New Jersey Environmental Federation staff testified this February at the U.S. Coast Guard hearing in Newark on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s (PANYNJ) “Raise the Roadway” project for the Bayonne Bridge. The a project would raise the bridge 64 feet to make room for the new generation of supersized Panamax ships. Project proponents claim it will be a tremendous economic achievement and feat of engineering brilliance, yet have failed to conduct a thorough review of the project’s environmental and public health impacts.
It’s been months since Hurricane Sandy tore through the northeast, leaving behind a trail of destruction so vast that many were left wondering how we would recover. But, working together, we have started to rebuild. However, we should not just rebuild for the sake of rebuilding. Scientists have warned that climate change will only bring more frequent and more severe weather events our way. That’s why we must not repeat mistakes of the past, but instead look at smarter, greener, and sustainable ways to rebuild.
There’s an expression we use a lot in New Jersey: “Jersey Strong”. We are proud of our strength and resilience and our ability to stand up to anything. Superstorms, superbugs, superfund sites — you name it, we (think) we can conquer it.
new jersey currents
Hands Off New Jersey's Water!
There’s an expression we use a lot in New Jersey: “Jersey Strong”. We are proud of our strength and resilience and our ability to stand up to anything. Superstorms, superbugs, superfund sites — you name it, we (think) we can conquer it.
But New Jerseyans aren’t going to be
“Jersey Strong” much longer if a bill that will weaken New Jersey’s
drinking water quality makes its way through the New Jersey Legislature.
The new legislation (A2123), sponsored by Assemblyman John Burzichelli
(D-Gloucester), proposes to add industry representatives to the Drinking
Water Quality Institute (DWQI). This would allow polluting interests to
decide what level of contaminants end up in New Jersey tap water — as
if the state’s drinking water situation wasn’t already bad enough. Read More
By Charles Griffith - Climate & Energy Program Director, Ecology Center
In a great example of a good start, Ann Arbor’s city council approved a plan earlier this month to further prepare the city’s infrastructure to support plug-in electric vehicles. The resolution calls on city staff to review permit and planning processes, as well as zoning codes, to remove barriers to creating plug-in infrastructure. The resolution also requires the city’s administrator to consider adding plug-in vehicles as part of the city’s fleet.
A manufacturer-run program for collecting mercury thermostats is failing to keep the toxic heavy metal out of the trash—and the environment. Turning Up The Heat II estimates that, at most, the industry recycling program has captured 8% of mercury thermostats coming out of service in the past decade. This has resulted in the disposal of over 50 tons of mercury into the environment, which can expose people to the neurotoxin through fish consumption.
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CSHC leads the way with 3 bills to protect health
HB 6526 Toxics Disclosure and Innovation for Healthy Children. This bill will:
california currents
Putting the Brakes On
Big oil has its sights on California. Plans are in motion to make the state the nation’s number one oil producer, moving up from its current 4th place position. New hydraulic fracturing (fracking) techniques are a big part of industry’s strategy. Though oil developers promise an economic boom for the state, increased fracking has the potential to cause serious environmental and health harm, and California residents and other industries might be forced to shoulder those costs.
pennsylvania currents
PA DEP Refusing to Release Water Testing Results
One the biggest fears for people living near gas drilling is the possibility of their drinking water being polluted. People expect the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to look out for them and to provide alerts when drinking water is threatened. Unfortunately, that trust has been shaken by a recently uncovered and controversial DEP policy.
Last fall, it was revealed that DEP is not reporting all the contaminants discovered when it tests drinking water suspected to have been contaminated by fracking (hydraulic fracturing at natural gas wells). Instead, DEP’s coded reporting system only provides residents with findings for 8 of 24 contaminants included in DEP tests. Many of the contaminants not reported are carcinogenic and known to pose health hazards.
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