The whole Climate Progress post is here: Its point is:

• Yes, we are all in essence Madoffs (many wittingly, most not) or at least his most credulous clients. “We created a way of raising standards of living that we can’t possibly pass on to our children,” said Joe Romm, a physicist and climate expert who writes the indispensable blog climateprogress.org. We have been getting rich by depleting all our natural stocks — water, hydrocarbons, forests, rivers, fish and arable land — and not by generating renewable flows. “You can get this burst of wealth that we have created from this rapacious behavior,” added Romm. “But it has to collapse, unless adults stand up and say, ‘This is a Ponzi scheme. We have not generated real wealth, and we are destroying a livable climate …’ Real wealth is something you can pass on in a way that others can enjoy.”

There is a follow-up Climate Progress post here. The bottom line:

To perpetuate the high returns the rich countries in particular have been achieving in recent decades, we have been taking an ever greater fraction of nonrenewable energy resources (especially hydrocarbons) and natural capital (fresh water, arable land, forests, fisheries), and, the most important nonrenewable natural capital of all — a livable climate.

I'm honored to be joining the New Jersey Audubon Society in a part-time capacity as Conservation Advocate, so I won't be resuming full-time blogging on www.GreenPoliticsNJ.com in 2009. Instead, I'll work ardently for New Jersey Audubon's crucial goals to conserve land and wildlife for the health and well-being of everyone in our state. On top of nearly everyone's to-do list: renew state funding for open space.

In addition to scanning http://www.njaudubon.org/AboutNJAS/ if you haven't done so recently, click on http://www.njkeepitgreen.org/. The Governor has urged the Legislature to place an interim bonding question on the November '09 ballot -- and we need to work hard to get such a measure passed. We all must urge residents who value clean water, a balanced environment, a healthy democracy, and long-term land values to support open-space funding all year long, and in November particularly.

***

Allow me to give a special shout-out to the Sierra Club New Jersey's Grace Sica, who helped connect me with the impressive folks at New Jersey Audubon. The help she offered me is a microcosm of what can make the NJ's Green Prosperity Movement successful -- going out of our way to help each other, being creative, and working with each other more urgently than ever before. These times of epochal change demand it.

One last personal note before I sign off. So few people I meet realize the earth could be entering a wholly new and unpleasant age caused by humanity's devastation of the environment. In confronting society's inertia and neglect, a more united Green Prosperity Movement stands a far better chance of making a difference.

After a several-week project offline, I'm beginning to update some of GreenPoliticsNJ's functions, including the extensive NJ Green Calendar.

If I haven't already highlighted your event, please let me know: joe [at] greenpoliticsnj [dot] com.

Today's update looks mainly at recent developments by NJ's green non-profit groups and educational institutions -- as a result of my scanning roughly 150 of the websites listed in my LINKS section. My goal was to apprise you of developments since my last post on the subject: 1/8/09. Note that the LINKS section contains many other categories on NJ green organizations.

(I've also updated the NJ Green Calendar with several dozen more events occurring in the next few months.)

Energy-NJ Conference. The Jersey Shore Partnership is promoting a conference for Feb 20 at the Sheraton Eatontown, titled: "Powering the Coast: Energy and Job Creation Opportunities for NJ." This is not an entirely green event, but worth a look because it offers a very high quality lineup of speakers. Topics include energy alternatives, developing off-shore wind, tidal energy, NJ's Energy Master Plan, grant programs for business & government, solar power, and others.

Wasteshed (not "Watershed"). Rutgers is highlighting that on January 30 it will co-host a Wasteshed Creation Forum. The Hyatt Regency Princeton and the Solid Waste Resource Renewal Group (SWRRG) at the Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station will sponsor NJ's first wasteshed creation forum. The event, which is free, will help food waste generators or governmental bodies to create cost-effective food waste recycling routes.

LNG (Liquified Natural Gas). Clean Ocean Action is urging citizens to "Stop Insanity Island," the "massive man-made industrial island for LNG facility planned of NY/NJ coast -- Groups to plan action for upcoming hearing." The US Coast Guard and US Maritime Administration are hosting two public meetings, one on Jan 27 in Eatontown, NJ and a second on Jan 29 in Long Beach, NY to begin scoping for an environmental impact statement. Clean Ocean Action's press release states, "The project is an abomination to our ocean and threatens American energy independence, our environment, our wallets, and our way of life .... [T]he island will require 14 million tons of fill -- 10 times the volume of the Empire State Building and destroy marine habitat and kill marine life..."

