New Master’s Program in Sustainability Management

The news release below landed in
our in-basket today. It’s the first time we’ve ever heard of a master’s degree
program in Sustainability Management, although there may be others.
Stevens Institute of Technology, for you folks in south Jersey or
outside the state, is a highly regarded educational institution located in
Hoboken, NJ.
The school made its reputation by
educating future engineers. Today, Stevens also operates a School of Business, School of Systems Enterprises and College
of Arts & Letters.  
————————————————————
This fall, Stevens will welcome the first class of students
into its newest graduate program: the Master of Science (M.S.) in
Sustainability Management. Offered through the Schaefer School of Engineering
& Science (SES), the master’s in sustainability management gives green advocates from a wide range of backgrounds the opportunity to innovate for environmental progress.


This new graduate program is
for students in science, engineering, architecture, planning, business, social science, communications, law and policy fields who want
to be a part of the rapidly-growing cadre of
trained sustainability experts and managers. 

Program founder and director Dr. Dibyendu “Dibs” Sarkar believes this approach will serve to
bridge the gap between scientific progress on sustainability and social
implementation. “One thing that makes us different is that we adhere to
students’ basic academic preparation,” Dr. Sarkar commented. “They don’t have
to be engineers and we’re not trying to turn everyone into engineers. The whole
idea is that we want to put students on the same platform so they can
communicate across disciplines. Engineers can communicate their designs to
gifted communicators who can translate them for public consumption and impact.”
(Read more here)

If you’d like to learn more
about the Sustainability Management program, click here to
visit the program page or download a brochure at this link. Additionally, you can reach Dr.
Sarkar directly at dsarkar@stevens.edu.

Stevens is currently accepting
applications for the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 semesters! If you would like to
apply, please complete our online application and e-mail graduate@stevens.eduwith any questions or
concerns about the application process.


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As E-waste piles up in NJ, disposal costs continue to mount

Electronic waste piling up in Medford, NJ
More and more towns and counties are shelling out serious cash as they try to keep up with a seemingly endless stream of junked PCs, TVs, other electronic gear


Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:

The safe disposal of e-waste is threatening to become a headache and fiscal drain for local towns and counties.
With manufacturers stepping back from recycling old televisions, computers, and other electronic equipment, local recycling programs are finding it more difficult and costly to safely dispose of them.
Recyclers are looking for the state to help solve the problem, but so far the Legislature and Christie administration have yet to agree on how best to deal with the issue.
Barring reaching a consensus with the state Department of Environmental Protection by the middle of next month, the Legislature moved to give final approval to a bill (S-981), a version of which was previously pocket vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie.
Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), the bill’s sponsor, is waiting to hear the department’s latest recommendations for amending the measure by October 13. Failing that, Smith is prepared to urge the Assembly to act on the legislation, which once again, would leave the fate of e-waste recycling in the hands of the governor.
“If this governor wants to be the person who destroyed e-waste collection, he will have the opportunity,’’ said Smith, who agreed with the Association of New Jersey Recyclers that the state is facing a crisis when it comes to e-waste recycling.

Read the full story here 

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Under pressure, NJDEP considering tough, new PFOA limits

                                                                                                                              Frank Brill photo for EnviroPolitics
Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics plant in Hoosick Falls, NY contaminated the town’s  water system with PFOA

David Giambusso reports for The Record:
  
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has published a recommendation from the state Drinking Water Quality Institute for a maximum level for the chemical PFOA, after months of outcry from legislators and environmentalists.

The recommended level is 14 parts per trillion, significantly lower than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 70 parts per trillion and lower than the state’s previous level of 40 ppt. The number is the result of extensive scientific research but is a recommendation and not necessarily the final limit that will be set by the DEP.

“This level is very protective for the most sensitive populations and for the most sensitive endpoints,” Keith Cooper, chairman of the water quality institute and a professor of chemistry and microbiology at Rutgers University, said in an interview. “At this level, there shouldn’t be any effects that would be adverse.”

