JOIN THE BUS TODAY - STOP AVON FROM MAKING A TERRIBLE DECISION!

Bus For Progress:

As you know, each of our beach communities are racing to rebuild their Sandy ravaged boardwalks in time for summer. Numerous contractors have submitted bids to each town to do the construction, using a variety of wood and composite materials. Several contractors offered to use a wood called ipe. Towns like Avon and Belmar moved forward to approve ipe contracts.Luckily, our friends at the Rainforest Relief had been monitoring these activities and immediately stepped in to educate these towns. Ipe is actually a tropical hardwood, harvested (often illegally) from rainforests around the world that are rapidly disappearing. Here are some facts:

• Logging is the primary factor leading to deforestation.
• On average, loggers in the Amazon kill 28 trees for every high value tree cut, destroying about half the canopy.
• The US is the single largest importer of tropical hardwoods.
• Rainforests are the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet. Many rainforest plants and animals are rapidly becoming extinct, many of them were unknown by science.
• Deforestation is responsible for 25 - 30% of human caused greenhouse gases.
• For more info, click here.

When confronted with the truth, Belmar sought to rebuild their boardwalk with Trex (a composite material made in part from recycled fiber and plastic). Avon, however, has refused to reconsider. Even with growing pressure from environmental groups and citizens, Avon ordered their ipe, and is awaiting the start of construction.

Avon ordered 58,200 square feet of ipe boards. Calculations show that 766 acres of rainforest were logged to produce this much wood. Avon itself is just 347 acres! In addition, Avon has sought funds from FEMA to help pay for this construction, using our Federal Tax Dollars!

What can we do about it?

First, sign the petition to Mayor Robert Mahon, and forward it to others.

On Saturday evening (March 23rd), Avon is holding a fundraising party called "Bucks for Boards". At a recent town hall meeting, the organizer stated that most of the money raised would go to build a new playground on the beach. Irregardless, join the Bus for Progress, Rainforest Relief, The Monmouth County Green Party, and other environmental groups to hold a "teaching demonstration" outside the Avon Municipal Building to educate folks entering the party. We'll ask them to speak to their Mayor and Commissioners about reversing their decision. Avon could be the only town in Monmouth County that will use rainforest hardwood to build their boardwalk!

It is hard to believe that Avon can not, even at this late date, switch to an environmentally sound building material. And it is unconscionable to think that Avon would choose to rebuild from Hurricane Sandy using a material that makes another hurricane even more likely!

Join the Bus for Progress at 5:30 PM on 301 Main Street in Avon. Our action will last till 7 PM.
Come spare 90 minutes to help rebuild the Jersey Shore for the future! Spread the word to neighbors and friends. Make a sign to kindly educate the residents of Avon. Young folks will make a special impression. We have invited media to cover the event. We hope to see you Saturday!
Email us at info@BusForProgress.org with any questions.

Monday 3/5/12: Community Briefing with Environment New Jersey on Clean Air and Clean Energy in New Jersey

Environment New Jersey is holding a community briefing to educate residents on the benefits of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and what you can do to convince your elected officials to stop Governor Christie's attacks on this clean air program, tomorrow March 5th, 7:00 PM at Starbucks, 4 White St., Red Bank.

Your local legislators will soon cast a key vote that will determine whether New Jersey sticks with the program. Join us on Monday in asking them to stand up to Governor Christie on this issue, and stand with the people of New Jersey for cleaner air and clean energy.

You can also sign our online petition on this issue at: http://www.norollback.org to support on this issue. We need to continue this important program if we hope to clean our air, promote clean energy, and help fight climate change.

 Quick Facts:

RGGI caps power plant pollution and makes polluters pay for their emissions.
RGGI funds clean energy programs, including solar arrays and efficient buildings that grow the economy. RGGI is our only tool to directly control global warming and pollution from power plants.

Please RSVP or request more info: dderosa@environmentnewjersey.org

NY Times: Gov. Christie Abandons a Good Idea

The following editorial was published yesterday in the NY Times, people should read it before falling for his claim to be an advocate for the environment:

Running for governor in 2009, Chris Christie vowed to become “New Jersey’s No. 1 clean-energy advocate.” That was a hollow promise. As governor, Mr. Christie proceeded to cut all the money for the Office of Climate and Energy. He raided $158 million from the clean energy fund, meant for alternative energy investments, and spent it on general programs. He withdrew the state from an important lawsuit against electric utilities to reduce emissions.

On Thursday, he took the worst step of all: He abandoned the 10-state initiative in the Northeast that uses a cap-and-trade system to lower carbon-dioxide emissions from power plants. The program has been remarkably successful, a model of vision and fortitude. Lacking that, Mr. Christie has given in to the corporate and Tea Party interests that revile all forms of cap and trade, letting down the other nine states trying to fight climate change.

