energy Master Plan could cost every New Jersey resident $52,000, according to an analysis of the massive cost to implement the governor’s green energy scheme,” said Senator Testa. “For many Garden State families, the huge expense of Murphy’s energy plan would prove to be a disaster plan that would saddle them with unbearable costs they cannot afford. It’s nothing less than a hidden green energy tax on New Jerseyans that will cost us hundreds of billions of dollars.”
The coalition’s white paper estimates electric bills across the state will skyrocket by $155 billion, the cost of meeting the electric vehicle mandate will reach $176 billion, and electrifying homes, apartments and businesses in the state could exceed $65 billion.
The report from AENJ also raised concerns about the lack of energy redundancy that could impact the ability of New Jerseyans to heat their homes and cook food during power outages if Murphy’s plan for a fully electrified New Jersey is implemented.
Ed Potosnak, NJLCV Executive Director; Julia Somers, NJLCV Board Chair and Executive Director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition; Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg; Senator Kip Bateman.
East Brunswick – The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (NJLCV) last night honored Senators Kip Bateman and Loretta Weinberg for their career-long dedication to the environment and conservation.
“With the climate crisis accelerating and storms like Henri and Ida becoming the norm, we expect everyone in the Legislature to be bold environmental champions. Senators Loretta Weinberg and Kip Bateman are examples of champions who have consistently worked to promote bold pro-environmental policies to protect clean air, safe drinking water, and open space,” said NJLCV Board Chair Julia Somers, who serves as executive director of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition.
The NJLCV cited Senator Bateman (R-Somerset), the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment Committee, for his sponsorship of bipartisan legislation to constitutionally dedicate Corporation Business Tax revenues to fund the state’s open space, farmland and historic preservation programs, and his support for legislation to reduce carbon emissions and mandate that utilities generate 50% of their electricity from clean energy sources by 2030.
The environmental coalition praised Senate Majority Leader Weinberg (D-Bergen) for fighting for the Cumulative Impacts bill that enables communities to hold polluters accountable, her advocacy for open space and New Jersey Transit, her opposition to the proposed NJ Transit natural gas power plant in the Meadowlands, and her bill to protect New Jersey residents from dangerous trains carrying Bakken crude oil.
“As I reflect on 27 years in the Legislature, one of the things I am most proud of is my history as a fighter for conservation and the environment,” said Senator Bateman. “All New Jersey residents benefit from clean water, clean air and clean energy. These are essentials that are worthy of bipartisan support, both in Trenton and across our beautiful Garden State. This state is especially vulnerable to the impact of a changing climate, and although I will no longer be representing my district in Trenton, I will continue advocating for sustainable and affordable solutions to preserve the character of New Jersey.”
Senator Weinberg recalled that she started her political career in the 1960s when she organized neighbors to push for the planting of trees on Cedar Lane in Teaneck.
“We will always need groups like the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, yes, but we also need ordinary people from all walks of life who are willing to say ‘Enough,’ and to stand up and say ‘No thank you’ to building a fracked gas power plant in my neighborhood, or ‘No thank you’ to the paving over green space in order to make way for one more parking lot, or yes, even to show up at council meetings and demand local leaders take these issues seriously, up to and including the planting of trees,” Senator Weinberg said.
Somers said New Jersey would miss the environmental advocacy that Senators Bateman and Weinberg have provided for decades.
“With Senators Weinberg and Bateman retiring from the state Legislature, we need other lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, to rise to the occasion and step up to take their place as champions for our environment. Ultimately this work is important for the health and safety of all New Jerseyans no matter their zip code, and to preserve our wonderful state for our children and grandchildren,” Somers said.
The two senators were honored at a recognition ceremony at the Chateau Grande Hotel in East Brunswick.
The nation’s most expensive Superfund cleanup to remove cancer-causing pollution from the Passaic River will be expanded to include 9 more miles in Bergen, Passaic and Essex counties under a plan approved Monday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But the $1.84 billion project to clean all 17 miles of the lower Passaic is still several years away from launching, officials said Monday.
