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Hello, Highlanders. Weekend rant time.
First and foremost – before I go off on a rant, I want to make sure that all of you read an OpEd by West Milford Mayor Bettina Bieri, “Why is West Milford enthusiastic about conforming to the Highlands Regional Master Plan?” I’d also like to ask you to forward it along to your elected municipal officials if your municipality has not yet decided on conformance to the Highlands RMP. Mayor Bieri describes the process and its benefits perfectly. Byram having been the first municipality through the process, I feel it fairly represents our feeling as well. I can only imagine that experience is helping the Highlands Council staff move through conformance even smoother at this time.
Now, without further ado, let me just say this: As a corporate entity, PSE&G suffers from more personalities than “Sybil Dorsett“ in their positions on state energy policy and reliability issues, especially when it comes to their “coal-by-wire” Susquehanna-Roseland project, which slashes across the NJ Highlands. Allow me to explain in greater detail.
As most of you know, I have been one of the fiercest opponents to this excessive and unnecessary project for nearly three years. It amazes me how one hand has no idea what the other hand is doing at PSE&G. We have seen perfect examples of this in their testimony that energy demand is sky-rocketing and a reliable grid is at risk during last year’s BPU hearings vs. statements in other venues on offshore wind and solar programs, efficiency and demand response initiatives, etc.
Let me focus on this latest bit of hypocrisy.
Continue reading May I call you “Sybil,” PSE&G?
Two weeks in a row I get to go off on a rant. Just what have I done to deserve this?
As most of you know, the regular Monday through Friday NJ Highlands News posts stick mainly to news directly or indirectly related to NJ Highlands issues. The Weekend Edition usually contains “leftovers” from the prior week, plus any “bigger picture” articles that I may run across while scouring the web for NJ news, often from out-of-state or non-Highlands sources, but things I feel might be of interest to you as readers. Today’s Weekend Edition is a perfect example; articles from Maine to Minnesota; Environmental Commission appointments to NJ fiscal issues; idling diesels to diesel in fracking fluids; and a blog post about a Daily Record sports editor’s last hurrah. Which brings me to my rant.
Friday was the last day of employment for half the staff at the Daily Record, Morris County’s “local” Gannett paper. And just another in a series of very sad days for journalism in New Jersey. Notably lost to us in this round of layoffs was Fred Snowflack, a 12-year editorial page veteran who asked the tough questions of activists and government officials alike, and Highlands issues reporter Colleen O’Dea, a top-notch reporter who always presented all sides of important Highlands issues. They will both be missed.
No word yet on who their replacements (if any) will be at the DR. The reorganization of the paper means fewer bodies to cover our local stories, story editors in Asbury Park who are completely unfamiliar with the local lay-of-the-land and have no feel for importance of local issues.
Talking to DR folks prior to Friday’s layoff, the consensus is that “the powers that be do not really care about news,” only the bottom line. That the beats “of the seven remaining reporters are going to be determined based on the results of ‘market research analysis” and not local demands or knowledge, and that “what is going to be left, I fear, is going to be even less news than we have already been providing.” Proof of failure of the management at the DR has been showing for some time now, in my opinion.
Continue reading Corporate greed: The state of our media today is #%!+@!
Highlanders:
Time for one of my Weekend Edition rants. Please take special notice to Jeff Tittel’s OpEd, “Tea Party trashing NJ with anti-environmental agenda used by Gov. Christie” and “Maine Gov. LePage: Loosen rules on environment” and “Paul LePage, new Maine guv, takes aim at the environment” as they all point out a disturbing trend of late: weakening regulations in the name of “smaller government” and “economic growth.” Even the the Kate Shepard piece, “Gingrich Warns Of ‘Job-Killing Nature of the EPA’” points to this trend at a broader, national level.
