NJ Climate “Activists” Have Zero Credibility And No Spine

Groups Praise Gov. Murphy’s Collapse On Climate And Energy Master Plan

Murphy DEP Recycles And Rebrands 15 Year Old Climate Law

Today, NJ Spotlight reports that Gov. Murphy is running away from his climate commitments and the BPU Energy Master Plan, see:

• Murphy postpones public hearings on state’s new Energy Master Plan

I assume Tom Johnson is pleased by all that, after his drumbeat of biased and intellectually dishonest coverage that misleadingly emphasized the costs of renewable energy and failed to mention the benefits and costs of  the climate emergency or the profits of corporate energy giants.

As I wrote the other day, the Gov.’s latest move represents “Another Case Of Betrayal and Warped Wall Street Priorities’.

It is very obvious from NJ Spotlight’s story that the Gov.’s move is a major political and policy retreat after a long series of humiliating concessions, perhaps recently starting last fall with the fiasco over abandoning the DEP “emergency” flood rules in response to criticism by the business community, followed by abandonment of the DEP’s proposed boiler electrification rule, and adoption of a lame CO2 power plant emission rule.

But the climate sellout die was cast long before that, as we have written numerous times by exposing the conflict between the Gov.’s rhetoric and the policy reality of his actions (and explaining that a Gov.’s Executive Orders have no teeth – they require DEP regulations or BPU Orders to be implemented).

Murphy always was a climate fraud. But that fact was obscured by his well funded sycophantic cheerleaders and a lame press corps.

But despite the Gov.’s obvious and damaging defeat, NJ’s climate “activist” (AKA sycophantic cheerleader) Doug O’Malley from Environment NJ absurdly and shamefully claimed it was a “good thing”:

If delaying the plan allows New Jersey to get more funds to fight climate change, then that is a good thing, according to Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey.

“We haven’t met the goals of the first EMP so there isn’t a need to rush into the second,” he said. “The metric for success should be the climate pollutants we reduce and moving forward.”

Mr. O’Malley’s “metric for success” is a total failure, because DEP has done virtually nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The one rule they adopted would – best case – reduce the growth of emissions of a portion of the power sector, and total emissions by less than 3% by 2035. That is pathetic.

So, this “good news” from O’Malley completely shatters whatever was left of his credibility.

But, like I said, Gov. Murphy’s climate record was obscured not only by cowardly cheerleaders like O’Malley, but by a lame press corps.

Where, right on cue, is where NJ Spotlight reporter Jon Hurdle comes in today to bring us more “good news” on the Murphy DEP climate front!:

• NJ invests in nature to fight the effects of climate change

Hurdle got totally spun by that corporate snake oil salesman, DEP Commissioner LaTourette who, to mix metaphors, tried to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

As I noted last week on the GHG emission “metrics” of this DEP’s patronage program parading as a “natural” carbon sequestration program:

DEP claims that the grants will sequester “32,710 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO₂e) by 2050.” (that’s about $733 per ton sequestered while the RGGI carbon price is about $13 per ton emitted. That’s a valid point, because the source of funds for today’s DEP grants  are proceeds from the sale of RGGI allowances. It would be far more cost effective and equitable to simply ratchet down on the RGGI cap to make polluters pay, or to impose regulatory mandates on carbon emissions, or to invest in energy conservation in low income homes or simply stop logging NJ forests.)

But instead of cost considerations, let’s put that carbon sequestration data in climate context: 32,710 metric tons, over 28 years, is just 1,168 tons per year.

NJ emits about 100 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.

So, 28 years of sequestration from these otherwise worthy projects are just 0.001% of ANNUAL emissions.

I often criticize media for missing the story or ignoring crucial facts that conflict with their manufactured narrative. But I too just did what I criticize. I was so eager to expose the DEP patronage fraud, that I missed an equally serious scam that DEP was pulling.

DEP was again touting their program as “the first ever” (remember that CSO press release?), and trying to manufacture a false narrative of leadership and policy innovation.

But what DEP actually did here was to recycle and rebrand a 15 year old law and take credit for it!

There was no “first ever” and policy leadership in DEP’s press release/event in Trenton last week (and it was not a “ceremony”, the ridiculous term used by Jon Hurdle).

DEP merely repackaged and rebranded a carbon sequestration program created way back in 2007, under the Global Warming Solutions Fund Act, see P.L 2007, c.340:

“(4) Ten percent shall be allocated to the department to support programs that enhance the stewardship and restoration of the State’s forests and tidal marshes that provide important opportunities to sequester or reduce greenhouse gases.

If anything, DEP should get hammered for taking 15 years to implement the sequestration program and for promoting logging in the State Forest Action Plan – the most important plan you never heard of or read about in NJ Spotlight – and logging projects in the Highlands and Pinelands forests and for planning to weaken Green Acres regulations to allow logging on preserved public lands.

And competing with Doug O’Malley for record breaking credibility destruction is former DEP Assistant Commissioner Jay Watson, who now leads NJ Conservation Foundation (NJCF):

In Trenton, the city government will work with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation to plant 1,000 trees in neighborhoods that have few or no trees. The project, called Throwin’ Shade – Greening the Capital City, won a grant of almost $1.4 million, and aims to trap carbon, reduce the urban heat-island effect and reduce stormwater runoff.

“We believe this project can be transformative in our capital city where residents are experiencing disproportionate impacts of climate change,” said Jay Watson, the foundation’s co-executive director. “Urban neighborhoods are dealing with the heat-island effect that causes higher ambient temperatures than in suburban and rural areas.” 

Jay Watson’s “transformative” quote makes him look even more ridiculous than Doug O’Malley’s quip that abandoning the EMP was a “good thing”.

Do you really think 1,000 trees (4 or 6 inch caliper) are going to “transform” Trenton?

Have any measurable effect on urban heat island temperatures?

Really?

DEP is going to log 2.4 MILLION trees in there Pinelands and Jon Hurdle failed to cover that. DEP continues to log more trees in Highlands forests as well.

Ah, but those are inconvenient facts that spineless “green” cheerleaders and press lapdogs like Hurdle ignore.