Global Warming News

As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.

TRENTON— New Jersey Public Interest Research Group released New Jersey’s top five coastal treasures threatened by under water submersion and chronic flooding as a result of global warming and related sea level rise. The areas of the state most at risk are the Meadowlands, Atlantic City, Cape May, Long Beach Island and the Delaware Bay Shore.

NJPIRG also launched a new campaign, Global Warming Solutions, which calls on Governor Corzine to take urgent action by committing to reduce New Jersey’s global warming pollution by 20 percent below current levels by 2020 and 70 percent by 2050. Citizen outreach offices in Princeton, New Brunswick, Ridgewood, and Montclair are going door-to-door this summer asking over 200,000 citizens in over 200 towns and cities across the state to get involved in the Global Warming Solutions campaign by becoming NJPIRG members, signing postcards, making phone calls to Governor Corzine and attending local neighborhood action meetings.

“If we don’t act now to curb global warming, future generations won’t be able to visit and enjoy New Jersey’s natural and historic landmarks,” said Suzanne Leta, NJPIRG’s Energy Advocate. “Fortunately, we have the solutions at hand to ensure that the Jersey Shore is more than pictures and memories.”

According to research conducted by Professors Michael Oppenheimer, Matthew Cooper and Michael Beevers of Princeton University, if we continue our current trend of global warming pollution, sea levels off the Atlantic Coast will rise 2-4 feet (0.61-1.22 meters) by 2100, noting that over 80 percent of the New Jersey coast is either highly or very highly vulnerable to sea level rise. The report also found that 9 percent of the state’s total landmass would be subject to chronic flooding as a result of a 2 foot sea level rise. Sea level rise would also allow salt water to permeate fresh water sources, contaminating drinking water supplies. 

NJPIRG used GIS (Geographic Information System) programs to create a map of New Jersey in 2100 based on the sea level rise data in the Princeton report, showing that 1-3 percent of the state is potentially submerged and 6-9 percent is vulnerable to chronic flooding.

Huge swaths of the Meadowlands, a 30.4 square mile area composed of 14 Bergen and Hudson County communities, including Jersey City, would be under water or flooded out. In addition to employing over 80,000 people, the Meadowlands is home to 8,400 acres of open space, wetlands and waterways, more than 265 species of birds and is recognized as a major migratory fly-over and resting preserve.

Atlantic City and the surrounding suburbs would also be submerged under water or subject to chronic flooding. Atlantic City is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, visited by 33 million tourists annually and employing over 50,000 people.

New Jersey’s prized beaches and pristine wildlife habitat would also be washed away. These areas include Long Beach Island, home to 18 miles of coast and a prime surfing destination, Cape May, home to beaches, summer festivals and historic homes, and the Delaware Bay Shore, home to the second largest concentration of migrating birds on the continent.

Cities and towns that fuel New Jersey’s economy would also be subject to water submersion, including the northern port cities of Bayonne, Jersey City and Hoboken, Perth Amboy and South Amboy, Woodbridge, Rahway, Linden and Elizabeth, central coastal cities of Keyport, Union Beach, Keansburg and numerous shore towns, including Point Pleasant, Toms River, Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor, Ocean City, Sea Isle City, Stone Harbor and Wildwood. New Jersey’s coastal counties make up approximately 60% of the state’s population.

“It’s not a pretty picture…but we can change our current path. Governor Corzine can infuse his leadership where it is sorely lacking. He can champion the solutions to global warming and help build momentum for national action,” said Leta.

According to Oppenheimer, leading scientists agree that in order to avoid the worst effects of global warming, we must reduce our global warming emissions by about three-quarters by the middle of the century. Despite inaction at the federal level, a growing number of states have begun to take action. In December, New Jersey joined many Northeast states and California in setting the first ever limits on global warming pollution from cars and power plants.

However the extent of the problem demands that we do much more, especially considering that New Jersey alone contributes to 0.5 percent of the world’s global warming pollution—more than Chile, Equador and Peru combined.

“Fortunately, we have the solutions at our disposal. We only need political leadership to employ them,” said Leta.

