GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS 030529
GSENet
GARDEN STATE ENVIRONEWS
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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{*} LEGISLATORS LAUNCH UPHILL BATTLE TO SAVE HIGHLANDS
{*} SPRAWL: A PREDICTABLE OUTCOME
{*} CONOCO OFFERS AID TO BUILD RINGWOOD WATER LINE
{*} INVERSO SEEKS DELAY IN GAS PIPELINE APPROVAL
{*} DEP ORDERS SHUT DOWN OF UNLAWFUL SOLID WASTE FACILITY
{*} FEW RESIDENTS IN COLORADO TOWN WANT NJ TOXIC DIRT
{*} NEWS FROM WEC - MAY 2003
{*} SHARED 'ZIPCAR' SERVICE SET TO BEGIN IN PRINCETON
{*} BILL WOULD BAN OIL DRILLING OFF NJ SHORE
{*} COMMISSION URGES ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO OCEAN PROTECTION
{*} OP/ED: THE FREEDOM TO FISH ACT
{*} BUDGET TRIMS THREATEN HOPATCONG WEED CUTTERS
{*} HUNDREDS TURN OUT FOR CONTENTIOUS BEAR HUNT HEARING
{*} CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE NOT FOUND IN NJ WILD DEER
{*} 2003 WORST YEAR EVER FOR SHOREBIRDS - MAY 30
{*} JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT - JUN 11
{*} NJSSI MEADOWLANDS EXCURSION - JUN 22
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The Garden State EnviroNet (GSE) gratefully acknowledges volunteers
Gerald Cullins, Bambi Dingman, Jeff Hook and Paul Neuman for their
contributions to today's issue. If interested in helping out, please
send an email message to mai...@gsenet.org.
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LEGISLATORS LAUNCH UPHILL BATTLE TO SAVE HIGHLANDS
Date: 28 May 2003
From: Tom Gilbert {tgil...@igc.org}
By Lawrence Ragonese, Star-Ledger Staff, May 28, 2003
Three top lawmakers trekked to a Morris County mountainside yesterday
to rally public support for a bipartisan effort to raise $250 million
in federal funds to buy "critical natural areas" in the
environmentally sensitive Highlands region. But they conceded they
will be hard pressed to pass the legislation this year.
U.S. Sens. Jon Corzine and Frank Lautenberg (both D- NJ) and Rep.
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11th Dist.) said they must persuade key
congressional committee chairmen and representatives of Western states
to buy into their plan to save development-threatened lands in New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
"It's going to be hard, no question about it; $250 million is a huge
expenditure," said Lautenberg. "But if we can get it started, get the
bill moving, we'll be on our way. Then it will be a matter of
persevering."
Corzine agreed, saying the tough part will be getting the bill
through committee. It might not even get a good look until the next
Congress, the 109th, takes over next year, he said.
"I am a realist...There is a strong focus right now on dollars for
land and water projects out West. But this is something worth fighting
about, not just for us but for those coming after us for a long, long
time to come," he said.
Standing on a platform at a hawk-watch site in Rockaway Township,
with a dramatic backdrop of the surrounding countryside and New York
skyline, the trio made their pitch for passage of the bill to a
receptive audience of environmentalists and government officials.
The legislators spoke of the importance of the preservation effort to
future generations, especially noting that the region's water
resources are key to the drinking supply for millions of North Jersey
residents.
Tom Gilbert, executive director of the Highlands Coalition, an
alliance of more than 100 organizations working to protect the region,
agreed, and said timely passage of the bill is important. He said more
than 5,000 acres annually are developed in the Highlands, causing a
loss not just of acreage, but also fragmenting remaining forested
areas and negatively impacting the water supply.
The New Jersey portion of the Highlands is slightly less than a third
of a 2 million-acre area that stretches from northwest Connecticut,
across the Hudson River Valley, through North Jersey, and into east-
central Pennsylvania. It includes parts of Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris,
Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties.
Corzine, Lautenberg and Frelinghuysen announced three weeks ago they
had reintroduced the Highlands Stewardship Act, which narrowly failed
to make it through a lame-duck session of Congress last year. If
approved, it would create the nation's first "federal stewardship
area," which stops short of naming the Highlands a national forest but
would designate the region as a preservation priority.
This time around they will have some influential help on both sides
of the political aisle, with co-sponsors including Sens. Arlen Specter
(R-Pa.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D- N.Y.), and Joseph Lieberman (D-
Conn.) in the Senate, and every member of New Jersey's House
delegation, including Rep. Jim Saxton (R-3rd Dist.) and Rep. Frank
Pallone (D-6th Dist.), who serve on the House Resources Committee that
will have jurisdiction over the bill.
Frelinghuysen said they must convince legislators from other parts of
the country that this is not an effort to make a "huge land grab"
using federal funds.
"We have willing sellers here," said Frelinghuysen. "It's not an
issue of a heavy-handed federal government coming in to take property
from the people."
That is an important issue to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Ca.), who chairs
the House Resources Committee, and who must agree to consider the
bill, said Frelinghuysen.
Pombo has personally battled a federal land confiscation, so the
issue is important to him, said a spokesman for his office, Doug Heye.
But Heye stressed Pombo has a good relationship with Frelinghuysen and
Saxton, and said Pombo would keep an "open mind" on the issue.
"He'd be more than happy to sit down with them and consider this,"
said Heye.
He also said Pombo, who recently toured a site in Alaska, could be
persuaded to visit the Highlands to get a first-hand look at the area.
* * *
Lawrence Ragonese is a reporter in the Morris County bureau. He can be
reached at lrag...@starledger.com or at (973) 539-7910.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.
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SPRAWL: A PREDICTABLE OUTCOME
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "Skylands Clean Inc" {clea...@earthlink.net}
Guest Column By Joanne Atlas, Suburban Trends, 5/21/03
The Trends' special article on the "ratable chase" brings to mind an
old Chinese proverb that goes: "Insanity is doing the same thing in
the same way and expecting a different outcome." For over half a
century, instead of preserving land, New Jersey municipalities have
encouraged its development. Much of this, to offset a tax system that
forces municipalities to shoulder the cost of local education through
local property taxes. The trade-off has been a landscape of endless
housing developments and strip malls, congested roads and pollution -
the hallmarks of what we have come to call "sprawl."
Until recently, NJ Highlands' communities were spared the effects of
sprawl because of their rugged, mountainous landscape and greater
distance from the metropolis. But now that available land in Bergen an
lower Passaic and Morris counties has largely disappeared, builders
are turning their attention to municipalities like Ringwood, West
Milford, and Bloomingdale. And our elected officials such as
Ringwood's Mayor Jerry Holt, are all agog, dazzled by the idea that a
home in their town could bring in close to $20,000 a year in revenues.
