Air of Confusion, an editorial in the Ledger yesterday broaching the NJ / Global Warming topic, is mostly helpful. It points out something I keep hearing from NJ environmental experts: the state is pretty good at drawing up progressive green guidelines for the global warming era, but bad at turning them into reality. For instance, the article points out that the NJ Dept of Purchasing is accepting bids next week to buy a fleet of gas-guzzling SUVs, whereas the state has supposedly adopted the goal of averaging 40.5 mpg by 2016.

• Comment: That's one reason why we'll need a stronger Global Warming Awareness Act Recommendation Report to come out of the January public review period, and why the report should create a strong "Implementation Team."
• Comment #2: The Ledger article falls flat in the end. Only "the condition of the North Pole" and some polar bears will suffer if we don't address global warming. What about hundreds -- thousands -- of square miles of NJ's coastal and low-lying towns, businesses, trade ports and industrial areas -- not to mention entire ecosystems?

Wind Power. Ben Leach of the Press of Atlantic City reports that a Seattle-based company, Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co., is entering the fray to offer building a wind farm almost three-times the size of existing proposals -- 1000 megawatts, or enough to power about 300,000 homes in NJ. (hat tip Shore11)

• Comment: Note the company's dual wind/wave technology, and its explanation of why NJ may be so well-suited to producing wind power from floating platforms that can harness wave energy too. But we'll need to move much quicker on renewable energy, and wind power is only a small piece of the urgent process to reduce emissions.

Electronics Recycling. Glassboro has launched a successful electronics waste recycling program, writes the Courier Post. The town has collected almost three tons of electronic waste in its first month. It's working with Thanks For Being Green LLC, of Audubon, NJ. Cherry Hill and Monroe are also working with the company, and the article implies that things are going well. (hat tip Blue Jersey)

• Comment: Engaging with Thanks For Being Green and launching electronic waste recycling is one of many ways that NJ recycling advocates can try to counter the economic pressure against recycling.

Utilities. The Record highlights, "stiff opposition from a coalition of consumer, business and environmental groups" to NJ Senate legislation that would enhance the economics for the state's utility companies.


Environment / Agriculture. An article in the NJ Herald profiling the outgoing NJ Agriculture Secretary Kuperas highlights some of the ag-related environmental challenges the state faces.


Princeton Environmental Film Festival. Enthusiasm is undoubtedly building for the ten-day event of films, talks and workshops, and blogs such as EnviroPolitics Blog and Green Jersey are previewing the event, not to mention area newspapers.

This blog's extensive "NJ Green Calendar" highlights many additional events in the first few days of January (and beyond):

1. 6th Annual Sons of Ireland Polar Bear Plunge to benefit Clean Ocean Action and others. Convention Center, Asbury Park, NJ, 10am-12pm check-in, 1pm plunge. Sons of Ireland

2-11. Princeton Environmental Film Festival.

3. The NJN documentary Green Builders will be screened as part of the third annual Princeton Environmental Film Festival, reports the Rutgers Center for Green Building.

4. Monmouth County Friends of Clearwater. Monthly membership meeting. Eatontown.

5. Deadline to submit for prequalification for new contracts for Green Acres Survey Services.

5. Pinelands Commission meeting - policy and implementation. New Lisbon.

6. Stakeholder Meeting #1 of 6 for the Draft NJ Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report. Subject: Green Buildings. Trenton.

6. Full report on results of 12/17/08 RGGI auction will be published.

More: link to NJ Green Calendar.

I've been writing a lot about the NJ's Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report, and the upcoming stakeholder meetings, because the Final Report will be a blueprint for many NJ leaders in the coming years (for better or for worse -- it's up to us).

The DEP has just sent out an email containing the agendas for the six meetings. I don't see the agendas on the website yet, which means they'll be posted soon, OR that you'll have to RSVP to to the meetings in order to receive updates -- send an email to: rsvp-ghg@dep.state.nj.us

There were only about 40 people on the blast email, which might mean there have only been 40 RSVPs since the Draft was released on December 15. Clearly there will be -- and should be -- many, many more participants in the important stakeholder meetings beginning January 6.

Climate Catastrophe - More Science. The scientific community is producing extremely alarming reports almost daily regarding the rapid onset of global warming. The latest report by a top scientist (summary here) says industrial nations' (and thus states') emissions will need to be cut 80-90% in the next 40 years.

• Comment: Implications would be clearly devastating for NJ. We'll need to increase our level of urgency and hope everyone else does the same. If the article I referenced doesn't offer enough alarm, try this one: "Climate Change: Chasm Widens Between Science and Policy." Policy is improving, but at a slower rate than the climate warnings are worsening.
  

Corzine's Carbon Roads. Yesterday I wrote that Corzine's road-building plans threaten to overwhelm the carbon reduction efforts implicit in his hopes to improve public transportation. Today I see a new report from Texas A&M saying that making cement creates 5% of the world's greenhouse gases. Given the quickly rising urgency of the climate crisis (see above), folks like Corzine need to start taking overall emissions reduction much more seriously.


Jersey City. "Green City Goals." Paul Koepp writing for Jersey Journal, reports, "[Jersey City] is now trying to put on a more environmentally friendly face, with Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy rolling out proposals aimed at energy-efficient and pollution-free vehicles, buildings and supplies." The Mayor's office has sent numerous proposals to the City Council for review and are expected to be introduced more formally to the public in January. The proposals "Really put Jersey City as one of the leaders" in the state, according to a DEP official. (hat tip Shore11)

• Comment: Let's hope the Jersey City Council acts quickly. Doing so will bolster efforts to win Obama funding that's aimed specifically at environmental initiatives in urban centers. Let's also hope the Mayor and Council take a comprehensive approach to improving efficiency (see my next comment, below)
  

Morris County / Energy. The Daily Record reviews Morris County's extensive plans to support renewable energy projects in approximately 100 school districts and municipal offices.

• Comment: Laudable. But remember that investing energy efficiency is often even more cost effective way to cut fuel costs and improve the environment. Read this post for more: "An efficiency portfolio standard is as important as a renewable standard -- and should come first." Closer to home, there was a nice little piece in the NY Times yesterday saying how cost-efficient it is to weatherize homes -- NJ should shift its emphasis from paying poor folks' utility bills, to lowering them.
  

