I'm re-posting this from Monday. That morning, one of the busiest days in the Senate, the Democratic leadership granted Blue Jersey a significant amount of time for this interview. It was overshadowed by the tragic events that evening, but the remarks by Senators Sweeney and Weinberg set the stage for the new session, ahead.
This morning, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and incoming Majority Leader Senator Loretta Weinberg took time out of their busy day to give Blue Jersey readers an exclusive interview. They talked about the accomplishments of the last session, goals for the new session (which starts tomorrow), the new initiative for marriage equality, jobs, energy, and the recent controversies about residency requirements in the last legislative election.
Hydraulic fracturing - better known as fracking - has been popping up in New Jersey a lot lately. It's a process whereby natural gas is shaken loose and captured from deep underground deposits. Fracking is widely controversial for multiple reasons, all of which relate to the safety of the practice. We've reported on it a few times hereatBlueJersey.
Well, it looks like those urging caution and re-evaluation of the practice might not be alarmist party poopers after all. In Youngstown, Ohio, fracking waste water caused two earthquakes on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. The quakes measured 2.7 and 4.0 respectively on the Richter scale; they did little damage and no one was injured. However, scientists know for sure that the quakes were in fact caused by the operation of a fracking waste water injection well used by nearby Northstar Disposal Services. How do they know this? Because between March and November of 2011, nine earthquakes took place in the otherwise earthquake-free Youngstown area. Nine! And so the Ohio Department of Natural Resources teamed up with scientists from Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LEDO) to place seismographs around the area, to test what seemed like the glaringly obvious answer: that the fracking waste water operation was, in fact, causing earthquakes.
The Christmas and New Years quakes provided the LEDO scientists with conclusive evidence - with a 95% rate of certainty, that fracking caused all 11 earthquakes in Youngstown, Ohio between March and New Year's Eve.
Fracking - it makes people sick, makes tap water flammable, fills dangerous pipelines and CAUSES EARTHQUAKES.
Here in the Garden State, the latest action in this fight came in November when the Delaware River Basin Commission decided to postpone a vote on natural gas regulations which could have opened the door to the construction of up to 35,000 fracking wells in the Delaware basin. That basin provides drinking water for 15.6 million people - 5% of the population of the United States. The postponement of the vote was considered a victory by environmentalists, but it was only a delay - not an outright rejection of fracking.
New Jersey should ban fracking, as well as the transport of natural gas acquired through the process - at the very least until the EPA completes its study on the practice's safety, which concludes in 2014. (One can only hope the EPA will incorporate the Youngstown earthquakes into their final report.) This summer, legislation banning the practice was sent to Governor Christie; he issued a conditional veto, weakening the ban to a one-year moratorium with no teeth and all of the important loose ends left un-tied. And though legislators are currently considering override legislation that could protect NJ against future DRBC regulation changes, it's not clear why the DRBC would move on fracking at all without some clarity from the EPA.
"When you come to a fork in the road....Take it." - Montclair NJ native Yogi Berra
"We are the victim of our own success." - New Jersey Senator Bob Smith (D-Piscataway) testifying today before the Assembly Telecom & Utilities Committee supporting legislation on solar power
"[Today's proposed legislation] would have a devastating impact on the economy of the state." - Stephanie Brand - Director of the NJ Division of Rate Counsel
We have come to a fork in the road with regard to the deployment of solar energy in New Jersey. Today, Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-Somerset) and his Telecom & Utilities Committee took a big step in deciding which path to take.
More, including an interview with Assemblyman Chivukula, after the fold...
"As Senator McConnell's statement today makes clear, the only thing standing between 160 million Americans and a tax increase is House Republicans' refusal to act." – Nancy Pelosi
Well, if you want to ask our “moderate” GOP delegation to the United States Congress why they are standing in the way of bipartisan agreements on taxes, unemployment and energy exploration legislation passed with 90 percent support in the Senate, here’s their addresses and phone numbers.
Frank Lobiondo (R-2) 5914 Main Street Mays Landing, New Jersey Phone: (609) 625-5008
Jon Runyan (R-3) 4167 Church Road Mount Laurel, New Jersey 08054 Phone: (856) 780-6436
Scott Garrett (R-5) 266 Harristown Rd, Suite 104 Glen Rock, New Jersey 07452 Phone: (201) 444-5454
Leonard Lance (R-7) 425 North Avenue East Westfield, New Jersey 07090 Phone: (908) 518-7733
Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) 30 Schuyler Place, 2nd Floor Morristown, New Jersey 07960 Phone: (973) 984-0711
Side thought. Why can members of Congress send us pretty, printed mail at taxpayers’ expense but their offices don’t have 800 numbers?
