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September 2010 A Special Event
The Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions
is partnering with the New Jersey Printmaking Council to cohost an environmental art exhibition and
live auction beginning in October. The exhibition will open with a reception on Oct. 23 and will conclude
with an auction to benefit ANJEC on Dec. 5, both in the Printmaking Council gallery. A portion of the
proceeds of the auction will benefit ANJEC. You can learn more at ANJEC's website:
www.anjec.org/SpecialEvents.htm.
"A Reverence for Water"
Exhibit & Auction
October 23 - December 5
Printmaking Council of New Jersey
Gallery
440 River Road
Branchburg
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July 30, 2010 Attention Municipalities!
The Ground Water Protection Committee is conducting a survey
about salt levels in ground water and municipal road salt usage. The results of this study will be presented as
a part of our 2010 Ground Water Summit on October 5, starting at 8:30 at the Hanover Manor (16 Eagle Rock Road,
East Hanover, NJ).
If you are a municipal administrator or manager, you can download
a copy of the survey here. You can fax, mail, or email your survey to:
Betsy Stagg
c/o Passaic River Coalition
330 Speedwell Ave
Morristown, NJ 07960
Email: prcwater@aol.com
Fax: (973) 889-9172
Your help is greatly appreciated.
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August 1, 2009
We've Moved!
The Passaic River Coalition has officially moved into our new headquarters at Willow Hall
in Morristown.
Please be aware of our new address, phone, and fax numbers:
Passaic River Coalition
330 Speedwell Ave
Morristown, NJ 07960
Phone: (973) 532-9830
Fax: (973)889-9172
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March 5, 2009
PRC receives
Riparian Corridor in West Milford -
The
Passaic River coalition recently purchased and preserved
a 9.8 acre property in West Milford. The property was
purchased with a $220,000 grant from the Passaic County
Open Space and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Read
more here.
Morsetown
Brook
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March 5, 2009
PRC receives donated
wetlands in Florham Park -
Recently Evergreen Environmental, LLC, donated a 35 acre
wetland property to the Passaic River Coalition. The
property will be known as Central Valley
Wetlands-Florham Park since the northern edge of the
property lies on the Passaic River. The forested
property is located off of Passaic Ave on the eastern
border of Florham Park. Read more
here.
Passaic
River in Florham Park
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March 4, 2009
NEW
GIS SPECIALIST/IT JOB
POSITION at the Passaic
River Coalition -
The Passaic River Coalition is seeking a full-time GIS
Specialist (1-3 years experience) to implement and
continue the organization’s active GIS program. More
here.
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January
15, 2009
!!! Willow Hall - Became Home of
the Passaic River Coalition !!!
Today is a historic day
in the history of the Passaic River Coalition
because for the first time in 40 years we now have
permanent headquarters. This morning our executive
director signed the deed to historic Willow Hall in
Morristown.
Fred Stradtman (former
owner of Willow Hall) and Ella F. Filippone
(Executive Director of the PRC)
The PRC purchased the
house for $1,875,000 with grants from the NJDEP
Green Acres Program, the Morris County Open Space
Preservation Trust Fund, and the Morris County
Historic Preservation Program.
When people we meet hear
of the preservation of the property, the standard
comment is, “that is what should be done.” Now we
must begin the gratifying effort of creating a world
class facility incorporating its historic
significance, its outstanding ecological niche, and
the enhancement of the architectural and landscaping
design, which make this one-of-a-kind.
Willow Hall is a symbol
of American entrepreneurship and invention as the
home of George Vail, owner of Speedwell Iron Works,
the premier manufacturing facility of its day, and
financier of Alfred Vail and Samuel F. B. Morse,
inventors of the telegraph. The building itself is
also a superb example of pattern book architecture
and the romantic style promoted by landscape
architect Andrew Jackson Downing.
The PRC is proud to join the long lineage of devoted
caretakers of this beautiful mansion and property.
Over the next several months our staff will begin
making preparations to move into Willow Hall; until
then we will continue operating from our office in
Warren.
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 November
18, 2008
Donating to the Passaic River Coalition is easier than
ever at Firstgiving! - You can now make a
tax-deductible donation to the PRC using any major
credit card through Firstgiving.com. Firstgiving uses
VeriSign Security features and will automatically mail
you a receipt. Visit our donation page to support the
PRC today!
Follow
www.firstgiving.com/passaicrivercoalition to
support. Thank you for your contributions!
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February 2, 2009
The Record -
Passaic River group moving to Morris County landmark.
One of North Jersey's oldest environmental advocacy
groups is moving into a new home and preserving a
historic Morris County landmark in the process.
The Passaic River Coalition recently bought the historic
6.2-acre Willow Hall estate in Morristown for almost
$1.9 million with state and county grants. Because the
purchase was funded with tax dollars, the property can
never be developed and will be available to the public
as open space and a historic resource.
In 2007, Morris
officials listed Willow Hall as one of the top-10
endangered historic sites. The 1848 Italianate
puddingstone mansion was home to George Vail, owner of
the nearby Speedwell Iron Works. Vail built it with
earnings from his investment in the telegraph, developed
by his brother Alfred and Samuel F. B. Morse. In recent
years developers proposed 20 townhouses around the
mansion. Preservationists sued and a judge ruled last
year that the townhouse plan violated zoning ordinances.
Coalition officials have pledged that they will maintain
the house's integrity while converting parts of it into
office space with the help of a historical architect.
"There will be some rewiring done, but, for the most
part, there is not going to be a lot of renovations,"
said Ella Filippone, the coalition's executive director.
Filippone said the home will allow a summer internship
program for college students studying environmental
sciences to be expanded into a year-round program. The
group, which has six employees, will move from its
Warren Township location to Willow Hill this spring.
The $1.9 million came from the state Green Acres
program, the Morris County Open Space Preservation Trust
Fund and the Morris County Historic Preservation
Program. The coalition, which is celebrating its 40th
year, is dedicated to reducing flooding, cleaning the
lower Passaic River and preserving open space.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Last updated: Friday January 30, 2009, 6:27 AM
By Scott Fallong - Staff writer (www.NorthJersey.com)
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December
23, 2008
Willow Hall - Future home of
the Passaic River Coalition
The Passaic River Coalition is now under contract to
purchase Willow Hall as its new and permanent
headquarters in Morristown.
The Music Room
 Willow
Hall is a symbol of American entrepreneurship and
invention as the home of George Vail, owner of Speedwell
Iron Works, the premier manufacturing facility of its
day, and financier of Alfred Vail and Samuel F. B.
Morse, inventors of the telegraph. Here, a revolution in
industry and telecommunications was born.
The Speedwell Lake
Located across from Historic Speedwell Village, Willow
Hall sits on a six acre park-like property overlooking
Speedwell Lake. Construction of the three story stone
house was completed in 1848 and was based on a design by
noted and influential landscape architect Andrew Jackson
Downing.
The Dining Room
The PRC is proud to join the long lineage of devoted
caretakers of this beautiful mansion and property.
Willow Hall represents the industrial revolution in
America and the innovations that eventually gave us the
capability for global communication. In the coming year
the PRC will be undertaking an adaptive re-use project
to convert the mansion into suitable office space while
maintaining the historic integrity of the house. We will
be partnering with Historic Speedwell Village and the
Morris County Parks Commission to create programs that
will give the public opportunities to discover the
incredible history of Willow Hall and its role in
shaping the world we live in today.
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December
5, 2008
NJ Governor Corzine honors river activists
Two local environmentalists were singled out by
Governor Corzine on Thursday for their work to
protect and restore the Hackensack and Passaic
rivers.
The Hackensack Riverkeeper Inc., led by Bill
Sheehan, and Ella F. Filippone, executive director
of the Passaic River Coalition, both received 2008
Governor's Environmental Excellence Awards during a
ceremony at Drumthwacket, the governor's residence.
The annual award competition, administered by the
state Department of Environmental Protection, was
established in 2000.
In announcing the awards, the Governor's Office
noted that the Hackensack Riverkeeper "works to
protect and restore the river and its
210-square-mile watershed with a staff of five
full-time employees, an AmeriCorps watershed
ambassador and more than 300 volunteers."
From left to right: Richard Plambeck (Vice
chairman), Susan Nanney (Director of Development),
Ella Filippone (Executive Director) and Joe
Filippone (Treasurer)
Sheehan said the group won for an education program
it developed and offered to local mayors, town
council members and planning officials so they can
understand the implications of the DEP giving the
Hackensack watershed "Category 1" protection status
to limit development. More than 100 officials
attended the one-day workshop last spring.
Filippone, the Governor's Office said, "has been
working to protect the Passaic River since the birth
of the environmental movement in the late 1960s.
During her long career, she led the defeat of a
flood-control tunnel proposed for the Passaic and
helped spur the creation of the state's Blue Acres
program that purchases properties in flood zones."
The citation also noted that Filippone worked to
preserve Sterling Forest along the New Jersey-New
York border to protect water quality in the Passaic
watershed's lakes and reservoirs.
"These award winners are putting into practice the
idea of thinking globally but acting locally," newly
nominated DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello said in a
statement. "Their hard work and dedication should
serve as inspiration to all of New Jersey."
Friday, December 5, 2008
BY JAMES M. O'NEILL
STAFF WRITER, HERALD NEWS
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December
2, 2008
Mark
your calendar! Ground Water Protection Committee meeting
- On December 11 (Thursday) at 10 am will be another
Committee meeting discussing ground water issues in NJ.
Please join us! The meeting will take place at the
Chatham Borough Municipal building.
