Mixed reaction to Somers Point’s new plastic bag fee

Philly’s CBS-TV 3 reports:

Shoppers in one South Jersey town are getting ready to pay more for plastic. That’s because retail stores in Somers Point will soon be required to charge a fee for plastic bags — a growing trend to help the environment.
A council member showed Eyewitness News pictures of littered plastic bags on the city’s shoreline.
Aside from an eyesore to tourists, some council members say plastic bags also interfere with wildlife and could end up in the waterway.
Each single-use plastic bag costs five cents at all stores in the city.
You can still get brown paper bags for free in some stores or buy reusable bags. The stores get to keep the money from the fees.
Last year, Gov. Phil Murphy rejected a similar bill imposing five cents for plastic bags. He felt the fee wouldn’t have gone far enough to protect the environment.
Somers Point city council passed their ordinance in a six-to-one vote six months ago.
It goes into effect on Jan. 7, but Eyewitness News caught up with some shoppers at the Acme grocery store in Somers Point, where it has already implemented the fee.
“I think as much as they charge for the groceries and everything, I don’t think we should have to pay for bags to put them in,” shopper Danielle Denti said. “I think that should be the store’s responsibility to supply them for the customers. So it’s kind of upsetting especially if you need more than one bag.”
Others approved of the fee.
“I don’t feel bad about [the fee] at all, because people rip up the plastic they throw it in the bay,” shopper Kay Walsh said. “I live down here and you know it hurts the wildlife.”
“If the money were going for beach clean up, I’d be all for it, but the money being collected for the bag fee is being kept by stores,” Somers Point resident Joe Sheridan said. “So really all they’ve done is give stores permission to make a profit on something we need.”

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NJ bill would let abused animals call in a lawyer

New Jersey Assemblywoman Annette Quijano has introduced legislation to allow law students and volunteer lawyers to serve as legal advocates for cats and dogs that are the victims of animal abuse.

The measure is modeled after a Connecticut law passed in 2016 known as “Desmond’s Law,” named for a dog who was beaten, starved and killed by his owner. Desmond’s abuser received no jail time, and was instead sentenced to a rehabilitation program for people who’ve committed non-serious crimes and who the court considers unlikely to offend again.

“Desmond’s case is a tragic example of how the legal system can fail animals who’ve been abused or even killed. According to the Animal Legal Defense Fund, people who hurt animals are more likely go on to hurt people. By protecting our animal friends, we can ensure greater protection for New Jersey residents.” said Quijano (D-Union). “The first step is to have someone advocating for their best interests during the legal process.”

The bill (A4840) would allow a court to appoint a separate advocate to represent a dog or cat during criminal cases involving animal abuse. An advocate could also be requested by the party or counsel. The court would then select a representative from a list provided by the Administrative Director of the Courts of attorneys with knowledge of animal issues and the legal system and law schools with students interested in animal rights. Attorneys and law students will be eligible to serve on a volunteer basis.

“Far too many animal cruelty cases in New Jersey and across the country end without trial or conviction. These are pets who’ve faced unthinkable abuse, and yet don’t receive the justice they deserve,” said Quijano. “This bill will not only benefit animals in need, but also give law students a chance to advocate for a great cause and to gain valuable courtroom experience before they graduate.”

 The advocate’s responsibilities may include:
     1. Monitoring the case and attending hearings;
     2. Consulting with any individual with information relating to the welfare or care of the cat or dog;
     3. Reviewing records relating to the condition of the animal and the defendant’s actions;
     4. Presenting information or recommendations to the court that relate to the best interests of the animal

“I’d like to take a moment to thank former Senator Raymond Lesniak and the Lesniak Institute for American Leadership for elevating issues of animal welfare and bringing Desmond’s Law to my attention,” said Quijano.

The bill would take effect immediately following enactment.


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NYC’s Styrofoam ban in effect, won’t be enforced until July

Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a rally for a new law banning Styrofoam.
Reuven Fenton and Selim Algar report for the NY Post:
It won’t kill the environment — or your hunger.
The city’s Styrofoam ban, which went into effect Tuesday but won’t be enforced until July, will mean smaller portions because aluminum replacement containers don’t come in the same size, vendors warn.
The foil containers are 15 percent smaller, and sides and starches could suffer as a result.
“I’m going to have to figure out how to serve it so the customers stay happy,” said Fathy Abouel Magd, 27, at his cart at 50th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.
He warned that “maybe” he’ll pack less rice with each order.
Faced with the same dilemma, nearby vendor Mohamed Ali, 48, said he will eventually have to settle on the smaller container or opt for a pricier, jumbo model.
“There’s no size in between that’s the same as the Styrofoam,” he said.
And that’s not the only issue.
Magd noted that Styrofoam clamshells close with ease, whereas the aluminum alternative requires a time-consuming pincer movement around the rim.
“When it’s busy, I will have to close the foil around the lid, and that takes time,” he said.
“With Styrofoam, it’s one, two, three, shut.”
Ali said he’ll work to refine his technique.
“Day by day, I’ll get faster,” he vowed.
On the plus side, Ali noted that the aluminum container has a transparent top that allows customers to eyeball their grub before digging in.
Mayor de Blasio hailed the ban Tuesday at a press conference at the Hamilton Avenue Marine Transfer Station in Brooklyn, arguing it would break the city’s longstanding dependence on a product that hurts the environment.
“We all know that global warming is real. And we understand it was caused by the fossil-fuel industry continuing to push a product that’s harming us. And that’s what this is made of, fossil fuels, petroleum. This is part of the problem right here,” he said.
The new law forbids the use of Styrofoam cups, plates, trays, clamshell containers and peanut packaging.
But it won’t be enforced for six months, in order to let businesses adjust, officials said.
Vendors who continue to use Styrofoam during the transition period will be issued warning cards.
After that, they’ll face fines that start at $250 for the first offense, $500 for the second and $1,000 for subsequent violations.