The $441 million expansion plan would excavate 387,000 cubic yards of contaminated river mud and place a barrier over the rest in a stretch of the river from North Arlington to the Dundee Dam, which spans the waterway between Clifton and Garfield. A list of affected towns follows below.
The plan comes more than seven years since the EPA unveiled an ambitious $1.4 billion “bank to bank” cleanup of the lower 8 miles of the Passaic from Newark Bay to Belleville, where much of the pollution is concentrated. That dredge-and-cap project has not yet begun.
“We know we can’t turn around a century of pollution overnight, but today as part of the solution, we’re taking a very important step,” EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said during a virtual news conference Monday.
EPA officials have wanted the two projects on the river to be done concurrently to minimize disruptions, such as the opening of bridges, barge traffic and use of heavy machinery, including excavators.
A temporary treatment plant would be built around 2023 at a location that has not yet been finalized, said Walter Mugdan, the EPA’s acting regional administrator. Dredging work would commence a few years after that, he said.
But the threat of pollution being carried into communities from intense storms like Henri and Ida that have inundated North Jersey recently should give urgency to a project like this, said Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, who has spent decades advocating for the cleanup.
“Let me tell you something: It has taken too damn long,” he said at the news conference.
The Passaic has long been one of the most polluted rivers in the U.S. Cancer-causing dioxin, PCBs, mercury and other pollutants that were dumped primarily in the more industrial parts of the lower river have been swept by the tide to upriver communities that have homes and parks on its banks.
Dioxin, one of the world’s most dangerous pollutants, isn’t as extensive on the upper 9 miles, but the risk to people may be greater.
The upper part of the river is used for recreation, including a key spot for crew teams to train and compete, hosting the annual Head of the Passaic Regatta, where dozens of high school and club teams race in Lyndhurst.
And the upper part is dotted with pollution “hot spots.” One of those included a patch of mudflats, where the river bends in Lyndhurst, that were strewn with dioxin. Workers dredged 16,000 cubic yards of contaminated mud next to Riverside County Park in 2013 and placed a barrier over the rest.
Most Superfund cleanups move extremely slowly due to protracted legal battles between regulators and polluters as well as efforts to engineer and mobilize an often complicated plan.
The Passaic has been on the EPA’s Superfund cleanup list for decades.
Pollution has been dredged in front of the former Diamond Alkaliplant, where dioxin was dumped in the river in the 1960s as a byproduct of making Agent Orange — the infamous cancer-causing defoliant used during the Vietnam War.
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October 6, 2021 NJ Spotlight presents: Social Justice & Immigration 12 noon – 1:15 pm Online event. Attend Speakers: Monika Williams Shealey, Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Rowan University Monsy Alvarado, Correspondent, NJ Spotlight News Michael Hill, Host, Morning Edition, WNYC
This park is a quiet and not-very-well-known nature jewel, which makes it great for birding. Come enjoy a 1-2 hour guided field trip along the Towamencin Creek and woods, on easy paved and mowed paths. We will look for those birds migrating through, as well as year-round favorites. Birders and nature lovers of all experience and ability levels are welcome, including children if accompanied by an adult. Bring binoculars if you have them. There are public restrooms on-site. Masks are not required for this outdoor program, although VFAS encourages all participants to be fully vaccinated and asymptomatic to attend. Leaders: Lynn Sowden and Jim Ermer
October 7, 2021 NJ Spotlight presents Climate Change & Clean Energy Online Event: 12 noon – 1:15pm Attend Speakers: Ken Lacovara, Ph.D., Dean, School of Earth & Environment, Rowan University Tom Johnson, Energy/Environment Writer, NJ Spotlight News Jon Hurdle, Correspondent, NJ Spotlight News Additional speakers to be announced. Interested in sponsoring an NJ Spotlight News event? Please contact us.