What he and others like him refuse to acknowledge is that there are
costs associated with developments such as Kensington Woods on Skyline
Drive. Contrary to Mr. Holt's claim that these homes produce "few if
any children" a sizeable number of children actually live in that
neighborhood. In fact, parents from Kensington Woods recently attended
a Board of Education meeting to request that a school bus be routed up
to their homes. The promised $5 reduction in this year's Ringwood
municipal budget is going to be outweighed by a much larger increase
in school taxes.
And there are other non-monetary costs as well, costs to our quality
of life and to the environment. Is haphazard development worth it to
the commuter who has to sit in endless traffic? Is it worth it to our
children who have to try to learn in crowded classrooms? Is it worth
it to no longer see the mountains for the houses? Is it worth it to
compromise our water quality and supply? Listen to the mayor of Wayne
who in a recent article said, "by taking property out of development
we reduce our costs for municipal services and school services." It is
a bit late to come to that realization for Wayne, the quintessential
sprawl model. But there is still time for the Highlands' communities
and we could learn from Wayne's mistakes. But if we do the same thing
in the same way, we should not expect a different outcome.
* * *
Skylands CLEAN, Inc.
POB 85
Ringwood, NJ 07456
973-616-1006
973-616-8838 (fax)
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CONOCO OFFERS AID TO BUILD RINGWOOD WATER LINE
Date: 030523
From: http://www.northjersey.com/
By Jan Barry, Staff Writer, May 23, 2003
Ringwood - Borough officials are hopeful that talks with
ConocoPhillips will produce enough money to install a municipal water
line to dozens of homes on private wells affected by a gasoline spill.
Mayor Jerry Holt said Thursday that ConocoPhillips has offered to pay
a significant portion of the $5.5 million estimated cost of installing
a water line and hookups to about 160 homes. Another negotiating
session is scheduled for Tuesday before the Borough Council's business
meeting to discuss Ringwood's counterproposal.
The Houston-based corporation is installing a water line to the
Ringwood Shopping Plaza, where elevated levels of methyl tertiary
butyl ether (MTBE) were confirmed last year in a well serving the
strip mall off Skyline Drive. ConocoPhillips installed a carbon filter
on the shopping plaza well in August.
The well is near a Mobil station where a leak was detected in 2001 by
a state environmental investigator seeking the source of fluctuating
levels of MTBE found in tests of the shopping plaza well.
ConocoPhillips acquired the Mobil station in a corporate merger and
has been doing a cleanup of contaminated groundwater overseen by the
state Department of Environmental Protection.
MTBE is used in gasoline to help it burn cleaner and thus reduce air
pollution. A suspected cause of cancer, it has contaminated drinking
water in incidents of gasoline leaks across the nation. Many states
have already banned its use as a gasoline additive, and Ringwood is
leading a drive to have it phased out in New Jersey.
The shopping center is being hooked into a water main that runs along
Skyline Drive. The Mobil station and a McDonald's restaurant, located
on opposite corners of Alta Vista Drive, were already on the municipal
water line.
Michael Karlovich, a ConocoPhillips spokesman, said Thursday that
work on the shopping plaza water line is scheduled to be completed by
June 1, depending on weather conditions. Karlovich said a Hudson
United Bank building adjacent to the main shopping plaza will also be
included in the new water connection.
When low levels of MTBE showed up in several home wells in the
neighborhood behind the shopping center, worried residents demanded to
be connected to the municipal water system. Those demands increased
after tests last month found well water at one home on Alta Vista
Drive had MTBE at 70 parts per billion, the level at which the state
requires cleanup action.
ConocoPhillips has been providing bottled water to neighborhood
residents for cooking and drinking. But many residents have raised
concerns at community meetings about using their well water for
showers and bathing children.
Arnold Dalene, a representative of the Alta Vista Drive neighborhood,
said that ConocoPhillips made a "good faith" offer to pay a portion of
the costs of a water line.
"It was lower than we would like to see," he said. "It's something we
can work from" in making a counterproposal, he said.
* * *
Copyright (c) 2003 North Jersey Media Group Inc.
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INVERSO SEEKS DELAY IN GAS PIPELINE APPROVAL
Date: 030524
From: http://www.zwire.com/
By Dave Sommers, Staff Writer, May 24, 2003
Hamilton - Concerned that township leaders could quickly approve
plans to build a 36-inch gas pipeline near residential property, state
Sen. Peter Inverso asked township officials yesterday to delay its
final decision until his office is briefed on the project.
TransContinental Pipeline Company Inc., a national energy supplier,
said it is prepared to pay the township up to $685,000 for right-of-
way approval to install the line near developments that would include
Veterans Park, the Highlands, Melody Estates and others on its way to
connecting with another gas main further south.
In a letter dated yesterday, Inverso told Hamilton Mayor Glen Gilmore
that he has been contacted by a number of constituents worried the
township hasn't done its homework in considering the application.
TransCon, which is offering the township between $435,000 and
$685,000 in exchange for approval, called its safety record in New
Jersey "impeccable" when it comes to building and maintaining gas
pipelines.
But residents who plan to attend today's forum at the municipal
building are not so confident that Hamilton will be safe it the
pipeline is allowed.
"This is a high pressure pipeline, and it's supposed to run under one
of the most widely used recreation parks in the township," said ex-
councilman Kevin Meara, whose property is located in the Highlands,
near the pipeline's intended route.
Meara said he and others plan to form a citizens action group, Voices
Opposing TransCo's Effort, in order to fight the proposal.
In addition to Veterans Park, the pipeline is slated to run near
Cypress Lane, Abbott Commons, Melody Estates, Locust Hill, the
Woodlyns and the Villages at Hamilton, officials said.
Anthony Recine, a township police officer who is also running for
mayor in the June 3 primary, accused the Gilmore administration of
trying to hidethe pipeline issue until after the election.
TransCon has been in talks with the township about the pipeline for
the past 18 months, Recine said.
"My major concern is how this is gonna impact our safety, and what
it's gonna do to our property values," said Recine, who lives in
Abbott Commons.
"This administration supposedly knew about this 18 months ago, but
didn't say anything until now?" he asked rhetorically.
Councilman Vinnie Capodanno, who opposes the project, said he will
demand that today's meeting be postponed until senators Jon Corzine
and Frank Lautenberg can answer questions from residents and council.
"This is an enormous safety issue, and the mayor is just trying to
sneak this through, just for one payment of $500,000." Capodanno said.
"I don't remember seeing any environmental impact study. It's just
not worth it. And we haven't even considered how we would protect the
pipeline against possible terrorism."