NJ & Hydro Power. The NJ Herald picked up the important story of Sparta's efforts to turn a quarry into a significant source of hydroelectric power.

• Comment: I wrote about this project and implications in "NJ & Hydro Power: Still Perfect Together."

Preservation. Madison inked $13m deal for 50 acres of open space, writes Jake Remaly for The Daily Record. The acquisition "protects aquifers that supply the borough's water and averts traffic problems that would have been created...." Instead, "handicap-accessible trails through the woods and a community garden are projects that could start in the foreseeable future."

Ocean Power. Ocean Power Technologies of Pennington, NJ signed an agreement last week with an Australian firm to develop wave power projects off the coasts of Austrialia and New Zealand. "This is the latest in a number of deals for Ocean Power over the past year," Earth2Tech reports.


Green Hiring Opportunity? Kudos to the Asbury Park Press for profiling three young guys touring the country in a bus fueled by vegetable oil.

• Comment: How many environmental groups will be contacting Connor Effenberger, Lucas Benjamin and Eric Loundy to join?

Legal Talent. The Delaware Riverside Conservancy honored attorney Jeffrey Russo for his expertise in aiding the cause. (hat tip Shore11)

Pollution. An editorial in The Record laments the decision to cut from the budget two Meadowlands anti-dumping patrollers. (hat tip Shore11)

Global Warming / NJ. The Courier Post picks up the much-discussed Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report.

Passaic River Coalition. The Coalition will be moving into a beautiful new permanent headquarters -- Willow Hall in Morristown.

NJ Green Winter Newsletters - Update. I'm continuing to post brief updates on each newsletter coming from the 200-or-so NJ green organizations that I try to track. If I've missed your Dec./Jan./Winter newsletter, please let me know. And don't hesitate to "sign me up!" My high-volume email inbox is: josephbasralian at yahoo dot com.

• New Jersey Conservation Foundation - Winter newsletter. A colorful, inspiring presentation of the Foundation's achievements and '09 ambitions.

While several people have published opinions on NJ's crucial Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report, released December 15, leave it to Sierra Club NJ to provide the broadest overview of ways to sharpen the Recommendation Report during the public feedback period. Sierra Club NJ's Director, Jeff Tittel, published what is probably an outline of his formal feedback on the plan in his Asbury Park Press op-ed piece, which is certainly worth a moment of our time. Here are the specific recommendations (mostly in his words) that I picked out of his brief article:

• Establish a comprehensive energy efficiency program so that we can halve our energy needs. [It's certainly true that efficiency is NOT yet getting its due as a solution. Read this post, for instance, by a leader in the field.]
• To support energy efficiency, the Legislature must pass the Green Buildings Bill and an enhanced appliance standard.
• The plan should highlight the economic benefit from investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
  
• Limit the importation of coal-driven electricity into NJ, and stop the refurbishment of old coal-fired facilities.
• The plan should address the need to put in cooling towers at our power plants
• The plan should go further in promoting the development of new mass transit systems in appropriate places.
• Help people move into our densely populated areas.
• Support the Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line.
• Redirect moneys being used to widen the Garden State Parkway and NJ Turnpike toward refurbishing the Pulaski Skyway and the 50 percent of our bridges that are deficient in New Jersey.
• Create a car trip reduction program would give businesses funding and incentives to get people out of single-occupancy vehicles.
• Stop running new water and sewer lines into rural areas. [For much more on improving the report's land use recommendations, see my blog post on NJ Future.]
  
• Stop subsidizing the largest greenhouse gas emitter in New Jersey, Xanadu.
• Strengthen efforts to IMPLEMENT the report's recommendations.

I've written a fair bit about the state's Draft Global Warming Act Recommendation Report because policymakers and the state government will reference it many thousands of times in the coming years. My comments are in this series of blog posts.

Finally, Tittel concludes the op-ed piece by urging everyone interested in NJ's environment and Global Warming to attend the stakeholder meetings Jan 6 - 16, listed here. I'm planning to be there as well.

NJ Green Calendar. I've just added about 30 more events to the Calendar, so feel free to take a look if you haven't recently.

Solar. Big project in the works, writes Jeremy Rosen for the Courier Post Online. "Mantua, NJ resident David Sharrow, partly fueled by concerns for the future of his eight children in a degenerating environment, has reached a $14 million agreement with a solar energy development company. He plans to transpose his 10-acre Williamstown lot into potentially the biggest solar farm in New Jersey.... The nearly 9,000-panel solar farm would annually produce two megawatts of power our enough energy to supply 1,000 families, and also reduce yearly carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3,000 tons, according to developer SolarWorks NJ. Next step is for SolarWorks NJ to get financing, and "several investors are interested."

NJ's Environmental Challenges. "N.J. environment's defenders uneasy," writes Asbury Park Press environmental writer Todd Bates. The article provides an overview of the additional challenges the state faces in '09. It quotes representatives of the American Littoral Society, Clean Ocean Action, the NJ Environmental Federation, and the DEP's Mauriello.

Global Warming / NJ. NJ State Senator Andrew Ciesla (10th District) wrote on Dec. 23 for the Senate Republicans' website: "Corzine Global Warming Plan Adds to COAH Confusion." The letter's main argument is: "Gov. Corzine must abolish the Dec. 31st COAH deadline [for towns to submit affordable housing plans] and reconcile the fundamental conflicts that exist between the Highlands Act, COAH and his global warming initiative [see the Dec. 15 Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report] before issuing any more mandates to municipalities. Let me make this clear, our state's affordable housing policy is wrong and needs to be scrapped."

