Global Warming and NJ. NJ Plan to Cut Emissions is Too Vague, according to an op-ed piece in the Daily Record by Peter Kasabach, executive director of NJ Future. "Glaringly absent from the Greenhouse Gas Plan [NJ's Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report] is any mention of the existing governmental body responsible for directing statewide land-use policies: the State Planning Commission. Nor is any mention made of the existing plan that lays out a vision for the state's future: the State Development and Resource Plan." Kasabach implies in the article that NJ Future will use the public comment period (which includes six public meetings in Trenton Jan 6-16) to try filling the land-use voids in the plan. For instance, he urges NJ to emulate California's recently passed Senate Bill 375 (article here), which "mandates a comprehensive approach to land use incorporating transportation investment, affordable housing, environmental regulation and other considerations that will ultimately offer residents more convenient alternatives for getting around while simultaneously lowering carbon emissions."

• Comment: NJ's Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report should be given additional attention as a result of new audit that calls into question half of the U.S. EPA global warming reductions via the ubiquitous Energy Star program. As Bill Wolfe wrote for The Star-Ledger yesterday (hat tip Shore11), NJ's DEP relies heavily on the same EPA claims that go challenged by the new audit. During the public comment period for the NJ report, stakeholders will want to insert language making explicit that the final NJ report will make full consideration of Energy Star's overstatements when setting goals for NJ's true impact on the environment.

• Comment #2: I've also argued that the public comment period for NJ's Draft Global Warming plan should (1) call for the state to utilize our unique and home-grown Global Emissions Exchange (GEX), and (2) create an "Implementation Team" to address a frequent problem that recommendations haven't equated to real actions.
  

NJ Likely to Lose House Seat by the 2012 Elections. New Jersey could be on the verge of losing one of its 13 House seats, according to a report by Election Data Services, writes Michael Symons in his blog Capitol Quickies. I contacted the article's key source, Election Data Services, to confirm that any changes won't impact the 2010 elections, but will impact the 2012 congressional elections.

• Comment: Redistricting in NJ would further elevate the importance of sending the most environmentally-savvy delegation to D.C. I've argued that the single most effective way to "green" NJ would be to replace Scott Garrett (5th district) -- he won a not-overwhelming 57% of the vote in the '08 election. Opposition to Garrett is will probably continue to organize early in 2010. Redistricting would put extra emphasis on contests that were close in 2008, such as Garrett's. The narrowest margin of victory in the '08 election in NJ was by John Adler (3rd District) over Chris Myers 52%-48%, and the second-narrowest was Leonard Lance (7th District) over Linda Stender 54%-46%. Environmentally-minded voters will probably want to defend Adler in 2010 given his endorsements by the Sierra Club, Ocean Champions and the NJ Environmental Federation in 2008. Meanwhile, both Lance and Stender were viewed as environmental stewards.
  

Energy Efficiency - Very Interesting Program. "Though a program called Demand Response, which is run by North American Power Partners, the South Brunswick school district earned $53,000 simply by participating," writes Davy James in a report for the South Brunswick Post that pricked my ears. "'They installed energy meters on three of our schools and basically put us on call and asked us to reduce our electrical uses when the grid is in jeapardy,' said Business Administrator Anthony Tonzini. 'They never actually called us to turn down our systems, but just for taking part in the program last year, we were notified we'd be receiving $53,000."

• Comment: North American Power Partners helps organize utilities' "demand response" functions. Since the utilities save money by reducing peak load demands, they offer financial incentives to entities to help them do so. Typically, requests for reduced power consumption are issued once a month for 15 minutes. I believe this is the link to join the program.

Tropical Hardwood / Wildwood Boardwalk. Wildwood is catching flak for switching to Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood, for rebuilding its boardwalk, writes the Cape May County Herald.

• Comment: Wildwood's municipality should set a better example on this issue, because millions of purchasers are using Ipe in things like decks, and using the products of Brazil's industrialization that is laying-waste of the Amazon. The bit of reading I've done indicates that Ipe is a harvested wood in Brazil, usually on land that used to be rainforest. Ipe is particularly hard and weather-resistant, and has about a 25-year maturity cycle. 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. Wildwood is risking well-publicized urges to boycott its attractions once the new boardwalk opens. Please let me know if you hear of any.