As reported by Tom Johnson of NJ Spotlight, Hal Bozarth, executive director of the Chemical Council of New Jersey and an opponent of offshore wind development recently said,
"Without big federal subsidies, you cannot make wind power affordable."
That's a lot of chutzpah from someone whose industry receives big federal subsidies.
His statement was in response to NRG Energy's withdrawal from the offshore wind business in New Jersey. NRG's rationale was the uncertain regulatory climate and the lack of subsidies for offshore wind developers.
How hypocritical that Bozarth is opposed to subsidies for this clean technology. After all, the oil and gas industries, on which Bozarth's members depend, have received government subsidies for decades. And the taxpayer has been repeatedly called upon to spend billions to clean up oil, gas, and chemical spills and to pay for health care due to chemical pollution of the atmosphere.
Do you oppose flammable drinking water and widespread illness caused by environmental contamination? Do you like free movies?
As noted previously by Blue Jersey (here, here and here) the controversial natural gas extraction method called "fracking" (slang for "hydraulic fracturing") has been trying to extend its craptacular tendrils in our general direction for a couple of years now. But on Monday 11/21, the Delaware River Basin Commission will vote on new rules that could pave the way for nearly 20,000 fracking wells to be built in the river basin.
Yeah, not good for fans of safe water and good health. So along with some local partners, environment and sustainability watchdog Food and Water Watch is sponsoring two screenings of the the HBO documentary Gasland, which is to fracking what Supersize Me is to fast food. Not sure you understand the issue and it's potentially devastating consequences? Or maybe you're just cheap and need something to do this week. Either way. You can catch the New Brunswick screening today at 10 a.m., and the Princeton screening tomorrow at 7 p.m. Full details below the YouTubes.
When we flip on a light switch in our homes, few of us think about the ramifications. Electricity is relatively cheap, so we don’t think of the cost. Most of the time it’s available on demand, so we don’t think about reliability or distribution, and since we don’t see the pollution that resulted from its production, we don’t usually think about the environment. We just flip on the switch, and there’s light.
But at times, we’re all aware of some of the problems and pitfalls in lighting and heating our homes. We experience power outages, usually attributable to extreme weather. We gripe about our electricity bills, especially during the summer months when our air conditioners run non-stop. We see the environmental cost with dirty air from coal-burning plants and the ever-present threat of a Three Mile Island or Fukushima Daiiachi disaster in our back yard.
The paradigms about the generation and distribution of electrical power in New Jersey are shifting. It’s not just the move from reliance on dirty fossil fuels to clean energy sources. We also must take into account the need for energy storage to account for the time difference between when renewable energy is available (like solar during daylight hours) and when it is consumed (for example, at night or during overcast days.) We need to recognize that the generation of renewable energy is not done at a few large capital-intensive power plants, but is more of a geographically distributed entity, one which our transmission systems and regulations may not be optimized for. And we need to look into the future where electric vehicles will become more prevalent, resulting in more consumer demand for power in the home, and access to power-hungry recharging stations along the state’s thoroughfares.The cost of solar power is becoming lower than that of nuclear, and with the closing of the Oyster Creek nuclear plant in 2019, a large chunk of the state’s indigenous generation capacity will need to be replaced. And a new player, geothermal energy, is becoming a viable way to heat and cool our homes (for more on geothermal, go to the 4:00 mark in the Chivukula video, below.)
This past Saturday, I sat down with Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula to conduct a video interview. Part 1 was posted on Blue Jersey here. Part 2 appears below the fold.
Following the interview, I met with the Assemblyman and his press aide for over an hour for an off-the-record discussion of New Jersey politics and other topics. I don't know if there's a word in Hindi or Punjabi for "mensch", but I came away realizing that the assemblyman from Central Jersey is one. He may not have the pizzazz that some of his colleagues exhibit, but I believe he has a passion for service, both in his legislative life and his "civilian" profession - developing learning software for autistic kids. He may be the first Indian-American to serve in the New Jersey legislature, but his concerns transcend ethnic boundaries.
Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula was born and educated as an engineer in India, and came to the United States at age 24. He has represented the people in his Central Jersey district for 10 years. When he's not working to serve the people of his district, he develops software to assist autistic children in the learning process. Yesterday, I spoke with him at the Akbar Restaurant in Edison about many of the issues facing New Jersey.
