Don’t Give Up! We Need You Desperately!
Raghav Akula has a message for New Jersey’s youth who are interested in climate issues: “We need you desperately!” Raghav, 17, is the school liaison for the Sierra Club’s NJ Chapter. He says young people often feel that climate change is so overwhelming, one person can’t make a difference.
Sierra Club Announces Congressional Picks
POLITICAL CHAIR’S REPORT
By Karen Becker, political.chair@newjersey.sierraclub.org
As the 2022 election cycle swings into full gear, the Political Committee has been busy once again. Several more congressional endorsements have been made, and only a few remain to be considered before the November 8 General Election.
Major Win: Court Settlement Disrupts Gibbstown LNG Port Construction
Environmental groups scored a major win in March when the Sierra Club, Delaware PennFuture, and the Clean Air Council obtained a settlement halting construction of a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Wyalusing Township, Pa. The builder, Bradford County Real Estate Partners (BCREP), agreed to let its air-quality permit expire in July 2022 rather than seek an extension, which environmental groups opposed. It must obtain a new air-quality permit based on current standards should it wish to continue with the project.
Here Is the Legislation Our Chapter Supports and Opposes
The 2022-2023 session of the NJ Legislature began in January. The NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club has so far taken positions on 24 pending bills and resolutions.
Stop the Newark Bay Turnpike Widening
TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE REPORT
By Matthew Bewley, 14bewleym@gmail.com
The NJ Turnpike Authority (NJTA) has proposed a destructive widening of the Newark Bay Extension, which runs through Newark, Bayonne, and Jersey City. The widening is expensive, socially inequitable, and environmentally devastating. This is an update on the impacts of the project and what Sierra Club members can do to oppose it.
Put an Environmental Classic on Your Reading List
It was a relief to see swarms of midges, dung flies, and slugs in my local park this spring. Ordinarily there would be no reason for such a reaction, but I had just finished Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring.” This landmark book about the challenges that pesticides represent to all life on the planet will have its 60th anniversary of publication in September of this year.
Farewell, Welcome Back, and Congratulations!
By Richard Isaac, Richard.Isaac@Sierraclub.org
Sadly, one of our staff members, Megan Steele, has resigned to take a new job at a higher level. The good news is she’s staying with the Sierra Club.
Our Delaware River Battles Have Paid Off
In recent years the Sierra Club has participated in numerous battles to protect the Delaware River and its watershed. Protection was needed from destruction of native fish species by power plants, pipeline construction, gas industry drilling, and sewage discharge. Changes in the energy market are now forcing a continuation of the struggle. Here is what’s happened and what’s next.
ExCom Meeting Highlights
Costly Energy Failures Must End
By Sylvia Kay, Zero Waste Coordinator
In April 2022, Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club, testified before the NJ Senate Environment and Energy Committee and provided proactive goals intended to reverse New Jersey’s costly failure to meet climate reform targets.
Federal Funds Earmarked for Electric School Buses
National Board Election
Voting in the Sierra Club’s 2022 Board of Directors election concluded April 27, 2022. Cynthia Hoyle, Cheyenne Skye Branscum, Allison Chin, Aaron Mair, and Michael Dorsey were elected to three-year terms on the volunteer board.
DEP Adopts Air Standards
REPORT FROM TRENTON
Taking a regional lead to protect the public from industrial use of fumigants, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has adopted permitting and emissions control standards for multiple chemicals that are highly toxic to humans. These include sulfuryl fluoride, hydrogen sulfide, methyl bromide, and phosphine.
Bridge Point Industrial Park Can Be Mitigated
If you live in Mercer County or the lower portion of Middlesex County you should be concerned about the proposed Bridge Point 8 Industrial Park plan for seven large warehouses totaling 5.5 million square feet, plus about 500,000 square feet encompassing a hotel, an office building, and some retail. This project would be situated on the former American Cyanamid property at the northeast corner of Route 1 and Quakerbridge Road in West Windsor and is currently under planning board review.
Starwood Shutters NJ’s Last Two Coal Plants
New Jersey will finally say goodbye to coal power. The state’s last two coal-fired power plants were scheduled to shutter around May 31. The Logan and Chambers plants are owned by Starwood Energy, which plans to decommission them and work with a clean energy developer to bring renewable energy projects to the sites. Both plants are along the Delaware River south of Camden.
Preserve the Past With a National Park Designation
If, upon your next visit to Center City Philadelphia or to Central Park in New York, you could enter through a magic door and be transported to what these areas looked like 400 years ago, would you go through? Just a short drive away from these metro areas you’ll find a wilderness with such lands—one of the gems of our national park systems—the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area!
