Senate Environment and Energy Committee advances challenge to Christie’s withdrawal from cap and trade program
News Article • • by Chase Brush at Observer
TRENTON – The legislature’s challenge to a move by Gov. Chris Christie to pull New Jersey out of a “cap and trade” emissions program made further headway today when the Senate Environment and Energy Committee affirmed that the withdrawal of the state from the initiative stands as a violation of legislative intent.
NEW PROGRAM COULD HELP KEEP SEWAGE FROM FLOODING STATE’S WATERWAYS
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
When it rains, it sometimes pours, which can be a problem for New Jersey’s waterways, because in many locations overwhelmed wastewater treatment plants can end up spewing raw sewage into the state’s rivers and bays.
It is a problem long neglected by the state’s urban areas and policymakers, who have largely failed to deal with the issue, in part perhaps it could impose huge costs, amounting to $14 billion, according to some projections.
Environmental groups endorse Booker for U.S. Senate
News Article • • by Ashley Peskoe at NJ.com
LONG BRANCH – Several environmental groups endorsed U.S. Sen. Cory Booker for re-election to the U.S. Senate on Sunday, calling him a champion for the environment.
Editorial: N.J. re-entry into Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is smart move
News Article •
Ed Potosnak needed fewer than 30 words to sum up everything that’s right and good about a new legislative push to usher New Jersey back into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – better known as RGGI.
“The people of New Jersey want cleaner air and good jobs,” Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, said in a statement. “RGGI provides these benefits as well as many others, including desperately needed money into our treasury.”
NO CHEAP OR PAINLESS WAY TO FIGHT GLOBAL WARMING, WARNS NJ WORKING GROUP
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
The biggest challenge to reducing the greenhouse-gas emissions that contribute to climate change in the state is to do so without imposing an unfair cost burden on residents and businesses, according to a new report submitted to the Legislature.
The report is the work of a study group set up by lawmakers to identify ways to comply with an aggressive goal of cutting back pollution that leads to global warming, reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent from 2006 levels by 2050. It recommends that the state focus on three key areas to achieve those targets: transportation; heating and building; and energy production.
Lawmakers, environmentalists urge Assembly action on NJ open space funding
News Article • • by Matt Friedman at NJ.com
Armed with a poll that showed overwhelming public support for their plan to save New Jersey’s out-of-cash open space trust fund, environmentalists and lawmakers from both parties today called on state Assembly leaders to act on it.
Plan for open-space funding advances in N.J.
News Article • • by Andrew Seidman at Philly.com
TRENTON- A Senate panel on Monday advanced a proposal to restore funding to New Jersey's depleted open-space program by amending the state's constitution to dedicate a portion of revenue from the corporate business tax to preserving land.
Central Jersey's million-dollar political races funded by outside groups
News Article • • by Sergio Bichao at
In just three legislative districts in Central Jersey, combined spending by the state Senate and Assembly candidates, the two major state parties and the independent groups has topped $5 million, according to a Courier News and Home News Tribune review of state campaign finance documents.
Turn one year memory of Sandy into positive force for change
News Article • • by Michael R. Convente at The Daily Targum
As we approach the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, many Americans will revisit life-changing moments and remembrances from the superstorm, especially those in New York and New Jersey.
Green PAC backs pro-environment legislators in NJ
News Article • • by Angela Della Santi at
A nonpartisan group is making its presence felt in New Jersey's legislative elections by supporting four candidates who rank among the most reliable pro-environment votes.