The DEP has come under fire recently for not publishing the institute’s recommendations, which were first made in June. Last week, the Legislature advanced a bill out of committee that would compel the DEP to take some action on the institute’s recommendations.

Concerns over PFOA, or perfluorooctanoic acid, have been especially pronounced after it was found in high concentrations in the municipal water supply in Hoosick Falls, New York.


Read the full story here

Related:
Committee releases bill prodding NJDEP on contaminants [Video] Hoosick Falls Residents Take Anger Over Tainted Water to New York’s Capitol USEPA Drinking Water Health Advisory for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
 
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Christie blasts the kind of Democrats he used to court

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie

Charles Stile reports in The Record:

Last month, three Somerset County officials stood at the base of a tiny, two-lane bridge, gripping a banner with a fairly concise plea: “Christie, Fix This Bridge.”

It succeeded in grabbing Christie’s attention. And it stoked his fury.

“What a shock: Three Democratic mayors blaming me,” Christie said Aug. 29 when asked about their demand that he allow state crews to resume repair work on the span in Rocky Hill, a fly-speck borough of roughly 700 just north of Princeton. 


Christie halted work on the project, and scores of others around the state, in July amid a stalemate with Democrats in the Legislature over transportation funding.

“I could care less what Democratic mayors think about a bridge,” he added.


It was a startling retort from a governor who three years ago cared very deeply what Democratic mayors thought and needed. Christie and his aides doted on them with offers of administration help, invitations to holiday dinners and funding.


His “Democratic mayors” remarks also reflected the Christie black-and-white brand of partisanship, where those who defy or cross him are classified as irredeemable enemies. And it is the same “you’re with me or you’re against me” ethos that could be dissected in the upcoming federal trial of two top former Christie aides, accused of illegally shutting down access to a much bigger span, the George Washington Bridge.


Federal prosecutors contend that Bridget Anne Kelly, a onetime deputy chief of staff, and Bill Baroni, Christie’s top appointee to the Port Authority, plotted to create gridlock at the foot of the world’s busiest bridge during five mornings in September 2013 to punish Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat who refused to endorse Christie’s reelection that year. David Wildstein, a former Baroni deputy who was involved in the scheme, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and is expected to testify for the government.


The trial is expected to open a window into the inner workings of an administration that often blurred the lines between governing and campaign politics. It was an administration that turned what was seemingly a benign constituent operation on the third floor of the State House into a de facto office for Christie’s 2013 reelection. The Office of Intergovernmental Affairs was guided by a “T-100” list of mayors targeted for extra attention by Christie officials for velvet glove treatment, and later for their endorsements, according to documents and testimony from the Legislature’s investigation into the lane closures.


It was also an administration that was constantly keeping score. On the second day of the lane closings, Kelly lamented in a text message to Wildstein that the closures caused many Fort Lee students to be late on their first day of school. Wildstein replied, “They are the children of Buono voters,” a reference to Barbara Buono, the Democratic nominee for governor challenging Christie.

To some extent, Christie’s lashing out at the “Democratic mayors” protesting the Rocky Hill bridge is an echo of the “Buono voters” quip. These mayors are not simply officials who have a legitimate complaint about the havoc caused by the closed bridge in their region. They are, in Christie’s view, Democrats trying to score political points at his expense.


Read the full story here


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University study ties good health to green spaces



James S. O’Neill reports for The Record:

University of Southern California researches found that 9- to 18-year-olds who live near green space — parks, ball fields, golf courses and the like — exhibited significantly less aggressive behavior than those who live in neighborhoods with less green space.

They found the same results even when accounting for such variables as family income, age, gender, race and educational background. They measured the behavior benefit of green space to be equivalent to as much as 2½ years of adolescent maturation.

The study adds to an expanding body of research that indicates contact with green space can benefit human health, both mental and physical. For instance, it can lower stress and help children with attention-deficit disorder, according to some research. And as an easy and often free way to exercise, it can improve physical health, reducing the medical issues related to obesity.



As a result, a growing number of medical professionals are making connections with local park systems and prescribing time in local parks for their patients. 


Read the full story here

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