For directions click
here. See below suggested agenda.
1. Committee Matters:
Introductions
Minutes of meeting of 5 November 2008
Financial report
Membership: Follow up
2. Ideas for Planning for Activities in 2009:
Topics that may be of interest --
Well Head Protection
Education about recharge and discharge,
ground water & surface water
Managing domestic well use
Reducing ground water “deficits” in
Highlands
Reducing ground water “deficits” in Buried
Valley Aquifers
Regulating Ground Water and Surface Water as
though they are
interrelated
Your ideas!
3. Other Reports or other Business
4. Future Efforts of GWPC and Future Meetings
Learn more about
Ground Water
Protection Committee. |
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November
18, 2008
Now is the the time to clean the
Passaic River!
Check out a new flyer the Passaic River Coalition
has produced to get the word out about cleaning the
Lower Passaic River. This flyer is the first in a
series of publications the PRC will be creating to
educate communities about the contamination in the
Lower Passaic River and to promote dredging with
full decontamination as the best option for cleaning
the river. Be sure to visit our site periodically to
learn more about the issue and see other
publications we’ll be making.
To learn more
about the Lower Passaic River project click
here.
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November
18, 2008
Give
the Gift of Environmental Understanding to Yourself and
Others -
Imagine
being able to discuss climate change with the State
Climatologist or learn about New Jersey�s Geology from
the people who map it. Wouldn�t it be interesting to
hear how New Jersey�s environmental regulations get
enforced from a person who actually does the
enforcement? How about learning about the role of soils
in the environment from the person who runs Rutgers�
Soil Testing lab? These are some of the opportunities
that are available to enrollees in the 2007 Rutgers
Environmental Steward Volunteer Training Program. Would
you like to learn how local environmental decisions get
made from the head of the Association of New Jersey
Environmental Commissions or how land preservation can
be done most effectively from some of the leading
players in land preservation in NJ?
First
classes begin as early as January 13, 2009, so act now!
Recruitment has begun for the Rutgers Environmental
Steward Class of 2009. To learn how you can become a
Rutgers Environmental Steward contact the appropriate
coordinator for your region.
Essex/Metro
Training Location: Essex County Environmental Center,
Roseland, NJ
Normal Class Time: Thursdays, January to May, 2008;
10:30 to 2:00 pm. Cost: $250
Contact: Jan Zientek,
Zientek@rce.rutgers.edu , Program Coordinator,
Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Essex County, 621-A
Eagle Rock Ave., Roseland, NJ 07068, (973) 228-2210
Central/Duke
Training Location: Duke Farms, Hillsborough, NJ
Normal Class Time: Tuesdays, January to May, 2008; 9:30
am to 12:30 pm. Cost: $325
Contact: Rosalie Kelly,
rkelly@ddcf.org , Duke Farms Foundation, 80 Route
206, Hillsborough, New Jersey 08844 (908) 243-3606
Delaware
Region
Training Location: Rutgers EcoComplex, Columbus, NJ
Normal Class Time: Fridays, January to May, 2008; 9:30
am to 12:30pm. Cost: $250
Contact: Laurie Magee,
lmagee@aesop.rutgers.edu , Rutgers EcoComplex, 1200
Florence-Columbus Rd., Bordentown, New Jersey
08505-4200, (609) 499-3600 ext 221
Coastal Region
Training Location: Atlantic County Utility Authority,
6700 Delilah Road , Egg Harbor Twp NJ
Normal Class Time: Wednesdays, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.
Cost: $250
Contact: Amy Menzel,
amenzel@acua.com , PO Box 996 Pleasantville, NJ
08232, 609.272.6950 ext 6934
More
information including application forms and the current
schedule for lectures can be found on the web
envirostewards.rutgers.edu . |
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November
7, 2008
HIGHLANDS WATER PROTECTION READY TO GO;
TOWNS URGED TO CONFORM TO REGIONAL PLAN
Summit Speakers Address Challenges of Planning with
Science, Moving from Regional to Local Level, and
Understanding Groundwater, the �Invisible� Resource -
With the recent adoption of the Highlands Regional
Master Plan (RMP), New Jersey towns are confronted with
both an opportunity and a challenge to protecting the
water resources of a region that supplies over 5 million
of the state�s residents and its most important
industries. The clock is running, however, so
municipalities in the Highlands will need to act to
incorporate the Plan�s goals and standards within their
own zoning and land use ordinances.
Richard Plambeck, chair of the Ground Water Protection
Committee (GWPC), opened the conference by addressing
the history of the Committee and its achievements,
leading up to its own work on municipal zoning for
well-head protection, setting a standard that has itself
been incorporated into the RMP, according to Dr. Dan Van
Abs, senior director of planning and science for the NJ
Highlands Council.
New Jersey Highlands
Dr. Van Abs, examining the RMP from the perspective of
groundwater, explained that by including a clear
understanding of the importance of recharge areas and
standards for groundwater quality that exceeded the
previous state-wide levels set by the Department of
Environmental Protection, the RMP would offer a
sufficient check on development to ensure the
preservation of Highlands waters. The trick was to
recognize how the data should drive the policy. �The
Highlands is not like the Pinelands; there are a series
of smaller, separate aquifers and not one large,
region-wide source. So, we could not set region-wide
rules but instead had to tailor them to fit, location by
location.� The success of the Council�s approach could
be seen in how 98% of prime recharge areas wound up
inside the most protective zones, even though the zones
had been designated principally on other environmental
factors.
Taking the RMP from paper and putting it into practice
is the next big challenge, one which should not wait for
all of the criticisms of the Plan, however valid, to be
completely addressed, according to John Thonet, P.E.,
PP. Mr. Thonet, president of Thonet Associates, an
environmental consulting firm, is currently creating for
the non-profit Highlands Coalition a step-by-step guide
for municipalities that must or may wish to seek
conformance of their local master plans and ordinances
with the RMP. Noting that towns that are located wholly
or partially within the Preservation area of the
Highlands have to be in conformance by December, 2009,
he urged that they assemble Conformance Task Forces from
among their environmental commissioners, planning board
members, governing bodies, and professional planners,
engineers, and environmental consultants, to begin the
long process of reading the RMP and its technical
documents and comparing the goals, policies, and
standards to existing town land use regulations. Along
with the private work of analyzing the RMP�s rules, a
coordinated series of public hearings would be needed as
well, to ensure that the residents of the town were
informed as to the nature and extent of changes to local
zoning and land use, so that their wishes would be
included as well. �The Plan allows and encourages that
local laws be set to more stringent standards. So, if
the citizens are asking for more protection of their
water, then the task force should be recommending those
higher standards to the planning board and the governing
body,� Mr. Thonet asserted. He suggested that decision
makers apply the Precautionary Principle, a general rule
in situations of uncertainty to choose more proven
alternatives that minimize possible harm, akin to the
Hippocratic Oath for physicians to �do no harm.�
Dr. Ella Filippone, executive director of the Passaic
River Coalition, GWPC�s parent organization, echoed the
cautions of making decisions without proper
understanding of consequences. �In the 1970s, very few
people knew what a flood plain was. So, we spent hours
developing materials on the nature and the hazards of
flood plains, and we made over 125 presentations to town
councils to help them learn how to properly zone their
flood plains. Now, we need to do the same for Highlands
groundwater.� While congratulating the Council for
placing groundwater on equal footing with surface water
in the RMP, she noted that the persistence of deficits
in the Highlands was a major concern that needed to be
addressed directly and immediately, without reliance on
unproven techniques for future mitigation and off-site
reclamation of stormwater runoff.
Ground Water Summit 2008 was sponsored by the Ground
Water Protection Committee (GWPC), the sole
inter-municipal organization dedicated
to the preservation and enhancement of groundwater in
the State of New Jersey. GWPC was established in 1980
to provide a coordinated perspective on groundwater
management throughout the Passaic River watershed.
Since its founding, the GWPC has been continuously
involved in research and education on this region�s
groundwater resources.
by Eugene Reynolds (PRC staff)
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See
a presentation
-
Your Water – Your Future
Protecting and Preserving Ground Water via the Highlands RMP, presented at Ground Water Summit
2008, The Ground Water Protection Committee by Thonet
Associates Inc., Environmental Planning & Design
Consultants. |
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November
7, 2008
New issue of Ground Water Sentinel is out! - Please,
take time to read about bottled water and well
contamination. To read past issues of Ground Water
Sentinel and about Ground Water Protection Committee,
please visit
here.
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November 6, 2008
Take Action to Support NJ ATV Legislation
- Tell your legislators to vote yes on A823 and S2055!
ORV legislation is about to hit the Assembly floor and
the Senate Transportation Committee. The NY-NJ Trail
Conference needs your help to let the legislature know
how much their constituents want legislation that will
provide for registration and identification of off-road
vehicles, as well as enforcement and penalties.
Additional information about the pending legislation and
the Trail Conference campaign to pass it, including
links to the Assembly and Senate bill, is available on
the
TC NJATV website.
Click
here to take action.
