The cumulative additional amount of greenhouse gases would exceed the current annual output of Russia, the world’s fourth-biggest carbon polluter.
President Donald Trump has taken the U.S. in the opposite direction, pressing for increasing oil, natural gas and coal output. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images
President Donald Trump’s rollback of Obama-era climate regulations will cause the United States to pump an extra 1.8 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere between now and 2035, at a time when scientists say the world needs to slash its carbon pollution dramatically to avoid catastrophe, researchers said Thursday.
The forecast from the climate research firm Rhodium Group is one of the most detailed and comprehensive estimates to date of how Trump’s regulatory U-turn will affect the amount of planet-warming carbon dioxide coming from tailpipes, leaking oil and gas wells, power plants and refrigerants. It concludes that if Trump’s rollbacks remain in place, U.S. climate pollution 15 years from now will be 3 percent higher than current projections indicate.
Bill gets a vote, but it calls for eliminating paper bags and more. Even supporters say they might back away
Approval by a key Assembly committee Thursday was seen as a victory by environmental advocates, but it might be short-lived.
Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight
A key committee approved a bill to ban single-use carryout plastic and paper bags, as well as other plastics, but now even some of its supporters acknowledged their backing could end without major changes in the legislation.
The measure, a top legislative priority of most New Jersey environmental organizations for the past few years, won approval Thursday from the Assembly Appropriations Committee — seen as a victory by environmental advocates who have pushed for the legislation for the past few years.
The victory might be short-lived, however, given that there seemed to be widespread opposition from both Republicans and Democrats over a provision in the bill to ban single-use paper bags, as well as polystyrene-foam food containers.
The legislation (A-1978) was amended and merged with a Senate version (S-864), a step that means, if approved by the full Assembly, it needs to go back to the Senate for concurrence.
Bill not in the bag
Proponents seemed to recognize there is still a lot of work to do.
“It’s the strongest bill in the country, but it’s not going to happen overnight,’’ said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey. “It’s a big step forward, but there’s a lot of work to do.’’
The legislation initially was vehemently opposed by many business interests, but the wide support for banning single-use plastic bags both nationwide and among many communities had diminished some opposition partly due to the proliferation of cities and towns adopting their own, often different, kinds of bans. Businesses prefer a single statewide law, rather than a mishmash of different local laws.
From foe to friend of bill
The New Jersey Food Council, a foe of earlier versions of the bill, now backs a total ban on both single-use plastic and paper bags, said Linda Doherty, president and CEO, although the group won a small technical amendment by the committee. The amendment is expected to be adopted, a change that will mean the bill, if approved by the Assembly will have to go back to the Senate for concurrence.
In New Jersey, more than 130 municipalities have adopted bans, according to Jennifer Coffey, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. At least eight states, beginning with California in 2014, have adopted statewide bans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“We think this is the right move at the right time,’’ Coffey said, “It demonstrates people understand this issue and they want action from their legislators.’’
Besides banning single-use carryout plastic and paper bags, the bill also would ban polystyrene foam food-service products and limit the use of single-use plastic straws.
Paper ban draws critics
The ban on single-use paper bags, the first such prohibition in the country, stirred the most opposition in committee, followed by the ban on polystyrene foam food-service containers.
“Paper bags don’t belong in this bill,’’ said Matt Wells, a senior regional manager at Westrock Co., a manufacturer of paper and packaging products, who called the ban a fundamentally flawed public policy.
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After hearing impassioned testimony from its members, the Vermont House voted Thursday to override Gov. Phil Scott’s veto of the Global Warming Solutions Act.
The final tally was 103-47, surpassing the 100 votes needed for a veto override in the House. The Senate is virtually assured to do the same in the coming days, meaning the bill, H.688, will soon become the law of the land. “A vision without a plan is a hallucination,” Rep. Tim Briglin (D-Thetford), a bill sponsor and chair of the House Energy and Technology Committee, said after the vote. “H.688 moves us from aspiration to accountability.”
Critics of the bill recounted a litany of objections that they and the governor have expressed about it. Chief among them is a provision that gives residents the right to sue if the state misses its emissions targets.
Vermont has pledged to reduce emissions to 26 percent below 2005 levels by 2025; 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030; and 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. It is not on track to meet the 2025 goal.
Vermont is the only state in New England with higher emissions than it had 30 years ago.
Rep. Mark Higley (R-Lowell) noted that Massachusetts got sued by groups with “deep pockets” for failing to meet its emissions goals, and he worried the bill would invite the same result here.
“This isn’t just a fantasy,” Higley said. “This is something that could — and I believe will — happen.”
House Minority Leader Pattie McCoy (R-Poultney) read an email from Agency of Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore that warned the bill “sets the state up to fail.”
Moore wrote that when that happens, “the only solutions will be litigation, delay and ultimately actions which rely heavily on potentially costly regulatory tools.”
McCoy said the bill’s creation of a 23-member Vermont Climate Council, which would be tasked with creating an emissions reduction plan, “usurps my authority” as a legislator.