According to TransCo's application to Hamilton, the company needs the
gas in order to supply the USX Industrial Park in Bucks County.
It is unclear how the company would get the gas across the river to
Bucks County.
Meara said Hamilton, if it approves the plan, will get all the
headaches while USX in Bucks County will get all the benefits of a
pipeline.
* * *
(c) The Trentonian 2003
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DEP ORDERS SHUT DOWN OF UNLAWFUL SOLID WASTE FACILITY
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "depnews depnews" {depnews...@dep.state.nj.us}
DEP ORDERS SHUT DOWN OF UNLAWFUL SOLID WASTE FACILITY IN NEWARK
May 28, 2003
Trenton - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
today ordered Hi Tech Trans, LLC and its chief executive, David
Stoller, to shut down its unlawful solid waste transfer operations and
to cease the illegal charging of fees to accept and transfer solid
waste at its Essex County facility within 20 calendar days.
"We have significant environmental concerns regarding the unlawful,
unpermitted activities occurring at Hi Tech," said DEP Assistant
Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson. "Its operation entirely flouts our
environmental laws designed to protect public health and safety."
The facility is located on Bay Street at the Oak Island Rail Yard in
Newark.
Based on an inspection conducted by DEP enforcement officers, the DEP
has issued an Administrative Order to Hi Tech Trans that includes a
cease and desist directive for the unlawful operation of a solid waste
facility and for charging solid waste haulers a fee to accept and
transfer solid waste without obtaining a DEP-issued Certificate of
Public Convenience and Necessity. New Jersey law mandates that all
solid waste operations obtain a site-specific engineering design, a
solid waste facility permit, and a county solid waste management plan
approval prior to commencing operations.
Hi Tech has not submitted any application to the DEP for review of
its operations and has evaded the required DEP engineering review of
its operation, increasing the potential for environmental violations
and harm.
To ensure that current environmental control and safety standards are
met, DEP regulations require that waste processing facilities conduct
all waste activities within the confines of an enclosed building
equipped with air pollution control technology, and implement approved
stormwater control measures to prevent rainwater from coming into
contact with solid waste and potential pollutants. In addition, waste
processing facilities must have an approved fire and safety plan and
complete a noise and traffic impact analysis.
During inspections, the DEP observed High Tech's facility accepting
hundreds of tons of construction and demolition waste, dumping solid
waste loads into a roofless tipping area, and transferring waste using
a grapple loader into rail cars.
Violation of the DEP-issued Administrative Order carries potential
penalties of up to $50,000 per day, per violation.
A copy of the DEP-issued Administrative Order is available upon
request.
* * *
Contact: Amy Cradic, (609) 984-1795
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
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FEW RESIDENTS IN COLORADO TOWN WANT NJ TOXIC DIRT
Date: 030526
From: http://www.denverpost.com/
COLORADO SURVEY: FEW WANT TOXIC DIRT AT OLD MILL
By Eileen Kelley, Special to The Denver Post, May 26, 2003
Canon City - The stigma of radioactive dirt being transported from a
New Jersey toxic waste site to a Canon City holding pond could set off
a flurry of community resentment, which, in turn, could negatively
affect Fremont County, a report to state officials recently revealed.
This small city of about 15,000 people is battling a former uranium
mill, Cotter Corp., as it attempts to become a holding ground for more
than 400,000 tons of mildly contaminated dirt from a New Jersey
Superfund cleanup site. A survey of residents, conducted by RPI
Consulting at the request of the county but paid for by Cotter, found
that 76 percent of those questioned were concerned about living near
the stored waste.
Accepting the waste, officials at Cotter have said, would be a
financial boon and would allow it to convert the mill to process
zirconium, a relatively benign product used in electronics and
precision cutting equipment.
But forty percent of residents surveyed said they would likely move
if the Cotter plant accepted the waste and 57 percent of local real
estate agents surveyed said the storage of waste would reduce real
estate values. Thirty-one percent of the surveyed Realtors said they
have already lost at least one sale because of the proposal, according
to the report.
Officials with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment said
Friday that they anticipate deciding in about six weeks whether to
license the New Jersey shipment.
More than a year ago, residents learned that the several-hundred-ton
shipment of radioactive dirt from the Maywood Chemical Co. in New
Jersey would be headed for Canon City.
Community members quickly organized to try to stop the shipment. New
state laws have also helped the delay. And now local governing bodies
appear to be siding with the residents after months of silence in an
attempt to stay out of the fray.
The three-member board of Fremont County commissioners has asked the
health department to review the new 74-page study and to give it
"great weight in resolving this issue," said a May 20 letter to the
state signed by the commissioners.
"Regardless of the cause of the attached stigma, it has become a
negative presence in this community and, as set forth in the RPI
report, has the potential to cause an impact to social and economic
conditions," said the letter.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency must also sign off on the
proposal because it deals with moving waste from a Superfund site.
Eugene Potter, a manager with the health and environment department's
radiation unit, said the EPA is most likely waiting for the state's
decision.
State officials said they must review all materials before making a
decision. Those materials include other reports completed by Cotter
and a separate and previously released analysis done at the company's
request, which states the proposed Maywood project would not have
significant impact on the social and economic resources of Fremont
County.
Cotter has had radioactive materials on its property, which is a few
miles from the heart of the city, since the facility opened in 1958.
"The report confirmed for us what we believe: The majority of the
people in the county do not want our county to become a radioactive
waste facility for the nation," said Sharyn Cunningham, co-chairwoman
of the 14-month-old group Colorado Citizens Against ToxicWaste.
* * *
All contents Copyright 2003 The Denver Post or other copyright
holders. All rights reserved.
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NEWS FROM WEC - MAY 2003
Date: 23 May 2003
From: {in...@njwec.org}
WEC at WORK
NEWS FROM THE NEW JERSEY WORK ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL
MAY 2003
CONTENTS:
* HIGH TIME FOR STATE TO SAFEGUARD SCHOOLS
* WHITMAN OUT AT EPA
* SENATOR STEVE SWEENEY TO HOST ROUNTABLE ON CHEMICAL SITE SECURITY
* NEWS AND NOTES
- PATERSON TASK FORCE HONORS WEC'S CARRINGTON
- WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS
- RIGHT TO KNOW FACT SHEETS TRANSLATED
* CALENDAR OF EVENTS
- - -
HIGH TIME FOR STATE TO SAFEGUARD SCHOOLS
New Jersey's Massive Building and Renovation Program Spells Health
Risks for Students and Staff - and Environmental Hazards for
Communities
In September of 2002, students and staff of Paterson School 6
returned from summer vacation to a building that Paterson Education
Association President Peter Tirri described as a "major construction
project." Among other hazards they faced were asbestos debris from the
demolition of the school's boiler and deteriorating roofing material
being removed from the 90-year-old school. After inspections by NJ
Work Environment Council (WEC), students and staff were transferred to
another school until December - splitting shifts while repairs were
completed.
