Global Warming In the News

Over 35 years ago, half a million people traveled to Washington, D.C. to stand up for our environment and inaugurate the first Earth Day. It was a moment of powerful action that was sparked by watching the nation’s environment – our air, our water, our lands – become eviscerated by pollution.

Now, in a different era, this country faces an environmental challenge of similar magnitude: global warming. Individual and combined political actions today can create a virtual march that can demand change from our driveways to Washington.

 In celebration of Earth Day, Environment New Jersey has compiled a list of individual and political actions that you and your neighbors can take to tackle global warming. Some are small things that take a minute. Others are truly difficult endeavors. The point is we can beat global warming right here in our homes, town council chambers and State Houses. So break out the scissors and tape this on the refrigerator as your 2008 global warming to-do list:

In the Home: There are whole books about how to reduce your carbon footprint. Here are three tips – none tiny – to help put yourself on a carbon diet. First, look outside to your driveway. What’s the fuel efficiency of your car? And when’s the last time you carpooled anywhere or took a train? Make fuel efficiency a major factor the next time you buy or lease a car, and in the meantime, figure out if one day a week you can car-pool or take public transit.

Second, we often worry about the fats and calories in the food we buy, not necessarily where it comes from. The quick answer? Not close. The average food product travels 1,500 miles from farm to plate. Patronize your local farmer’s market or buy direct from a local farm.

Tax season has just passed. But don’t wait for the IRS to come knocking. Do your own audit – of your energy use. Go to a website set up by Department of Energy – hes.lbl.gov – to get started. You’ll cut out global warming emissions and cut down your energy bill.

In Town: Look up the next date and time of a town council meeting. Then show up. During the public comment period, ask your town officials to conduct an energy audit of all municipal building and upgrade to the most energy efficient technologies; these improvements can pay for themselves within a few years. Ask the council to investigate investing in solar and wind power – which other New Jersey towns have pioneered.  Urge them to streamline the process to promote local solar and wind power through a model town ordinance available through the Board of Public Utilities.

In Trenton: Gov. Corzine last year put New Jersey on the path as a national leader by passing the strongest bill in the country to reduce global warming emissions. But he’s coming up short right now on implementing solutions. Call the Governor at the State House at 609-292-6000 and tell him to include more aggressive goals for clean energy and energy efficiency in his just-released state energy plan – and not build more power plants. Or drop him a line at the State House, P.O. Box 001, Trenton, NJ 08625.

In Washington: With even President Bush issuing a global warming plan, the winds have clearly shifted over the last few years. But it’s going to take more than talk to make up for lost time. As the Presidential candidates return to the air-waves, make sure to examine the candidate’s stands on global warming – and share it with your neighbors. Look for a stance that endorses global warming reduction legislation consistent with scientific standards (15-20% reductions by 2020, 80% by 2050). And act right now by calling New Jersey’s Senators, Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg, (at 202-224-3121) and urge them to lead the charge.

Please join us in the fight to lick global warming; write in to let us know how you’re doing and we’ll put the best stories on our web-site at www.environmentnewjersey.org. We’ll need everybody – from your house to the White House – to lick global warming.

Dena Mottola is the executive director of Environment New Jersey, a non-profit citizen advocacy group that represents over 20,000 citizen members. E-mail her at denam@environmentnewjersey.org to let her know how you’re doing on your Earth Day to-do list to lick global warming.