Clean Energy Advocates Argue State Not Heeding Sandy's Warning

Even after Hurricane Sandy and other extreme weather, New Jersey is not doing nearly enough to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent future storm damage, according to clean energy advocates and environmentalists.

With a new report suggesting the effects of global warming are already apparent, they argued that it is time for the Legislature to take the lead in devising strategies to cope with those changes, which a law passed seven years ago directed the state to do.

The Christie administration, they said, is failing to aggressively push efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by not effectively promoting offshore wind farms or encouraging new fossil fuel plants to be built -- and by diverting funds earmarked for clean energy projects.

The result? Not only will storms like Hurricane Sandy be more frequent, they will likely be more intense as a result of global warming, which, among other things, is raising the sea level, the Assembly Telecommunications and Utilities Committee was told yesterday.

In a coastal state with a 127-mile long shoreline, those storms are likely to cause enormous economic damage if policymakers fail to act, virtually all of those who spoke before the panel agreed.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com