By dramatically reducing our energy consumption in our homes, businesses and schools; shifting to clean, renewable sources of energy generation; making cars go further on a mile of gasoline; ensuring that we drive far less and use mass transit far more; and making the energy industry pay for every pound of global warming pollution they emit and investing that money in solutions, Governor Corzine can reduce New Jersey’s global warming pollution by 20 percent below current levels by 2020 and set the state on a path to a 70 percent reduction by 2050.

The governor can start to take steps to curb global warming right away, including working with the legislature to update New Jersey’s energy codes for new residential and commercial buildings. Energy use in buildings is responsible for 45 percent of New Jersey’s in-state global warming pollution, and New Jersey ranks in the bottom 15 states with the weakest energy efficiency standards for new home construction. By championing this legislation, Governor Corzine will ensure that all new buildings in the state consume 30 percent less energy.

“Global warming is not an unsolvable problem. It’s something we can tackle, but not without Governor Corzine’s leadership,” said Leta. “If we expect the rest of the world to solve the problem of global warming, we have to do our part in New Jersey,” she concluded.

NJPIRG Global Warming Solutions

Make Buildings More Energy Efficient – The governor and the legislature should work to update the state’s energy codes for new residential and commercial buildings to ensure all new buildings use 30 percent less energy. Energy use in buildings are responsible for 45 percent of New Jersey’s in-state global warming pollution. New Jersey ranks in the bottom 15 states with the weakest energy efficiency standards for new home construction.

Set Minimum Standards for Energy Efficiency on Common Appliances: The governor and the legislature should adopt minimum efficiency standards for all new heating furnaces and boilers sold in the state, and ensure that the NJBPU has the authority to set minimum energy efficiency standards on electric powered products that can run on more efficient technology.

Reduce Long Commutes: The governor and the legislature should require all major employers in New Jersey with 100 or more employees to implement a mandatory ride reduction plan that would ensure miles traveled per employee is reduced by 15 percent over the current year, 20 percent over the next year, 25 percent the following, 30 percent the following and 40 percent within five years. Employers may encourage employees to use telecommuting, ridesharing / carpooling, bicycling and mass transit to reach the goals. Senator Bob Smith has just introduced a bill, S-1925, that would accomplish these goals.

Encourage Fuel Efficiency:

• The governor and the legislature should pass a strong gas guzzler fee that is dedicated to give incentives for fuel efficiency - the fee should be high enough to effect behavior (at least 10% of cost of vehicles) and apply to all vehicles that get 22 miles per gallon or less. The revenue raised should be used to provide incentives for vehicles that get more than 38 miles per gallon (right now the fuel economy standard is 21.6 for light trucks and 24.6 for cars).

• Members of Congress should pass the Markey amendment to the Barton fuel economy legislation (to be voted on after Memorial Day) to increase CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards to 33 miles per gallon.

Development clean, zero emission energy and automobile technology:

• The governor should support off-shore wind energy development as recommended by the Blue Ribbon Panel to build an 80 turbine, 350 MW pilot project off the New Jersey coast. He should also support research and development of promising renewable technologies that can be developed off-shore such as wave or current energy and tidal energy.

• The governor should double the funding for the state’s highly successful rebate program for solar and other forms of renewable energy.

• The governor should launch a clean corridors program, such as a clean New Jersey Turnpike or clean Garden State Parkway pilot project, convening clean vehicle experts around the state to debate and identify the best, most practical clean vehicle technology available today. The governor and the legislature should then work with the private sector to ensure that this technology is installed and made accessible along New Jersey’s two most well-traveled highways.

Oppose Expansion of Fossil Fuel Infrastructure: The governor and the legislature should reject all proposals to expand New Jersey’s fossil fuel energy infrastructure, including liquefied natural gas ports, power plants and mega power lines piping in energy from out of state coal plants in the Midwest.

Make Polluters Pay: The governor should make energy generators in the state pay for each pound of pollution they produce as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative cap and trade carbon dioxide emissions reduction program.

CoastalTreasuresMap.pdf