What would Christie, LePage, Gingrich, et al prefer, worship of the almighty dollar in an unregulated “people-killing” society? Our laws and regulations guarantee us that corporate greed and excessive profits for a select few will not have a deleterious effect on the health, safety and well-being of the majority. The very foundations of our freedoms – life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and the guarantee that all men and women are created equal – are reinforced by necessary laws and regulations. Religious freedom; freedom from discrimination based upon race, religion, or sexual orientation; freedom to assemble; freedom of speech; voting rights; child labor laws; clean air and water; healthy foods and drugs; job safety; the list goes on. But none of these laws or regulations guarantees individuals or corporations (who are now considered individuals I guess thanks to the US Supreme Court’s “Citizens United” ruling) the right of unlimited power and profits at the expense of their neighbors, or society in general.
We cannot afford to sit idly and watch the threads of this fabric being cut one by one, as the end result will be an uncontrolled unraveling of the cloth of that is the quality of our lives. The FIRST place YOU can take action against this trend is to click here and first thing on Monday morning, call members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and tell them to vote NO on the appointments of Sam Race and Rich Vohden to the Highlands Council. Tell them that the approval of the appointments of these two men is inappropriate, considering they both oppose the rights of the majority of the public – as determined by an overwhelming majority vote in both houses of our state government – which are being entrusted to them as members of the Highlands Council.
Take a moment to do this on Monday morning, or you will have nobody to blame but yourselves if this frightening trend of deregulation – and the ensuing loss of our protections here in the Highlands – continues and accelerates.
“We never entered [politics] believing that we were taking our lives in our hands…we’re feeding anger, hatred, and division for quite a while. Maybe it is time for elected officials and leaders in this country that have been feeding that disease to realize that there are consequences to it. I hope people stop and think that we can be opponents, but we don’t have to be deadly enemies…to demonize another person because of a disagreement and to make them expendable is not a democracy, it’s not the America I know.”
— Arizona Democrat Rep. Raul Grijalva
Highlanders,
You may have noticed that the “day count since declaration of war on the Highlands” subhead that had previously appeared at the top of the Highlands News table of contents was gone yesterday, is gone today, and is gone forever. Here’s why.
“War” references are easy and seemingly harmless rhetoric in our daily conversations on politics and environmental issues here in New Jersey. How many “battles in the trenches” do the “foot soldiers of the night” face each week? “Attacks” on the environment being led by developers or lawmakers, and “counter-attacks” by those whose reputations as “grenade throwers” often makes them “targets” to be “blasted” in the media.
The phrase “…Governor Christie officially declared war on the Highlands. Rise up and fight back, Highlanders!” was never meant to advocate for violence, but to simply be a rallying call to awaken what often seems to be a sleepy environmental community. While the sentiment remains true, there are certainly better ways for me to make that point, especially in light of the events that took place this past Saturday.
There are a number of past or current elected officials on this list. Folks who, like me, have had the honor and privilege of serving the public in some manner at a local or regional level. And like me, you probably also felt as if you had a part of your soul crushed by the tragedy in Tucson on Saturday. In late 2007, I cringed at the assassination of populist candidate Benazir Bhutto as she campaigned for Prime Minister. But that was in Pakistan, a “third world” nation, far away. On Saturday, I cried as news broke on the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords …THIS should not be happening in MY country. This starts to hit too close to home.
It takes a special kind of person to put themselves out in front of the public – possibly more so today than at any time in recent years, as vitriolic and abusive rhetoric of an angry and sometimes ill-informed public – and occasionally fellow elected officials – becomes more and more common.
“It’s not unusual for all public officials to get threats constantly, myself included,” Clarence W. Dupnik, the Pima County sheriff said. “That’s the sad thing about what’s going on in America: pretty soon we’re not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people willing to subject themselves to serve in public office.”
Continue reading “…whoa, let’s take a step back here.”
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.”
— Thomas Paine
I’ve been trying desperately the last few days to shake a miserable “runny-nose-stuffy-head-fever-achy-all-over” illness. Despite dozens of “winterizing” chores to do around the house, I spent much of Friday on the couch watching in awe as Senator Bernie Sanders made his marathon statement on the American condition, and all day Saturday in sweats, wrapped in a blanket in front of the TV with a box of tissues and a massive supply of hot tea.