Creating a Scenic Byway / Advantages. "During the coming year, local Millstone officials plan to examine the creation of a scenic byway to promote the township's natural and historic charm.." The Messenger Press. "Not only would expanding the byway through Millstone help earn the township regional and state recognition, said county planner Zunilda Rodriguez, but it would also make Millstone eligible for National Discretionary Grants and increased regional cooperation," writes Jessica Ercolino.

• Comment: Would the Scenic Byway status also give preservationists extra clout regarding development plans along the byway?

Recycling Challenges in NJ -- And Hope. Local recycling programs will come under increasing pressure, I wrote about this week. There's hope when local recycling advocates stay engaged. For instance, Chris Gaetano of the Woodbridge Sentinel reports, "Local officials said that Middlesex County residents won't be seeing any changes in the way they participate in their recycling programs, despite a severe drop in the price of recyclable goods that has some industry leaders worried about the future." The article quotes several interesting sources, including the director of the National Recycling Coalition, a non-profit advocacy group, saying "In your area [New Jersey], where landfill prices tend to be high...the altenerative [to recycling] is still very costly." But recycling advocates will have to stay on guard.

Preservation -- A Bit Tougher to Block New Buildings? The NJ Law Journal (subscription required) reports: "A divided state Supreme Court holds that [it was improper for] a town engaged in impermissible spot zoning by changing an ordinance in response to citizens' concerns about traffic and pollution that would result from the building of a new shopping center."

Preservation / Highlands. EnviroPolitics Blog author Frank Brill provides a handy update on the contest over whether to build high-voltage lines through the Highlands. The NJ Highlands Council will continue to receive public comment until January 7 [email comments to chris (dot) ross (at) highlands (dot) state (dot) nj (dot) us] and may discuss the issue at its January 15 meeting (in Chester), he writes. Highlands Council has already recommended against power line project.

County Naturalist. Nice profile on the Burlington County naturalist and the job itself, by Carol Comegno for the Courier-Post.


Some of Shore11's news article citations in the past few days:

Energy Efficiency. Utility's school program helps families conserve energy. Sixth graders, with the help of South Jersey Gas' Conservation Incentive Program, making a difference. Rob Spahr for the Press of Atlantic City.

Energy Efficiency. The Morris County motor service has begun a six-month study of biodiesel fuel to see if switching to the new fuel will save money and wear and tear on truck engines, and reduce emissions, writes Michael Daigle for the Daily Record.

Energy Efficiency. In an effort to save money, Long Beach Township has joined the quickly-growing list of municipalities that are applying to take part in the state's energy audit program. The Daily Record.

• Comment: Taking part seems like a total no-brainer for municipalities. NJ Clean Energy Program link here. An regular citizens can encourage their municipalities to do so.
  

Green Towns. Committee backs estuary hearings. "The Little Egg Harbor Township Committee has taken the lead in southern Ocean County in supporting hearings into the condition of the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbour Estuary," writes Paula Sculy for the Asbury Park Press.

Colleges and Green. Ramapo among colleges reviving green movements on campus. Ramapo and its new Sharp Sustainability Center are emblematic of a trend, writes Ana Alaya for The Star-Ledger.

Recycling. The Red Bank Borough council finally agreed to regulate plastic bags, writes Larry Higgs for the Asbury Park Press.

• Comment: but municipalities' recycling program face major challenges as a result of lower prices for recyclable materials, I wrote yesterday in "NJ Recycling Advocates, Get Ready."

Preservation / Highlands. "West Milford property owners with septic systems -- that's about 85% of the township -- will be required to have the systems pumped out every three years or face a fine of as much as $1,000 a day. The local mandate, adopted earlier this month, is most likely foretelling of what's to come for most municipalities within the environmentally sensitive Highlands area," writes Barbara Williams for The Record.

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