The system works by requiring utilities to either lower their emissions or buy allowances to pollute. Money from the allowances goes to states for clean-energy programs. Since it began in 2008, the system has created more than $700 million for these programs; New Jersey has spent some of its share on helping cities become more energy-efficient. Greenhouse emissions from power plants in the region went down about 12 percent from 2008 to 2010 for many reasons, including lower natural gas prices. Programs like the regional initiative are estimated to have produced more than 10 percent of that decline.

Mr. Christie has already demonstrated his disdain for the program’s goals by spending $65 million of the state’s $100 million share from the allowances to pay down New Jersey’s deficit. He claimed this week that the program was not working, a notion that was quickly refuted by five other governors. “Governor Christie is simply wrong when he claims that these efforts are a failure,” said Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland. He said they had an equivalent effect of taking 3,500 cars off the road in his state.

For now, at least, the far right has killed cap and trade nationally, but the idea is far from dead. Several Western states are gearing up for a cap-and-trade program; California has been particularly aggressive. The Northeast state compact will survive Mr. Christie’s exit. It is New Jersey that will be the poorer, with less to invest in smarter energy programs, more carbon dioxide and a leadership vacancy at its helm.

FRACKING POISONS OUR WATER SUPPLY. VOICE YOUR OPPOSITION BY APRIL 15TH!

By guest blogger Linda Baum

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” as it is commonly known, is the process used to extract natural gas from shale rock by fracturing it with high-pressure fluids. Highly toxic chemicals are used in the drilling process, which has devastating effects the environment and human health.

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) – a five member board that includes New Jersey – is now accepting public comments on draft gas drilling regulations which have been fast-tracked and could be released soon ahead of the completion of any environmental impact studies! The draft regulations provide for little, if any, oversight of the industry and fail to protect the Delaware River from contamination. One third of New Jersey residents get their water from the Delaware River basin. We need to let regulators know how strongly we object to the contamination of our drinking water, so please add your voice. The public comment deadline is April 15th at 5 p.m. To email your comments directly to the DRBC, go here and click on the “Open for Comment” link on the left. For more information on the DRBC’s draft regulations and what’s wrong with them, click here.

The DRBC is charged with a legal mandate to prevent degradation of the water quality of the Delaware River. The 5 members of the DRBC are the governors of the four basin states -- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware – and a federal representative. John Plonski, one of Governor Christie’s alternates, is pushing for the early release of fracking regulations. And let me remind you, he speaks for the Governor.

So WHY is our water being polluted when the industry insists that gas extraction is done at depths well below the water table? Because contamination occurs when the casings are pulled back up, bringing the chemicals and bacteria with them. Vertical fissures that occur naturally in the earth are another reason. Toxins and microbes at drilling depths seep up through those fissures, and this can’t be controlled. Gas extraction is not an exact science, and so there can be no guarantee of safety. In fact, the high-volume drilling in Pennsylvania has been plagued with problems.

Even without chemical additives, the wastewater from gas extraction would be toxic because naturally-occurring contaminants and radioactive materials – radon, salts, and heavy metals – are brought up from the ground.

Much of the wastewater just sits in large open storage pits at drilling sites, where overflow and run-off occur. If the pits aren’t lined or linings tear, toxins seep directly into the ground. These pits are also a major source of air pollution because the toxins volatize to the air, and then are breathed in or deposited on soil and water. Drilling companies have the option of injecting the collected wastewater back into the ground or shipping it to a publicly owned treatment works, if they can find one to take it. Illegal dumping has already been discovered in other states.

Currently there is no national treatment standard that applies to the wastewater. In fact, there is virtually no regulatory oversight of gas drilling or disposal operations at all, at either the state or federal level. The gas industry is exempted from numerous laws, including the Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Superfund law, to name a few.

There are a number of bills that are currently moving through Congress. One is the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act (H.R. 1084, S. 587). The FRAC Act would bring the hydrofracking industry under the purview of the EPA. New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt was among the first to support the bill.

Another federal bill is the BREATHE Act (H.R. 1204), which would allow the combined pollution of many gas wells to be regulated under the Clean Air Act. BREATHE stands for “Bringing Reductions to Energy’s Airborne Toxic Health Effects.”

The “Ban” bill (A. 3313, S. 2576) would ban fracking in the state of New Jersey. It received unanimous approval by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. There could be floor vote as soon as May, so now is the time to contact your New Jersey senators to voice your support!

If you need convincing that water supplies are being contaminated by hydraulic fracturing, catch a screening of the now well known documentary “Gasland”. Also check out an interview PBS did with the film’s creator, Josh Fox.

We have only one clean water supply. When it’s gone, it’s gone. The damage can’t be undone.

As if the devastation to our water supply isn’t enough, another consequence of fracking is the release of methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

If we needed more reason to support renewable energy, we have it.