Overall, 2016 was a disaster – our greatest policy disappointments were the continued denial of climate change in Trenton and at the Pinelands Commission and the failure by the Legislature to follow through with the veto of the Christie DEP Flood Hazard rules, a dirty deal engineered by Senate President Sweeney – but we had fun anyway.
Here’s some stories we wrote – while many were ignored by the mainstream press, we know we had an impact.
We create content, offer expert analysis, and provide science and law based strategic and technical assistance to community and environmental groups that is unique in NJ. We testify before the legislature and hold accountable regulatory and planning agencies like the DEP, EPA, USGS, Pinelands & Highlands, DRBC, and BPU. We challenge regulations and permits. We support whistleblowers. We name names and don’t pull punches. We even criticize our environmental “colleagues” and media and the corporatized Foundations that fund and manipulate them.
This work involves countless hours in the field and reading and writing. It is a labor of love, but I do have to eat.
We receive no Foundation, government, consulting, private environmental group funding, grants, or salary income. We accept no advertising revenue or reader fees. We work solo and rely on no “fundraising/development/promotional” or “public relations” staff flacks. We provide all this work for free.
If you’ve enjoyed or benefited from our work, please consider providing financial support – we thank our generous friends who have helped keep us going – you can make a non-tax deductable contribution to [delted PayPal because they impounded funds]. Or, shoot me an email and we can arrange something different: bill_wolfe at comcast.net
Hit links below to see stories, events, maps, charts, and pictures:
January
More Dual Sexed Fish Documented In NJ Rivers (look at THAT map!)
Gov. Christie Cans Pinelands Commission Chairman
Huge Turnout of Pinelands Pipeline Opponents In Bordentown Last Night
The Elysian (Fracked) Fields of Princeton – Montgomery
Sparta Mountain Is Public Land, Purchased with Green Acres Funds
Meet Your New Pinelands Commissioner
Christie Energy Plan Attracts Another Huge Fossil Fracked Fueled Power Plant
Environmental Damage Of DEP Sparta Mountain Logging Plan Largely Unregulated
Gov. Christie Uses The Environment To Bash Public Workers
Legislature Invokes Constitutional Power, Moves To Veto Christie DEP Flood Hazard Rules
Port Authority Dirty Diesel Rollback Must Have Had Green Light From Christie DEP
Christie DEP Proposes Vast Expansion of Logging On Sparta Mountain (Part One)
February
Christie DEP Managing NJ State Parks, Public Lands & Forests As Cash Cows
Is The Legislature Serious About Responding to Problems Highlighted In Flint Michigan?
High Point State Park (photos)
Take A Look At DEP & Audubon “Forest Stewardship” On Sparta Mountain (photos)
NJ Highlands Coalition Joins Public Debate On DEP Sparta Mountain Logging Plan
Calling Bullshit On NJ Audubon’s “Forest Stewardship”
Sparta Mountain Update – A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Audit
NJ Pioneers Another Toxic Superfund Reform
Deadline Passed For Christie DEP To Respond To Legislative Veto of Flood Rules
Anarchy In The Pines (incredible photos!)
An Artful Dodge On Lessons of Flint For New Jersey
Expanded Logging On Sparta Mountain Could Contribute To Widespread Ecological Harm
The “Crime” At Fenimore Landfill Was Lax Oversight by Christie DEP
Essential Reading For NJ Shore Dwellers – Back Bays & Barrier Islands
Maps, Lies, and the DEP Webpage
A Key Lesson of the Victory That Forced Cancellation of the Amwell Power Plant In Hillsborough
March
Christie DEP Budget Flouts EPA Oversight – May Jeopardize Federal Funding
A Road Toward Redemption for The Pinelands Commission
No Solitude (photos)
This is not a flood – it’s a high tide
Historic Bordentown Home Facing Sheriff’s Sale
Green Mafia Strikes Again – Chapters 27 & 28
NJ Audubon Supported Preservation of Highlands Forests, Not Logging – What Explains The U-Turn?
Warning: Climate Bomb Train Ahead
Star Ledger Editorial Board Joins Kabuki Dance on Christie DEP Clean Water Rule Rollback
Christie BPU Commissioners Literally Run and Hide From Protesters of Pinelands Pipeline
Newark Lead Story Hitting the Cover-up Phase
Christie BPU Slated To Approve Another Pinelands Pipeline Tomorrow
The Newark Lead Scandal Is The Tip of the Iceberg and A Predictable Outcome of Christie Policy
Why Is The Bergen Record Misleading Readers and Protecting Dupont?
Lack of NY State Water Quality Permit Blocks Constitution Pipeline
If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Buy ‘Em
Make Polluters Pay For Lead Abatement
Newark Garbage Incinerator Emissions: “A Billion Lead Bullets to the Brains of Newark’s Kids”
Senate Committee Blinks In Showdown On Veto of Christie DEP Clean Water Rule Rollbacks
Assembly Moves To Veto Christie DEP’s Clean Water & Flood Rule Rollbacks
Billionaire’s Elite Hunting Club Gave NJ Audubon $140,000 To Develop Sparta Mountain Logging Plan
NJ Audubon Partners With Donald Trump
(coming soon – Part 2 – April – June)