The 50th Anniversary of Earth is the Most Different & the Most Important Earth Day

Today environmental groups, activists, families, and more will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day. Although this landmark event will be different than any other due to the fact that people around the world are quarantined at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Today marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Fifty years ago, rivers caught fire while today we are seeing the planet catching fire in places like California and Australia. Fifty years ago, people wore masks to deal with soot, today people are wearing masks to deal with coronavirus. We have made a lot of progress in 50 years, but we have a long way to go. As we celebrate Earth Day, we recall when people went outside to clean up their parks or protested for stronger environmental protections. While this year we are celebrating online,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “Because of coronavirus, however, today makes for a different kind of Earth Day. Despite the fact that we cannot march the streets or hold events today, we can look back at some of the environmental progress that has been made and what we need to do to make sure our Earth is protected for future generations.”

There have been some major wins when it comes to protecting our clean air and moving forward with renewable energy. Governor Murphy Signed Executive Order to Increase Offshore Wind Goal to 7,500MW Megawatts by 2035 and BPU recently approved a docket that will allow Orsted to obtain CIRs at B.L England and Oyster Creek. Murphy also signed S2252 (Smith) that will establish a statewide public plug-in electric vehicle charging station.

“We look towards how the activism of the first Earth Day in 1970 led to the creation of the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, and the Endangered Species Act. Fifty years has brought new activists of all ages including student climate strikes, the Sunrise Movement and more demanding a Green New Deal, achieving 100% renewable by 2035, and zero carbon by 2050. That is why the Murphy Administration needs to put a moratorium on the 15 new fossil fuel projects, DEP also needs to regulate GHG’s and methane,” said Tittel. “New Jersey has made some progress when it comes to protecting our air and moving forward with offshore wind and electric vehicles. However, DEP has not regulated C02 or methane and has not set strong targets to meet 45% reductions by 2030.”

There have also been some wins when it comes to making sure our land is clean. Major fights against illegal dumping and getting the state to step up in Vernon and the Keegan Landfill came out as wins. The Keegan Landfill will be capped and permanently closed. In Vernon, Joseph Wallace, who dumped toxic chemicals and materials for over 8 years was sentenced and will be paying a major fine.

“We have won major fights against illegal dumping in New Jersey. While we would have liked to see the DEP step up, major polluters were still held accountable in Kearny and Vernon. New Jersey also needs tighter regulations and restrictions on how our waste is handled. We have a long history of contaminated materials coming into our state, in part because DEP chooses not to regulate these chemicals. DEP needs to set and enforce standards for toxic materials to prevent any more possible dumping,” said Tittel. “For far too long certain communities in New Jersey have been overburdened by pollution for all types of pollutants. Disadvantaged and minority communities have been a dumping ground and get facilities that no one wants. That is why we need the legislature and Governor Murphy to work to pass and sign legislation like S1700 (Weinberg) that would help communities deal with major polluters.”

Despite some positive environmental news, New Jersey still needs to show leadership on many key issues. The most pressing issue during the pandemic is the fact that many controversial projects on a state and local are still moving forward and many are exempt under Governor Murphy’s EO 122 and 127. State projects include fossil fuel projects like NJNG’s SRL pipeline, Williams Transco NESE project, Delaware River Partner LLC’s LNG port, NJ Turnpike & GSP Parkway Expansion. Some of the local projects that are continuing to move forward despite the health emergency include Lambertville’s development proposal, the 1,100 unit Jackson Parke proposal, and major warehouse developments in Hunterdon County.

“While we are trying to celebrate Earth Day during this health emergency, the Murphy Administration is still letting major projects on a state and local level move forward. As we speak, DEP will be holding an air permit hearing for Delaware River Partner LLC’s disastrous LNG facility. The SRL pipeline, the NESE project, the NJ Turnpike & GSP Expansion and still pushing through despite the pandemic. What’s even worse is that the public cannot get information or comment on plans, but the state can still move forward on them,” said Tittel. “Throughout New Jersey, there are currently dozens of projects in front of local planning boards that would have detrimental impacts on water quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and more if approved. For example, there is a massive Jaindl Land Co. warehouse that has been proposed on environmentally sensitive farmland in White Township, and a similar project in Franklin Township in Hunterdon County. The Sewell Tract in Cape May is a housing development on environmentally sensitive wetlands that is currently in front of the planning board and also in front of DEP.”