The State Attorney General's Office of Government Integrity is
currently investigating this matter.
The events at School 6 are a stark reminder of the turmoil that can
result from poor planning of school repair projects and from shoddy
work practices. This is an especially cautionary case, since New
Jersey is about to embark on an unprecedented volume of school
construction and renovation. The upsurge is due to the 1988 NJ Supreme
Court ruling that the state must pay to build or renovate schools in
poor districts, known as Abbott districts.
To avoid the recurring nightmare of children and personnel returning
to schools not yet fully repaired or constructed, WEC and more than 80
other organizations are urging Governor James McGreevey to issue an
Executive Order establishing a Healthy Schools Advisory Council. The
Council would bring together state agencies, non-profit organizations
and labor unions to review and help coordinate ways to ensure safe and
healthy schools for children, teachers and other school personnel,
construction workers, and the community at-large.
Here are five reasons why the Governor should issue an Executive
Order:
1. The Council would coordinate seven state agencies responsible for
healthy schools. These include the Departments of Health and Senior
Services; Environmental Protection; Labor; Education; Consumer
Affairs; Human Services; and the Schools Construction Corporation of
the Economic Development Authority. Federal OSHA and EPA also have
roles. The work of these agencies is currently uncoordinated.
2. The Council would provide a means for public input on state healthy
schools policies. With a public oversight process, better policies can
be developed. For example, the Schools Construction Corporation (SCC)
had no plan to seek public review of its school construction and
renovation Project Safety Manual. This manual, written by a private
consultant, sets safety policies for construction contractors. Only
because WEC obtained a copy and circulated a draft is this document
now receiving public scrutiny. Eileen Senn, WEC's consulting Certified
Industrial Hygienist, undertook an extensive analysis of the manual,
revealing, among other shortcomings, that it pays little attention to
construction and renovation impacts on children and school personnel.
The SCC still has no plans to distribute the manual for review by
parent groups, building trade and school employee unions, safety
engineers, industrial hygienists or other experts.
3. The Council would engage volunteer help to work for healthy
schools. Many non-profit organizations work for healthy schools. These
include student and parent groups, unions, the school nurses
association, organizations of school principals and facility managers,
as well as health, community, environmental and advocacy
organizations. Like state agencies, the work of these groups is
uncoordinated. In a period of declining government resources, the
Council can promote voluntary public participation.
4. The Council would have no authority to delay school funding or
renovation and construction projects. In fact, by developing policies
to address hazards before they become major problems, the Council will
help our schools save money. (Note that the Council will not have
regulatory authority).
5. The Council is endorsed by more than 80 organizations, including:
NJ School Boards Association - NJ State AFL-CIO - NJ Education
Association - American Federation of Teachers Local 481 (Newark
Teachers Union) - Coalition for Our Children's Schools - Plumbers
Local 9 - NJ Sierra Student Coalition - Sierra Club - Education Law
Center - NJ State Conference of NAACP Branches - NJ Environmental
Federation - Public Interest Research Group - Healthy Schools
Network - NJ Work Environment Council.
If your organization is interested in endorsing the proposal or if
you would like a copy of a petition to distribute to your membership,
please call (609) 695-7100.
To find out what construction projects are planned for your school,
see the "Visit My School Project" on the Schools Construction
Corporation's web site: http://www.njscc.com .
...
WHITMAN OUT AT EPA
Former NJ Governor Christie Whitman quit her post as head of the US
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on May 21. In a resignation
letter to President George Bush, she took particular credit for
protecting the nation's "chemical industry" after the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
WEC Director Rick Engler says this statement reveals the choice
Whitman made between big business and environmental health. "After
September 11, the agency refused to enact strict chemical safety
regulations and, instead, allowed companies to police themselves," he
said.
"Christie's mantra when she was Governor was 'New Jersey is open for
business' - and she was still open for business at EPA."
...
SENATOR STEVE SWEENEY ON CHEMICAL SITE SECURITY
WEC will host a Labor/Environment Roundtable with State Senator Steve
Sweeney (D-3) to discuss his newly introduced legislation on chemical
site security. The Roundtable will be held Monday, June 9 from 11:30
AM to 1 PM at the WEC Office, 142 West State Street, Third Floor,
Trenton (opposite State House).
Mark Connelly of the Office of Legislative Services will join us to
explain the legislation and discuss its content.
To reserve a light lunch and to indicate participation, reply to
in...@njwec.org or call (609) 695-7100.
...
NEWS AND NOTES
THE PATERSON TASK FORCE FOR COMMUNITY ACTION will honor WEC Field
Organizer Ted Carrington at a dinner on Friday, June 20 at 8 PM at
Macaluso's in Hawthorne. Carrington is being honored for his efforts
to safeguard workers and the community from toxic exposures. Tickets
are $60. For information call (973) 279-2333.
STRENGTHENING WHISTLEBLOWER RIGHTS is the aim of legislation reported
out of the Assembly Labor Committee on May 8. Sponsored by
Assemblywoman Loretta Weinberg and Assemblywoman Arline M. Friscia,
the legislation (A3372) would amend the state's Conscientious
Employees Protection Act (CEPA) by requiring employers to give annual
written notices of the protections, obligations, rights and procedures
provided by CEPA to each employee in English and in the predominant
language of the workforce, if that is not English.
TRANSLATION PLEASE. Responding to a WEC demand to expedite production
and translation of Hazardous Substance Fact Sheets, the NJ Department
of Health and Senior Services Right to Know Program has hired a new
staff person, Ellen Bay, to translate the fact sheets into Spanish.
Currently 391 Spanish Fact Sheets are posted on the agency's web site.
Go to http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/rtkweb/rtkhsfs.htm
...
CALENDAR
Saturday May 31: Stop the Cuts, Fund the Future, Rally for Tax
Fairness. (Noon at the Statehouse in Trenton.) For information,
contact Zella at New Jersey Education Association: (973) 347-0911 or
zfelz...@njea.org.
Wednesday June 4: Statewide Meeting of the New Jersey Environmental
Justice Alliance (NJEJA). (7 PM, Rutgers Environmental Law Clinic, 123
Washington Street, Newark.) For information, call WEC Director of
Organizing Valorie Caffee at (609) 695-7100.
* * *
WEC at WORK is issued 11 times per year (only one summer issue) by the
New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC), 142 West State Street,
Third Floor, Trenton, NJ 08608. Back issues of WEC at WORK are
available at http://www.njwec.org . Jim Young,
Editor.