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7 takeaways from a wild year for EVs

Elon Musk and Tesla Model 3. Photo credit: Andrej Sokolow/Picture Alliance/Andrej Sokolo/Newscom

David Ferris reports for E&E News
While car shoppers can be forgiven for missing it, 2018 was an astonishing year in the world of electric transportation.
It was a time when major automakers nervously shifted billions of dollars in future budgets from gas-powered cars toward the engineering of electric drivetrains. This was the year when trailblazers stuck electric motors on scooters and 18-wheelers, and when utility commissions grabbed the thorny rose of EV regulation. In a sign EVs have arrived, the industry also attracted new enemies.
“I think this is all happening much faster than any of us predicted it would come,” said Jeff Allen, executive director of Forth, a Portland, Ore.-based organization that promotes EVs.
Although EVs are still mostly absent from showrooms, signs of progress were everywhere. In the U.S., the 1 millionth EV was sold, and battery prices continued to plunge. Here are some of the most important events.

Tesla wobbled but delivered

The most gripping storylines of 2018 were the production drama surrounding Tesla Inc.’s first mass-market car, the Model 3, and
the self-inflicted drama of the company’s CEO, Elon Musk.
Tesla entered the year already behind on its goal of manufacturing 5,000 Model 3s a week. Doing so would signal that Tesla could live up to its promise to mass-produce cars and meet consumer and investor expectations.
In 2018, that deadline slipped twice more. The “production hell”
that Musk had predicted dragged on into the fall. Robotic production lines fell short; suppliers were purged; employees were fired; a
squad of executives fled. Tesla was burning billions of dollars in
cash without the sales to make up for it. Some of the hundreds of thousands of drivers who had placed reservations for the Model 3s began to cancel.
Meanwhile, Musk, whose showmanship and engineering vision
make the company what it is, seemed at times to be losing his grip.
He chastised an equity analyst for asking a boring question. He smoked marijuana on a webcast. He offered to build a mini-sub to save children trapped in a cave in Thailand, and when a diver snubbed him, he called the rescuer a pedophile.
But nothing compared to August, when he tweeted that he had “funding secured” to take Tesla private. The notion sent investors into a tizzy. When it turned out that Musk did not, in fact, have funding secured, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued
him for securities fraud, leading to a settlement that removed Musk as chairman (though he remains CEO).
In September, despite all the strife, Tesla finally hit its 5,000-a-week goal and has been cranking them out at somewhat lower numbers ever since.
Tesla’s stock is back to riding high, and most importantly, the Model 3 has become by far the top-selling pure-electric car. And according to an Inside EVs scorecard, the No. 3 and No. 4 are Tesla’s other rides, the Model S and Model X.
But there’s trouble on the horizon, namely …

The most exciting new EV isn’t a Tesla

Rivian electric truck. Photo credit: Rivian

The Rivian R1T, a new electric truck. Rivian
At the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, the cameramen and auto bloggers couldn’t get enough of the display by Rivian, an auto technology startup with a factory in Illinois that’s producing an all-electric pickup truck and SUV.
A self-billed “electric adventure vehicle,” the truck has a startling set of specs. It aims for 400 miles on a charge (almost 100 miles more than Tesla’s SUV, the Model X), could tow 11,000 pounds (more than twice a Model X) and has a 180-kilowatt-hour battery, almost twice that of a Model X. It has a $69,000 base price and would accelerate zero to 60 mph in three seconds, faster than a Porsche 911.
The company’s founder, R.J. Scaringe, is clean-cut and 35 years
old — 12 years younger than Musk. His out-of-nowhere story, plus the company’s plan to build at a retired Mitsubishi plant in Normal, Ill., prompted Crain’s Chicago Business to ask, “Is R.J. Scaringe
the Elon Musk of Illinois?”
Although Rivian’s vehicles won’t arrive until 2020 at the earliest,
the fanfare points to a larger trend: Tesla’s days as the only exciting electric carmaker are coming to an end. This year saw the debut
of the Jaguar I-PACE and the Audi e-tron, both luxury electric sedans that will take direct aim at the Tesla Model S when they arrive in showrooms in 2019.
At the same time, nearly every large global automaker is laying the foundation for every kind of electric car.
In January, Ford Motor Co. said it would spend $11 billion on EVs
by 2022, more than doubling its prior estimate, and have 40 full- or partially electric models (Energywire, Nov. 8). Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said in June that it would spend $10 billion on electric or hybrid cars by 2022. And at Volkswagen AG, the
company chairman, Herbert Diess, said that its “electric offensive” would dedicate $50 billion toward EVs. VW estimates it will launch
its last gas-powered model in 2026.
Starting in 2019, Tesla’s Model 3 will face inexpensive alternatives, namely the all-electric Hyundai Kona and two Kia models, the Soul and the Niro.
Of all of them, the media darling Rivian seems to have gotten under Musk’s skin.

