Global Warming Testimony

Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today on this important issue.  My name is Matt Elliott and I am the Global Warming and Clean Energy Advocate at Environment New Jersey.   Environment New Jersey is a non-profit environmental organization that represents over 20,000 citizen members across the state.

As such, we come at this issue from both an environmental and an economic perspective.  Right now, our main priority is fighting global warming pollution and promoting clean energy strategies that will curb greenhouse gas emissions and create new, good-paying “green jobs.” 

Raising tolls to widen our roads will severely undermine New Jersey’s efforts to fight global warming, and will miss a key opportunity to maximize our state’s potential to grow the economy with new jobs.  I will address both these issues in my testimony today.

Widening Roads Increases Global Warming Pollution.

The world’s leading scientists agree that our consumption of fossil fuels is the leading cause of global warming.  We burn fossil fuels in our power plants, in our businesses, and in our homes.  But most significantly, we burn fossil fuels in the vehicles that travel our roads each day.  Scientists agree that we have less than ten years to begin to fundamentally alter the ways in which we consume energy if we are to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.

If we do not act quickly and boldly, global warming could cripple our economy in New Jersey, jeopardize 100,000 New Jersey jobs, and alter our way of life.

We could lose many of our treasured beaches that support a $16 billion tourism economy and support 100,000 jobs in the state.  We could see increased flooding of our critical transportation infrastructure – for example, the Holland Tunnel, the Lincoln Tunnel, and parts of the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway could flood with 3 feet of water every 5 years by the end of the century.  And we could see an increase in heat- and smog-related deaths among our most vulnerable populations.

This is extremely relevant to today’s discussion because transportation emissions are hands-down the leading source of global warming pollution in New Jersey.

The state has recognized the severe threats posed by global warming, and has begun to take action.  In July 2007, Governor Corzine signed the historic Global Warming Response Act into law.  The law requires that the state reduce global warming pollution 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.  These are the emissions reductions that scientists say are necessary if we are to avoid the worst impacts of global warming.

The Global Warming Response Act also requires that all state agencies, including the Department of Transportation, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Board of Public Utilities work in concert to account for greenhouse gas emissions from all sectors of the economy, and to achieve these mandated reductions.

The proposal before us today - to increase tolls to widen the state’s major highways - could cause the state to violate this law by significantly increasing global warming pollution in New Jersey at a time when we need to be curbing emissions from all sectors.

Studies show that road widening projects such as this do little to alleviate congestion while significantly increasing the number of cars on our roadways and the amount of global warming pollution in our atmosphere.

If we are to solve global warming and protect our economy, Governor Corzine can not allow this project to move forward.

Investing in Transportation Alternatives Creates More Jobs than Road Widening.

We all know that the economy is in serious trouble.  We need to create more good-paying jobs that grow the economy and put New Jerseyans back to work.

On Thursday, Governor Corzine will outline his plans to address the economic crisis in New Jersey.  Unfortunately, the Governor has indicated that his plan will include stripping funding for clean energy projects and supporting highway widening with higher tolls.

Such a plan could further hamper the state’s efforts to curb global warming pollution, and it could fail to realize the state’s full job-creation potential.

A recent study conducted by labor unions and the Center for American Progress shows that, by investing in energy alternatives, New Jersey could create over 57,000 new jobs.  And a 2004 study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project confirms that, within the transportation sector specifically, an investment in public transportation will create 8,000 more jobs than an equivalent investment in new road and bridge capacity.

Investing in transportation alternatives and fixing our existing infrastructure gives New Jersey residents more choices, creates more jobs, and offers a real solution to our congestion problems.  Road widening is a short-term fix that achieves none of the above.

Most importantly, investing in transportation alternatives for New Jersey creates new, good-paying “green collar” jobs.  “Green collar” jobs have the dual benefit of creating more jobs while working toward solving the energy and global warming crises that threaten all aspects of our economy and lifestyle here in New Jersey.

Address Congestion With Real and Permanent Solutions.

In conclusion, we urge Governor Corzine and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority to address our serious congestion issues with real and permanent solutions that will also grow the economy, provide more transportation choices, and reduce global warming pollution.

We have real and permanent solutions at our fingertips, but charging commuters more to widen our highways is not one of them.

Thank you for your consideration.