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Legislation in Play to
Allow Deer Hunting on Sundays in NJ -
Tell your Assembly Representatives to
vote NO on A 1669! A1669 would authorize deer
hunting on Sundays during any bow and arrow hunting
season prescribed by the State Fish and Game Code,
provided the hunting is on a State wildlife management
area or on private property. S802, the companion bill
to A1669,passed the Senate 32-6 on October 23rd, so the
pressure is on the Assembly. A consequence of these
bills is the potential closing of all hiking trails on
WMA and private lands through written permission or
easements during all of bow and arrow deer hunting
season in New Jersey, which differs from one
jurisdiction to another. This bill also raises from $20
to $50 the penalty for a violation of the no-Sunday
hunting prohibition. Take action NOW by clicking
here and let your Assembly Representatives
know that you do NOT support A1669 and want them to
oppose it! |
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November
3, 2008
Environmental Failure: A Case for a New Green Politics -
The U.S. environmental movement is failing � by any
measure, the state of the earth has never been more
dire. What�s needed, a leading environmentalist writes,
is a new, inclusive green politics that challenges basic
assumptions about consumerism and unlimited growth.
A specter is haunting American environmentalism -- the
specter of failure.
All of us who have been part of the environmental
movement in the United States must now face up to a
deeply troubling paradox: Our environmental
organizations have grown in strength and sophistication,
but the environment has continued to go downhill, to the
point that the prospect of a ruined planet is now very
real. How could this have happened?
Before addressing this question and what can be done to
correct it, two points must be made. First, one shudders
to think what the world would look like today without
the efforts of environmental groups and their hard-won
victories in recent decades.
However serious our environmental challenges, they would
be much more so had not these people taken a stand in
countless ways. And second, despite their limitations,
the approaches of modern-day environmentalism remain
essential: Right now, they are the tools readily at hand
with which to address many pressing problems, including
global warming and climate disruption. Despite the
critique of American environmentalism that follows,
these points remain valid.
Lost Ground
The need for appraisal would not be so urgent if
environmental conditions were not so dire. The mounting
threats point to an emerging environmental tragedy of
unprecedented proportions.
Half the world's tropical and temperate forests are now
gone. The rate of deforestation in the tropics continues
at about an acre a second, and has for decades. Half the
planet's wetlands are gone. An estimated 90 percent of
the large predator fish are gone, and 75 percent of
marine fisheries are now overfished or fished to
capacity. Almost half of the corals are gone or are
seriously threatened. Species are disappearing at rates
about 1,000 times faster than normal. The planet has not
seen such a spasm of extinction in 65 million years,
since the dinosaurs disappeared. Desertification claims
a Nebraska-sized area of productive capacity each year
globally. Persistent toxic chemicals can now be found by
the dozens in essentially each and every one of us.
The earth's stratospheric ozone layer was severely
depleted before its loss was discovered. Human
activities have pushed atmospheric carbon dioxide up by
more than a third and have started in earnest the most
dangerous change of all -- planetary warming and climate
disruption. Everywhere, earth's ice fields are melting.
Industrial processes are fixing nitrogen, making it
biologically active, at a rate equal to nature's; one
result is the development of hundreds of documented dead
zones in the oceans due to overfertilization. Freshwater
withdrawals are now over half of accessible runoff, and
water shortages are multiplying here and abroad.
The United States, of course, is deeply complicit in
these global trends, including our responsibility for
about 30 percent of the carbon dioxide added thus far to
the atmosphere. But even within the United States
itself, four decades of environmental effort have not
stemmed the tide of environmental decline. The country
is losing 6,000 acres of open space every day, and
100,000 acres of wetlands every year. About a third of
U.S. plant and animal species are threatened with
extinction. Half of U.S. lakes and a third of its rivers
still fail to meet the standards that by law should have
been met by 1983. And we have done little to curb our
wasteful energy habits or our huge population growth.
Here is one measure of the problem: All we have to do to
destroy the planet's climate and biota and leave a
ruined world to our children and grandchildren is to
keep doing exactly what we are doing today, with no
growth in human population or the world economy. Just
continue to generate greenhouse gases at current rates,
just continue to impoverish ecosystems and release toxic
chemicals at current rates, and the world in the latter
part of this century won't be fit to live in. But human
activities are not holding at current levels -- they are
accelerating, dramatically.
The size of the world economy has more than quadrupled
since 1960 and is projected to quadruple again by
mid-century. It took all of human history to grow the $7
trillion world economy of 1950. We now grow by that
amount in a decade.
The escalating processes of climate disruption, biotic
impoverishment, and toxification, which continue despite
decades of warnings and earnest effort, constitute a
severe indictment of the system of political economy in
which we live and work. The pillars of today's
capitalism, as they are now constituted, work together
to produce an economic and political reality that is
highly destructive environmentally. An unquestioning
society-wide commitment to economic growth at any cost;
All we have to do to destroy the planet's climate and
biota is to keep doing exactly what we are doing today.
powerful corporate interests whose overriding objective
is to grow by generating profit (including profit from
avoiding the environmental costs their companies create,
amassing deep subsidies and benefits from government,
and continued deployment of technologies originally
designed with little or no regard for the environment);
markets that systematically fail to recognize
environmental costs unless corrected by government;
government that is subservient to corporate interests
and the growth imperative; rampant consumerism spurred
by sophisticated advertising and marketing; economic
activity now so large in scale that its impacts alter
the fundamental biophysical operations of the planet --
all combine to deliver an ever-growing world economy
that is undermining the ability of the earth to sustain
life.
Are Environmentalists To Blame?
In assigning responsibility for environmental failure,
there are many places to lay blame: the rise of the
modern, anti-government right in American politics; a
negligent media; the deadening complexity of today's
environmental issues and programs, to mention the most
notable. But a number of observers have placed much of
the blame for failure on the leading environmental
organizations themselves.
For example, Mark Dowie in his 1995 book Losing Ground
notes that the national environmental organizations
crafted an agenda and pursued a strategy based on the
civil authority and good faith of the federal
government. "Therein," he believes, "lies the inherent
weakness and vulnerability of the environmental
movement. Civil authority and good faith regarding the
environment have proven to be chimeras in Washington."
Dowie argues that the national environmental groups also
"misread and underestimate[d] the fury of their
antagonists."
The mainstream environmental organizations were
challenged again in 2004 in the now-famous The Death of
Environmentalism. In it, Michael Shellenberger and Ted
Nordhaus write that America's mainstream
environmentalists are
Today's environmentalism accepts compromises as part of
the process. It takes what it can get.
not "articulating a vision of the future commensurate
with the magnitude of the crisis. Instead they are
promoting technical policy fixes like pollution controls
and higher vehicle mileage standards -- proposals that
provide neither the popular inspiration nor the
political alliances the community needs to deal with the
problem." Shellenberger and Nordhaus believe
environmentalists don't recognize that they are in a
culture war -- a war over core values and a vision for
the future.
These criticisms and others stem from the fundamental
decision of today's environmentalism to work within the
system. This core decision grew out of the successes of
the environmental community in the 1970s, which seemed
to confirm the correctness of that approach. Our failure
to execute a dramatic mid-course correction when
circumstances changed can be seen in hindsight as a
major blunder.
Here is what I mean by working within the system. When
today's environmentalism recognizes a problem, it
believes it can solve that problem by calling public
attention to it, framing policy and program responses
for government and industry, lobbying for those actions,
and litigating for their enforcement. It believes in the
efficacy of environmental advocacy and government
action. It believes that good- faith compliance with the
law will be the norm, and that corporations can be made
to behave and will increasingly weave environmental
objectives into their business strategies.
Today's environmentalism tends to be pragmatic and
incrementalist -- its actions are aimed at solving
problems and often doing so one at a time. It is more
comfortable proposing innovative policy solutions than
framing inspirational messages. These characteristics
are closely allied to a tendency to deal with effects
rather than underlying causes. Most of our major
environmental laws and treaties, for example, address
the resulting environmental ills much more than their
causes. In the end, environmentalism accepts compromises
as part of the process. It takes what it can get.
Today's environmentalism also believes that problems can
be solved at acceptable economic costs -- and often with
net economic benefit -- without significant lifestyle
changes or threats to economic growth. It will not
hesitate to strike out at an environmentally damaging
facility or development, but it sees itself, on balance,
as a positive economic force.
Environmentalists see solutions coming largely from
within the environmental sector. They may worry about
the flaws in and corruption of our politics, for
example, but that is not their professional concern.
That's what Common Cause or other groups do. Similarly,
environmentalists know that the prices for many things
need to be higher, and they are aware that
environmentally honest prices would create a huge burden
on the half of American families that just get by. But
universal health care and other government action needed
to address America's gaping economic injustices are not
seen as part of the environmental agenda.
Today's environmentalism is also not focused strongly on
political activity or organizing a grassroots movement.
Electoral politics and mobilizing a green political
movement have played second fiddle to lobbying,
litigating, and working with government agencies and
corporations.
A central precept, in short, is that the system can be
made to work for the environment. In this frame of
action, scant attention is paid to the corporate
dominance of economic and political life, to
transcending our growth fetish, to promoting major
lifestyle changes and challenging the materialistic
values that dominate our society, to addressing the
constraints on environmental action stemming from
America's vast social insecurity and hobbled democracy,
to framing a new American story, or to building a new
environmental politics.
Not everything, of course, fits within these patterns.
There have been exceptions from the start, and recent
trends reflect a broadening in approaches. Greenpeace
has certainly worked outside the system,
Organizations built to litigate and lobby are not
necessarily the best ones to mobilize a grassroots
movement.
the League of Conservation Voters and the Sierra Club
have had a sustained political presence, groups like the
Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental
Defense Fund have developed effective networks of
activists around the country, the World Resources
Institute has augmented its policy work with
on-the-ground sustainable development projects, and
environmental justice concerns and the emerging climate
crisis have spurred the proliferation of grassroots
efforts, student organizing, and community and state
initiatives.
