Over 10,000 Citizens Sign Postcards Urging Clean
Air Legislation
As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.
TRENTON—With summer smog season coming to an end environmental groups gathered
at the Statehouse to deliver over 10,000 postcards which call on the legislature
to pass the Clean Car Act at the next possible moment.
"When the Legislature failed to pass the Clean Car Act by June 30th,
we decided to take the campaign to the people of New Jersey," stated
Dena Mottola, Executive Director of NJPIRG "And the people of New Jersey
responded overwhelmingly that they want cleaner cars and cleaner air."
The campaign, led by NJPIRG, gathered the postcards as part of a door-to-door
campaign to educate people about the problems of air pollution. Postcards
were gathered from hundreds of towns, every legislative district, and all
twenty-one New Jersey counties. The campaign also generated thousands of e-mail
and phone call to legislative leaders.
"Town after town, house after house, people know that air pollution is
a problem," stated Doug O'Malley local director of the campaign, "Whether
through asthma or cancer few people aren't touched by this issue."
New Jersey suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the country. The
average New Jerseyan breathes levels of air toxics that are 1,600 times above
the federal health standard. The Clean Car Act is the one opportunity New
Jersey has to address the largest source of air pollution in the state, and
would reduce auto pollution by at least 20 percent by 2020. The bill came
close to passage during the last legislative session amid intense opposition
from oil, gas, and auto industry lobbyists.
"We know the dirty air lobby is against the bill and will continue to
work against it. This show of support for clean air should give legislators
the power to stand up to them and put New Jersey on the road to a cleaner
air future." stated Jeff Tittel, State Director of the Sierra Club.
A bipartisan majority of legislators in both houses have supported the bill,
and have sent letters to party leadership asking for the Clean Car Act to
be posted. It is currently in Appropriations Committee in both the Senate
and Assembly—despite the fact that the Office of Legislative services
has estimate no fiscal impact on the state.
"We have a clean car majority in the Statehouse and in communities across
New Jersey, now we need the Legislature to pass the bill as soon as possible."
concluded Amy Goldsmith, State Director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
NJPIRG (Public Interest Research Group) is the state's leading public interest
advocacy organization with 20,000 members across the state.
NJEF is the state's largest environmental organization with 70,000 individual
members and 100 member groups. NJEF is the New Jersey chapter of Washington,
D.C. based Clean Water Action.
Sierra Club is the nation's oldest and largest environmental group.