My interview appears in two parts. In Part 1, below the fold, Chivukula discusses two areas that he is passionate about - telecommunications and energy. He brings an engineer's expertise to these topics, and explains the complex technical and economic issues in layman's terms.
Part 2 will appear on Tuesday and there he will discuss education, the budget, New Jersey's competitiveness, and marriage equality. He will offer comments on the 2013 gubernatorial election and what he hopes to accomplish in the legislature next year.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews. These interviews have run over successive days, today's is the final installment
It is fitting that as we move into the holiday weekend to recognize the contributions that organized labor has made to America's prosperity, our first guest is labor leader Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of the 14th Legislative District.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews. These interviews are being run over successive days.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews. These interviews will be run over successive days.
It is fitting that as we move into the holiday weekend to recognize the contributions that organized labor has made to America's prosperity, our first guest is labor leader Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of the 14th Legislative District.
My interview with Assemblyman DeAngelo will be presented on four consecutive days from today through Saturday. Each segment will be posted around 6:00 PM.
Today, the assemblyman discusses politics, the tension between the governor and legislature, collective bargaining, and the governor's response to Hurricane Irene.
Thursday's segment is devoted to education - including charter schools, tenure, and testing. My thanks to Jersey Jazzman for his assistance in providing information and questions for this segment.
Friday's segment is about jobs and the state's energy policy, and how they are inexorably interrelated. Assemblyman DeAngelo also discusses the state's transportation policy.
Finally, on Saturday, we hear about the assemblyman's views on the transition from NJN to NJTV, marriage equality, his opinion on a full-time legislature, and his priorities for the General Assembly after the November elections.
Watch for future installments of Blue Jersey Focus where we talk to other decision makers and prominent personalities that impact our lives.
In a densely populated state with few indigenous traditional sources of energy, the cost, safety, and reliability of New Jersey's energy supply present significant challenges. Energy prices are rising, the capacity for energy distribution is becoming strained, and environmental impact is a major concern. Some of those challenges were addressed today at a joint Senate/Assembly hearing in Toms River co-chaired by Senator Bob Smith and Assemblyman John McKeon.
By law, the state must issue an Energy Master Plan (EMP) that documents the administration's "strategic vision for the use, management, and development of energy in New Jersey over the next decade." The plan must be revised every three years.
Governor Christie's draft EMP was the topic of today's hearings. Prior to these discussions, hearings were conducted by the governor's Board of Public Utilities (BPU). I did not attend those, but from the information I have, those hearings were biased toward the traditional electrical power generation and distribution industries. By contrast, today's hearings gave environmentalists and activists an opportunity to be heard.
I wrote this diary for my blog, but what's true for the federal gas tax is also relevant to New Jersey's state gas tax. We can increase revenue and create jobs in the state while not impacting those who can least afford it. The dollar figures cited would be different for New Jersey, but the concept of increasing the gas tax has lots of benefits if it's done right.
The federal gas tax of 18.4ยข per gallon is set to expire at the end of September. Today's New York Times has an editorial titled The Clear Case for the Gas Tax, enumerating several reasons why this tax should not be allowed to expire. The money collected goes to the Highway Trust Fund, which in turn creates jobs and upgrades our deteriorating infrastructure.
No doubt, the Tea Party Republicans will oppose a proposed extension of this tax, claiming that in these tough times we need to reduce the amount of money that the government collects. They will most certainly ignore the fact that by further depleting the Highway Trust Fund, we will move construction workers from the role of tax payer to the role of unemployment insurance recipient.
If signed into law by Governor Christie, a New Jersey's law banning the practice of hydraulic fracturing - or "fracking" - will become the first such in the country. As noted previous by Blue Jersey, fracking is Halliburton's proprietary method of extracting natural gas from underground shale deposits. It sounds great if you're in the natural gas business, but not so much if you live near a fracking site; fracking contaminates underground water supplies and makes people sick. It can also make your tap water flammable.
In 2004, the EPA concluded that "the body of reported problems considered collectively suggest that water quality (and quantity) problems" could be linked to fracking. The documentary Gasland has brought the fracking and its implications into the mainstream. And perhaps most presciently, the measure to ban this practice passed the New Jersey State Senate 32-1 and the Assembly 56-11 with 8 abstentions. So far, Christie has yet to comment, let alone sign this measure into law.
Could the governor's silence and inaction have anything to do with the letter he received from Energy In Depth? They're a Washington front group backed by the American Petroleum Institute, the Independent Petroleum Association of America and various other Big Oil/Gas players. You know, just the kind of monied corporate masters Christie loves to please, as women, the disabled, AIDS patients and school children eat cake.