Transportation. "County boards eye federal aid for roads, rails," writes Bob Jordan for the Asbury Park Press. Monmouth County is canceling planned budget cuts that wold have cut its federal transportation lobbyists, and Ocean County is stepping up efforts to obtain funds (though it doesn't employ federal lobbyists). "Officials in both counties say they hope to see plans move forward for a proposed Monmouth-Ocean-Middlesex rail line ... 'The rail line would help not only here, but also throughout the state of NJ, by getting cards off the road,'" said Ocean County Freeholder Joseph Vicari, according to the article. (hat tip PolitickerNJ)

• Comment: But funding for road projects could significantly outweigh stimulus to public transportation projects. NJ's backlog of road projects seems much larger than its backlog of public transportation projects, according to my reading of an article in today's Record.
  

Maplewood Joins Green Drinks. Maplewood Mayor Fred Profeta and the Maplewood Green Team have joined Green Drinks, the international effort by towns to bring awareness to environmental issues. Maplewood's inaugural Green Drinks will take place Jan 8, 7pm at Cent'Anni, 5 Highland Place, Maplewood. (hat tip reader Jason).

• Comment: Only three other NJ Green Drinks participants are listed on the Green Drinks website: Summit, Bernards and North Jersey. One of them, North Jersey Green Drinks, is hosting drinks TOMORROW NIGHT at Egan & Sons, 118 Walnut St., Montclair.
  

Clearwater. Monmouth Country Friends of Clearwater wrote on December 25 that it has formally changed its name to "Clearwater of New Jersey" (CoNJ) to "better reflect our outreach domain and membership demographics." The website also updates readers on CoNJ's letter to Gov. Corzine opposing LNG terminals, and on a December meeting called "Sea Level Rise Workshop: How Prepare Are You for Rising Waters?"

Pinelands. Feature article in Asbury Park Press about how mapping technologies are helping the Pinelands undergo its largest re-mapping since 1980. (hat tip Wild New Jersey)

Meadowlands Scientist. NY1's "New Jersey Person of the Week" is a scientist who monitors the Meadowlands. (hat tip Wild New Jersey)

Parks. Rumson gets $250,000 from Monmouth County to help purchase land in a park expansion.

Preservation. The Cap May National Wildlife Refuge has added 371 acres, reports the Press of Atlantic City.

NJ Green Winter Newsletters - Update. I plan to post brief updates on each newsletter coming from the 200-or-so NJ green organizations that I try to track. If I've missed your Dec./Jan./Winter newsletter, please let me know. And don't hesitate to "sign me up!" My high-volume email inbox is: josephbasralian at yahoo dot com.

• Conservation Resources. Winter newsletter highlights the seven new NJ conservation projects that it is backing. And with the more difficult funding environment in '09, C.R. promises "a new, more efficient way to bring much-needed capital to conservation projects in early '09."
• Clean Ocean Action. January newsletter highlights COA's tactics in opposing LNG facilities and offshore drilllling, as well as its hopes for wind and wave power, and the progress of Student Ocean Advocates.
• The Urban Coast Institute of Monmouth University. December newsletter includes a call for regional action to restore coastal lakes, the UCI's new boat for waterway survey work, and other items.

A couple of items from before the holidays that I'm just picking up now:

Preservation. NJ's Ag Secretary and Smart Growth Director praised Woolwich Township's TDR (transfer of development rights) program that will result in the permanent preservation of up to 4,100 acres of farmland and enable it to manage some of the highest development pressure in the state.

Food Waste Recycling. "The Solid Waste Renewal Group (SWRRG) at Rutgers NJ Agricultural Experiment Station has just finished its first year of county-based food waste recycling forums, and participants who signed up for food waste recycling are finding some additional benefits..."

[Note: see also my chock-full NJ Green Update 12/26/08, just below]

NJ's Alliance for a Living Ocean has gotten a new life! I was disappointed to read an article a few days ago in the Asbury Park Press that the Alliance for a Living Ocean said it would disband in January if it didn't find additional volunteers to carry out programs. There are so few non-profit groups whose explicit mission is to protect our oceans.

But I've just heard from Tom Beaty, ALO President, that the plea for Trustee Members has been successful, and that ALO will hit the ground running in January. Numerous New Jerseyans, including several professional scientists, are giving ALO its jolt. Write to tom at woodenjetty dot com for details. The ALO is based in Beach Haven.

The ALO has been a very good advocate for the preservation for NJ's coastal waters that we all need to remain clean, and it is an important voice to help NJ counter damaging policies such as an overly permissive policy toward Liquified Natural Gas facilities.

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.

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.

As Hugh Morley explains very well in yesterday's Record, prices for recyclable materials have plunged. I fully expect haulers to want increasingly to void or renegotiate pickup agreements with municipalities. Haulers will be responding to the low prices they're getting for the recyclable paper, glass, plastic and metal, and they'll want to pay municipalities much less to collect the stuff, and in some cases they'll try telling municipalities to pay them to pick it up.

And this is how years of progress on local recycling efforts can be quickly undone as a result of temporary acute economic pressure. Even worse, once local recycling programs weaken or are put on hold, they take a long time to restart, even after prices for recyclable materials recover. All the while, landfills will be filling up faster, and corporations will be using more oil, metals, trees, energy and other newly-minted raw materials -- the seeds of global warming -- to create products from scratch, rather than from recycled materials.

With the economic pressure on recycling programs increasing, it's especially crucial that recycling advocates inside and outside municipal government keep close tabs on hauling agreements. It's one thing to turn back the clock after every other option has been exhausted, but it's another thing entirely to see recycling programs weakened before communities have a full opportunity to weigh-in on how to sustain their hard-won recycling programs.

Despite the ubiquity and untapped potential of hydroelectric power in the U.S. and worldwide, I think it's still an unheralded renewable power source. But that is changing rapidly. Look, for instance, at yesterday's Star-Ledger story about Sparta's plans to convert a spring-fed quarry into a significant source of hydro power.

I expect to hear more announcements like this -- municipalities (and private companies) seeking environmentally-sound ways to raise revenue and feed the power grid, especially by harnessing hydroelectric power.

It's estimated that hydropower supplies 8-9% of all power in the U.S. and almost 20% worldwide. Its advantages are enormous: it's clean, renewable, and available. Most importantly there are vast amounts of untapped hydropower behind existing dams whose flow isn't being used to create power -- easily enough to triple hydropower's share of NJ's power generation (and thus replace a great deal of dirty, carbon-belching coal power).