But organizations that were built to litigate and lobby
for environmental causes or to do sophisticated policy
studies are not necessarily the best ones to mobilize a
grassroots movement or build a force for electoral
politics or motivate the public with social marketing
campaigns. These things need to be done, and to get them
done it may be necessary to launch new organizations and
initiatives with special strengths in these areas.
The methods and style of today's environmentalism are
not wrongheaded, just far, far too restricted as an
overall approach. The problem has been the absence of a
huge, complementary investment of time, energy, and
money in other, deeper approaches to change. And here,
the leading environmental organizations must be faulted
for not doing nearly enough to ensure these investments
were made.
America has run a 40-year experiment on whether this
mainstream environmentalism can succeed, and the results
are now in. The full burden of managing accumulating
environmental threats has fallen to the environmental
community, both those in government and outside. But
that burden is too great. The system of modern
capitalism as it operates today will continue to grow in
size and complexity and will generate ever-larger
environmental consequences, outstripping efforts to cope
with them. Indeed, the system will seek to undermine
those efforts and constrain them within narrow limits.
Working only within the system will, in the end, not
succeed -- what is needed is transformative change in
the system itself.
A New Environmental Politics
Environmental protection requires a new politics.
This new politics must, first of all, ensure that
environmental concern and advocacy extend to the full
range of relevant issues. The environmental agenda
should expand to embrace a profound challenge to
consumerism and commercialism and the lifestyles they
offer, a healthy skepticism of growthmania and a
redefinition of what society should be striving to grow,
a challenge to corporate dominance and a redefinition of
the corporation and its goals, a commitment to deep
change in both the functioning and the reach of the
market, and a powerful assault on the anthropocentric
and contempocentric values that currently dominate.
Environmentalists must also join with social
progressives in addressing the crisis of inequality now
unraveling America's social fabric and undermining its
democracy. It is a crisis of soaring executive pay, huge
incomes, and increasingly concentrated wealth for a
small minority, occurring simultaneously with poverty
near a 30-year high, stagnant wages despite rising
productivity, declining social mobility and opportunity,
record levels of people without health insurance,
failing schools, increased job insecurity, swelling
jails, shrinking safety nets, and the longest work hours
among the rich countries. In an America with such vast
social insecurity, economic arguments, even misleading
ones, will routinely trump environmental goals.
Similarly, environmentalists must join with those
seeking to reform politics and strengthen democracy.
What we are seeing in the United States is the emergence
of a vicious circle: Income disparities shift political
access and influence to wealthy constituencies and large
businesses, which further imperils the potential of the
democratic process to act to correct the growing income
disparities. Corporations have been the principal
economic actors for a long time; now they are the
principal political actors as well. Neither environment
nor society fares well under corporatocracy.
Environmentalists need to embrace public financing of
elections, regulation of lobbying, nonpartisan
Congressional redistricting, and other political reform
measures as core to their agenda. Today's politics will
never deliver environmental sustainability.
The current financial crisis and, at this writing, the
response to it, reveal a system of political economy
that is profoundly committed to profits and growth and
profoundly indifferent to people and society. This
system is at least as indifferent to its impacts on
nature. Left uncorrected, it is inherently ruthless and
rapacious, and it is up to citizens, acting mainly
through government, to inject values of fairness and
sustainability into the system. But this effort commonly
fails because progressive politics are too enfeebled and
Washington is increasingly in the hands of powerful
corporate interests and concentrations of great wealth.
The best hope for real change in America is a fusion of
those concerned about environment, social justice, and
strong democracy into one powerful progressive force.
The new environmentalism must work with this progressive
coalition to build a mighty force in electoral politics.
This will require major efforts at grassroots
organizing; strengthening groups working at the state
and community levels; and developing motivational
messages and appeals -- indeed, writing a new American
story, as Bill Moyers has urged. Our environmental
discourse has thus far been dominated by lawyers,
scientists, and economists. Now, we need to hear a lot
more from the poets, preachers, philosophers, and
psychologists.
Above all, the new environmental politics must be
broadly inclusive, reaching out to embrace union members
and working families, minorities and people of color,
religious organizations, the women's movement, and other
communities of complementary interest and shared fate.
It is unfortunate but true that stronger alliances are
still needed to overcome the "silo effect" that
separates the environmental community from those working
on domestic political reforms, a progressive social
agenda, human rights, international peace, consumer
issues, world health and population concerns, and world
poverty and underdevelopment.
The final watchword of the new environmental politics
must be, "Build the movement." We have had movements
against slavery and many have participated in movements
for civil rights and against apartheid and the Vietnam
War. Environmentalists are often said to be part of "the
environmental movement." We need a real one -- networked
together, protesting, demanding action and
accountability from governments and corporations, and
taking steps as consumers and communities to realize
sustainability and social justice in everyday life.
Can one see the beginnings of a new social movement in
America? Perhaps I am letting my hopes get the better of
me, but I think we can. Its green side is visible, I
think, in the surge of campus organizing and student
mobilization occurring today, much of it coordinated by
the student-led Energy Action Coalition and by Power
Vote.
If there is a model within American memory of what must
be done, it is the civil rights revolution of the 1960s.
It's visible also in the increasing activism of
religious organizations, including many evangelical
groups under the banner of Creation Care, and in the
rapid proliferation of community-based environmental
initiatives. It's there in the joining together of
organized labor, environmental groups, and progressive
businesses in the Apollo Alliance and there in the
Sierra Club's collaboration with the United
Steelworkers, the largest industrial union in the United
States. It's visible too in the outpouring of effort to
build on Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, and in the
grassroots organizing of 1Sky and others around climate
change. It is visible in the green consumer movement and
in the consumer support for the efforts of the
Rainforest Action Network to green the policies of the
major U.S. banks. It's there in the increasing number of
teach-ins, demonstrations, marches, and protests,
including the 1,400 events across the United States in
2007 inspired by Bill McKibben's "Step It Up!" campaign
to stop global warming. It is there in the
constituency-building work of minority environmental
leaders and in the efforts of groups like Green for All
to link social and environmental goals. It's just
beginning, but it's there, and it will grow.
The welcome news is that the environmental community
writ large is moving in some of these directions. Local
and state environmental groups have grown in strength
and number. There is more political engagement through
the League of Conservation Voters and a few other
groups, and more work to reach out to voters with
overtly political messages. The major national
organizations have strengthened their links to local and
state groups and established activist networks to
support their lobbying activities. Still, there is a
long, long way to go to build a new and vital
environmental politics in America.
American politics today is failing not only the
environment but also the American people and the world.
As Richard Falk reminds us, only an unremitting struggle
will drive the changes that can sustain people and
nature. If there is a model within American memory for
what must be done, it is the civil rights revolution of
the 1960s. It had grievances, it knew what was causing
them, and it also knew that the existing order had no
legitimacy and that, acting together, people could
redress those grievances. It was confrontational and
disobedient, but it was nonviolent. It had a dream. And
it had Martin Luther King Jr.
It is amazing what can be accomplished if citizens are
ready to march, in the footsteps of Dr. King. It is
again time to give the world a sense of hope.
by James Gustave Speth
Listen: James Gustave Speth talks with Yale e360 about
building a new environmentalism. (27 min.)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Gustave Speth is author of The Bridge at the
Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and
Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability and dean of
the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental
Studies. He co-founded the Natural Resources Defense
Council in 1970, served as chair of the Council on
Environmental Quality in the Carter Administration, and
in 1982 founded the World Resources Institute, where he
served as president until 1992.
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October
30, 2008
EPA Signs Agreement with Companies to
Remove Major Source of Passaic River Contamination -
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has secured an agreement with Occidental
Chemical Corporation (Occidental) and Tierra Solutions,
Inc. (Tierra) to remove a major source of dioxin
contamination from the lower Passaic River, eliminating
the potential future threat that these harmful
contaminants could pose to people’s health and the
environment. The agreement calls for 200,000 cubic yards
of dioxin-laden sediment to be taken out of the river in
the direct vicinity of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site
in downtown Newark. This sediment is known to have the
highest levels of dioxin in the lower Passaic. EPA
estimates that nearly half of the dioxins will be
removed from the sediment in the lower six-mile stretch
of the Passaic River. Read the whole article
here.
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October 30, 2008
Ground Water Protection Committee meeting
- please join us at our next Ground Water meeting that
will be
held on November 5 at
Chatham Borough Municipal Building, starting at
10 am.
Click
here for directions.
See below suggest agenda:
1. Committee Matters:
Introductions
Minutes of meeting of 17
September 2008
Financial report
Membership: Follow up
2. Review of Ground Water Summit on
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
3. Well Head Protection Model
Ordinance
4. Other Reports or other Business
5. Future Efforts of GWPC and Future
Meetings
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Learn more about Ground Water Protection
Committee. |
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October
28, 2008
 Green
Earth Ministry
presents: "The
Green Economy: Partnering Our Money and Our Values".
The presentation will include the screening of a talk
given by Green Economy activist and founder of Green for
All, Van Jones. Mr. Jones is also the author of
The Green Collar Economy. The presentation will be
followed by a Green Business/Green Job panel discussion,
Q and A.
This event is free!
Sunday, November 16 --- 1:00 to 3:30 pm
Morristown Unitarian Fellowship
21
Normandy Heights Rd
Morristown, NJ 07960
Directions:
www.muuf.org/directions.html
Info
(973) 543-7883 |
Van Jones
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October
27, 2008
Mom and Son Team Distribute Free CFL Bulbs in New Jersey
-
HMN�s Director Volunteers for Project Porchlight,
Proving That Simple Actions Matter.