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Mercury in retrograde: Trump EPA orders reg rollback

A coal-fired power plant in Wyoming
Mercury causes brain damage, learning disabilities and other birth defects in children, among other harm
By the Associated Press:
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has targeted an Obama-era regulation credited with helping dramatically reduce toxic mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants, saying the benefits to human health and the environment may not be worth the cost of the regulation.
The 2011 Obama administration rule, called the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, led to what electric utilities say was an $18 billion clean-up of mercury and other toxins from the smokestacks of coal-fired power plants.
Overall, environmental groups say, federal and state efforts have cut mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants by 85 percent in roughly the last decade.
Mercury causes brain damage, learning disabilities and other birth defects in children, among other harm. Coal power plants in this country are the largest single man-made source of mercury pollutants, which enters the food chain through fish and other items that people consume.
The proposal Friday from the Environmental Protection Agency challenges the basis for the Obama regulation. It calculates that the crackdown on mercury and other toxins from coal plants produced only a few million dollars a year in measurable health benefits and was not “appropriate and necessary” — a legal benchmark under the country’s landmark Clean Air Act.
The proposal, which now goes up for public comment before any final administration approval, would leave the current mercury regulation in place.
However, the EPA said it will seek comment during a 60-day public-review period on whether “we would be obligated to rescind” the Obama-era rule if the agency adopts Friday’s finding that the regulation was not appropriate and necessary. Any such change would trigger new rounds in what have already been years of court battles over regulating mercury pollution from coal plants.
This move is the latest by the Trump administration that changes estimates of the costs and payoffs of regulations as part of an overhaul of Obama-era environmental protections.

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Ørsted submits bid to build NJ’s first offshore wind farm

Orsted project, Buro Bank, in Liverpool Bay on the Irish Sea, powers more than  80,000 UK homes annually

Press release in the Cape May County Herald:
ATLANTIC CITY – Ørsted submitted a bid to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) Dec. 28 to build its Ocean Wind project in response to the first offshore wind request for proposal under Gov. Phil Murphy’s clean energy agenda, according to a release.
Ørsted has pioneered and refined the approach to developing and constructing offshore wind farms since it launched the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991.
Ørsted owns and operates the Block Island Wind Farm, America’s first offshore wind farm, and has a comprehensive geographic coverage with the largest development capacity, totaling more than 8 gigawatts in seven states.
The proposed Ocean Wind project would be located 15 miles off Atlantic City, a significant distance away from the coastline and residential communities.
Should Ocean Wind receive approval from the NJBPU, Ørsted will work with Public Service Enterprise Group’s non-utility affiliates, which would provide energy management services and potential lease of land for use in project development. PSEG, which has a long history in New Jersey as well as a decade-long partnership with Ørsted, will have the option to become an equity investor in the project.
“Today is an important milestone in the state’s desire to build out its renewable energy portfolio,” stated Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted US Offshore Wind and president of Ørsted North America.
“As the global leader in the development of offshore wind, we are confident in our ability to deliver a comprehensive, competitive project that will help Gov. Murphy achieve his goal of 3,500 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030, while boosting the economy and creating jobs,” he continued.
“We are pleased to continue supporting Gov. Murphy’s clean energy agenda,” stated Ralph Izzo, PSEG’s chairman, president and CEO. “New Jersey is fortunate to have excellent offshore wind resources. If approved Ocean Wind would provide substantial environmental benefits, as well as generate significant economic activity in the state.”
As presented in its proposal to the NJBPU, the Ocean Wind project will:
Deliver on Gov. Murphy’s goal of a sustainable offshore wind supply chain with the first permanent offshore wind manufacturing jobs in America in addition to the creation of up to 1,000 annual construction jobs within the state, providing significant opportunities for high-quality, skilled labor jobs from the South Jersey building and construction trades.
Make significant investments in New Jersey’s offshore wind fabrication, construction, and maintenance infrastructure — all of which will create long-term job potential and reduce the cost of future offshore wind farms in the region.
Provide more than half a million New Jersey homes with clean, reliable and stable-priced power.
Deliver a credible timeline as it’s the most mature project based on years of significant site investigation, permitting and interconnection work. This allows Ørsted to deliver on the economic, environmental and energy system benefits years before others can.
Establish the “Ocean Wind Pro-NJ” Grantor Trust (Pro-NJ Trust), which will support Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), Women Business Enterprises (WBE) and/or small businesses entering the offshore wind industry. The fund also will support investments in infrastructure resiliency projects throughout South Jersey.

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