And the technology for doing so has improved. For instance, HydroCoil Power, which is a client of the Sustainable Business Incubator of NJ's Fairleigh Dickinson University, has developed a small turbine (just three feet long) that enables smaller and smaller dams to generate power. These could be employed without creating any new dams, and without harming the ecosystems that have developed both upstream and downstream from the dams. I wrote about HydroCoil and the Sustainable Business Institute earlier this month.

And a New York Times article this summer reported that HydroCoil is setting its nationwide sights on 700-800 dams (many in NJ) less than 100 feet high that could potentially be used to generate electricity with the company’s patented turbines. The company says power from its turbines costs a fraction of wind and solar, and can have a mere 2-year payback period for a new investment.

The use of hydropower is ancient, yet its applicability in New Jersey is rising drastically today -- Appropriate for a state whose own Paterson Falls hydro plant helped launch the American Industrial Revolution

The NJ DEP has made some laudable strides this year, but its year-end feel-good memo is a whistle to the graveyard when I consider what's really happening to the climate. Nowhere does the memo mention what we're up against and the significant increase in efforts needed to halt the climate devastation we could face. The memo was an opportunity for new DEP head Mauriello to hint at a vision he'll be able to provide.

Summaries of some recent mainstream science articles on Climate Progress provide a reality dose against the DEP's champaigne toast. For instance:

• The consequences of 5.5°C warming by 2100, which Hadley says is “likely” on our current emissions path are all but unimaginable — mass extinction, devastating ocean acidification, brutal summer-long heat waves, rapidly rising sea levels, widespread desertification. But they are rarely studied or articulated by scientists who can’t imagine humanity would be so stupid as to let this happen. I have tried to piece them together them together from the scientific literature (see “Is 450 ppm (or less) politically possible? Part 0: The alternative is humanity’s self-destruction“).

Let's hope the DEP and Corzine brass use the holidays to catch up on some of the horrifying scientific conclusions that have been published in the last few weeks.

Rep. Pallone Keeps Subcommittee. "U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-Long Branch) will remain as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health after an agreement announced [Dec. 18] by Henry Waxman and John Dingell. Dingell had hinted that he might challenge Pallone for the powerful subcommittee post after losing the full committee chairmanship to Waxman last month" wrote PolitickerNJ.

• Comment: This is an unheralded yet important victory for the national environmental agenda, even though Pallone's subcommittee is more directly healthcare policy related, rather than the wider issue of human health in the environment. Pallone has been a staunch advocate of the environment, and picked up many green-group endorsements over the years. It's important that Waxman, now chairman of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, will have Pallone as an ally to advance both men's agendas. Recall that Waxman's recent defeat of Dingell to become the full committee chairmanship was reported widely as a HUGE victory for the environment. Waxman has propelled many key environmental initiatives, while Dingell was a staunch defender of U.S. automakers' oil-loving lobby.
  

Recycling. Woodbridge to phase in single-stream recycling line starting Jan 5, writes Alyssa Giachino for My Central Jersey (hat tip Shore11.) Comment: Note the growing popularity and economic-common sense of single-stream recycling. Recycling rates can rise quite sharply (as in doubling or tripling) as people need to spend less time separating garbage. I wrote about the impact on single-stream on New York state here.

Pollution. "Researchers with the NJ Geological Survey are testing groundwater and sampling soil to find the cause of arsenic-contaminated wells in homes on Upper Denmark Road in Oxford Township," reports Bill Wichert of The Express Times. The analysis should be done by spring, says the NJDEP.

ACTION ALERT - Indian Trail Swamp. The American Littoral Society has published a new action on its website (I'm contacting the Society for details): "Help Win Fight to Save Key Gem within Cape May County's Indian Trail Swamp" is the headline. The introduction continues to the Action continues, "The 250-acre forest is threatened by a proposed large-scale sand mining operation and industrial recycling facility. After a hard-fought battle led by the Society and local grassroots groups, Friends of Indian Trail, Albrecht and Huen and its subsidiary Future Mining Inc., were granted local approvals by Middle Township on December 11. However, the fight is far from over as the developer must still submit applications to NJDEP for the all-important CAFRA and Wetlands Permits"

...is to remove Rep. Scott Garrett from the NJ Congressional Delegation in 2010. I write this today after "Retire Garrett" blogger Mike Simonson has posted another factually devastating article about Garrett's environmental record. The fifth district and our entire state is sending someone to D.C. to systematically unwind the green-prosperity movement's victories for human health and economic growth, and prevent any further desperately-needed progress.

Retiring Garrett (5th District, on NJ's northern rim) is the "single" most effective way of greening NJ because removing him from office is a discrete event with a guaranteed positive influence on the entire nation's environmental & related economic policies. There can no better instance of our local action making a significant, immediate national impact -- even global impact because of America's huge (and so far negative) impact on international collaboration with regard to the environment.

To start helping the campaign to "Retire Garrett" (formerly called "Take Back The Fifth"), contact George Hertzberg (201 767 9411, hertzberg1 "at" verizon "dot" net), who has launched a Political Action Committee to help do just this. NOW is the right time to support this PAC because the more opposition to Garrett that builds early,

1. the more talented people we'll be able to engage and employ to spread the word about Garrett's environmental destructiveness, and harness grass-roots opposition,
2. the more encouragement we'll giving for a spirited Republican opposition during the next primary, and
3. the more probability we'll have of getting the national Democratic Party, national environmental organizations, and others to commit big resources to Garrett's Democratic challenger.

In a letter to the NJ DEP, The NJ Highlands Coalition has "strongly objected" to PSE&G's Highlands power line plan, according to NJ Herald, in what sounds like an even stronger opposition than the Coalition's 11/18/08 press release which "asks the DEP to carefully review the power line expansion plan."

What really raises my ire is that PSE&G is telling residents attending its "information sessions" that its designs are only partially complete, according to the Highlands Coalition and recent articles on these sessions, yet then tells the NJ Herald reporter, "the DEP deemed it complete" and won't fully explain what it left out when talking to the public.