Environment NJ has released a report titled Clean Energy, Bright Future: Rebuilding America through Green Infrastructure, which estimates the enormous environmental and economic benefits of $142 billion in investments in clean energy such as wind and solar power and green infrastructure such as public transit. Environment NJ emailed the report, but I'm not yet seeing it on the website -- contact aevans [at] environmentnewjersey.org.

"Stop the [Power] Lines" -- A coalition of four NJ environment groups has formed to defeat PSE&G's attempt to build power line through the important and sensitive NJ Highlands. Among the most disconcerting points, the power lines will have the ability to supply NJ with more "killer coal" power from Pennsylvania. The climate impact of carbon emissions will significantly impact our home state, according to an EPA report last week.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary "was among 16 organizations to receive grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on Jan 13.... [which ultimately] will result in a $145,000 investment in two promising projects: the Alliance for Comprehensive Ecosystem Solutions and the Delaware Estuary Living Shoreline Initiative. An additional $50,000 was awarded to teh Delaware Bay Oyster Restoration Task Force...."

Advocacy Training. The Great Swamp Watershed Association (in Morris County) has announced its schedule of meetings to coach local citizens on how to become an effective advocate for improvement in their community. Meetings will be on Jan 22, Feb 25, March 26, Apr 30.

Green Jobs. The "Retire Garrett" organization, which opposes NJ Congressman Garrett on many counts, picketed his Glen Rock office in a call for him to support "New Jobs ... Green Jobs." Comment: I've written that "The Single Most Effective Way to Green NJ...is to remove Rep. Scott Garrett from the NJ Congressional Delegation in 2010."

Delaware Riverkeeper published a press release highlighting the preservation of 400-acre Petty's Island in the Delaware River Estuary. "Because the island will become a preserved green oasis in an urban area, Roy Jones, South Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, sees a bright future for Camden and Pennsauken residents, particularly the children...."

Hackensack Riverkeeper has published "A Citizen's Guide to Protecting the Hackensack River's Category One Waterways." It has also published an extensive 2009 calendar of events.


Newsletters. (I'm highlighting the new ones as I see them)

• Green Party of NJ - January Bulletin. Green Party registration climbing in NJ; Green Party of Camden County plans to fun a full slate in November; Steps to revive the Middlesex County Green Party; other developments.
• Sierra Club - NJ. Apologies for not blogging it sooner, but the Jan-March '09 issue of The Jersey Sierran covers a remarkable range of NJ green issues in some depth.
• The Great Swamp Watershed Association's Winter Newsletter highlights its '09 educational program and other issues.
  

The EPA has just released a report titled, "Coastal Sensitivity to Sea-level Rise: A Focus on the Mid-Atlantic Region." The report details some of the devastation that our state faces. If you're really short on time, open the full report and scroll for the maps on p. 26, 122, 124, 214, 221 (plus numerous NJ photos later on) and the diagram on p. 192.

Hopefully you don't still think of sea level rise as moving the ocean a bit closer to your favorite beach motel. Instead think of it as devastating beaches, wetlands, populated areas surrounding wetlands, paths of rivers in populated areas, and anything that remains of a balance between pest species and predators.

The new EPA report frets that sea-level rise is accelerating. This is in accordance with wave-after-wave of scientific report saying that a positive-feedback loop -- ranging from the melting polar ice caps to the thawing Siberian peat bogs to the thinning NJ soil layer -- is beginning to vastly accelerate the rate of global warming.

I can't help but think that we're living in a dreamworld -- related to our ingrained "linear thinking" that has served our species well through our evolution, but which has failed to prepare us for exponentially-accelerating events. (Hat tip Ray Kurzweil, and Thomas Friedman in Hot, Flat & Crowded for putting simple words to the concept.) Just as we lay 2006, in naivete, on the cusp of a financial melt-down that would soon shock all but the most radical alarmists (or so they seemed "alarmist" then), so we still engage in something darn-near "business as usual" today.