Because with conclusive scientific evidence of fracking's dangers, acknowledged risks as noted by the EPA, and overwhelming support for the measure in the state legislature, it's difficult to imagine any other reason for Christie's silence.
With the Governor on vacation and Senator Sweeney's bombast being supplanted by the hand wringing surrounding the Casey Anthony verdict, you would think that Trenton's name-calling and argumentative style would be on hiatus, and you would be wrong.
Well, it's official. Gov. Chris Christie has pulled the state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), handing a big gift to the right-wing base that gives governors like him the big money, like the kind that powers Americans for Prosperity, which has made dismantling the 10 Northeast state compact one of its prime objectives. That's AFP, whose New Jersey leader Steve Lonegan was Christie's GOP primary opponent for governor, whose Tea Party followers spent most of Christie's first year kvetching he wasn't conservative enough, AFP, front group for oil and coal interests, largely underwritten by the Koch Brothers, billionaires David and Charles. Kinda people rising GOP stars need. Dig it.
WTF sign is Sarlo standing behind?
Sarlo: Inclined to blame Christie alone for all this? Think again. When he became the first Democrat to support AFP's anti-RGGI efforts, Sen. Paul Sarlo gave Christie's decision some Democratic cover. Yes, that's Sarlo behind the sign: I Am AFP!
Christie's had just a craptastic week - sagging poll numbers at home (you know, where it counts), a star-turn robo-call for the GOP loser in hot race NY-26, a Supreme Court ruling that undercuts his whole education zeitgeist. Worse, even reporters who used to be dazzled by him are beginning to report on his excesses, and his whole bluster and bullshit act is beginning to wear (except, apparently in Iowa). I'm sure he wants to get you talking about something else, anything but all that.
Dummies: This is an intelligent governor who nonetheless plays to the dummy chunk of his base by going along with the claim that there's insufficient proof of human-caused global climate change (yay, let's burn fuel and make our pals richer). Rutgers scientists even gave him a quiet science lesson. Sierra Club is apoplectic, roaring out with a 1432-word press release I won't recount here (not posted at their site yet). But it makes a pretty good case that Christie's choosing to make things easier for corporate polluters and the coal industry at the expense of your health. And that it has created (or saved) jobs, cut emissions and is supported by the state's major utilities. Christie's already raided $65 million from RGGI, money meant to support clean energy programs, diverted to the budget deficit.
RGGi is a first-of-its-kind initiative, and threats to it are national enviro news. NRDC just posted this poll that shows New Jerseyans will probably think their governor's headed in the wrong direction - increasingly.
Nuclear power, once viewed as the panacea that would wean us from fossil fuels, is starting to show some of its hidden costs. Despite the fact that they will impact Japan’s economy and quality of life for decades to come, the Fukushima disaster is just the tip of the iceberg. As plants built during the nuclear boom times come to the end of their useful lives, more of these hidden costs will be exposed to the public. And that’s becoming evident here in New Jersey.
The privately-run nuclear reactor at Oyster Creek in Lacey Township is scheduled to be closed and decommissioned starting December 31, 2019. The plant’s owner, Exelon, has made the decision to close the plant rather than build cooling towers that would reduce the amount of heated water that is currently dumped into the environmentally-fragile Barnegat Bay.
Senator Bob Menendez sat down for an interview with POLITICO recently, and here's that video. Menendez ran the Senate's 2010 campaign strategy, a year we lost 6 seats. Part of what he talks about here is the rise of corporate spending on the right, post Citizens United, particularly the fueling of tea party candidates by the Koch brothers. Overall, Menendez says he tracked $70 million in corporate spending against Senate Democrats. He calls it "a corruption of our election system," that absent a constitutional solution, should require greater disclosure and transparency in spending.
Menendez also has strong advice for 2012 candidates, to seize the debate over gas prices, the budget and federal spending, offering a well-framed debate that resonates with most Americans simplistic cries of things like "Drill, baby, drill." That's a particularly attractive piece of advice as we approach the 1-year anniversary of BP's Deepwater Horizon explosion and the massive oil spill that dirtied the Gulf of Mexico. Menendez is against allowing an expansion of offshore drilling - both our senators are - and has an idea how Democrats can respond legislatively to the BP oil spill disaster. "Use it or lose it," Menendez says: legislation that would essentially penalize companies that do not produce on drilling leases they have already been granted.