We've seen this old game many times. Instead of answering tough questions from citizens, say "we're working on it," to postpone having to explicate the gory details as long as possible, so that you delay and weaken the opposition that would coalesce if it knew the truth at the outset. The further into the DEP approval process that PSE&G can get before it has to explain just how environmentally damaging its project will be, the higher likelihood it will slip by before people realize they were double-talked.

PSE&G's duplicitous behavior virtually guarantees that it's hiding just how destructive its power line project will really be.

Obama is going to keep NJ's governments and green organizations very busy in the next four years working to influence -- and get a piece of -- what could be the biggest-ever federal movement toward science.

I've linked to the tip of the (thawing) iceberg in this article, which will also take you to Obama's "landmark radio address" today.

NJ's participation in this week's RGGI auction is a milestone for the state's green-prosperity movement. But let's make no mistake -- it's a small, tentative milestone.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is resulting in a Northeastern utility such as PSE&G paying an additional $3.38 for each ton of carbon buys the right to emit. The figure is a tiny fraction of the "externalized costs" to society of global warming and pollution. Consider that it would take a $20/ton carbon price to make it more cost effective for a utility to switch from coal to cleaner natural gas, according to an estimate cited by the Sierra Club NJ.

Yet switching to natural gas wouldn't make power production carbon-neutral, either. An even higher cost-of-carbon would be needed to make it worthwhile for a utility to switch to solar, and an even higher price needed to account for all the carbon a utility company emits in all its operations.

That's why it's imperative that no one becomes the least-bit complacent that the RGGI is doing the full job, even though it's the nation's leader. The carbon cap will need to be reduced considerably, and rules to tighten loopholes and broaden enforcement will need to be strengthened all the time. Simultaneously, the regional initiative must become a national initiative so that the cap-and-trade states don't start chafing against rising power prices relative to other regions.

The level of urgency reached new heights this week, when the Arctic Research Center reported that the underwater permafrost is thawing and releasing methane. This is extremely worrisome. Methane is a many, many times more potent greenhouse gas trapper than carbon. If permafrost thawing has begun its chain reaction, the only hope that life-as-we-know-it will have, would be radical reductions in our emissions across-the-board. All the more reason to super-accelerate RGGI and national approaches to cap-and-trade and every other method available.

Also check out my profile today about exactly how regular folks can earn money via the extraordinary new Global Emissions Exchange that calls NJ its home. Further updates today include:

NJ / Global Warming

NJ / Global Warming. NJ Future commended the State's Greenhouse Gas Plan, but warns in its press release that more action will be necessary. For instance, NJ Future wants the plan to establish more transit locations, commit to the DOT's transit village program, and include specific legislative recommendations to address land-use. The public feedback period will contain six Trenton meetings Jan 6-16; I believe the the plan should establish a politically experienced "Implementation Team" and an endorsement of NJ's Global Emissions Exchange in order to earn money from the carbon reduction results above-and-beyond the efficiency savings.

"Bold" NJ Climate Plan. SustainableBusiness.com calls NJ's Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report, released this week, "one of the most comprehensive and progressive in the nation." (hat tip Politicker NJ.) But many NJ-watchers warn that implementation has been NJ's weakness, not policy expertise. The Report needs to establish an "Implementation Team," I've been arguing.

Energy

Wind farm plans advance, reports the Press of Atlantic City, and The Recrod: "Three companies instead of one are moving ahead with plans to build wind farms off the south Jersey coast... [Each] will receive $4m if they construct towers offshore to gather weather information by the end of next year.... [NJ's Energy Master Plan] wants to generate 1,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind power by 2012. The companies include Bluewater Wind, Fishermen's Energy and Garden State.

Rep. Scott Garrett's terrible environmental and energy record is the subject of a Take Back The Fifth post today. I've written that one of the best things NJ can do to improve the environment is help Take Back The Fifth elect one of his challenges in '10.

Energy Efficiency. NJBiz.com's #2 most-read article (which I highlighted earlier this week) is about a NJ company that makes corporate IT networks run with much greater energy efficiency.

Preservation

Highlands / PSE&G. "The NJ Highlands Council today [in Chester Township] heard an initial presentation of PSE&G's plans for a $750m power line upgrade.... PSE&G officials stressed that the new lines, on towers reaching as high as 195 feet, would be built within existing line corridor and lead to little additional environmental disturbance. But environmentalists disagreed, saying the work would violate some 50 provisions of the Highlands regional master plan, including infringing at least in Jefferson on stream buffers, sensitive forestland, wildlife habitat and steep slopes." The Daily Record.

Beachfront. NJ will appeal this weeks' court decision to make it harder for the state to replenish beaches. Press of Atlantic City.

Additional

Pollution / Schools. "Pompton Lakes school district officials, heeding the call of concerned parents, are looking into the testing of school facilities for the same kind of chemical vapors that are rising beneath a neighborhood of residences in town [originating with a DuPont facility]," reports Elaine D'Aurizio of The Record.

Judges spares Sierra Club NJ photocopy bill. "An appellate judge has thrown out a $4,000 bill submitted to the Sierra Club and Hartz Mountain Industries by the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority to pay for documents related to a lengthy legal battle by the groups," writes The Record. Sierra Club NJ head says unfair tabs like that would unfairly discourage future legal actions by citizens against state agencies. NJSEA said it was going to let it go anyway.

New NJ green blog -- www.WildNewJersey.tv. The Edison Wetlands Association recently launched this blog, which is the only statewide wildlife and nature newsblog that I've seen. It's updated daily with breaking news, sightings, studies and upcoming events.

I particularly like it as a complement to Green Politics NJ, which is statewide politics / business / organizational with less of an emphasis on wildlife. That's why I thought it made sense to co-promote with Wild today -- as you'll see when you log-in.

Wild's "Network Effect." WildNewJersey.tv also encourages groups to submit their own event posting, press releases, nature photos, and other promotional materials. Let's help the blog get its "network effect" rolling because it can be a super platform for NJ's wildlife and nature lovers to join together and aid the environment even more than we are now.