WEC is an alliance of 65 labor, community and environmental
organizations working together for safe, secure jobs and a healthy,
sustainable environment. WEC links workers, communities and
environmentalists through training, technical assistance, grassroots
organizing and public policy campaigns to promote dialogue,
collaboration, and joint action. Contact us to learn how to become a
member.
WEC Staff: Rick Engler, Director; Valorie Caffee, Director of
Organizing; Ted Carrington, Field Organizer; Debbie Coyle, Assistant
to the Director/Financial Coordinator; Debbie Minch, Office Manager;
Jeanne Weber, Development Director; and Jim Young, Special Projects
Director. Staff are members of PACE or CWA.
Telephone: (609) 695-7100
Fax: (609) 695-4200.
Email: in...@njwec.org.
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::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
SHARED 'ZIPCAR' SERVICE SET TO BEGIN IN PRINCETON
Date: 030528
From: http://www.zwire.com/
SITES AT TWO PARKING LOTS ESTABLISHED FOR CARS
By Jennifer Potash, Staff Writer, Princeton Packet, 05/27/2003
Zipcars could begin zooming around Princeton Borough in earnest as
special reserved parking spaces for the unique shared-car service open
today.
Zipcar, a Boston-based company, bills itself as combining aspects of
an environmentally friendly car-sharing program and traditional car-
rental company. Customers reserve a car for a specific time period.
The cars are kept within walking distance at designated spaces in a
parking lot or garage. About eight to 10 cars are taken off the road
for each Zipcar in a community, according to the company.
Zipcar already has a couple of cars available at a parking lot at the
Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton Township for the
approximately 25 people who have signed up as members.
The Zipcars in the borough will be located at two parking lots. A
green Volkswagen Beetle will be at the Dinky train station off
University Place. A silver Toyota Matrix will be at the Griggs Corner
lot on Hulfish Street. The cars will be available to Zipcar customers
beginning today and more may be added depending on demand.
The Princeton Borough Council approved a five-year lease for the
Zipcar spaces at its May 13 meeting.
The lease calls for a total of four spaces - two at the Dinky Station
and two in the Griggs Corner lot. These spaces could be shifted to the
new municipal parking garage, according to the agreement. Zipcar will
pay a yearly fee of $125 for each of the two Griggs Corner spaces. The
Dinky spaces are provided free to Zipcar.
The loss of downtown parking spaces for the service has created some
grumbling, however.
With the Griggs Corner lot almost always full, the sight of an empty
spot has sent vehicles scrambling to nab it, only to discover the
space is reserved for Zipcar use.
Rae Martin, manager of the UPS Store located off the Griggs Corner
lot, said customers have complained about the loss of the spot.
"I hear it all day long," she said.
With the closure of the nearby Park & Shop lot and the temporary loss
of parking meters along Witherspoon Street as part of the library
construction, there's an overall shortage of parking spaces, Ms.
Martin said.
And the crunch is felt the most now as Princeton University students
seeking to ship belongings home for the summer circle the lot and the
block in their cars, she added.
Julian Espirito, a regional vice president for Zipcar, said non-
Zipcars parked in the spot would be towed only if the Zipcar customer
complained. Zipcar users are urged to take "positive steps" first,
such as parking in a nearby spot and moving the car when the dedicated
space is available, he said.
Princeton University students would also like to be part of Zipcar,
Mr. Espirito said. At the moment, the high cost of insurance makes the
program cost-prohibitive for college student use, but the company and
university are talking about ways to make the program work. Princeton
University will not allow freshmen to bring cars to campus this fall.
The average monthly cost of owning a car - insurance, gas,
maintenance and depreciation - is around $700, according to AAA. With
Zipcar, many of these costs are included in the rates.
Joining the Zipcar program requires payment of a $105 application fee
and a $300 deposit. The company offers various plans in monthly and
yearly time periods. Applicants must be 21 or over and have good
driving records.
The rules are fairly simple: return the car on time to the space
where you got it; keep the car clean; and fill it with gas when the
tank is three-quarters empty, with the cost reimbursed by Zipcar.
When a customer wants to use a car, a reservation is made online or
over the phone as little as two minutes in advance. Zipcar then
electronically enables the reserved car to recognize a magnetic card
provided to each customer. When the customer holds the card up to the
car's sensor on the side door, the door unlocks and the driver can
start the car with the car keys.
Once the customer starts driving, the car transmits information on
the distance traveled and the amount of time used to the company,
which creates a billing record for the trip.
The fees vary depending on where the car is kept. If the company gets
the parking spaces for free, then the lowest rate is $8 an hour and 40
cents a mile. The maximum daily charge on the lowest rate schedule is
$60, provided no more than 125 miles are traveled.
For a two-driver Zipcar household, the primary driver pays the $300
deposit as well as the regular application fee and the secondary
driver pays a reduced application fee.
More information on Zipcar is available at http://www.zipcar.com.
* * *
(c) Packetonline
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BILL WOULD BAN OIL DRILLING OFF NJ SHORE
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "Peter Montague" {Pe...@rachel.org}
LOBIONDO WOULD BAN DRILLING OFF NJ SHORE
By Amy S. Rosenberg, Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer, May 28, 2003
Avalon - U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo said yesterday that he worried that
big oil and natural-gas interests could one day win the right to drill
off the New Jersey coast.
"Some people have this on their mind," the New Jersey Republican said
at a news conference. "I believe there are people in back rooms hoping
this will happen."
LoBiondo said he had introduced a bill that would ban drilling and
any leasing for oil or gas exploration within 125 miles of the New
Jersey coast. He vowed to prevent even a test of the feasibility of
drilling for oil and natural gas off the state's coast.
Looking out over a newly replenished beach, a sailboat the only dot
on the ocean, LoBiondo said the same view with derricks just off the
coast would be unthinkable.
"What a chilling effect that would have on our tourism," he said.
LoBiondo also touted a bill he introduced last week that would lock
in the current beach-replenishment funding formula, which requires the
federal government to pay 65 percent of the cost and local and state
governments to pay 35 percent.
He said that the Bush administration had backed off plans to flip the
formula, and that it agreed that beach replenishment was worth the
investment.
"It's not about people getting a suntan," LoBiondo said. "It's about
people getting jobs and about the economy."
Avalon Mayor Marty Pagliughi said federal budget minders are "always
eyeing up that federal beach money." But he contended that the $24
million beach fill and jetty extension from Avalon's Ninth to 27th
Streets - part of $164 million in replenishment funding for Cape May
County - was an example of the necessity of continued funding.
The beach, even after a winter of 23 nor'easters, looked robust
yesterday. "It's been a long fight," Pagliughi said. "You're looking
at the results."