October 9, 2021 Big Day Trip Around Green Lane Park Valley Forge Audubon Society 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Green Lane Park Leaders: Patty and John Werth ([masked]) Reserve your spot A “Big Day” is a 24-hour opportunity to celebrate birds near and far. Join us as we circumnavigate Green Lane Reservoir, stopping at multiple locations along the way to look for birds. Driving time between stops ranges from 1 to 9 minutes. The locations are listed below. Please refer to the linked map for the location of each area. https://valleyforgeaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2020Green-Lane-Park.pdf You may come for the entire day or any portion of it. Meet up with us at the beginning or at any point along the way according to this schedule: Location 1. 8:00 am: Deep Creek Rd & Snyder Rd parking area (1984 Snyder Rd, 18054) Location 2. 9:00 am: Morrow Pavilion area (2150 Green Lane Rd, 18054) Location 3. 9:45 am: Hill Road Day Use Area (2821 Hill Rd, 18054) Location 4. 11:00 am: Church Road Bird Sanctuary (Church Rd & Hock Rd, 18073) Location 5. 11:45 am: Flyfishing Area (Church Rd & Goschenhoppen Church Rd) Location 6. 12:30 pm: Walt Road Day Use Area (1051 Walt Rd, 18073) *Bring a picnic lunch if you’d like; we will take a break at the Walt Rd day-use area to picnic. Location 7. 2:00 pm: Hemlock Point (near 924 Lakeview Dr, 18054) Location 8. 3:00 pm: Knight’s Lake (parking area off Gravel Pike between Perkiomen Valley Brewery and Snyder Rd)
House Democrats push for increased solar incentives in budget package Washington, D.C.
A handful of Democrats are working to include a new Production Tax Credit for solar projects in the budget reconciliation package currently being debated by the House of Representatives. The draft package also includes an ITC extension and direct pay for solar incentives.
DOE Secretary asks all U.S. mayors to speed rooftop solar permitting process Washington, D.C.
Dept. of Energy Sec. Jennifer Granholm wrote an open letter to all U.S. mayors asking them to adopt NREL’s SolarAPP+ instant online permitting process. Granholm wrote that SolarAPP+ is a rare, easy way to cut red tape and empower more residents to go solar.
DOE releases blueprint for massive solar energy expansion in the United States Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Dept. of Energy recently published a study investigating the role solar power will play in the country’s urgent decarbonization. The department found that solar has the potential to power 40% of the nation’s electricity by 2035, but bold policymaking is necessary to reach that goal.
In this May 21, 2018 file photo, scientist Syukuro Manabe, of Japan, poses for a portrait during a press meeting after receiving the Crafoord Prize, in Lund, Sweden. Manabe, 90, and and Klaus Hasselmann, 89, were awarded the Nobel Prize for physics on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021 for their work in “the physical modeling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming.” The second half of the prize was awarded to Italian scientist Giorgio Parisi, 73. (Johan Nilsson/TT via AP, file)
STOCKHOLM — Three scientists won the Nobel Prize for physics on Tuesday for work that found order in seeming disorder, helping to explain and predict complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.
Syukuro Manabe, originally from Japan, and Klaus Hasselmann of Germany were cited for their work in “the physical modeling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming.”
Manabe is a professor at Princeton University, where he is the senior meteorologist for the university’s program in atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
The second half of the prize was awarded to Giorgio Parisi of Italy for “the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”
All three work on what are known as “complex systems,” of which climate is just one example.
The judges said Manabe, 90, and Hasselmann, 89, “laid the foundation of our knowledge of the Earth’s climate and how human actions influence it.
Starting in the 1960s, Manabe demonstrated how increases in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would raise global surface temperatures, laying the foundations for current climate models.
About a decade later, Hasselmann created a model that helped explain why climate models can be reliable despite the seemingly chaotic nature of the weather. He also developed ways to look for specific signs of human influence on the climate.