(Caldwell, NJ) � On Saturday, October 25th, Dr. Nancy
Massotto, Executive Director of the Holistic Moms
Network (HMN), and her 7-year-old son Michael, went
door-to-door for a few hours in their neighborhood
distributing free compact fluorescent (CFL) light bulbs
to neighbors, along with information about how to cut
energy costs and save the environment (photo available
upon request). Massotto - who also sits on the Caldwell
Environmental Commission - was volunteering for the
launch of Project Porchlight in Caldwell, New Jersey.
Founded in Canada in 2004, Project Porchlight�s mission
is to make energy conservation accessible and personal
and to show that simple actions - like changing bulbs,
using water-saving showerheads and keeping car tires
properly inflated � matter. In 2005-2006, Porchlight
volunteers successfully delivered 225,000 free CFL bulbs
to homes across Ottawa. Requests from other communities
across Canada and the U.S. poured in; and so, on October
21st, Project Porchlight launched in New Jersey with
funding from the New Jersey Clean Energy Program. The
grassroots campaign is employing staff and volunteers to
distribute 225,000 free CFL bulbs to New Jersey
residents this Fall.
�Volunteering with Project Porchlight was a great way to
teach my son that simple actions to help the environment
really do matter,� says Massotto, whose organization -
HMN - connects parents interested in holistic health and
green living.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that
nearly 25 percent of the energy needs in the U.S. are
dedicated to lighting. Because CFL bulbs last eight to
ten times longer than incandescent bulbs, the CFLs will
save more than $10 million in electricity costs over
their lifetime, and reduce New Jersey�s carbon dioxide
emissions by about 75,000 tons. Project Porchlight�s
website says that �replacing the light on your porch
with a CFL sends a message to everyone who sees it that
you've made the switch and that encourages others to do
the same,� (see www.projectporchlight.org).
Massotto�s organization recently hosted green living
expert Annie B. Bond at HMN�s 5th annual Natural Living
Conference on October 18th in New Jersey. In her talk,
Bond � who is the Executive Editor of Care2.com's
Healthy and Green Living channel - espoused the
energy-saving benefits of CFLs.
�If every American home replaced just one light bulb
with a CFL bulb, it would be the equivalent of taking 1
million cars off the road,� says Massotto.
Today, the Holistic Moms Network will launch its own CFL
Challenge on its website, www.holisticmoms.org. It will
ask its 4,000 members to replace 10,000 incandescent
lightbulbs with CFL bulbs before December 31, 2008. �If
our members meet the challenge, we would successfully
help to remove 13 million pounds of the global warming
pollutant carbon dioxide (CO2) from the environment,�
says Massotto. �Like Project Porchlight, we believe that
simple actions really do matter. They can change the
world.�
The Holistic Moms Network (HMN) is a national non-profit
connecting parents who are interested in holistic health
and green living. The group has 130 chapters across the
country. For more information, please contact HMN's
Executive Director, Dr. Nancy Massotto at (877)
HOL-MOMS.
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October 27, 2008
Stop the West Orange
1000-Tree Clear-cut - Two 250 year old White Oak
Trees roughly 13 feet in circumference, on the Seton
Hall Prep School's McClellan Old Growth Forest have been
designated for inclusion onto New Jersey's Big Tree
List, a list of trees of exceptional size, historic and
ecological value. The trees are located in the center of
a proposed second baseball field. Seton Hall Prep has
shown an unwillingness to save these Champion Trees and
1000 other trees.
White Oak
(Quercus bicolor)
In addition, Seton Hall
Prep plans to cut down 50 large trees to create a
"drainage detention" area required because they are
cutting so many trees!
Seton Hall
Preparatory School is planning to clear-cut 22 acres
that contain 1000 trees with 33 different tree
species, an Old-Growth forest of 50 trees 150 -240
years old, an arboretum of rare tree species, and
the historic remains of the estate of George
McClellan (Governor of New Jersey 1878-1881, Civil
War general, candidate for President).
The school's
Headmaster, Michael E. Kelly plans to add 2 parking
lots, bleachers, 2 baseball fields, 5 tennis courts
and a hamburger stand to an existing athletic
facility. We believe these fields are excessive for
the size of the school.
Come to the Zoning
Board meeting to support our experts November 6,
2008. Call (973) 325-4110 to check the agenda.
Email green@westorange.com
to join the local group.
Tell me more
Talking Points
How environmentally
conscious has Seton Hall Prep been?
The first 20 of 44
acres were cleared in 1999 by Seton Hall Prep after
the Town of West Orange planning board approved it
over the neighborhood's objections and without
conducting the required environmental impact
statement.
In 2006, Headmaster
Kelly offered to meet with Sierra Club members but
then ignored requests to set a date.
In April of 2007,
Seton Hall Prep was issued a summons by West Orange
for constructing an athletic field, including the
importation of thousands of yards of fill dirt,
without a permit. They cut many other trees,
including a 60" diameter Oak tree.
Presently, Seton Hall
Prep has been discharging storm water onto the steep
slopes of its property thereby causing severe soil
erosion.
Two Champion Trees
designated June 17, 2008 to be included on New
Jersey's Big Tree list are of significant size and
historic and ecological value. Seton Hall Prep
School has proposed a second baseball field where
these two venerable trees are living.
In addition, Seton
Hall Prep plans to cut down 50 large trees to create
a "drainage detention" area required because they
are cutting so many trees!
The Sierra Club is
suggesting alternative uses that would avoid
destroying the Old-Growth trees in favor of a living
outdoor classroom with ballfields strategically
placed in an area already clear cut.
"Some of these trees
witnessed the birth of our nation. Is this the
example for stewardship of a living historic
monument you would expect from an educational
institution?" asks Bruce Kershner (forest ecologist,
international authority on Old-Growth forests, and
author of Sierra Club Guide to Ancient Forests of
the Northeast), who was brought in to do a survey of
the estate in 2002 by The Sierra Club, when they
learned that Seton Hall Prep had not provided the
legally mandated environmental impact statement. The
Governor George McClellan Estate remains the only
unprotected and endangered old growth forest site
within the northern New Jersey Metro area.
Take action
here
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October
13, 2008
Save the John Fell House -
The John Fell House, circa 1750, at 475 Franklin
Turnpike is in jeopardy of being torn down to make room
for townhouses. This lovely home, located across
Franklin Turnpike from The Celery Farm, was the original
home of John Fell, a member of the U.S. Continental
Congress. Help us save this landmark.
Please, attend the planning board meeting on Thursday,
October 16, 2008, 8:00 p.m at Allendale Borough Hall,
500 W. Crescent Ave.
Thank you for the incredible support you have
shown in our efforts to preserve this spectacular
property. We ask that you make your presence felt again
at the Planning Board meeting. See you there! For more
information, visit our website at:
www.savethefellhouse.org |
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September
30, 2008
Ground Water Summit 2008!
-
New Jersey
depends on the Highlands to
provide drinking water for over 5 million of its
residents. But, what if the waters of the Highlands
start to run dry? What can we do to prevent this
situation from happening? How can we stop the water
deficits that already exist and even reverse them so
that groundwater levels stabilize and begin
to rise?
Learn how the Highlands Council is working
to �protect, restore, and enhance� the quality and
quantities of the region�s groundwater
Hear about the process of municipal
conformance to the Regional Master Plan and its benefits
to groundwater
Listen to practical solutions that will
work within and outside of the Highlands to ensure New
Jersey�s water allocation can balance supply and demand
for a growing population.
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Come
and be part of Ground Water Summit 2008! The
summit will be held on October 29, starting at
8.30 am. Click
here or above on a picture to find out more about
the summit and registration options.
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Monthly
Ground Water Protection Committee meeting will be
held on November 5 at
Chatham Borough Municipal Building, starting at
10 am.
The agenda will be up soon. Click
here for directions.
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September
29, 2008
PRC Talks Blue at Chatham Green Fair -
On a late-summer
day with threatening skies, Passaic River Coalition
exhibited at the first annual Chatham Borough Green
Fair, getting residents to think about their drinking
water and how to protect it. Along with environmental
commissions from both the Borough and from Chatham
Township, advocates for ecological lifestyles like Back2Tap
(offering reusable beverage containers in place of
plastic bottles), vendors of environmental services like
�green� dry cleaning and water filtration, and the local
Boy Scout troop, PRC sought to bring its message of the
importance of safe, clean drinking water to a town that
can literally take a stand on the issue.
Trustee Dick Plambeck
(left) and Assistant Director Eugene Reynolds
(center)
ask a Chatham resident if
she knows where her water comes from.
The Borough gets its water
entirely from the public wells it has in town. It is one
of the first municipalities in our watershed which has
adopted a version of our model wellhead protection in
March, 2004. The ordinance creates a zoning overlay
based on the calculated travel times (2-year, 5year, and
12-year) for any spill to reach the
wellhead. Recognizing its obligation to its neighbors,
the Borough included wellhead protection areas for wells
in Madison and in Millburn, in addition to its own, when
it passed the ordinance.
PRC Trustee Dick Plambeck,
the immediate past mayor of the Borough and chair of our
Groundwater Protection Committee, spent several hours
educating his neighbors, and many interested folks from
the Township and Madison, about the ins and outs of
drinking water supply and treatment, a subject on which
he became thoroughly informed when managing the
facilities at Exxon�s corporate campus in Florham Park.
