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New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2010
In this issue of New Jersey Currents|online:
Welcome to New Jersey Environmental Federation's Summer 2010 Newsletter, Clean Water Currents! We hope you have had an amazing kick-off to the summer! We have been very busy community organizing, lobbying, and conducting research, education and other programs on environmental issues that impact our air, land, and water resources ... and of course the Jersey Shore!
What is Tritium and What is it Doing in My Aquifer?
By Peggi Sturmfels, Program Organizer, New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2010
Tritium (or radioactive hydrogen) contamination of ground water was discovered at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generation Station (OCNGS) in Lacey Township, New Jersey on Friday May, 14, 2010. According to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) it was attributed to an airborne release of tritiated water from OCNGS' isolation condenser system following a reactor shutdown on July 17, 2007.
Clean Air...Good Jobs
By Amy Goldsmith, State Director, New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2010
Feed Your Lawn - Without Poisoning Your Water
By Jenny Vickers, Communications Coordinator, New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2010
Like vitamins, nutrients are thought to be good for you, but too many can also make you sick. In New Jersey, our aquatic ecosystems are showing severe signs of stress from excessiv
e nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus which can come from many sources including synthetic fertilizers*, discharge from wastewater treatment plants, overflowing septic systems, and runoff from croplands and builtup areas.
The Good and the Bad of the State House’s New Leaders
By David Pringle, Campaign Director, New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2010
The Christie Ad
ministration and new legislative leadership of Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver recently completed their first 100 days in power and are completing their budget balancing battle. We have seen the good, the bad and the ugly come to the fore, and there is certainly more to come.
Governor Chris Christie and the Environment
New Jersey Currents|online, Summer 2009 - Update
In this issue of New Jersey Currents|online:
2008-9 Legislature Worst In New Jersey History?
November Elections for Assembly and Governor Key
At its current pace, the 2008-2009 New Jersey Legislature will go down as the worst environmentally in at least in modern history. Several major bills that rollback key protections have sailed through the legislature while the few positive bills that moved were comparatively less significant and even they had to be weakened to become viable.
Making Connections: Water, Energy and Climate Change
New Jersey Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update
Protecting water quality and quantity is one of the most important issues of our time. Currently, 1 billion people in the world (18 percent of the population) lack access to safe drinking water. By 2025, it is estimated that about two thirds of the world's population-about 5.5 billion people-will live in areas facing moderate to severe water stress.
Giving Hope for Newark Youth
New Jersey Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update
The graduating class of Newark's Urban Environmental Institute, April 2009.
Kids growing up in Newark don't have it easy. Serious environmental pollution coupled with economic and safety stresses often give children no hope for a better future. Diesel exhaust levels alone cause a tripling of the cancer risk in comparison to suburban areas. Newark kids are also number 1 for asthma-related mortality rates with a doubling of rates within minority populations.
What's sad is that many of these kids don't think they can do anything about it. But there is hope.
Other Publications
Chesapeake Currents|online, Summer 2010
Anacostia Restoration Fund Survives Threat of Budget Grab
Chesapeake Currents|online, Summer 2010
Last year, with the help of Clean Water Action members, the District set up a new fund supported by a fee on plastic and paper bags to help restore the Anacostia River and other District waterways. However, within a few months, this fund was threatened by proposals to raid the money to support other programs. One of the many positive aspects of the legislation that imposed a fee on bags was that it would generate money for river clean-up efforts, and thus provide funding during challenging fiscal times.
Delaware News Source Illuminates Toxic Threat to Water Supply
Chesapeake Currents|online, Summer 2010
The Wilmington News Journal recently published a stellar expose on groundwater pollution in Delaware, and the region served by the Potomac Aquifer, the groundwater supply for significant portions of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. Reporter Jeff Montgomery has covered the environment for years, and his devastating series of articles details serious threats to groundwater resources that support drinking water for many residents of Delaware and its neighbors.
The series reports:
Managing Water in the 21st Century
Chesapeake Currents|online, Summer 2010
Last fall and winter, Clean Water Fund worked with local allies in Prince William and Loudoun Counties to hold workshops on 21st Century approaches to managing our water resources. This fall, we will be organizing follow-up workshops that explore ways in which reducing water waste, including water re-use and other money-saving techniques, will help communities to develop sustainable water management practices.