Meanwhile, stay tuned for my Daily Update, coming shortly.

Some opportunities to be green and prosper are so extraordinary that I do a double-take. That’s exactly the opportunity I’m beholding in Global Emissions Exchange (GEX), the New Jersey-based carbon emissions exchange that lets everyday people & organizations, towns and government agencies earn money from our reductions in carbon emissions. It’s the first exchange of its kind that lets regular folks participate in something that typically only large corporations can.

I learned about eight-month old GEX only yesterday in The Record article by Hugh Morley. I had numerous follow-up questions so I had to speak with founder (and Closter resident) Philip Gotthelf on my own. I worked on Wall Street for 13 years, much of it on a trading floor, so my questions for Phil were targeted at how GEX works in practice for regular people. I learned that and much more about why NJ should be getting behind the GEX in a big way -- now.

The Opportunity For Us All

Picture this: You buy a CFL lightbulb, or an energy-efficient hot water heater for your home, or a Prius, or another purchase that saves energy. You’re already saving money over time because of the energy efficiency. But then you log-in to GEX’s website, input your proof of purchase, and you start accumulating points that you can redeem for dollars – even more savings above-and-beyond your savings from owning the energy-efficient stuff!

Now imagine 1000 people in your town doing this, or your small company, your non-profit, your municipal-owned buildings, or New Jersey government departments. Our energy efficient ways (which would already save us money and help the environment) add up to even more cash back in our pockets! The Global Emissions Exchange lets us get paid for saving money – paid for making our environment cleaner and more livable.

Why It Works

Global Emissions Exchange is sort of an intermediary exchange. It can pool together carbon emissions reductions from everyday people, firms and local governments so that carbon pounds add up to the tons required to trade on the big wholesale exchange called the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCE). The CCE works because governments are increasingly telling polluters (such as utilities) that they need to buy “carbon credits” for the right to pollute. The existence of a buyer results the carbon credit having a certain value on the CCE. So when Gotthelf’s NJ-based Global Emissions Exchange pools our carbon credits, it can sell them through the CCE, and then pay us!

All Gotthelf's company has to do – and it's very good at this part –- is show how much each of his clients (such as you and me) have cut our emissions. As I mentioned earlier, we first have to log-in our proof-of-purchase. Then Gotthelf’s company matches our increased energy efficiency with the exact utility type we’re using. If your utility is a dirty coal-fired electricity producer (rather than say a hydro-power utility), your emissions reductions are even greater when you screw in that CFL bulb, so you rack up even more carbon credit points.

How Much We’ll Earn

An average household can cut 2-3 tons of carbon emissions per year by becoming more energy efficient, which will save that household thousands of dollars (and the environment) – and then earn anywhere from $5 - $30/year on top of that by redeeming the carbon points it earned through the Global Emissions Exchange.

And we can do significantly better than that if we get our organizations and our municipalities involved, because they can save a lot more power than a single home, and can earn-back a lot more money if they participate in the Global Emissions Exchange. 1000 participating homes and several municipal departments could earn-back $25,000 pear year for a town, for instance. That money that take some pressure off property taxes, or add services. Gotthelf counts the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and others as clients, and is talking with NJ towns such as Closter and Tenafly. He could be talking with many more, with help from GreenPoliticsNJ readers.

Get NJ State More Involved

An ideal scenario would be the State of New Jersey utilizing its home-grown resource that is the Global Emissions Exchange. Currently, state agencies are encouraged to reduce emissions, but aren’t systematically redeeming those emissions for dollars on markets such as GEX where those savings have a dollar value. A perfect avenue would be to add wording to NJ’s just-released Draft Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report, the blueprint for NJ’s carbon-reduction goals. The public comment period for this Draft runs from Jan 6-16, an ideal time to add wording that NJ should “adopt the Global Emissions Exchange as a venue for transforming emissions reductions into state revenues.” What’s more, we can add to the Draft encouragement to PSE&G to buy its required carbon credits through the GEX, rather than buying its credits outside the United States.

The Timing is Perfect

The time is simply perfect to participate in the Global Emissions Exchange. Not only must we become more energy efficient and make the environment healthier, we also need the extra dollars during a recession. It’s even more than that, though. The best time to start registering your new energy efficiencies is soon, while you're still inefficient, because your reductions in carbon will be larger, and the value will be more.

Whether you plan to sign-up yourself or your organization with the Global Emissions Exchange, or contact your municipality (90 of which are already undertaking energy audits, and all of which want to save money), or urge Gov. Corzine to utilize GEX, the timing is simply perfect. If you'd like the email contact for Philip Gotthelf directly, please email me at joe@greenpoliticsnj.com.

In addition to the Sierra Club NJ's ACTION ALERT we commented on earlier today, here are some headlines:

Climate / Business

Carbon Rights Auction. NJ to, join carbon auction as part of regional climate group. Companies in NJ -- mainly utilities -- are participate in the auction for the first time today as part of the RGGI (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative), results coming Friday 12/19, and full report of details Jan 6. Good summary by Michelle Lee for the Press of Atlantic City. Ditto James O'Neill for The Record. (hat tip Blue Jersey)

Carbon Exchange in NJ. The Record's Hugh Morley profiles the Global Emissions Exchange (GEX), launched eight months ago by Closter resident Philip Gotthelf and Fort Lee resident Nathan Guedalia. The exchange caters to small-time ("retail") investors & traders -- unlike the other carbon exchanges that cater to institutions -- who want to buy and sell the right to pollute. The greater the demand for carbon credits, the higher the price goes, and the more incentive companies have to cut emissions and sell the associated credits. "Gottheif believes his [exchange] is the first to allow small businesses and individuals to trade gas reduction credits, such as those generated when someone uses energy efficient light bulbs or a fuel-efficient car," says The Record. The profile also focuses on Boonton-based First Environment. (hat tip Shore11)

"Green Buildings." U.S. Green Building Council hires a director -- Florence Block -- to run its growing NJ chapter. EnviroPolitics Blog writes, "The NJ chapter of the USGBC, which has seen its membership mushroom to 770 individuals and 650 companies since it started in 2002, has outgrown its volunteer-based member management and hired an executive director."

