The 2023 Year in Green Action for Environment New Jersey
After the fervor of the holidays, it can feel like we all deserve a medal for completing another year and holiday season. The world this year has been a dangerous and scary place which clearly makes the time we spend with family and friends even more valuable. And obviously the reality of climate change has become harder to ignore – it’s not too wintery anymore over winter break as we come off what will be the warmest year on record for the planet. I am privileged to be able to do the work every day to try to change that narrative and deeply grateful for your support this year or in the past for our policy and grassroots advocacy to protect the planet and our green places of wonder across New Jersey. Thank you for being a supporter on this journey of protection – we work to represent you and couldn’t do it without you.
A Victory for Liberty State Park: A year ago, things didn’t look good for Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Fast-tracked legislation was speeding through Trenton to set up a slanted task force to push NJDEP to expand commercial projects like stadiums throughout our most visited state park. And the attempts by Paul Fireman, the former Reebok CEO, to expand his golf course into the park still loomed. But through steadfast community opposition, the work by groups like the Friends of Liberty State Park and ours and leadership by NJDEP will lead to a cleaned up and beautified state park – with no stadiums. If you haven’t been to the Statute of Liberty recently (I just took my kids for the first time in April), this is the perfect place to see Lady Liberty.
Putting Climate Action To Work at Home: The historic passage of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act is still reverberating – private investment in clean energy is coming in at three times higher than expected. But the biggest challenge is using tax incentives to make it easier for all of us to go green at home. We are lobbying the NJ Board of Public Utilities to launch New Jersey’s roll-out of the rebate program in 2024, but you can get tax credits and rebates right now (from $7,500 off an EV to a 30% rebate for solar installation to rebates to switch to an induction stove — check out rewiringamerica.org for their great IRA calculator). I switched to an induction stove in January, and I saw an immediate nose-dive in air pollution.
The Electric Revolution: It feels like 2023 was an inflection point for the transition to electric cars. The best thing we can do for air quality and the climate is to electrify our vehicles. The experience of driving an electric vehicle is second to none, but there are still aren’t enough EVs available from dealers. I spearheaded a coalition spanning business, faith, public health, environmental and labor interests to push the Murphy Administration to adopt Clean Cars standards that will ramp up the requirement to sell new EVs – and phase out the sale of traditional gas cars – over the next decade plus. This is a huge deal for our climate and air quality that was finalized two weeks ago. I am proud to report our electric school bus program will kick off next month after a year of advocacy to secure funding and the electric transit bus program is in full swing in Camden & we just helped pass the first EV battery recycling law in the nation.
A Win for The Lower Delaware: A year after we used the Clean Water Act to petition EPA for stronger ecological standards for the lower Delaware River with a set of close allies, EPA granted our petition and agreed we needed stronger standards to protect the oxygen levels in the water. There will be pushback from sewage treatment plants, but this is a clear win for the public and organizations like ours to hold state agencies to account to the Clean Water Act. We will be advocating for the strongest possible standards in January for the survival of the endangered Atlantic Sturgeon – and the recreational value that improved water quality will bring to tens of thousands of residents that recreate on the lower Delaware.
The threats to our environment are numerous and climate threats means the last storm or flood or heat wave can no longer be a barometer of what to expect. Sometimes this means we can be wracked by paralysis – how can we do anything? I have always believed firmly in collective action—and that’s the beauty of our organization. We can serve as your voice in Trenton – I am always honored to be that voice.
— Doug O’Malley, Director, Environment New Jersey