He said an additional $9 million to rebuild 4,300 feet of seawall had
been put in the budget without any special lobbying effort. "That's
the first time in 10 years the money was put in," he said.
* * *
Contact staff writer Amy Rosenberg at 609-823-0453 or
arose...@phillynews.com.
# # #
Rachel's Environment & Health News
Environmental Research Foundation
POB 160
New Brunswick NJ 08903-0160
Tel: 732-828-9995
Fax: 732-791-4603
Email: e...@rachel.org
Web: http://www.rachel.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
COMMISSION URGES ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO OCEAN PROTECTION
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "Peter Montague" {Pe...@rachel.org}
PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSION RELEASES REPORT FAVORING USING OCEAN
SCIENCE ON INLAND ISSUES TO REDUCE OCEAN POLLUTION.
By John Heilprin, Associated Press Writer, May 28, 2003
Washington - Aiming to reduce pollution threatening ocean ecosystems,
a presidential commission favors injecting ocean science into
decision-making on traditionally inland issues such as farm runoff,
the panel's chairman said Tuesday.
Ocean pollution often begins hundreds of miles inland, requiring a
broader, ecosystem-based approach to controlling it, James Watkins,
head of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, said in an interview with
The Associated Press.
He said the commission will recommend such an approach to Congress
this fall. It would involve weighing impacts on all species and
habitats within a marine ecosystem rather than making decisions fish
by fish as if each species were independent.
The new efforts could be organized geographically along the lines of
the existing eight regional fishery councils whose primary task now is
setting catch limits, he said.
Communities and states would join in determining how to reduce ocean-
harming practices and would be helped by more scientific research and
a panel of outside experts, according to Watkins. A new White House
council headed by an assistant to the president would coordinate all
the efforts.
"You can't do ecosystem-based management unless everybody talks to
each other," said Watkins, a retired admiral who has been chief of
naval operations, energy secretary and AIDS commission chairman.
Watkins has traveled widely, including aboard a nuclear submarine to
a Navy ice station in the Arctic, to gather information for his
commission's report. He said it is impossible to manage oceans dealing
with fisheries and pollution separately.
"You can't separate physics from chemistry, from biology, from
geology. When you try to do that, you end up in the management mess we
find today," he said. "One of the major findings is going to be that
the oceans don't start at the coastline - there are 41 states and two
Canadian provinces that cause the dead zone in the Gulf. So everyone's
in the ocean business."
The Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, where too little oxygen supports
ocean life, fans out for thousands of miles from the Mississippi River
Delta.
Next week, a private oceans commission funded by Pew Charitable
Trusts, a $4 billion foundation promoting environmental causes,
reports on three years of research. Its findings, such as a need for
more protected marine reserves, will focus on ocean life in U.S.
waters.
"Both these commissions are quite likely to base many of their
recommendations on this concept of ecosystem-based management," Jane
Lubchenco, a Pew commissioner and Oregon State University marine
biologist, told the House Oceans Caucus on Capitol Hill last week.
Watkins and scientists on each of the commissions cited the
importance of a new study this month showing industrial fishing fleets
have removed as much as 90 percent of the giant tuna, swordfish,
marlin and other big fish from the world's oceans.
The study by two scientists in Canada reinforces suggest stocks of
the biggest fish in the ocean could falter as fishing fleets vie for
the last 10 percent.
The area of ocean waters controlled by the United States is almost a
quarter larger than the nation's land mass, owing to the exclusive
economic zone that stretches out about 200 miles from the continent
and Pacific and Atlantic islands.
In 1969, the first federal oceans commission - concerned about
foreign fishing fleets operating just off U.S. coasts - gave Congress
advice that led to creating the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and coastal zone and fishery management laws.
- - -
On the Net:
U.S. Ocean Commission: http://oceancommission.gov/welcome.html
Pew Oceans Commission: http://www.pewoceans.org
# # #
Rachel's Environment & Health News
Environmental Research Foundation
POB 160
New Brunswick NJ 08903-0160
Tel: 732-828-9995
Fax: 732-791-4603
Email: e...@rachel.org
Web: http://www.rachel.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
OP/ED: THE FREEDOM TO FISH ACT
Date: 030528
From: http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/columns/
UNNECESSARY BILL
Press of Atlantic City, May 28, 2003
Just as the fishing is beginning to heat up along the southern New
Jersey shore, so, too, is the war over fishing.
Both sides in the battle over so-called "Freedom to Fish" legislation
are snapping at each other like hungry bluefish chasing a school of
baitfish.
They want to create "maritime petting zoos," says the Recreational
Fishing Alliance's James Donofrio of the environmentalists who oppose
New Jersey's Freedom to Fish Act.
"I'm a fisherman. My love of the ocean came from being a fisherman.
Many of my colleagues are fishermen. We are not anti-fishing," the
Ocean Conservancy's David Guggenheim responds.
Yes, even environmentalists and recreational fishermen - once united
in their fight against commercial fishing - are going after each other
now.
Freedom to Fish laws have been introduced in Congress and several
states to counter what fishing groups claim is a lobbying effort to
create no-fishing zones - Marine Protection Areas, or MPAs - around
the country.
The other side notes that there are no MPAs in New Jersey and few
elsewhere in the country, but that such zones where all recreational
fishing is banned (as opposed to simply regulated with catch and size
limits etc.) must be kept available as possible tools to save depleted
fisheries.
We agree.
According to its supporters, all that the New Jersey Freedom to Fish
Act would do is require government fishcrats to provide scientific
proof that anglers are damaging a particular fishery before creating
an MPA.
Opponents, like Guggenheim, say that standard of scientific proof
would be impossible to meet and, furthermore, that the Recreational
Fishing Alliance knows it.
As always in the war over fish, both sides agree that data and good
science should drive regulatory decisions - they just don't agree on
the data or on what constitutes sound science.
Which, when you think about, is rather inevitable.
The ocean is a big place. Fish tend to move around. Any attempt to
determine the health of a particular habitat would have to be an
inexact science.
Fishing groups use that inexactitude as a presumed weapon against the
environmentalists - "See, they can't prove anything." But actually,
the inexactitude of the science - the soft nature of fisheries data -
argues against the Freedom to Fish bill.
If the data are inconclusive, why pre-emptively eliminate a tool that
may be needed someday to protect a beleaguered fishery? The New Jersey
Legislature should sink the Freedom to Fish Act.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BUDGET TRIMS THREATEN HOPATCONG WEED CUTTERS
Date: 030525
From: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/morris/
WITHOUT FUNDS, LAKE HARVESTING MAY END
By Al Frank, Star-Ledger Staff, May 25, 2003
A few stubborn patches of ice still clung to the canvas tops of the
Lake Hopatcong Commission's weed-cutting boats one morning last week
as workers eased the vessels into the water for a new season.