New staff member Allyson
Salisbury exhibited one of the birdhouses that PRC is
hoping to install in our Upper Passaic properties in
Chatham Township, Long Hill, and
Warren Township, after a
pilot installation in a wetlands complex in Bernards
Township. Designed to provide nesting space for birds
like the Eastern Bluebird that are suffering population
declines due to predators and competitors, the boxes are
simple to build, and Allyson gave away copies of the
one-page instructions to people who wanted to help bring
the bluebirds back in New Jersey.
Noting the proximity of
the Borough�s
farmers� market, Assistant Director Eugene Reynolds
pointed out to listeners how well-water supported the
idea of �buy local� in reducing energy costs for water.
Lee Byrd, the
Green Fair organizer, said
that the day was as
successful as he had hoped and had drawn a positive
response from exhibitors and attendees alike. Next
year�s Green Fair is already being planned, so save the
date of Saturday, September 12, if you are near Chatham
Borough.
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To view the
maps presented at the
Chatham Borough Green Fair, please send a request by
email to
GIS_Specialist@passaicriver.org.
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September
17, 2008
Meet the
Passaic River Coalition new environmental specialist -
Allyson Salisbury -
Allyson graduated from Susquehanna University this past
spring with a Bachelor’s of Science in Earth and
Environmental Science and will work as an Environmental
Specialist for the PRC. Allyson is excited to work on
projects in our newly acquired King George Road wetlands
Preserve since she has an interest in wetlands; she will
also be working on Greenwood Lake and fundraising
projects.
Allyson Salisbury |
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September
12, 2008
Land Trust - 1000 acres
reached! - since the establishment of the Passaic
River Coalition Land Trust, in 1993, the PRC Team has
been working on preserving the open land within the
Passaic River Basin. Today we closed on 31st property -
Hope Forest Reserve, located in West Milford, Passaic
County. The area of 10.29 acres contains very high
water resource value and is partially covered with
wetlands. |
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September
4, 2008
Morris County Green Table
- Seeing the
Path for the Trees: A County-wide Trails Visioning
Workshop - This workshop will be
a hands-on session of looking where trails are within
the County, where they could and should be, and how
together we can make connections that will add benefits
and attractions to individual trails as they are grown
into a full, County-wide network. Join us as we
brainstorm with civic leaders, County and State
officials, and nonprofit consultants who have worked on
trail plans and are ready to clear out more brush. The
Center is reserved for the entire morning, so we will
have plenty of time. See flyers below for further
information.
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August 19,
2008
Maritime Villages: Reclaiming a Sense of Place on Our
Passaic and Hackensack River Waterways (by Matthew
Walsh) - Many people in our region find it easy to
overlook the natural heritage of our navigable
waterways. It is quite understandable, in light of the
bridges and highways that traverse them. With the
exception of being stalled in traffic jams, the typical
commuter will only experience these waterways as a
�grey-blur� passed by on their way to their final
destinations.
Additionally, in the post-World War II years, our New Jersey
population has been engaged in an unprecedented migration
away from our port cities towards newer residential
subdivisions located on former farm or woodland properties.
The developing consensus on this 60-year migratory and
living pattern is an increasing repudiation of �sprawl� and
the often attendant destruction of life-giving and
rechargeable aquifers located in our freshwater watersheds.
As New
Jersey recognizes that its Highlands Region is being
threatened to the point that perhaps one half of the
drinking water in the state is imperiled, efforts have been
implemented to curb development in the remaining pristine
enclaves of this watershed. However, this is not an
anti-development-only approach. In fact, this watershed
preservation is tethered to a parallel program that is
encouraging redevelopment of our older cities and suburbs,
where infrastructure like rail lines, sewer and water lines,
and navigable rivers already exist but are frequently
underutilized.
The Passaic
and Hackensack Rivers as infrastructure? Well, let me
dignify that description a little bit. It is natural
(�green�) infrastructure. Our port cities were founded on
the banks of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers for a
reason. They provided a focus for mobility and commerce,
connected through their host rivers to the other
tide-flowing areas of our region, continent, and even
overseas. Our proud Passaic and Hackensack River towns were
some of the earliest Industrial Age communities in our
nation. They transformed raw materials (lumber, clay, ore,
and crops) into valuable finished goods, making our young
nation no longer dependent on shipping our homegrown
commodities to Europe for repurchase as finished goods. Our
New Jersey river ports were de facto trade outposts that
helped strengthen our nation.
Newark,
Nutley, Hackensack, Harrison, East Newark, Kearny,
Carlstadt, Teaneck, Belleville, Passaic, and Lyndhurst are
all located on tide-flowing portions of these rivers.
Hence, they are all literally connected by water to the
world. From the River to the Bays and to the Oceans, they
may have been ignored, even forgotten, but the tide ebbs and
flows on their shores as it has throughout time.
All, or
most, of these locations will need financial encouragement
to clean up their polluted sites. It is time for their
second acts! Walkable mixed-use maritime villages will
become magnets for mixed income, residential apartment and
housing as well as retail and commercial employment. These
maritime villages will not resemble the shabby-looking
enclaves associated with some of the evocative writings of
Charles Dickens. Existing water taxi and freight cargo
docks will become integrated into an attractive waterfront
esplanade. Abundant and attractive landscaping will become
a centerpiece for the aesthetic reclamation of our
waterfront maritime villages.
Higher
Density Development does not have to be a disturbing
concept, as many areas of Europe actively demonstrate.
Additionally, many densely developed transit villages
located right here in New Jersey, provide demonstrable
evidence that mixed-use, walkable developments in close
proximity to existing train stations have actually increased
the value of properties in these locations.
Ideally,
our maritime villages located on our highways of water will
not only relocalize some of our commerce but will encourage
regional water-borne passenger and freight commerce. Each
maritime village can have regularly scheduled water taxi
service. Each river will maintain a regional transfer hub,
where water-taxi travelers can transfer to larger vessels.
This is particularly true of the Passaic River towns north
of Newark, where drawbridge clearances are problematic for
larger vessels. The raising and lowering of the bridges
over frequent intervals would disrupt local traffic patterns
in the communities that these bridges span, making a water
jitney service invaluable for the upriver communities.
A commuter
boarding in a maritime village in say Passaic, Clifton,
Nutley, or Lyndhurst would ride the water taxi to Newark,
either as a final destination or as a transfer point to a
larger, heavier draft ferry. The ferry would then proceed
to such diverse points as downtown New York City and the
Hudson River employment centers abutting Jersey City and
Hoboken. Incidentally, Jersey City and Hoboken have amply
demonstrated, during the past two decades, a large-scale
maritime rebirth. However, these cases are the exception,
since both of them (and particularly Jersey City) had
thousands of acres of abandoned rail freight and water
shipping piers and properties.
However,
their waterfront revival can inform the inland revival of
the Hackensack and Passaic River waterways. On the
Hackensack River, a commuter can board in one of the
maritime villages located in Carlstadt or Hackensack, and
travel to Jersey City as a destination or transfer point to
larger vessels bound for the Hudson River waterfront or New
York Harbor. The Jersey City location will also have access
to bus connections and a new PATH station. Many of our new
port cities will have potential to reinvigorate both
maritime and rail traffic. Our underutilized port areas
also contain many abandoned rail beds that can be brought
into service symbiotically with new maritime service. The
compact mixed-use, high-density nature of our maritime
villages will encourage the use of public transportation.
There are
some other national trends that will encourage development
of maritime villages. People of all ages are clamoring for
a sense of community, and they are returning to cities.
This is a demographic phenomenon that defies narrow
definition. Young professionals, empty-nesters, and even
retirees are �voting with their feet� to live in culturally
diverse, convenient, and attractive urban enclaves.
Perhaps,
sometime in the not too distant future, a commuter will step
off of a water taxi on a warm summer evening at one of the
dozens of maritime villages located in Nutley, Belleville,
Hackensack, East Newark or Carlstadt. The commuter will
meet a friend for a waterside dinner of fresh fish that was
caught, cleaned, and transported by freight ferry only hours
earlier. They will ruminate over one of those
umbrella-bearing drinks that used to only be served in
larger urban enclaves. A whistle blows, and the last
outbound water taxi connection for the World Financial
Center is about to depart.
Matthew
Walsh is a freelance writer interested in environmental and
transportation topics. He can be reached at mwals@hotmail.com. |
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August 8,
2008
Menu for
the Future - 'Food is our common ground, a universal
experience' -
Garden State Earth Institute organizes a new
course 'Menu for the Future'. It is a six session
discussion guide for the workplace, community center or
home. See a flyer below for more information about the
course.
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The
course will be starting on September 28 at 1pm at the
Morristown Unitarian Fellowship. Please contact
Garden State Earth Institute for further
information/direction. |
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July 23, 2008
Ella Filippone Recognized for
�Making a Difference� -
For her many
years of work in making the Passaic River and its watershed
a better place, Dr. Ella Filippone was the recipient of a
2008 Russ Berrie Award for Making a Difference.
The award is given by the
Russell Berrie Foundation, a NJ-based philanthropic
organization dedicated to finding and supporting dynamic
leaders who improve the well-being of society. It
recognizes the contributions of �unsung heroes,� New Jersey
citizens who perform uncommon acts on behalf of the common
good. The Foundation, along with Ramapo College of New
Jersey, presents these awards annually to nineteen
recipients, who are chosen from hundreds of nominees by a
selection committee of New Jersey business leaders and
professionals.
Along with the award, Dr.
Filippone received a congratulatory joint resolution from
NJ�s Senate and General Assembly, signed by Senate President
Richard J. Codey and Speaker of the General Assembly Joseph
J. Roberts, Jr., commending her for giving generously of her
time and energy to the various federal and state initiatives
to preserve the Passaic River watershed.
