New Jerseyans featured in project highlighting “Voices for 100% Renewable Energy”
Environment New Jersey
For more information: Anna Hofmann – (202) 461-2453
Today, Environment New Jersey announced five New Jerseyans as leading voices for clean energy. The New Jerseyans are profiled in a national project, Voices for 100% Renewable Energy, featuring photos, testimonials, and videos from a wide array of individuals from across America – from academics, to mayors and other public officials, to community leaders, to business and non-profit leaders – embracing a massive transition to clean energy.
New Jerseyans featured in the in the project include Rick Dovey, the President of Atlantic County Utilities Authority; Reverend Fletcher Harper of GreenFaith; Jerome Montes of the New Jersey Main Street Alliance; Analilia Mejia from New Jersey Working Families Alliance; and Andre Thomas, from Isles: Center for Energy and Environmental Training.
“We’re inspired by people like Analilia, Jerome, and Reverend Harper who know we can, and must, shift to 100 percent renewable energy,” said Rob Sargent, Energy Program Director with Environment America. “We’re thrilled to share some of their stories through this project. Our hope is that it will motivate the many folks who know we need a swift, steady, and complete transition from dirty to clean energy to lean into the effort.”
The people featured in the project cited a range of environmental, economic, equity, social, and health benefits from the transition to 100 percent renewable energy. Most focused on the urgent need to eliminate climate-altering carbon pollution. Others simply believe that it’s common sense and good economics to save energy and to harness unlimited, pollution-free energy sources.
Rick Dovey says, “In the short term, savings realized by improving energy efficiency at both the household and business levels can help us bridge the transition to clean energy. Major public investment in next generation grid technology will also be key and bring us closer to a more sustainable and brighter future.”
In his role as a training manager for Isles: Center for Energy and Environmental Training, Andre Thomas trains individuals to work in the energy and environmental field. “This work has been rewarding because of its multiple impacts,” Thomas says, “This work produces a skilled workforce and that’s good for the economy. It delivers quality service to residents in New Jersey that make their homes safer, comfortable, and they save money. Ultimately, the societal benefits are astronomical, and these measures are good for the earth because it reduces our carbon footprint.”
Jerome Montes also speaks to the positive economic impacts of 100 percent renewable energy: “Small business owners understand that sound economic policy goes hand in hand with sound environmental policy.”
Reverend Harper, the Executive Director of GreenFaith, an interfaith community focused on education around environmental action, says “Imagine if every place of worship on God’s good earth went 100 percent [renewable energy]. What a witness. What a way to put belief into action.”
“We need to accelerate our current transition to drastically reduce emissions, better adopt renewable energy, and provide good-paying jobs as we transition into a clean energy economy,” says Analilia Mejia from New Jersey Working Families Alliance.
“For years, we’ve been told that pollution from dirty fuels was the price we had to pay for progress,” said Anna Hofmann, a clean energy associate working with Environment New Jersey. “Those days are over. My confidence that we can make the shift to clean renewable energy has been boosted by the conversations I’ve had with so many people we’ve profiled in the Voices for 100% Renewable project.”
To view Voices for 100% Renewable Energy, go to www.100percentrenewable.org.