Spring Heralds a New Generation
CONSERVATION CHAIR’S MESSAGE
By Greg Gorman, ggorman@embargmail.com
During Earth Week, my daughter sent me a sonogram of my granddaughter, Eliana. Communities across the state exhibited Electric Vehicles, planted trees, walked along trails, and sponsored neighborhood cleanups. My Facebook friends posted pictures of blossoming flowers, greening trees, and roaring waterfalls. Their pages include videos of returning songbirds, scurrying salamanders, and frisky squirrels. The grandeur of spring is wonderful.
Working With Local Leaders for a Cleaner Town
Earth Day: It’s the one day where everyone in the world is expected to keep the health of the planet in mind—but it’s only one day. Earth Day shouldn’t be an excuse to neglect the environment for the other 364 days of the year. If we’re serious about preserving the mesmerizing diversity of this planet, we need to treat every day like Earth Day. That means that in every town we need to be doing everything we can to protect the environment.
Chapter Volunteers Promote Driving Electric
In April, Sierra Club volunteers took part in four events throughout New Jersey to promote electric vehicles (EVs). Part of Drive Electric Earth Day, the events offered a chance for anyone interested in buying an electric car to speak to owners of the vehicles about their own experiences. EVs are better for the environment, more fun to drive, cheaper to operate, and easier to fuel than gasoline vehicles. At the same time, driving a new type of car takes some getting used to and many people have questions, which is what these events are for.
Things to Remember When Purchasing an Electric Vehicle
Electric Vehicle (EV) sales are growing faster than ever. Tesla maintains a majority EV market share currently, but many new options are becoming available. It’s important to check out the best-selling EVs today and what will be available soon.
Our Nation’s Recycling Program is a Bust; Just the Polluters Are “Cleaning Up”
More than 50 years ago, the need to recycle our plastic waste was being discussed by the plastics industry. A key speaker at a chemists’ conference in New Jersey said that inventing decomposable plastics “will be the holy grail of chemists everywhere.”
Huber Woods in Monmouth County
Walking is perfect. It is the most natural activity we can engage in. I urge everybody to get out of your cars. Leave those steel clamshells behind and stand up on your own two feet. We are not designed to sit on our butts.
Electrify Everything to Cut Emissions, Save Money
BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION ISSUES REPORT
By Steve and Pat Miller
In fall 2021, our 50 x 30 team sent a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy asking him to declare a goal for New Jersey to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions 50% by 2030 and to follow up with the rules and regulations that would make it happen. This 2030 goal would be an interim milestone toward the 2050 goal of the NJ Global Warming Response Act, updated in 2020, calling for an 80 percent emissions reduction by 2050. The governor did issue Executive Order 274 in November 2021 stating the 50 x 30 interim goal.
Ramos-Busot Joins Open Space Review
REPORT FROM TRENTON
The NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has created an advisory committee to update the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) and set priorities for parklands and open space access and acquisition. Anjuli Ramos-Busot, director of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club, has been named to the committee.
Saving the Joseph Bonaparte Estate
By Joanne Pannone, Chair, Central Jersey Group
In February, the Hunterdon Warren and Central Jersey groups of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club hosted talks on the 60-acre Bonaparte estate in Bordentown City and the Abbott Marshlands, which are adjacent.
DRBC Undercounts Public Comments on Fracking
REPORT FROM TRENTON
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) substantially undercounted the actual number of comments submitted on the DRBC’s draft regulations on fracking wastewater import and water export to and from the Delaware River Basin, environmental organizations making up the Delaware Frack Ban Coalition said. In April, they wrote a letter of complaint to the DRBC.
EPA Should Move Faster on Truck Emissions
REPORT FROM TRENTON
An Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft rule to reduce heavy duty truck emissions may be too little, too late. The EPA stopped accepting public comment in May 2022 on the plan to phase in controls for truck ozone, greenhouse gas (GHG), and particulate matter. The draft rule would be the EPA’s first to restrict heavy truck pollution since 2001, but to cushion the impact of related manufacturing costs, the agency is moving slowly.
Protect Liberty State Park
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
By Zoe Glavan
The future of Liberty State Park is uncertain, since people have been trying to take its land for a private golf course. The 1,200-acre park is extremely important not only for us, but also for many species of migratory birds and other animals. This park includes some of the few salt marshes in the North Jersey area—extremely important habitat for many creatures.
Save Energy While “Keeping Your Cool”
Summer is approaching, and with it the need to cool our homes. A central house air conditioner is the largest summertime energy consumer in a home. It typically runs 30 percent of the time during the four-month warm season, for a total of 860 actual running hours.