Ella
Filippone (right) with Mrs. Angelica Berrie (left),
President of the
of the Russell Berrie
Foundation |
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June 27, 2008
History's
helpers receive $2.1M
25
county grants aim to preserve sites
Thursday, June 26, 2008
BY
LAWRENCE RAGONESE
Star-Ledger Staff
An environmental group was
awarded $250,000 in Morris County historic preservation
funds yesterday as seed money for the potential purchase of
Willow Hall in Morristown, an endangered historic site that
has been targeted for townhouse development.
It was one of 25 grants
totaling $2.1 million approved by the freeholders for
historic projects in 17 towns, to be financed by the voter-
approved Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund.
The Passaic River Coalition
got the largest award, at $250,000, to help finance the
purchase of Willow Hall, the 1840s Italianate pudding stone
mansion in Morristown that was once the home of Speedwell
Iron Works owner George Vail. The plan is to turn the
building into the group's new headquarters, said Passaic
River Coalition Executive Director Ella Filippone. The
organization now operates from a house in Warren Township,
Somerset County.
She said the organization
wants to buy the entire 6.2-acre property, which borders
Speedwell Lake and is across the street from Historic
Speedwell, a county park and national landmark. Filippone
said talks have been held with property owner Frederick
Stradtman and K&K Developers regarding the tract, which is
earmarked for 20 townhouse units.
But the scope of the
purchase depends on the outcome of pending court challenges
to the development plan, said Filippone, who declined to
divulge a potential sale price for the tract.
In 2003, the Morris County
Park Commission offered Stradtman $1.6 million, but K&K
agreed to pay $3.2 million if its development project is
approved.
Filippone conceded the
$250,000 grant awarded yesterday is not nearly enough to buy
the house or property and said her group will apply for
money from the Morris County Open Space Trust Fund.
Stradtman could not be
reached for comment.
A freeholder-appointed
panel made its funding recommendations yesterday, getting
unanimous freeholder consent. Panel Chairman Lawrence Fast
said funding was recommended for 25 projects in 17 towns for
a total of $2.1 million.
Sixteen of 25 projects got
construction grants, while 13 received full funding. Of the
25 projects, 17 received funding in previous years. Projects
were funded in four towns that have not previously gotten
historic grants: Butler, Chester Borough, Long Hill and
Rockaway Borough.
For the first time, an
acquisition grant was recommended, for $250,000 to the
Passaic River Coalition for Willow Hall. Other projects
getting large sums include:
�
The Oscar Kincaid Home in Boonton Township: $188,600 for
restoration and rehabilitation of the kitchen and dining
room, plus upgrades of mechanical, electrical and plumbing
systems.
�
Hartley Dodge Memorial in Madison: $150,000 as part of a
larger project to rehabilitate the entire building,
including restoration of bronze work and existing marble.
�
The Growing Stage in Net cong: $126,914 for restoration and
rehabilitation of the front facade.
From the program's
inception in 2003 through 2007, the county has awarded 104
grants totaling $6.7 million for 45 historic sites lo cated
in 26 of the county's 39 towns, said Fast. The county closed
on 18 grants during the past year, including for work on the
Glen Alpin House in Harding, Nicholas Vreeland Out Kitchen
in Montville, Friends Meeting House in Randolph and Middle
Valley Community Center in Washington Township.
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June 9, 2008
NJ
DEP Mapping Contest
- In an annual contest for the most creative use of computer
mapping technology, our GIS Specialist Lubica Cverckova won
2nd place in two categories. On Thursday, June 5,
2008, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection held its
21st annual mapping contest in Trenton, NJ. Over
30 maps were presented in 5 categories, including Best Data
Integration, Best Analytical Presentation, Best Software
Integration, Best Small Format, Most Unique and Best
Instructional Presentation.
There were
also five other categories which all maps were competing in,
such as Best Overall Map (submitted by NJDEP), Best Overall
Map (non-NJDEP), Best Cartographic Design, Best Internet
Mapping Application and Newbie of the Year.
Lubica, in her first time representing the Coalition
at the Contest, submitted two maps:
'Old Man Passaic' , an
imaginative re-creation of the watershed as an
elderly gentleman (for the Most Unique category) and
'Computation of Water Resource Values of Land for
the Passaic River Basin Using GIS' (explaining
how PRC calculates and visually displays water
resource values for use in municipal natural
resource inventories and open space plans) that won
2nd place in the category of Best
Software Integration and 2nd place
in the category Newbie of the Year. The winning map
is going to be presented at the 2008 ESRI
International User Conference in San Diego,
California, August 4 - 8. |
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Please, see the submitted
maps below. |
Old Man Passaic
Computation of Water Resource Values of Land
for the Passaic River Basin Using GIS |
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June 6, 2008
Organic
Lawn Care Workshop - Join the
Morris County Park Commission and AmeriCorps Watershed
Ambassador Mike Romankiewicz for an afternoon of talks
focused on teaching homeowners how to care for their
lawns with the environment in mind. The free workshop is
going to be held in Frelinghuysen Arboretum on Saturday,
July 19, 2008 from 12.30 pm to 4.30pm. For directions,
please click
here. For more information about the seminar
please see the flyer below.
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May 20,
2008
Passaic River Coalition Stays On Top of Groundwater in
Summit -
Passaic
River Coalition, working with its own Groundwater Protection
Committee, spent Saturday, May 10, in Summit, NJ at the
city�s first Green Fest to help raise awareness of the uses
of groundwater by the residents and local businesses.
PRC�s booth on the Village Green was illustrated by maps
showing wellhead protection areas for Summit�s own and
neighboring wells and showing the underlying bedrock that
connects Summit�s water to not-so-obvious neighbors
throughout Union and Essex counties. PRC staff Anne Kruger,
Susan Nanney, Matt Polsky, and Eugene Reynolds together with
GWP volunteers Chairman Richard Plambeck and Patricia
Collington discussed the basic facts of rain and recharge,
dams and droughts with interested Fest visitors, pointing
out, for example, that they were standing on ground that
would be included in the outer protective zone for the NJ
American Water Corporation wells sunk on the south side of
the city. With a crowd estimated at 3,000 for the Fest, the
PRC booth was never without visitors.
(Left)
Assistant Director Eugene
Reynolds offers groundwater education at Summit Green Fest
(Below)
Members of Boy Scout Troop 67 help enlighten Fest visitors
about compact fluorescent bulbs
Along with PRC and GWP, other environmental and watershed
groups exhibited at the Green Fest, including the Rahway
River Association, Sierra Club, and Trailside Nature and
Science Center of the Watchung Reservation. Civic groups
and green-minded businesses were also well-represented,
holding workshops on recycling, organic cooking, and
micro-lending for sustainable ventures, as well as offering
a variety of eco-friendly products like organic clothing and
personal care products for sale. The Green Fest also
provided educational entertainment in the form of movies on
American agribusiness (King Corn) and transportation
(Who Killed the Electric Car?).
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Please, click below to view/print the maps presented at
the Summit Green Fest.
Please, note the
original size of map 'Aquifer Systems in Summit City
and Neighbors' is 41 x 65 inches and the size of map
'Well Head Protection Areas in Summit City, Union
County, NJ' is 38 x 65 inches.
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See below
some of the educational materials displayed at Summit Green
Fest. The big maps displayed at the Fest are free to view on
our home page.
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May 15,
2008
PRC
participates in the 4th Annual Passaic River Paddle
Relay � On May 10, 2008 the Lower Passaic witnessed a
great event � a 9 mile relay of kayaking and canoeing from
Riverbank Park in Newark upriver to the Nereid Boat Club in
Rutherford.
The relay was organized by the Lower
Passaic and Saddle River Alliance (formerly WMA 4) and the
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners. It was cosponsored by
the Essex County Department of Parks, Recreation & Cultural
Affairs.
From the
veterans to the first-timers including New Jersey
Congressman Bill Pascrell and the Essex County Executive
Director Joseph N. DiVincenzo, everyone gathered on Saturday
to help the Lower Passaic /Saddle River Alliance reach their
goal of reconnecting people to an ignored and forgotten
urban treasure � the Passaic River.
The race was held in individual kayaking and
canoeing. The canoeing portion of the race was divided into
three legs with teams consisting of six paddlers, with two
paddlers per canoe on each leg.
Bill Pascrell, Tom Pietrykoski, Joseph N.
DiVincenzo
Our GIS
Specialist, Lubica Cverckova, represented the PRC office in
kayaking at the relay, and, although she did not place among
the top finishers, she helped the Nereid Team to come in
first place when she saved a lost paddle after their canoe
tipped over into the River.
The race finished around noon at the Nereid
Boat Club where all paddlers, friends and family members met
after the race for the finish line festivities such as
Paddle awards ceremony, a nice lunch given by Whole Foods
Market and beer donated by Anheuser-Bush. There was also an
exhibit of artwork from local children entered in Essex
County�s Earth Day Poster Contest.
Special thanks go to Tom Pietrykoski,
Chairman of Lower Passaic & Saddle River Alliance for
putting such a great event together. |
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May 14,
2008
In the Middle of America, Passaic
River Coalition Rallies with Others for Our Rivers -
Once a year, the good
people of River Network, a non-profit dedicated to
connecting people and saving rivers, hold a River Rally, a
gathering of the leaders of watershed protection across the
country for a four-day conference described as part
education, part inspiration, and part celebration. With the
generous assistance of scholarships and travel donations,
PRC was able to send three staff members (Executive Director
Ella Filippone, Assistant Director Eugene Reynolds, GIS
Specialist Lubica Cverckova) to join in the learning and the
networking.