Did I mention that the Bush regime delayed the publication of four climate reports until the Friday before the long holiday & inauguration weekend, when almost no one would be looking? (And just in case someone is looking, there's always the Bush team's well-publicizing practice of sanitizing reports such as these.)

On December 24, I began a post titled "NJ Recycling Advocates, Get Ready," this way:

• Municipal recycling programs have a way of weakening and disappearing during times like these. As a result, local recycling advocates had better stay particularly engaged with municipalities, lest they find out decisions have been made that could unwind years of progress.

The impetus to that blog post was building evidence that fallen prices for recyclable materials are making it less profitable (or even loss-generating) to pick-up and haul away recyclable materials. This is how years of progress on local recycling efforts can be quickly undone as a result of temporary yet significant economic pressure.

Now, symptoms have become more acute: The Press of Atlantic City's Michelle Lee writes that the Atlantic County Utilities Authority "recyclables pile up as demand tumbles." The Authority is really hurting, partly because "global economic troubles cut the demand and market price for the materials." The ACUA is keeping the recyclables in hopes that global market prices will rise -- but that doesn't seem likely to me given a global recession that could prove very long.

So the next choice we'll be facing is whether to pay to store recyclable materials in longer-term facilities, or dump the material in landfills. The question will come down to whether taxpayers will to pay up-front for a significant environmental benefit, and a potentially big long-run payoff when demand eventually improves. Recycling advocates will be put to the test like never before.

Another avenue is for entities like the ACUA to increase its green-prosperity efforts in other areas, outside of the recycling arena. On that subject, Michelle Lee's article paints a rosy picture. The ACUA is working on solar power proposals, has started a single-stream recycling facility (partly in hopes of reducing costs), and has installed a compressed natural gas fueling station for some of its trucks.

I spoke with Atlantic County Chief of Staff Howard Kyle today, and he explained that the county is also finalizing a broad energy audit and beginning to explore re-electrifying a dam to generate hydroelectric power. Almost two years ago, the county made motions to adopt the Kyoto Protocol guidelines on greenhouse gas.

That still leaves the recycling issues that advocates and detractors will be deciding in 2009. The lines are being drawn now, and for many people, it will come down to dollars: we be willing to pay for the chance of becoming major suppliers of raw materials when market prices eventually improve? Our environment will be caught in the balance.

Bigger (and Bigger) Solar. On December 27 I commented on news that a businessperson is planning to transpose a 10-acre Williamstown lot into potentially the biggest solar farm in NJ. The developer, SolarWorks NJ, is searching for financing. Now there's news of an even bigger project in the works: The Press of Atlantic City reports, "Preliminary plans involve covering the 16-acre Hamilton Township site near [an old landfill] ... with enough solar panels to power about 6,000 homes. Township Administrator Ed Sasdelli told the Press, "If we can run it as a renewable energy source that becomes an asset and generates revenue, that's the goal." (hat tip Shore11)

• Comment: Bigger is more efficient. And anecdotally, there is another solar development this week: plans in Brick.
• Comment 2: Escaping the attention of NJ newspapers thus far is this development yestrday, discussed here by Earth2Tech: Solar service provider SunEdison and real estate company Developers Diversified Realty Corp launched a solar rooftop program yesterday that could yield up to 259 megawatts of solar generating capacity at U.S. shopping malls. Under an agreement announced yesterday, SunEdison will rent space to deploy photovoltaic systems at more than 200 of the 720 retail properties owned and managed by DDR, starting in California, Colorado, New Jersey and Puerto Rico. The company will then sell energy generated by the systems to DDR and its tenants.

Bay Rising. "Bay flooding prompts concern in Seaside Park," writes Chelsea Michels for the Asbury Park Press. "Residents packed council chambers this morning to meet with government representatives to discuss the increasing problem of bay flooding and the excessively large dunes along the ocean beach.... 'There are times of the year where the level of (Barnegat) bay is actually higher than that of the road," said First Avenue resident John Kleva. 'The bay level is rising and it gets to the point where every year there is a backup in the storm drains.'"

• Comment: Another in my "wake-up call" series. Yesterday's was: "Failing seawall may doom Delaware Bay community."
  