Wood-Fired Boilers. "Forums in Warren, Hunterdon counties discuss Department of Environmental Protection oversight of[outdoor] wood-fired boilers." Sarah Wojcik of The Express-Times writes, that with many people concerned about DEP oversight, "About 150 people were present Monday at West Amwell, NJ, and more than 200 attended Tuesday evening in Washington [Township]. Along with residents, NJDEP officials and county health board officials attended."

Preservation

Wal-Mart. Come one, come all? As construction on a new Wal-Mart starts in Raritan Township, it's worth remembering the strong environmental arguments against Wal-Mart's plans in Little Egg Harbor. I wrote about it in the middle of the following article: Troubling 'Developments' on NJ Coast. A Time To Act.

Beachfront. The NJ Supreme Court has ruled that the State will need to take a more difficult route to get the ability to replenish beachfronts. Oceanfront homeowners won't be forced to get permanent easements to allow the DEP to replenish beaches -- eminent domain will need to be used. Articles such as this one in the Press of Atlantic City are presenting the court ruling as a victory for owners of beach front property -- but postponing beachfront replenishment can make matters worse for the homeowners. And of course, in the long run, replenishing beaches only pushes the incoming ocean to nearby beaches.

Power Lines / Highlands. Low turnout at last night's PSE&G public meeting in Newton (recorded in my Calendar) to discuss its plan to cut power lines through the Highlands says Fred Snowflack for The Daily Record: "In fact, there were more PSE&G officials than there were residents." The next major step will be meetings before the Board of Public Utilities -- many environmental groups have lined up against the new high-voltage power line plan through the Highlands.

Preservation -- Greater State Matching. "The Hazlet Open Space Advisory Council recently completed its Open Space Recreation Plan that would serve as a wish list of possible properties for preservation, said Annie Eng, who sits on the board.... The plan will be submitted to Green Acres for filing," says The Courier. (hat tip The Inside Clamdigger). Eng told The Courier "This is the first completed [Open Space Recreation] Plan ever" and should result in Green Acres giving 75% of the funding instead of 50%, the article says. I plan to look into this a bit further.

Students Aid Preservation. "Bordentown City: Students' proposals mark first step for new parks." Geoffrey Wertime of The Register News writes, "Students from Delaware Valley College presented their plans for three areas of parkland along the Blacks Creek Greenway to a number of local residents and officials and donated the ideas to the city last week."

Preservation. Paulinskill Wildlife Management Area gains 205 more acres, writes Christina Tatu at NJ Herald. (hat tip Shore11)

Wildlife Damage

Endangered Species. Red knot shorebirds move closer to endangered list. Kirk Moore for the Asbury Park Press. (hat tip Blue Jersey)

Bat fungus may be heading for N.J, reports Bruce Scruton for NJ Herald. The disease has wiped out as much as 95% of the bats. Bats down -- insects up.

The Sierra Club NJ has just issued an Action Alert to all New Jerseyans who would lose the right to know when toxic sources threaten surrounding locations in 19 of the 21 counties. The Alert is titled, "Tell Corzine Not to Cover Up Toxic Hazards!"

Note that Clean Water Action has issued the same alert (highlighted here and on GreenPoliticsNJ), which should double the motivation to tell the Governor to maintain fair public disclosure.

In its Action Alert to, the Sierra Club NJ says:

• A new rule proposed by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), pushed by the NJ Office of Homeland Security, would hide "off-site consequence" data and other risk information from 97 potentially hazardous chemical plants, oil refineries, water treatment operations, and other facilities using chlorine or other highly toxic or flammable substances.

The rationale for covering up this information is ostensibly to make it harder for potential terrorists to obtain. But the the major reason to maintain fair public disclosure is to keep the companies handling toxic chemicals accountable to the public and the environmental watchdogs -- who ultimately keep the toxic handlers honest. Far more ecological disasters have happened at the hands of unaccountable corporations than at the hands of anyone else. Cutting public disclosure increases abuse -- look no further than Wall Street this decade.

A former Director of the NJ Office of Counterterrorism told the Sierra Club NJ that the public is safer as a result of fair disclosure of toxic risk. Therefore, if the goal is really to protect our communities from chemical terrorism, the DEP's greater emphasis should be on increased security and adoption of safer chemicals, not secrecy that will ultimately harm the public.

Sierra Club NJ is urging people to call Governor Corzine at 609 292 6000. Or, use the link [here] to e-mail him via his Web site. The message is:

• Please eliminate confidentiality language from the proposed rules for the NJ Toxic Catastrophe Prevention Act. Continued public access to this information is vital in protecting workers and our communities from harm.

To alert your NJ legislators of the dangerous proposed rule change, you may contact them too. A quick representative-lookup tool is here.

These events are pulled from my full NJ GREEN CALENDAR, which is always linked in the right-hand toolbar. Click on the Date for detail on each event. And please let me know if I'm missing your event -- the main focus here is on collaborative & political/economic events that can enable people to improve NJ's environment.

December...

17. PSE&G holds its second public meeting to discuss its plans to build power lines through the Highlands. Newton.
17. Green Party of Essex County, NJ meets. Montclair.
17. Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission Meeting. Stockton.
17. Great Egg Harbor Watershed Association - council meeting. Newtonville.
17. Greenwood Lake Commission - meeting. Greewood Lake, NY.
17. RGGI online auction.

18. Day-Long Event to Support Women, Children and the Environment. NJ Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability. Pomona, NJ. Highland Park.
18. Deadline for applying for 2009 EPA Environmental Education Grants - District 2 (includes NJ)
18. Middlesex Greenway Coalition Meeting. Metuchen.18. Office of Smart Growth - Development Opportunities InterAgency Team meeting. Trenton.
18. Office of Smart Growth - Brownfields Redevelopment meetings. Trenton.

