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

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