Also coming out of the cold were the commission's seven field
employees. Back on the payroll after a six-week layoff from the
financially troubled state agency, the workers' first job was to haul
the fleet of six weed harvesters and two transport barges out of
winter storage and into New Jersey's largest lake.
After the forced furlough, the barge, truck and boat operators were
eager to be back on the job, revving engines and making their way
along the beach at Hopatcong State Park just days before rangers rope
off the swimming area for summer throngs.
"This is probably the best job I ever had," said Aitor Ostolaza of
Mount Arlington, who once delivered furniture. "You're outside doing
something worthwhile, and the people are so friendly."
As the crew worked, Anthony Albanese, who chairs the unpaid
commission, marveled at the loyalty of the employees and fretted about
their future.
The 11-member commission reluctantly ordered the cuts in February to
keep the enterprise afloat after receiving no state support since an
initial $3 million in start-up funds. If no additional money comes the
commission's way, it will remain in business only until October, he
said.
State law enacted in 2001 established the commission to oversee
management of the lake, which straddles Morris and Sussex counties.
One of its most important tasks is to cut the weeds that grow from the
lake bottom in warmer months and would otherwise suffocate marine life
and snag boat propellers and the intakes of personal watercraft.
After spending $1.2 million on its fleet of boats, barges and trucks
last year, it received no additional money this fiscal year, which
ends June 30. Because of the state revenue shortfall, it faces the
same predicament in the 2003-04 fiscal year, so commissioners made
about $235,000 in cuts to stretch the approximately $700,000
remaining.
"The public wanted us to focus on weed harvesting - and rightly so,"
said Albanese, who lives in Bridgewater, Somerset County, and has a
weekend home on the lake. To keep operating, he estimated the
commission needs between $600,000 and $700,000.
"This will not exist in May of next year unless people let those in
Trenton know this is important," he said. "The lake is not usable
without it."
For now, the employees were focused on a summer stirring up waters
with their paddle-wheeled cutters as Jet Skiers and some of the lake's
13,000 boaters race by.
"Until they close up shop and say 'no more,' I'm here for the long
haul," said Matt Hofgesang of Roxbury, who left Montclair's public
works department to drive a truck for the commission.
Bill Clark, director of field operations, said he isn't surprised by
the dedication because, as many longtime residents in Hoptacong,
Jefferson, Mount Arlington and Roxbury know, the lake is a year-round
center of community life. It's also a driver of the local economy.
For Clark, though, it's also a 2,650-acre underwater fairway that
needs a lot of mowing.
"We look at it like a big golf course," Clark said. "By the time we
cut everything once, it's time to go back and cut it again."
Last year, when the lake level dropped during the drought, and some
spots got as warm as 80 degrees, "it was like a green house," Clark
said, providing ideal conditions for a bumper crop of weeds.
They grow even thicker in shallow areas, with strands adding as much
as two feet to their length in one week. Those areas were cut five and
six times while the rest of the lake was cut twice, Clark said.
In all, 5,308 cubic yards of weeds rolled up the mesh conveyor belts
of the six cutters, more than five times the approximately 1,000 yards
collected in 2001. The 443 truckloads were hauled to a Morris County
recycling center in Mount Olive, where they are mixed with leaves and
grass clippings and turned into a rich black soil.
* * *
Al Frank works in the Morris County bureau. He can be reached at
afr...@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
Copyright 2003 The Star-Ledger.
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HUNDREDS TURN OUT FOR CONTENTIOUS BEAR HUNT HEARING
Date: 030524
From: http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/
Associated Press, 5/23/03
Trenton - Hundreds of people armed with statistics and opinions
squared off during a heated public hearing on the state's plan to hold
a bear hunt this winter, even though most said they believe that
officials have already decided to proceed with the hunt.
The hearing was held Thursday night by the state Fish & Wildlife Game
Council, which in March approved a six-day hunt from Dec. 8-13 to
control New Jersey's black bear population. If it goes forward, the
hunt would be the first in the Garden State since 1971.
While the hunt appears to have the support of a majority of the
council, it will continue to accept written comments on the plan until
late summer. A decision on whether to hold the hunt is also expected
around that time.
Proponents stressed Thursday that the hunt is needed to thin the
state's growing bear population, which they say poses a public safety
threat. While there were fewer than 100 black bears in New Jersey
1970s, state biologists now estimate the bear population at 3,200.
"There is a very real and extremely dangerous black bear
overpopulation problem in New Jersey and it needs to be addressed
immediately," said Carol Katona, a legislative agent for the
Association of NJ Rifle and Pistol Clubs.
Supporters also noted that bear sightings have increased in recent
years, as have reports of bears wandering into residential
neighborhoods looking for food and killing farmers' livestock.
However, animal rights activists and other critics - many clutching
teddy bears - said New Jerseyans need to coexist with animals instead
of needlessly killing them. They also questioned the state's
population figures and the effectiveness of a hunt as a management
method.
"I think we ought to try living with nature instead of trying to
destroy it," said Steve Heuer, 48, of Hackettstown.
* * *
(c) 2003 NJ.com. All Rights Reserved.
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CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE NOT FOUND IN NJ WILD DEER
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "FWLISTS FWLISTS" {FWL...@dep.state.nj.us}
According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's
(DEP) Division of Fish and Wildlife, results from a cooperative study
between the DEP, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and New Jersey
Department of Agriculture indicate that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD)
has not been found in New Jersey's free-ranging deer populations. CWD
is a relatively new disease of adult mule deer, Rocky Mountain elk and
white-tailed deer presumably caused by an abnormal-shaped protein,
which causes fatal damage to the brain and central nervous system. It
can only be diagnosed effectively from examination of a portion of the
brain.
For the survey, more than 950 brain stem samples of wild New Jersey
white-tailed deer were collected during the 2002-2003 November,
December and early January deer firearm seasons. Government
veterinarians, biologists and technicians with assistance from faculty
and student volunteers from East Stroudsburg University, Department of
Biological Sciences collected the samples from deer presented by
hunters at deer check stations throughout the state.
The samples were submitted to the USDA certified contract
laboratories at Cornell University and the University of Connecticut.
None of the 900 samples suitable for testing were positive for CWD.
The statistical analysis of these findings indicate that if Chronic
Wasting Disease is present, it would be in less than one-half of one
percent of the state's herd. The confidence that this is correct is
greater than 95%. This current survey brings the total number of wild
deer tested to 1,402. An earlier survey of 502 deer was conducted in
1998 and none had CWD.