New Jersey had been heading toward outlawing carryout bags until coronavirus hit. Lawmakers plan to resume actiontoday
By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight
A long-debated bill to adopt what advocates describe as the nation’s most comprehensive ban of single-use carryout plastic and paper bags, as well as other plastics, is up for a vote Thursday in a legislative committee.
The measure, a top legislative priority for most New Jersey environmental organizations for the past few years, cleared the Senate in early March, but stalled when the coronavirus pandemic shut down much of the state less than two weeks later.
The legislation initially was hard-fought by many business interests. But the wide support for banning single-use plastic bags both across the country and among many communities has diminished some opposition partly due to the proliferation of communities adopting their own, often different, kinds of bans. Those opponents would prefer a single statewide law, rather than a mishmash of local laws.
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The New Jersey Food Council, a foe of earlier versions of the bill, now backs a total ban on both single-use plastic and paper bags, said Linda Doherty, president and CEO, although the group will seek a small technical amendment by the committee. The amendment is expected to be adopted, a change that will mean the bill, if approved by the Assembly, will have to go back to the Senate for concurrence.
In New Jersey, more than 130 municipalities have adopted bans, according to Jennifer Coffey, executive director of the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions. At least eight states, beginning with California in 2014, have adopted statewide bans, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“We think this is the right move at the right time,’’ Coffey said, “It demonstrates people understand this issue and they want action from their legislators.’’
Amending Assembly bill
The Assembly Appropriations Committee plans to consider two versions of the bill. Proponents are hoping the lawmakers will amend the Assembly version (A-1978) to match the Senate bill (S-864), which they view as the stronger step to reducing mounting plastic pollution, particularly in waterways and the ocean.
Besides banning single-use carryout plastic and paper bags, the Senate bill also would ban polystyrene foam food-service products and limit single-use plastic straws.
Matt Platkin, who serves as the chief counsel for Gov. Phil Murphy’s office, will leave his post next month for a position at the law firm Lowenstein Sandler LLP.
As chief counsel, Platkin – who was ranked No. 1 on NJBIZ’s Law Power 50 for 2020 – played a key role in drafting the myriad of executive orders in March that imposed restrictions on business and travel in New Jersey in an effort to halt, or at least slow, the spread of COVID-19.
An announcement for his successor will be made “in the coming weeks,” reads a Wednesday evening statement from the governor’s office.
Platkin is chief counsel to Gov. Phil Murphy and served as policy director during his gubernatorial campaign. In 2013, he worked on the campaign team of New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
“From promoting commonsense gun safety to guaranteeing paid sick leave to reforming our criminal justice system, we’ve made meaningful progress to improve the lives of every New Jerseyan,” Platkin said Wednesday.
Former New Jersey attorney general Chris Porrino, who held the position during Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s time in office and also served as his chief counsel, is a partner at Lowenstein Sandler. Matthew Boxer, who served as state comptroller under former Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, and Christie, is also a partner at the firm.
The politically connected law firm was tapped by the Murphy administration for representation during the Katie Brennan sexual assault scandal. And, it represented the Andover Subacute and Rehabilitation facilities following an outbreak of COVID-19 that claimed the lives of over a dozen elderly residents in April.
Over the summer, Rutgers University contracted Lowenstein Sandler to investigate allegations of abuse in its softball program.
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Long Beach, California, has dropped many #3-7 plastics from curbside collection. Instead, the city is introducing an item-specific recycling program that avoids using numeric designations and directs residents to recycle specific types of items such as milk jugs, water bottles and cereal boxes.
The Long Beach Public Works Department said it would prefer to not go back-and-forth with recycling guidelines too often, as frequent changes can cause confusion. So after a few years of no new markets appearing for certain plastics — and no options on the horizon — the city decided it was worth re-educating residents about collection protocols.
The decision mainly affects mixed plastics, but also includes other resin types. Items like plastic cups, cartons and takeout containers will no longer be accepted. The Public Works Department hired a marketing team to help design public messaging around the new guidelines, which the city said will roll out in English and Spanish soon. For now, how-to workshops are available in both languages on the department’s website.
Long Beach, California, held out as long as they could on dropping lower-value plastics. After international trade changes shook up plastic markets a few years ago, “we were hoping that local markets would somehow appear,” said Diko Melkonian, Public Works deputy director and bureau manager.
Through meetings with Waste Management and Potential Industries, the city’s contracted hauler and MRF, city employees learned those markets likely weren’t going to appear in the near future. At the same time, some of the disposal-bound products were amplifying contamination issues for more viable materials, Melkonian said.
If the city wanted to collect only the items with post-consumer markets and ensure they were high quality, Long Beach would have to leave number-based protocols behind. While some PET products like water bottles made sense for collection and processing, takeout containers (PET or otherwise) did not, according to Melkonian.
Other California cities have kept materials that Long Beach is cutting out as they work toward waste diversion goals. Sacramento re-introduced multiple types of plastics back in 2018 after temporarily cutting a number of items following initial market shifts. Melkonian and others in his department spoke with neighboring communities before making the changes, some of which might have a wider range of plastic markets depending on what customers are nearby.
“I don’t think there’s a right or wrong, but you need to do what suits your community,” Melkonian said, “and I think for us this serves our community best.”
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