Some Good News for the Ocean. The Asbury Park Press has done a nice article on the good news I briefly reported on Dec. 26 ("NJ Coastline Gets a Second Life"): The Alliance for a Living Ocean will continue indeed -- and will be as strong as ever -- after president Tom Beaty put out a last plea for new members.

• Comment: ALO is particularly important because there is a surprising dearth of non-profit entities devoted to our oceans! On a national level, Ocean Champions is the leader. We wish NJ's ALO all the success in the world.
  

Rail. "N.Y., N.Y. pols urge rail tunnel inclusion in stimulus," writes Raju Chebium from the Gannett News Service. The article follows-up from announcements made in the past couple of days by our representatives such as Senator Menendez. The rail tunnel would take 22,000 cars off our roadways every day, says the letter to Obama.

• Comment: The number sounds low to me.

Rail. "State picks southern NJ train route." "Garden State officials have chosen a route to expand the Patco Hi-Speedline deeper into southern New Jersey. The Office of Smart Growth wants the train to run from Camden to Glassboro via Glouceser City. The Delaware River Port Authority, which operates the train line, had expected state officials to select a parallel route that would run alongside major highways."

• Comment: So, what gives?

NJ's Trees. Look beyond this headline: "With NJ's gypsy moth population apparently in decline, the state has proposed spraying only about two-thirds of the acreage sprayed last year...."

• Comment: Further down, this article by James O'Neill in The Record also notes that defoliation from the insect was actually UP slightly in '08 versus '07, and up dramatically from '04. He also writes that the spraying efforts are often considered "cosmetic" only. And the headline itself is anecdotal -- it says nothing of the health of NJ's trees overall. Another anecdote goes like this: "Deaths of N.J.'s Norway spruces puzzle tree lovers and experts." And consider the bigger picture of how global warming throwing northern tree forests out of balance... in Canada, for instance: "Pine Beetles Turn [Canadian] Forests From Carbon Sinks to Sources." Scary. Focusing on the Gypsy Moths masks the bigger story.
  

Coastal "Smart Growth." "Middletown hopes to lure development to [dilapidated] seaport," reports Kevin Penton for the Asbury Park Press. "Adding an interactive discovery center, a marine research center and perhaps even a bed-and-breakfast inn to the Port Belford area could help revitalize the dilapidated port, according to the study, presented Tuesday at the Middletown Arts Center."

• Comment: A long way to go before the financing is in place, and lots of work to be done to put the area to such high-minded use. But great results begin with high-minded intentions like these.

Coastal "Not So Smart" Growth. Green groups are organizing efforts to urge the Wildwood Boardwalk project to find alternatives lumber born from rainforest lands.

• Comment: It's not a simple subject, but there are alternatives to using tropical ipe. I wrote in a post several weeks ago: More environmentally friendly alternatives are certainly available, particularly from older tree-farms which haven't been reclaimed from the Amazon in the last few decades and which therefore don't directly pay Brazilians entrepreneurs for destroying a resource we all desperately need. It's tricky to pick a substitute for Ipe that's truly more environmentally friendly, but wood from reclaimed agricultural fiber is certainly one alternatives.

Watershed. DEP Press Release: DEP proposes $19m in Delaware Watershed projects to compensate public for resources harmed by 2004 oil spill. See also the Press of Atlantic City article: "Cumberland, Salem area need $19m environmental fix."


Pollution: DEP Press Release: NJ to receive $43m in lawsuit settlement for contaminated landfill in Morris County. More of the backstory provided is by the Ledger today.


Eagles Soaring. NJ is gaining bald eagles, writes the Courier Post Online. (hat tip Shore11)

• Comment: Good news in itself, and potentially more so as a rallying cry for the state's green movement.

Newsletters recently-published:

• Burlington County's chock-full Recycling Newsletter was published today. Headlines include: County recycling program takes on TVs and Textiles; Junk mail recycling made simple; Local food processing firm serves up the "Green"; and much more

NJ Warming. Today's stakeholder meeting (2 of 6) for NJ's Draft Global Warming Response Act was postponed due to the weather. (Unfortunately, many participants showed up anyway because of the DEP's late cancellation.) The next GWRA stakeholder meeting -- on the topic of Terrestrial Sequestration and Agriculture -- will be held on Friday.

