Study finds Jersey's pollution on the rise

From The Star Ledger:

New Jersey remains among the top 20 states where carbon-dioxide emissions are steadily increasing, according to a state-by-state assessment of pollution contributions released yesterday by the group Environment New Jersey.

The 63-page analytical study, compiled from U.S. Department of Energy data and international sources, ranks the Garden State at 16 among the other 50 states for overall carbon emissions, and it concludes that pollution output has increased by 16 percent in the state over 1990 levels.

While the state ranking is well behind neighboring Pennsylvania, which is third in the nation for emissions, and New York, which ranked eighth, it is well ahead of neighboring Delaware, which ranked at 46th for carbon emissions.

Additionally, Environment New Jersey said the data show states like Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts and even New York, while still high in overall emissions, have reduced their overall emissions output since 1990, while New Jersey has steadily increased. New Jersey also bucks the national trend in that, where transportation is the nation's second-leading source of carbon dioxide pollution, it is the leading cause in the Garden State.

"In New Jersey, transportation was hands down the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions at 53.5 percent. "¦ More pollution than ever before is not a trend we want to be setting," said Matt Elliott of Environment New Jersey, citing statistics compiled in the report, entitled "Too Much Pollution."

Zoe Baldwin, the New Jersey advocate for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, said the state needs to expand mass transit and address the reasons people drive so much in the state.

"We need to make sure we are stopping sprawl development so that people do not have to drive or drive as far," she said.

Baldwin acknowledged that a great deal of the state's traffic stems from interstate travel, with motorists passing through New Jersey to reach destinations such as New York City. But she contends the state still has the ability to reduce its overall traffic.

"We're not doing enough in New Jersey to shift the travel patterns," she said.

The report is based on data collected as of 2007, but acknowledges newer Department of Energy figures showing energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in the United States dropped overall by about 2.8 percent in 2008, reaching their lowest level since 2001 and marking the largest decline since the recession of 1982. The decline has been largely attributed to soaring oil prices in 2008 and the economic downturn.

The leading cause in the nation for carbon emissions is electricity generation, and the report blames a heavy reliance on coal plants.

The group instead endorsed the development of other, alternative energy sources, demanding the state accelerate efforts to build off-shore wind farms and expand the use of solar energy panels.

A state energy goal, set by Gov. Jon Corzine, vows to have 30 percent of the state's electricity produced through wind and solar power by 2020.

The Environment New Jersey report is being released in conjunction with next month's international "Climate Conference" in Copenhagen and congressional debates over controversial "cap-and-trade" legislation designed to reduce the nation's carbon dioxide output.

NJ #2 in U.S. for solar energy

PSE&G cleared for additional NJ solar projects

NEWARK, N.J. - New Jersey's largest utility has received permission from state regulators to finance another 51 megawatts of solar power , enough energy for more than 45,000 homes.

The Garden State is second only to California, with 100 megawatts of installed solar generating capacity.

Tuesday's decision means Public Service Electric and Gas Company can lend another $143 million to its customers to finance solar energy systems on homes, businesses and municipal government buildings.

The solar loan program has received applications for projects worth $105 million since it began in April 2008. Those earlier projects will be capable of generating 30 megawatts of solar power when they're all completed.

"What about the children!?" in 3...2...1...

Reclusive bobcat caught on camera in Water Gap park

(George Draney Photography)

He had been stalking the big cat for months and finally had the shot of a lifetime --photo shot, that is.

That's how landscape photographer George Draney explained getting a shot of an elusive wild bobcat in Warren County.

Draney, 60, of Washington in Warren County, said he photographed the bobcat on Oct. 21 in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

"I was doing nature photography and in early spring, I spotted it numerous times,'' Draney recalled. So be began staking out a narrow, scrub-lined path twice a week, for about three or four months. A couple of times the bobcat crept by him but was gone before he could shoot a photo, he said.

The morning he finally got the shot, he was sitting in his car near the path and the bobcat was between 25 and 50 yards away, he said.

"I saw it going up the pathway in a hurry, so I thought to make a noise to make it look my way,'' Draney said. "So I whistle real loud, and it stopped. When I shot, it turned, and I got two more shots.''

The animal was the size of a medium dog and he estimated it weighed about 25 pounds. It appeared healthy, he added.

"It gave me quite a look; it really gave me a stare,'' he said. "It didn't look frightened, but disturbed by my being there.''

The Water Gap and other areas of Kitatinny Ridge are the best habitat areas the state has for bobcats, said Mick Valent, a wildlife biologist for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, who said there's no reason to doubt Draney's account.

State biologists have found bobcat tracks and scat in the Water Gap area, and have photographed them there with motion-sensitive cameras baited with scent, Valent said. Those and other methods are used to calculate the number of wild bobcats living in the state: at least 90, and most live north of Route 80, Valent
said.

Bobcats are on the state list of endangered animals. They had disappeared
by the early 1970s because of habitat loss, so about 20 were brought from Maine from 1978 to 1982 to repopulate them in New Jeresey.

One sign that the big cats have bounced back are the dozen road kills found in
the past year, including one on Route 46 in Parsippany near the Boonton Reservoir this past spring, Valent said.

Bobcats are so shy that they pose no danger for people, he said. They are very reclusive and have individual territories ranging from one square mile to 25 square miles. They eat mice, chipmunks, squirrels and birds.

"There's no shortage of food for bobcats,'' Valent said, explaining why they are not common. "It's the habitat that's critical. Large forested areas are a core requirement. Small patches of woods are not enough.''

New Jersey and Global Warming

Bye Bye, Hudson County!

Click on the link below for an interactive map which displays the effects of sea level rise on the NY Metro area.

New Jersey Sea Level Rise Map

In the worst case scenario, the melting of the entire Greenland Ice Sheet, towns as far inland as the Passaic River would be inundated. I guess other smaller business hubs, such as Parsippany, Morristown, and Mount Olive might benefit from businesses relocating further inland.

I'm surprised that we here in New Jersey don't hear more about the potential effects from global sea rise. Considering how close we are to the Atlantic, you'd think that it would be more of an issue. Atlantic City, if it's still around that far in the future, would be devastated.