The nearest state to have a case of Chronic Wasting Disease in wild
or captive deer is Illinois. This year, surveillance in New Jersey
will involve fewer deer and focus on wild and captive deer dying with
characteristic symptoms and testing of hunter-killed deer in locations
requiring additional samples. For additional information on Chronic
Wasting Disease, visit http://www.cwd-info.org.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
2003 WORST YEAR EVER FOR SHOREBIRDS - MAY 30
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "Eric Stiles" {est...@njaudubon.org}
INTERNATIONAL SHOREBIRD EXPERTS FROM FOUR CONTINENTS CALL FOR A
MORATORIUM ON THE HARVEST OF HORSESHOE CRABS
WHO:
Dr. Allan Baker, Royal Ontario Museum, Canada
Dr. Humphrey Sitters, Oxford University, Great Britain
Dr. Clive Minton, International Wader Study Group, Australia
Dr. Patricia Gonzalez, Wildlife Biologist, Argentina
And other invited international shorebird biologists
WHAT:
The World's leading shorebird biologists are calling for an immediate
moratorium on the harvest of Delaware Bay horseshoe crabs.
They are alarmed by the impending extinction of Red Knots. The
overharvest of horseshoe crabs is threatening to topple the greatest
concentration of shorebirds east of the Rocky Mountains.
WHERE:
Reeds Beach Shorebird Viewing Area, Middle Township, Cape May County
WHEN:
11 AM, Friday, May 30, 2003
DIRECTIONS:
Take the Garden State Parkway South to Exit 13 (Swainton/Avalon). Turn
right onto Avalon Boulevard. Go .5 miles to Route 9. Turn left, drive
.8 miles to Route 646 (Goshen/Swainton Road) and turn right. Follow
Route 646 for 3.7 miles to the junction with Route 47 in Goshen. Turn
left on Route 47 (South) and go 2.6 miles to Reeds Beach Road. Turn
right on Reeds Beach Road. Follow Reeds Beach Road 1 mils to end and
turn right onto Beach Road. Take Beach Road about .75 miles to its end
at Bidwell Creek. Parking is available on the right and costs $1.00.
* * *
Eric Stiles, NJ Audubon Society
Office - 908.766.5787
Cell - 908.240.9316
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT - JUN 11
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "Fletcher Harper" {revfh...@peqnj.org}
JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
AT THE NEWARK SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY THIS SUMMER
Friends -
This summer, Partners for Environmental Quality (PEQ), New Jersey's
interfaith environmental coalition, is working with the Newark School
of Theology to offer a new summer course entitled "Judaism,
Christianity and the Environment." The instructors will be the Rev.
Fletcher Harper, PEQ's President, and Rabbi Lawrence Troster, an
expert in Jewish eco-theology and a PEQ board member. The course will
be offered at the Newark School of Theology in downtown Newark (2 Park
Place) on 9 Wednesday evenings from 7-10 pm beginning June 11. No
background in environmental studies or religious studies is required.
The course will address the following:
- an introduction to the range of environmental threats facing the
planet and humanity
- an exploration of Biblical and traditional Jewish and Christian
theologies of the environment
- an introduction to contemporary eco-theological perspectives,
including contributions from ecofeminism, deep ecology, liberation
theology, environmental justice, and others.
To register for the course, contact the Newark School at
973-297-0505. The cost of the 9-week course is $240. Free parking is
provided.
For further information on the course, contact Fletcher Harper at
PEQ, 609-394-1090, revfh...@peqnj.org.
Best regards,
Fletcher
* * *
The Rev. Fletcher Harper, President
Partners for Environmental Quality
204 West State Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
609-394-1090
fax - 609-394-2199
http://www.peqnj.org
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
NJSSI MEADOWLANDS EXCURSION - JUN 22
Date: 28 May 2003
From: "NJSSI Clearinghouse" {njssi...@njssi.net}
WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE MEADOWLANDS?
COME FIND OUT AT THE NJSSI MEADOWLANDS TRIP ON SUNDAY, JUNE 22.
This all-day event will focus on current issues in managing the
Meadowlands. We'll begin at 10:00 a.m., meeting with staff of the
Meadowlands Commission, including Executive Director Bob Ceberio. We
will talk about how the Meadowlands District is organized, the newly-
released master plan for the district, and how multiple conflicting
pressures on the region are being confronted in the planning process.
Plus anything else you're interested in.
From the Meadowlands Commission we will head over to Laurel Hill Park
County Park in Secaucus for a potluck (yup, potluck!) picnic lunch.
After lunch we will go out canoeing on the Hackensack with staff of
the Hackensack Riverkeeper. We expect to be off the water by about
4:00.
Registration for this event is limited by the number of canoes, so
you must sign up in advance. There will be a charge of $20/person to
cover the canoes (and a contribution to the Riverkeeper). To register,
please fill out the attached form and mail it to NJSSI (the address is
on the form) with your check for $20 per person made out to the
Hackensack Riverkeeper. We think this trip may fill fast, so if you'd
like to join us, please send in your form today.
[Please note that this is an educational event, not a family canoe
outing. Teen-agers who will be interested in the morning session at
the Meadowlands Commission are more than welcome with a parent or
other responsible adult, but younger children are not. If you would
like to take your family out on a Meadowlands canoe excursion, the
Riverkeeper runs other programs that definitely are family-friendly.
Please check their website, http://www.hackensackriverkeeper.org, for
more information.]
We hope we'll see you on the 22nd!
New Jersey Sustainable State Institute
33 Livingston Avenue, Suite 100
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
- - -
JUNE 22, 2003 - Meadowlands Field Trip
REGISTRATION FORM
Please fill out one form for each person registering.
Waiver of liability: I wish to participate in the NJSSI Meadowlands
Trip on June 22. I understand that there may be some risks involved in
the canoe trip. I will not hold NJSSI or any of its affiliated
institutions (Rutgers The State University of New Jersey or the New
Jersey Institute of Technology) liable in case of accident, injury, or
death resulting from my participation in this trip.
Name _________________________________________________________________
Address ______________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip _______________________________________________________
Tel/Fax/Email ________________________________________________________
Signature ____________________________________________________________
Are you under 18? yes no
If yes, signature of parent or guardian (who should also be coming on
the trip): ___________________________________________________________
Potluck planning: NJSSI will provide water and paper goods,
silverware, etc. What would you like to bring? (Please give us at
least a general idea - you don't need to be too precise!)
Main dish or salad/side dish: ________________________________________
Dessert: _____________________________________________________________
Drinks (non-alcoholic): ______________________________________________
Please mail this form to NJSSI at the address above (one copy per
person attending the trip), with a check for $20 per person made out
to the Hackensack Riverkeeper. When we receive your registration, we
will send (or email) you a confirmation, along with additional details
about the trip.
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