Climate and Energy
There is growing recognition, in New Jersey and across the world, that global warming is a serious problem that will require action in the coming years and decades. Add to this the recent spike in fuel prices and more and more people are talking seriously about hybrid cars, renewable energy, green building technology and other ways to reduce greenhouse gases and conserve energy. There is one crucial piece of the puzzle, however, that is often omitted from this conversation: the role of land use in influencing carbon emissions.
Land use—the decisions we make about where and how to develop—has a profound and lasting effect on our greenhouse gas emissions and energy use. And unlike cars or appliances, which can be replaced every few years if a newer, more efficient model comes along, the decisions we make about how to develop, and the impacts these decisions have on climate and energy, will be with us for generations. Poor land-use decisions not only lead to poor outcomes today, but they also limit our ability to reduce these impacts far into the future.
Presentations and other documents from several sessions at the New Jersey chapter of the American Planning Association’s annual conference.
How the NJDEP goes about implementing its own new vision will say much about how the Christie administration intends to fulfill the mission of the new State Strategic Plan.
Activists are encouraging Gov. Christie to keep New Jersey in the multi-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and New York is taking the initiative a step further with its Climate-Smart Communities program.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has issued a proposal that would reverse its policy of targeting energy-efficiency incentives to smart-growth areas, and is soliciting public comment.
New Jersey Future’s testimony at the Energy Master Plan hearing highlighted ways to encourage solar on rooftops, landfills and brownfields.
A workshop focused on state DEP grants for the development and implementation of climate-friendly design guidelines and zoning standards that allow for compact, walkable mixed-use development and/or transit-oriented development. July 20, 2009.
An innovative “green” building plan replaces old garages with energy-efficient apartments for low-income tenants and brings much-needed affordable housing to one of New Jersey’s most affluent towns.
How New Jersey’s employment patterns have dispersed away from urban centers in the last 25 years, and why it’s important to the future of the state to bring jobs back to transit-accessible areas. November 2008.
A former brownfield site, this mixed-use development is evolving into a walkable, community-focused area that will serve as a catalyst for the sustainable revitalization of Belmar’s struggling downtown by encouraging the creation of new retail, residential, parking, and public spaces that use state-of-the-art green design practices.
June 16, 2011 — Transportation is by far the largest consumer of energy in New Jersey, as well as the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the draft Energy Master Plan released by the Christie administration last week—a plan whose stated purpose is to lay out a strategy for meeting the state’s future energy needs—barely mentions transportation.
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Reports, Presentations and Testimony
- 08/24/2011: Testimony: 2011 draft Energy Master Plan
- JDrill Outline for APA-NJ 11-4-2011
- RSolomon Solar Siting Presentation APA-NJ 11-4-2011
- LSpecca Solar Presentation APA-NJ 11-4-2011
- 10/18/2011: Comments: Proposed Amendments to BPU Main Extension Rules
- 10/14/2011: Comments: OCE Clean Energy Incentives Proposal
- Smart Growth NJ August 2011 Poll Report
- 08/11/2011: Comments: 2011 draft Energy Master Plan
- Assessment of Solar Siting in New Jersey 5-11 (Intern report)
- Presentation: Land Preservation Using Off-site Clustering 03-19-11
- 04-03-2009 Letter to DEP re Global Warming Solutions Fund Rules
- 04-02-2009 Testimony re Proposed Cuts in NJ Transit Budget
- 03-02-2009 Letter to Governor re Greenhouse Gases
- 01/23/2009: Comments on DEP Draft Global Warming Response Act
- Climate Change and Land Use 10-08