19. NJ Wind Working Group Meetings. NJ Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability. Pomona, NJ.
19. "Redefining Environment" discussion at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Madison.
19. Results of second RGGI auction (12/17/08) announced. (Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, in which NJ is participating)

In addition to my discussion of NJ's Global Warming Response Act Recommendation Report and Pollution information in blog posts yesterday, as well as an ACTION ALERT today, here are numerous other developments:

Legislative

Legislation Introduced yesterday (among the environment-related legislation):

• S2451. Provides exemption from tax on sales of certain energy saving products and services purchased from businesses located in an urban enterprise zone. (Bob Smith / Ray Lesniak) Identical Bill Number: A3619.
• A3541. Extends deadline for municipal certified recycling coordinator requirements. Recycling coordinator, muncipalities. (Michael Doherty, John McKeon)
• S2449. Appropriates $600,000 from "Clean Waters Bond Act of 1976" for Lake Hopatcong Commission, to meet its operating expenses. (Anthony Bucco).

Legislature / Energy Efficiency. Next Stop, Governor's Desk. S1537 cleared the State Senate yesterday 37-0, and an identical bill A1185 passed the Assembly yesterday 76-1. The bill -- which heads to Gov. Corzine to be signed into law -- it makes it easier for public entities to invest in future energy cost savings. According to a press release published by Senate Environment Committee Chairman Bob Smith (hat tip Capitol Quickies), "Under the bill, a public entity would be able to contract wtih an energy services company through a lease-purchase agreement, which would have a duration of not more than 15 years, or 20 years in some cases. The bill wold permit public entities to finance the cost of improvements" rather than have to cover the cost in year 1, for instance.

• The only "No" vote came from Assemblyman John E. Rooney (R-39, Emerson), the longest-serving member of the Assembly. We phoned his office at 201 967 8910 this morning to ask why he voted No, but the machine answering system was not functioning properly.
  

Legislation / Dismal Swamp. A3072 cleared the Assembly 75-5-1 to authorize the establishment of a Dismal Swamp Preservation Commission. Bill heads next to Senate floor. (hat tip Capitol Quickies)

Legislature / Global Warming. SR34 yesterday asked the U.S. EPA to provide funding to NJ to measure the impact of climate change in NJ. (hat tip Capitol Quickies)

Judicial

Important Court Ruling. Owners of property may become more responsible for cleanup costs. Yesterday the NJ Court of Appeals (read the full opinion here) reversed a trial court's decision and said that Renaper Realty will have to disgorge its revenue from selling land to the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which took control of the small parcel, which it needed to build a rail link. Renaper Realty's land was polluted, and the NJSEA has paid $2.14m to clean-up the property. NJSEA was able to claw-back the $18,700 it paid for the property, and Renepar Realty will share some of the cleanup costs. (hat tip Star-Ledger article by Maura McDermott)

Court Ruling - Stormwater. The Appellate Court has published its ruling against an attempt by Save Hamilton Open Space to assure cleaner development of a parcel. Save Hamilton Open Space claimed that the development did not satisfy the conditions of the DEP's Phase II stormwater regulations. The Court's ruling affirms the ease with which municipalities, rather then the DEP, can rule that some stormwater runoff rules are met by developers.

Pollution. N.J. sues Port Authority for clean-up costs of Rahway riverfront, writes Judy Peet for The Star-Ledger. (hat tip Shore11)

NJ Green Non-Profit

"Take Back The Fifth" introduces a PAC. "Take Back the Fifth," the organization and blog dedicated to ousting ultra-conservative (and vehemently anti-environment) Rep. Scott Garrett from his 5th District seat in the Nov '10 elections, announced that George Hertzberg has launched the "Take the Fifth" Political Action Committee. This gives "Take Back The Fifth" the framework to make a bigger financial impact on the 2010 race. Garrett's record on the environment is abysmal, and he has staunchly defended every unusual privilege of fossil-fuel producers. The League of Conservation Voters gives him a NJ-low (by far) 10% rating, and I've blogged before on the topic: "Killer Coal and NJ Rep. Scott Garrett."

American Littoral Society / Groundwater. Matt Blake of the American Littoral Society was quoted at length in a Press of Atlantic City article by Edward van Embden on the importance of preserving clean groundwater, and the risks to Cumberland County drinking water in particular. (hat tip Shore11)

Edison Wetlands Association / Anti-Pollution Rally. Truly horrifying pollution, and nothing being done about it. See my full blog post here.

Religion / Environment. Synagogues preach the value of going green. Harvey Lipman for The Record.

Business

Natural Gas Vehicles. Trenton waste hauler Central Jersey Waste & Recycling to run fleet of 20 trucks on natural gas provided by Energy Fuels Corp. BusinessWire. (hat tip EnviroPolitics)

Energy Efficiency. Energy Options, Inc. of Edison, NJ has introduced a software product that saves clients 20-35% on the energy used to power data centers, it says. Top clients include Goldman Sachs. NJBiz. (hat top EnviroPolitics)

The NJ Meadowlands Business Accelerator received its first State grant -- $40,000 -- to help pay for its programs that accelerate the growth of NJ sustainable businesses.

Also Of Interest

NJ Beach Erosion. N.J.'s $800m shoreline. "Without those funds [$800m for beach replenishment], coastal engineers say, many of the 127 miles of beaches would shrink....The most dramatic beach recession occurred in North Wildwood, Cape May County, where the 15th Avenue beach area retreated 1,054 feet in 20 years." Karen Sudol for The Record.

Preservation. "Sussex Airport will remain: Township, not developers, could purchase land." NJ Herald. (hat tip Green Jersey)

Preservation. The NJ Law Journal (subscription required) published an extended explanation of how the NJ Supreme Court recently affirmed the Highland Act, making it harder to get development waivers.

Assemblyman Michael Doherty (Warren/Hunterdown) has organized a forum for tonight in Washington Township. to discuss wood-fired boilers. DEP representatives will attend, says the article.

Highlands / Increased Urgency. ANJEC -- the Association of NJ Environmental Commissions -- elevated its call to members, saying "COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) and Highlands Conformance: Time Running out for Extensions: Municipal Action Deadline December 31, 2008." This is a reminder to municipalities that want extensions on the deadline for creating a plan to provide for affordable housing, which many feel conflicts with their Highlands environment stewardship.