One excellent show I caught on Saturday was an NJN Classics episode from 1976, Crossroads to Victory on New Jersey and its impact on the American Revolution. (By the way, if you haven’t yet, go to http://www.keepthenjinnjn.com/ immediately and sign the petition!) The show quoted Thomas Paine from his essay Common Sense (above), and detailed the struggles of Washington’s army as they wintered at Jockey Hollow in our own Highlands – described as a rugged area, difficult to traverse by Washington’s untrained soldiers of freedom. It was a stark reminder of the dedication and sacrifice that took place right here in our home state – on ground that many of us tread daily – which brought about the freedoms that all Americans enjoy today.
Continue reading “These are the times that try men’s souls.”
 Delaware Water Gap – Bill Wolfe photo. Power line threatens park
By NANCY SHUKAITIS and SCOTT OLSON • January 10, 2010
As our nation looks for environmentally feasible methods of generating electricity — oil, coal, solar, wind, ocean tides, geothermal or bio-mass — it is unfortunate that coal moved into first place for electric generation when the National Energy Policy Act and the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors became law, creating the vast, new Mid-Atlantic high voltage line corridor encompassing 13 states, including all of New Jersey and 52 of 67 Pennsylvania counties.
Creation of this corridor did not consider alternative energy solutions. Instead it facilitates use of dirty, coal-generated power by Eastern cities, defying calls for clean, renewable technologies.
Power plants built great distances from population centers are contrary to good planning. Plants sited near demand centers, along with increased energy efficiency and conservation measures, are superior alternatives to long-distance transmission. Costs for transmission projects in our corridor — estimated at $8 billion to $10 billion and payable by ratepayers — come during stressful economic times, and when electricity use is actually decreasing.
Continue reading Susquehanna-Roseland Line obsolete, destructive
(Note – it was looking like this was going to be the intro article to the last “Highlands News” email blast when this was written on December 12, 2008. It is being added to the blog today, April 21, 2012, because the thoughts about – and tributes to – those mentioned need to live somewhere more regularly and easily accessible to the environmental community — Scott)
As things look at this moment, this will be the last full Highlands News post, at least for a while anyway. With that in mind, this seems to be a perfect opportunity to reflect on a couple of phone and email conversations I had this past August, shortly after learning of the sudden passing of Bella Keady. The topic: “Why do we do what we do?”
Now compared to many of you, I’m relatively new at this tree-hugging-salamander-protecting-sprawl-stopping thing. For me the start of my activism began one day late in the winter of 2000, when I answered the door to find a postman with a certified letter. “One Main Street, LLC is pleased to inform you that a 48-unit subdivision will be built on the 80 acres of beautiful Highlands forest across the road your home.” It’s been a constant battle since then – one that has certainly had its share of ups and downs – a long, strange trip for certain.
So after receiving word of Bella’s passing, I called Robin O’Hearn at Skylands CLEAN to give her the news, and as we pondered the fragile nature of our existence and the sometimes futile feeling of our daily environmental battles, the question arose: What drives us activists to do what we do? What motivates us to so often put our own desires or personal well-being aside for the “greater good?” Is it that in the back of our minds, we fear that no one else will step up and take the time, show the concern, or devote the energy to these challenges? Or is it the satisfaction of knowing that we’re doing our part to preserve these precious resources for the next generation?
I have to admit that perhaps the greatest satisfaction I got from beating that development, and preserving 60 of those 80 acres, came several years ago, while spending an Indian summer afternoon on that parcel with a good friend’s two young boys – turning over rocks near a spring-fed stream and finding dozens of newts, salamanders and frogs while exploring this newly won prize under a glowing canopy of yellow maples. Knowing that I had played a small part in permanently preserving that opportunity for them, and others like them for years to come, made all those long, late planning board meetings worthwhile.