( Below)
Heron and gull
on Lake Erie
This year, the
Rally was held in Huron, Ohio, on the southern shore of Lake
Erie, the first Rally to be held within the watershed of the
Great Lakes. The welcome to the Rally was given by
environmental officials from Ohio and Wisconsin,
and the opening plenary speech was given by Chris Brown of
the US Forest Service, in which he celebrated the 40th
anniversary of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act with
personal reminisces of freeing rivers from dams.
After the speeches, the Rally
moved into its two best activities: workshops and social
events. With over 70 different topics from which to choose,
PRC staffers spread out to discover new ideas on evaluating
the ecological services of rivers, using free software to
maintain and improve PRC�s Web site, targeting the more
likely sources of corporate donations, and organizing to
produce community-based watershed plans (the secret, it appears, is offering
free food). The Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival
offered both educational and entertaining
films and
shorts, from cattle ranchers restoring a Montana river
valley and a profile of Martin Litton, who helped Sierra Club save the Grand
Canyon and now, at 90,
fights for the sequoia, to
The Return of the
Cuyahoga, a
documentary about Cleveland�s river, its notorious past
("the river that burned") and its slow return to health.
(Below)
Storm clouds brewing over Sheldon
Marsh
State Nature Preserve, Huron, Ohio
While the weather moved the
Saturday evening barbecue indoors (and forced the
cancellation of the Quasi-Annual Dutch Oven Cook-off), the
Rally brought attendees together for several good
opportunities to put names and faces together, to share
stories and contact information, and just to relax and to
honor the people who have made marked contributions to
protecting America�s rivers and streams.
On Sunday evening, the River
Heroes Banquet
gave us five individuals who have worked and sacrificed to
save waterways big and small, located up north in Alaska, down south in San Diego, and
right in the middle of things along the Wabash in Indiana.
Also recognized, with a pair of standing ovations, was Dr.
JoAnn Burkholder of North Carolina State University for
her work
identifying a major cause of fish kills associated with
algal blooms (Pfiesteria), in the
defense of which she was severely and unfairly attacked,
both professionally and personally. After
the
banquet, the celebration continued with some acoustic
bluegrass/reggae music, getting people dancing and clapping
along.
(Left) The gorges of Chippewa Creek, a
tributary of the Cuyahoga, offer some challenging hiking for
visitors to Cleveland Metropark�s Brecksville Reservation
Because it would not be a
Rally without some outdoor interactions, the 2008 Rally
offered a number
of field trips to get participants out to discover
some of Ohio�s natural and cultural
wonders. On Monday, Eugene and Lubica elected to paddle
along Old Woman Creek, a gentle stream that forms a
relatively undisturbed estuary on Lake Erie. There, while
spawning carp were ready to leap into the kayaks and canoes,
bald eagles nest in the trees and cliff swallows nest under
the road overpasses. After lunch in downtown Cleveland,
PRC�s Rallyers boarded a plane for home, already thinking
about the 2009 Rally in Baltimore and speculating
about which new friends
and acquaintances would
be there.
(Right)
Paddling on Old
Woman Creek, Eugene tries to tell a bald eagle from a
buzzard.
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Passaic River Coalition
gratefully acknowledges the support of Continental
Airlines, which provided free air transportation for PRC
staff to attend the 2008 River Rally in Huron, Ohio.
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April 30, 2008
Amid Galaxy of Green Stars,
Passaic River Coalition Gives Tour of River Through Time -
Passaic River
Coalition spent time recently exhibiting at PSEG�s three-day Global
Green Expo, held in Liberty State Park�s historic Central Railroad
of NJ Terminal building, where an estimated 16,000 people
attended talks on global warming, workshops on composting,
and speeches by NJ notables (Gov. Corzine, Sen. Lautenberg), Hollywood
eco-activists (Ted Danson, Ed Begley Jr.), and environmental
superstars (oceanagrapher Dr. Sylvia Earle, Animal Planet�s
Jeff Corwin).
(Right) After delivering the keynote speech
on Friday, Sen. Frank Lautenberg stops by to discuss
groundwater with Trustee Dick Plambeck.
Scores of environmental groups, such as fellow
river organizations like the Hackensack Riverkeeper and
environmental advocates like NJ Conservation Foundation,
along with companies offering "green" services (including
Prout Funeral Home from Verona) also occupied the main
station platform area. Our display on the history of PRC and
the Passaic River (past - 1972, present - 2008, future -
2020) was well-received and attracted a number of favorable
comments.
 (Left)
PRC Trustee Dr. Joan Tell shows off the linked history
of the River and the Coalition.
During the three days, we collected the names
(and addresses/phone numbers/e-mail addresses) of more than 100
people who entered our drawing for a guided tour of Greenwood Lake;
sold several copies of our DVD, "The Groundwater Adventures of
Walter Wet"; handed out hundreds of informational
booklets/brochures/newsletters/contact postcards; gained one new
member on the spot; and got several requests for multiple copies of
our materials from people who wanted to bring them back to their job
sites, social organizations, or hometown civic groups.
With the success of our appearance at this first
PSEG eco-fair, PRC is looking forward to returning to Liberty State
Park for the 2009 Expo.
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Please click below to view the maps
presented at the first annual PSEG Global Green Expo.
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April 8, 2008
Please
register for the 4th annual
Passaic River Paddle Relay
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See flyer below:
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The registration form with
directions can be downloaded
here.
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April 8, 2008
-
SAVE THE DATE
FOR SUMMIT GREEN FEST! |
Newsletter Article
[159 words]
On Saturday, May 10, the first annual Summit Green
Fest will be held in downtown Summit, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Green Fest will be a fun, festive way to share ideas,
gain new knowledge, and work together for a greener, healthier
community.
Green Fest will include displays and workshops on
popular topics like green cleaning, energy savings, lawn care, and much
more. There will be organic food tastings, a screening of Who Killed
the Electric Car hosted in person by actress Chelsea Sexton, a visit
from the Trailside Museum Eco Van, live music, and a green walking tour
of downtown Summit. All who complete the tour will receive a free
organic cotton tote bag.
Visitors to Green Fest can join a �free-cycle� yard
sale, donate eyeglasses for the needy and cell phones for soldiers, give
to a Red Cross blood drive, and participate in other civic endeavors.
For more information, contact Anne Marie Treger at
908-277-0925 or amtreger@mac.com.
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ENLIGHTENMENT
ON A GREEN JERSEY |
Big PSEG global expo to showcase environmentally friendly
lifestyles
Thursday, January 24, 2008
BY DIEGO CUPOLO
Star-Ledger Staff
The historic Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal in Jersey City
once served as the gateway for new Americans coming through Ellis
Island. This spring, it will serve as the gateway for eco-friendly ideas
and business initiatives.
Yesterday, Ralph Izzo, CEO of Public Service Enterprise Group,
unveiled plans for the PSEG Global Green Expo, a three-day event
designed to educate state residents and businesses on how to reduce
their impact on climate change.
"We believe it will be one of the biggest and most comprehensive
Earth Day events New Jersey has ever seen," said Jennifer Kramer, a
spokeswoman for PSEG, the parent company of Public Service Electric &
Gas.
The expo will take place on the weekend following Earth Day -- April
25-27 -- and will showcase environmentally-friendly products, programs
and services available to consumers, businesses and communities.
Activities for the entire family are being planned including a "Caring
Kids Oasis," exhibits, interactive workshops, presentations by
environmental leaders and organizations, entertainment and a wholesome
food court.
"We basically want to show that there are so many different ways for
people to go about their normal lives and reduce their carbon
footprints," Izzo said. "This event is about informing and inspiring,
both residents and business owners."
Scheduled speakers include Ed Begley Jr., an actor and environmental
activist; Ted Danson, a Golden Globe award-winning actor who founded the
American Oceans Campaign; Jeff Corwin, host of "The Jeff Corwin
Experience" and "Corwin's Quest" on Animal Planet; and Deirdre Imus,
wife of Don Imus and best-selling author of the "Green This!" series.
The first 1,000 people to enter the expo each day will receive a free
compact fluorescent light bulb, Izzo said. Participants will also be
able to bring "difficult recyclables" to collection areas in the train
station parking lot, including CFL light bulbs, printers and various
electronics.
"I can't think of a more fitting venue for this event than historic
Liberty State Park, the crown jewel of our world-class parks system,"
said Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection, in a press release. "With its views of Ellis
Island and the Statue of Liberty, this oasis on the Jersey City
waterfront stands as a testament to the power each of us has to
transform possibilities into progress."
During the news conference, Christine V. Bator, commissioner of the
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, said she had seen the recent
Broadway musical "Jersey Boys" and was struck by the production's use of
"Jersey imagery." She watched as the actors performed in a setting of
smoke stacks, pollution and industrial areas -- a perception of New
Jersey Bator is hoping to change.
"The Global Expo is going to help New Jersey change its image back to
the image of the Garden State," Bator said.
Admission for the event is $15 for one day, $25 for two days and $30
for three days. There is no charge for children under 12. Other expo
sponsors include The Star-Ledger, NJ.com, WNJN, the Jersey Journal and
Liberty Science Center. For more information about the PSEG Global Green
Expo visit www.nj.com/globalgreen.
Diego Cupolo may be reached at dcupolo@starledger.com or (973)
392-1644.
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