• NOTE: I've also published my notes from yesterday's stakeholder meeting (Green Buildings) here.

Green Jobs / NJ. After today's eye-popping report that the U.S. lost 693,000 report last month (about 150,000 more than economists expected), some readers may want to revisit this website's Green Business links (click and scroll down). One of these links goes to Source Guides, which lists nearly 150 "renewable energy" businesses in NJ.

NJ Green Outreach Coordinator needed. The NJ Mayors' Committee for a Green Future has just begun a search for an Outreach Coordinator who would ensure that the NJ League of Municipalities' Sustainable Jersey initiative "is presented to municipal leaders in a way that they will understand and find appealing." There are several other components of this important job posting. Responses due by Jan. 19.

Mass Transit. On the NJ Senate Republicans' website, Senators Christopher Bateman (16th) and Steve Oroho (24th) say, "Governor should stop stalling on suburban rail projects." They continue, "The Governor's Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report calls for development to occur in areas served by cost-effective and convenient mass transit. ... Despite these admirable goals, the Corzine Administration is promoting incoherent COAH policies that will only exacerbate sprawl, congestion and overdevelopment, while at the same time failing to push suburban mass transit projects that their report says are needed. The gap between the administration’s policies and their actions is big enough to drive a train through.” The Senators specifically want to speed construction on the proposed West Trenton line (27 miles) and the Lackawanna Cut-off project.

Meadowlands - Vision. Robert Ceberio, Executive Director of the NJ Meadowlands Commission, presents on the Commissions' blog a brief version of his long-term vision. For instance: "By 2028, the 14-town Meadowlands District will be generating, just from renewable energy sources, 30 or 40 megawatts of power. You’ll drive down the turn­pike between exits 15W and 16W, and the solar panels and the wind turbines will have become such a part of life that you won’t even notice them. By 2048, I see this region as a large center for green technology — green manufacturing, solar panels, wind power, research and development — a “green” Silicon Valley."

Rutgers Environmental Stewards '09 Lecture Schedule Published, here. I don't think it's too late to apply to this outstanding program. If you're already an environmental specialist, then consider telling someone about this program, which is ideal as "continuing education," or as an introduction to environmental stewardship for anyone interested, for someone out of work currently and looking at career alternatives, or a stay-home parent who wants to add to the community.

Highlands. ANJEC (The Association of NJ Environmental Commissions) is now highlighting on its website: Highlands Actions Needed. It continues, "The Highlands Council has grants available (in the range of $15,000) for municipalities to study the implication of conforming their planning and zoning to the Highlands Regional Master Plan.... ANJEC strongly urges all Highlands municipalities to take advantage of this opportunity to improve their local planning." The grant program is ongoing (see next item)...

Highlands. The Highlands Council posted a press release titled, "Another Busy Year Ahead for Highlands Council."

My lead article today provides Highlights from Stakeholder Meeting #1 for NJ's Draft Global Warming Recommendation Report (see post immediately below).

Also...

Transportation. The NJ Public Interest Research Group issued a press release highlighting "New Study: Red Flags in State's Transportation Wish List." "A new study of the state Department of Transportation (DOT) wish lists, recently submitted to Congress for funding under a new economic recovery package, suggests that current project lists would undermine efforts to repair and modernize our deteriorating infrastructure and reduce U.S. dependence on oil. The study also shows that President-elect Obama’s stated intention to invest in a modernized infrastructure that will create jobs and build a clean, smarter economy for the 21st century could be undermined if the states spend transportation stimulus funds the way they have suggested in its wish list to Congress."

• Comment: Getting NJ Transportation spending right is crucial. Transportation is the state's biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, according to the DEP.
• Comment 2: See also my post titled, "Corzine's Carbon Roads." Transportation will be the focus on the DEP's fourth stakeholder session for the Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report.
  

Senator Menendez. Although his recommendation for restoring the Pulaski Skyway won most of the press, the Senator's stimulus recommendations had a healthy dose of mass transit and energy efficiency initiatives.

• Comment: But the latter efforts need to outweigh the automobile transportation initiatives by a wide margin, if we're to gain momentum in cutting emissions. To contact the Senator, link here.
  