An email conversation about a week later with Mike Keady took this same direction. Mike told me that environmental activism was against Bella’s basic nature. “But like so many of us, she discovered that one or a few people could really make a difference. And that if she didn’t do it, no one would, and another piece of nature would be lost.”
“The other element of why we do this, at least in our case, was paying back those who were helpful to us,” Mike told me. “Pass it on. Dozens of people helped us understand how to fight. When we were successful, and others came to us for advice, how could we refuse to help by passing on what we had learned in so hard a way?”
It all gets a little clearer, when you step back from the daily grind and look at the bigger picture. And that brings me to the here and now.
It’s the people I’ve called upon for help and learned so much from that have motivated me “to do what I do” these past eight years also. People who have gone from just names in papers or on emails, to valued friends and associates. People like Robin O’Hearn, Ross Kushner and Ella Filippone – my “Northern Alliance” friends – who have offered support and advice, acting as sounding boards for my sometimes far-fetched ideas.
Or Damien Newton, formerly of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, who help steer me in the right direction in our fight with NJDOT on Route 206, often in disbelief himself at what we were able to accomplish.
Or Bill Wolfe, who despite a rather tense start to our dealings, has become a good friend and infinite source of unique angles on regulatory and policy discussions.
Or my newest motivator, Dena Mottola Jaborska, whose focused, straight-forward “here’s the facts” approach has made her a joy to work along side on my latest challenge – the PSE&G power line project.
And finally, there’s Tina Bologna. As I’ve “fought the bad guys” (a simple explanation she’d give her young children for the countless hours of council and planning board meetings we’d attend), Tina has pushed me to reach higher, challenged me to think differently, and helped teach me the value of patience and persistence.
I can only hope that I have been able to repay these people – and everyone else who has been a source of assistance to me – for all they’ve helped teach me, and the valued friendship they have offered. And hope that somehow, I can continue to do so for others in the future.
Drawing on the inspiration that Mike attributed to Bella, I’ll end with the wisdom of one of my favorite fortune cookies, which I’ve taped to the frame of my computer monitor as a constant reminder: “One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who have only interest.”
Be that “one person,” keep believing, and pass it on.
Scott
by Scott Olson – December 12, 2008
Did you know that lighting comprises nearly 20 percent of the electric energy we use in our homes? By installing ENERGY STAR-qualified compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL), you can help reduce your electric costs and overall demand, since CFLs use approximately 25 percent of the electricity of similar incandescent bulbs. And they last up to 10 times longer!
Would you like to buy compact fluorescent bulbs at greatly discounted prices? Go to the Energy Federation’s online store, sponsored by the New Jersey Clean Energy Program at www.energyfederation.org/njcleanenergy. Do your part for energy conservation, save money, and help fight global warming by installing energy-saving CFLs in your home. Free shipping is available for orders over $10 at the online store.
Yes, CFLs contain mercury – on average about 1.4 – 2.5 milligrams per light bulb. This is not a “bad thing” if they are handled properly, because the coal used to generate electricity also contains mercury. The EPA estimates the U.S. is responsible for the release of 104 metric tons of mercury emissions each year, with most of these emissions coming from coal-fired electric power plants. CFLs use less electricity than incandescent lights, meaning CFLs reduce the amount of mercury into the environment. A 13-watt, 8,000-rated-hour-life CFL (60-watt equivalent; a common light bulb type) will save 376 kWh over its lifetime, thus avoiding 4.5 mg of mercury emissions. No mercury is released when CFL bulbs are intact (not broken) or in use, but they must be handled and disposed of carefully.
There is an easy way to recycle spent bulbs properly at all Home Depot stores – details of their CFL recycling program can be found by clicking here.
Special care should be taken when cleaning up a broken CFL bulb. The EPA’s guidelines for clean-up can be found at at www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#fluorescent.
Want to know more about energy conservation? Go to the ENERGY STAR web site (click here), and while you are there, take the ENERGY STAR pledge (click here) and do your part to further reduce energy demand and global warming.
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