When it comes to protecting our water from harmful chemicals, the Department of Environmental Protection submitted their proposed rule for setting maximum contaminant limits on PFOA and PFOS to the Office of Administrative Law. PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctanesulfonic acid) belong to the PFAS family of forever chemicals.

“New Jersey has taken a big step forward when it comes to protecting our water. They have adopted one of the strictest standards in the nation for PFOA and PFOS. This is a big step forward towards protecting public health from toxic forever chemicals. By adopting these standards, DEP is protecting the roughly 1.6 million people who are exposed to these chemicals in New Jersey. These standards will be easily implemented by water purveyors. This is especially critical because New Jersey is one of the most affected states in the county, with over 500 water systems in the state contaminated with PFAS,” said Tittel. “DEP still needs to move forward on making strict standards for over a dozen chemicals like 1,4- Dioxane, 1,2,3-TCE. They haven’t met with the DWQI in over a year and there are over 500 unrelated chemicals that DEP does not even test, let alone regulate.”

Climate change impacts are coming in greater frequency. With oceans predicted to rise by one to two meters by 2100, researchers found that the risk of extreme flood events will double every five years on average as seas get ever higher. Last March, The UN launched an assessment of the global climate in 2019. The assessment is led by the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), with input from the UN’s agencies for environment, food, health, disasters, migration and refugees, as well as scientific centres. The report showed that this past year, it was a record-breaking for heat, there was a rise of hunger, loss of life, extreme temperatures, and floods around the world.

“New Jersey is one of the fastest-warming states in the country, the state temperature has already increased by 3.5 degrees and will only continue to go up. High temperatures plus chronic flooding, storm surges and sea level rise is a recipe for disaster unless our administration works quickly to be more resilient to these impacts. In order to adapt to climate impacts like sea level rise and flooding, New Jersey needs a Coastal Commission. We need to integrate climate change in every rule and regulation while changing flood maps to mitigate disaster. We also need an adaptation and mitigation plan.  It is critical that we move forward on action because we do not want to have these climate impacts happen during the coronavirus pandemic,” said Tittel.

Today also marks the 50th Anniversary of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

“While the DEP should be celebrating the 50th anniversary of their department and of Earth Day, they are having a public hearing on a disastrous LNG facility. The DEP funding has been cut by 40%. The department needs more funding so that we have enough people to do the many jobs of the agency, including re-writing the rules that Christie rolled back. Enforcement is down, parks are in disrepair. We don’t have enough people to deal with the lead crisis, clean up toxic sites, and make sure our air is clean to breath and our water is clean to drink,” said Tittel.

New Jersey must also protect its clean air, water, and open space from President Trump’s rollbacks and war on science. In the middle of a pandemic, when people with respiratory illnesses are most affected, Trump’s rollback of clean air standards are reckless. Trump has pulled out of the Paris Accord while going after CAFE standards, Obama’s Clean Power Plan and gutted rules to reduce methane emissions. Even during a public health emergency, Trump has sided with polluters.

“Because of Trump’s rollbacks to our environment, Murphy must step up. We need to bring in real science that not only deals with climate change but contamination and dealing with a pandemic. In order to fight climate change by reducing greenhouse gasses, we must take bold action against fossil fuels. That is why Governor Murphy must put in place a moratorium on all new fossil fuel projects. There are about 15 fossil fuel projects proposed in New Jersey that would increase GHGs by over 32%. We need to be focusing on renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, that does not release harmful pollution that exacerbate the effects of climate change,” said Tittel.

Climate change is real, is happening every day, and people are being impacted. We are seeing more tropical diseases spreading to new areas, allergy and flu season getting longer and worse, more bad air days causing asthma attacks and more lakes closed because of toxic algae blooms.

“We are in a climate crisis that’s getting worse. As we look back at the last 50 years, we need to look at the next 50 years. If we do our job now, we can prevent some of the major disasters and climate impacts like viruses, sea level rise, and more. We know there is major support and activism in our youth. We have seen the Sunrise Movement and major student climate strikes truly make an important statement that our Earth is on Fire,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “I have been involved in every Earth Day and each one is a little different, but this Earth Day is the most different I have ever been part of. Even though there aren’t people marching on the streets, there is still a demand for real action and long-term change. We are one person, one environment, one planet. That is why Earth day should be every day.”