Murphy signs executive order to reenter Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
News Article • • by Michael Aron at NJTV
Gov. Murphy held a press conference in Highlands on Monday morning to announce he’s rolling back another Christie-era policy.
“In just a few minutes I’m going to sign an executive order to start the process to get New Jersey back into RGGI,” said Murphy.
NEW JERSEY LCV’s POTOSNAK CELEBRATES GOV MURPHY ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Press Release •
Governor Murphy’s Climate Change Executive Order, which will reenter the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, sends a clear message that New Jersey is serious about being the greenest state in the country under his leadership. More than five years after the devastation from Superstorm Sandy, New Jersey finally has a governor with the vision to tackle this urgent threat and create the clean energy jobs New Jersey residents need.
Gov. Murphy Plays to NJ Environmentalists From Day One
News Article • • by Tom Johnson at NJ Spotlight
Imagine this: A governor talking about the sad reality of climate change, investing aggressively in renewable energy, and creating housing safe from the danger of lead.
To the state’s diverse environmental community, Gov. Phil Murphy’s inaugural speech signaled that New Jersey once again should embrace a leadership role in protecting its air, water, and land from the legacy of pollution that too often in the past defined it.
Keep It Green Applauds Unanimous, Bipartisan Support for Preservation Funding
Press Release •
Trenton - Five bills that appropriate voter-approved funds for farmland and historic preservation in New Jersey passed with bipartisan, unanimous support in the state legislature last night.
The package includes five bills (S3568/A5320, S3570/A5318, S3573/A5317, S3575/A5321, S3595/A5319), four of which appropriate roughly $29 million for farmland preservation, and one appropriating about $5 million for historic preservation. Members of New Jersey Keep It Green (KIG), the state’s largest coalition of conservation groups fighting to preserve open space, farmland, and historic sites were in Trenton during the voting session.
N.J. Gov.-elect Phil Murphy vows to fight Trump's offshore drilling plan
News Article • • by Frank Kummer at Philly.com
A proposal by the Trump administration this week to open most of the U.S. coast to fossil fuel exploration and drilling stunned New Jersey officials and environmentalists, who are vowing to fight back.
“Let’s call this what it is,” said Gov.-elect Phil Murphy, who will be sworn in Jan. 16. “What President Trump announced [Thursday] is nothing less than dropping a ticking time bomb off our coast.”
Murphy, a Democrat, made the statement at a news conference Friday morning in Monmouth County, flanked by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone and U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, both Democrats. Murphy called for bipartisan opposition from the state’s congressional delegation, but protecting the coastline already is a bipartisan issue.
Environmentalists applaud Murphy pick for DEP
News Article • • by David Cruz at NJTV News
The naming of Catherine McCabe as the governor-elect’s pick to head up the state’s Department of Environmental Protection drew praise from the state’s enviro-community.
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak joined the chorus of praise for McCabe.
“We certainly have to make up for lost ground over the previous administration and that’s going to take some really dedicated individuals,” he said. “She’s going to need to build out a strong team, but I think New Jersey is well-positioned to be a leader once again on environmental protection.”
4 ways Murphy can build a green economy. Think water
News Article • • by Chris Daggett and Margaret Waldock at NJ Spotlight
Until recently, water infrastructure in New Jersey has remained largely out of sight, out of mind, lulling us into a false sense of security. However, we are now starting to see our lack of investment coming back to haunt us.
We cannot swim in the Passaic River because of pollution. Children in Camden walk through sewage that has backed up onto the streets because the pipes cannot handle the rain. Commuters sit in snarled traffic in Hoboken as crews repair water main breaks. And across the state, parents fear the danger of lead in water fountains at their children's schools.
Assessment surveys conducted in 2012 by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimate that New Jersey needs to spend a combined $25 billion over the next 20 years on its wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water infrastructure to ensure reliability and keep up with demand.
Conservation Voters’ Ed Potosnak to Serve on Murphy Transition Team
Press Release •
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters’ Executive Director Ed Potosnak has been named to Gov.-Elect Phil Murphy’s transition team.
Potosnak comes to the transition having grown the 5-year-old New Jersey Conservation Voters from an organization with $20,000 cash on hand in 2012 to a nonprofit with an eight-person staff and a budget of $1.8 million. It was the first statewide environmental organization to endorse Murphy, four months before the primary.
New Jersey LCV Ed Fund Releases Environmental Agenda for Murphy’s First Term
Press Release •
TRENTON – The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund (New Jersey LCV Ed Fund) released an environmental policy agenda on Monday to guide Governor-elect Phil Murphy and his administration in addressing top environmental challenges and identifying opportunities during the first term.
The report, Environmental Agenda ’18: New Jersey’s Conservation Roadmap, was developed in consultation with nearly 30 environmental. The goal of the 30-page report is to assist the new governor in reclaiming national leadership on critical environmental issues like transitioning to 100 percent clean energy and jump-starting solar and wind production.
Coalition-Led Ballot Question Approved, Safeguarding Pollution Settlements
News Article • • by ADAM SAMUEL at Tap Into Passaic Valley
Voters provided permanent relief to communities harmed by industrial pollution on Election Day by approving an environmental coalition-led ballot question that prevents money earmarked for environmental restoration from being raided by Trenton lawmakers.
The measure was declared passed with 69 percent support.
“By approving Ballot Question 2, voters created a ‘lock box’ for these funds, ending the irresponsible budgeting practice of Trenton politicians stealing the money from polluted communities to plug holes in the state budget,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, which led the effort to get the question on the ballot.