New National Park in NJ? "After making significant progress towards establishing a new National Park in New Jersey during the prior session of Congress, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) and Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today re-introduced the Great Falls National Historical Park Act in the House and Senate." Pascrell is the one featuring this on his website; to contact him, click here.

Smart Development? Michael Daigle publishes a thought-provoking article about development/preservation balance in Morris County (broadly applicable), titled, "Rivers, railroads again key to development in county.... But watershed protection groups, towns along tracks see future quite differently."

• Comment: Morris County's environmental protection is a major reason why it's prosperous. Tipping further toward "development" and away from "preservation" would undermine the county's prosperity rather than enhance it.
  

Shore. Public comments sought. "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrati0n (NOAA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware are seeking public comment on a restoration plan to repair and improve shoreline and habitats of the Delaware River damaged by a vessel oil spill in 2004. .... The draft damage assessment and restoration plan for Athos I is located online. Questions or comments on the plan can go by email to: NOS.AthosComments@noaa.gov...."


Shore. "Failing seawall may doom Delaware Bay community," writes Daniel Walsh for the Press of Atlantic City. "Fairfield Townshi - In an isolated corner of southwest NJ, a community is slowly dying." (hat tip Shore11)

• Comment: Yet another wake-up call.

Recycling. "Operations at Hamilton Township's ecological reycling center were privatized last night after a move that's been heralded by township officials as a cost-saver was approved by a unanimous council vote," writes The Trentonian.

NJ and Hydrogen Power. BlackLight Power of Cranbury, NJ announces another licensing deal for its technology (which opens eyes and raises eyebrows).

NJ Green Trend. A follow-up story on NJ's green trends in yesterday's Gloucester County Times strikes a more helpful tone than an article last week by The Star-Ledger. As the Times article asserts, it still makes a ton of sense to seek efficiencies in the things we do and buy (and opt NOT to buy). But neither article goes nearly far enough, as I wrote here.

Highlands. NJ Highlands Council extends deadline to Jan 30 for public comment on its report on PSE&G's power line project, writes the Daily Record. (hat tip Shore11)

Pollution. "Class Status denied in Suit Against DuPont Over Chemical Tainted Water," writes the NJ Law Journal (subscription required).

Pollution. NJ gets $43m for Superfund site. (hat tip Green Jersey)

Pollution? Some blame NJ for a smell in Manhattan. (hat tip Green Jersey)

I spent the afternoon at the DEP in Trenton attending the first of six stakeholder meetings for NJ’s Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report. The final report will be a resource for policymakers for years to come. The current draft report pulls together existing recommendations and provides new recommendations for the primary goal: meeting NJ’s requirement to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (about 25% below “business as usual” projections). The report also attempts to initiate a framework for 80% emissions reduction from 2006 levels by 2050….

…Ambitious goals, and some participants implied the goals are unrealistic without strong new mandates from the state. Moderators reminded the room: “We’re not yet answering implementation questions. We’re here to listen to your thoughts about the recommendations. We don’t provide ‘how’ we’re going to get [to the emissions reduction goals], but rather ‘what’ we want to do.” The report is meant to be a guide for the Legislature, the departments, and rulemaking authorities. These bodies will need to take strong action on the heels of the report, yet implementation typically falls short of high-minded guidelines. So it’s crucial that the Recommendation Report provide the most practical, achievable and high-impact solutions to meet the state’s emissions reduction goals.

Green Building was the topic at this morning’s meeting, and about 60 people attended, representing various NJ departments (DEP, Office of Planning, BPU, Consumer Affairs, others), building-related groups (U.S. Green Building Council NJ, private developers, others), environmental groups (Sierra Club NJ, Environment NJ, others), and other groups.

Among the lead moderators were Marjorie Kaplan, new manager of the DEP’s Office of Climate & Energy, and Kerry Pflugh of the DEP. They organized the stakeholder feedback along four main questions:

• What are the current incentives/disincentives to green buildings today, both in NJ and elsewhere?
• What specific incentives are lacking in NJ to promote green building design?
• What is the right balance of mandatory requirements and incentives (financial and otherwise) to generate green building in NJ?
• Is making green buildings a mandatory standard cost prohibitive for affordable housing in NJ?

