As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.
A coalition of statewide
environmental groups, including the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group,
the New Jersey Audubon Society, the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, and
the New Jersey Environmental Federation, raised concerns today about Governor
Codey's proposal to limit clean energy development.
"The recent oil spill in
South Jersey was a dirty, costly lesson for New Jersey that we need a better,
cleaner ways to produce energy. To protect the environment, we need a plan that
moves clean energy forward, not a plan that puts a stopper on it," said Emily
Rusch from NJPIRG.
Today's electric power industry
is the most polluting industry in the nation. In New Jersey, power plant pollution
cuts short the lives of 1,100 people in the state each year. Power plant pollution
contributes to 49 percent of the state's emissions of sulfur dioxide (soot pollution),
64 percent of the state's nitrogen oxide (smog pollution), and five percent
of the state's manmade mercury pollution, which has polluted all of New Jersey's
waterways. Power plants are also the largest source of global warming pollution.
"The biggest threat to the
New Jersey shore is global warming, which is eroding our coastline at rapid
rates. Wind development could help alleviate that threat, said Ted Korth from
the New Jersey Audubon Society."
"A moratorium would send
the wrong message at the wrong time. We should be encouraging clean energy like
wind power. The alternative is more air pollution from coal plants or more safety
risks from nuclear power,"
said Jeff Tittel from the Sierra Club.
"Rather than issuing a moratorium
on offshore wind, we should have an open, public process that involves the New
Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection, and the public, to figure out where and how we can quickly develop
environmentally responsible wind power for the benefit of our health, the environment,
and the beloved New Jersey shore."