The DEP will provide summaries of all six meetings within a couple of weeks of the last meeting (Jan. 16), so hopefully my early notes today will be useful to readers, even though I’m only covering a few of the points at the meeting.

• First, I learned that NJ is creating a comprehensive standards manual for green buildings, to be made available in mid-2010. The initiative was launched by the state in the fall of ’08, and Rutgers will be organizing the process. This seemed to be news today to several of the building-industry participants as well.

• The room embraced suggestions that non-financial incentives for green building should be expanded. For instance, one participant noted that a Philadelphia-area developer was granted the right to build about 25% more units in a location as a result of its green building plans. These “density bonuses” were a popular notion during a few minutes of discussion. (Note too that density can often present inherent efficiencies.) Numerous participants strongly suggested that the DEP should wave fees and generally streamline the approval process for green building applications. There was some discussion of how Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have a central group of officials – case managers -- who help companies entering the states navigate the entire permitting process across the different departments.

• In the area of financial incentives, many participants urged the state to focus on reducing the “first costs” of green buildings. One participant estimated that green building costs run 2-9% higher than standard building costs, and up to 16% higher if incorporating renewable fuels. Even though this extra cost might be fully justified in the long run, the “first costs” were a disincentive to build green. Tax incentives and abatements that aimed to overcome this initial cost disadvantage would be productive, several people said. Anecdotally, an attending engineer stated that PNC Bank’s LEED-certified buildings in NJ are less expensive than standard buildings to build and maintain.

• Many people stated that clear NJ State green building guidelines would be far preferable to expanding the number of municipal guidelines. Too many guidelines suppresses investment. Implementing LEED more rigorously throughout state rulemaking was one of the proposals. There are other existing U.S. green building standards for NJ to leverage, as well.

• Energy efficiency was, happily, a major focus of the entire meeting. It’s widely acknowledged – though not yet enough – that increasing efficiency is the lowest-hanging fruit of all greenhouse gas and resource-reduction initiatives. How to encourage it? Suggestions ranged from mining utilities’ data on its customers, to strengthening building codes on walls/doors/windows/insulation, to providing standards for “smart meters” that will tell building occupants in real-time what their utility charges will be. Another idea, which I suggested at the meeting, is to mandate increased disclosure of utility expenses. For instance, if average monthly utility bills had to be disclosed by property sellers, then buyers and renters would pay more attention to this, and often choose to occupy more efficient spaces. Such a rule would also encourage existing owners to cut utility costs and invest in efficiencies, so that the property is easier to sell. In looking at 1500-2000 square-foot homes recently, I found some with monthly bills of $650 and others with $150 bills. I doubt most buyers consider this crucial aspect of the buying decision, because the information isn’t readily available.

• Education became a big topic at today’s meeting. Several people suggested ways to better educate municipal building permitters, inspectors, realtors, building occupants, technical school students, and others. One of the only contentious moments of the meeting today centered on the issue of how well municipal building permit employees enforce existing code. A representative from the Department of Consumer Affairs / Division of Codes and Standards implied that permit officers are doing a very good job, and that the current requirement of 1.5 continuing education credits every 3 years is sufficient. The U.S. Green Building Council NJ representatives strongly disagreed. Yet the Dept of Consumer Affairs representative seemed open to strengthening continuing education requirements specifically for energy efficiency.

• Some ideas not ready for prime time policy? Several participants talked about the need to reduce the “lifecycle costs” of buildings, i.e. by using more efficient designs, using less material, using materials that require fewer resources and carbon-emissions to produce, etc. We need more of this kind of thinking. Yet there wasn’t much follow-up on these points, perhaps because it’s not yet generally understood how to broadly quantify and implement these ideas. Clearly though, less is more: The most “green building” is the building that isn’t built. The most “green tenant” is one that occupies an existing structure (which it makes more efficient), and in accordance with smart land-use policies. “Green Buildings” are part of a much wider discussion.

Again, I’m not representing these notes as exhaustive, but hopefully you find the timeliness helpful. Look for the DEP’s notes some time after the Jan 16 stakeholder session.

The DEP hopes to provide a “Final” Recommendation Report in March.

Stakeholder session 2 of 6 is today/Tuesday, weather permitting.