Earth Day 2023 Is April 22

Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EARTHDAY.ORG including 1 billion people in more than 193 countries. The official theme for 2023 is Invest In Our Planet.

For information on things you can do this year, see earthday.org/earth-day-2023

RESOURCES
How To Do Earth Day 2023 Toolkit 
The Great Global Cleanup Toolkit

Some ways to celebrate Earth Day 2023 with events shared by the NJ Sierra Club.

Check their calendar for events this month and into the future.

April 19- Barnegat Bay Blitz Land Cleanup (Ocean Co.) 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
This is the 9th year that the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club is participating in the "Blitz" cleanup. We'll meet Lauren Keltos, NJDEP Team Captain Barnegat Township, at the Barnegat public launch area. From there we'll travel to areas identified in need of cleanup in the area. Garbage bags and gloves will be provided.

April 22- Earth Day Cleanup at Mercer County Park (Mercer Co.)
We will walk trails along Lake Mercer and the woods and fields. Today is the 53rd Anniversary of Earth Day. Join the NJ Sierra Club and enjoy the outdoors as we clean up litter. Gloves and trash bags will be provided. Leashed dogs are welcome. There are facilities.

April 22- Earth Day Fair in Sparta
The Sparta Township Environmental Commission and Green Team will host an Earth Day Fair on Saturday, April 22 at the Municipal Building located at 65 Main Street, Sparta, NJ. The fair will run from 11am to 3pm. The Skylands Group members will have a table at the event.

April 24- Raritan Valley & Central Jersey Spring hike, Davidson's Mill Pond Park
3-4 miles, easy pace. We begin at the yellow trail, a grassy/rocky section that includes narrow boardwalks over swampy areas. The forested blue trail has elevations, exposed roots to step over, and large stones for steps in some sections. 

April 29- Cattus Island County Park Nature Festival and Hike 10 a.m.
The park is celebrating 43 years of Connecting Community with Nature. The festival will have nature walks, kayak trips, live animal talks, music, and food vendors. We'll walk Pinelands woods trails, and the sandy trails around marshes, and along Silver Bays beaches while looking for Osprey in nesting platforms. Leashed dogs are welcome.

May 7- Raritan Valley Group Earth Day
Join the Raritan Valley Group for Earth Day celebrations, Sunday, May 7 from 11am - 3pm at North 3rd Avenue, between Raritan Avenue & Denison Street - The Earth Day event will be happening on one arm (N.3rd Ave) of the HP Street Fair.

April 22- Drive Electric Day Montclair 2023
See EVs, talk with EV drivers, hear about their experiences, and hear all the benefits of EVs. We'll have a variety of electric cars on display, as well as e-bikes, and even an electric school bus. We'll be just down the street from the Northeast Earth Coalition Earth Day celebration in Crane Park.

And on April 29- Drive Electric Earth Day Event at the Sussex County Mall on Hampton Road in Newton, NJ between 11am and 4pm to examine a display of electric vehicles (EVs). We are adjacent to the Newton Classic Car Show. EV owners and dealers will share their experiences with you in collaboration with the Central Jersey Electric Auto Association in order to highlight electric vehicles during Earth Week. Your host, Skylands Group, Sierra Club NJ Chapter will have information and handouts available.

April 23- Surfrider Jersey Shore Earth Day Celebration
Meet our staff, Anjuli, Taylor, and Jackie, who will be tabling with a membership raffle, Sierra Club merchandise, and trivia! The celebration will be held at the Whitechapel Projects at 15 2nd Ave. Long Branch NJ 07740.  There will be a beach cleanup from 10AM-12PM and then the celebration will begin at 1-5PM where there will be music, food, and beverages. Family friendly.

The NJ Ocean Wind Project

 

New Jersey is especially vulnerable to climate change effects such as frequent flooding of residential areas because of its long, flat coastline and higher temperatures because of its intensely urban nature. Both of those conditions have occurred in the past weeks.

One thing that can help the state transition from fossil fuels that contribute to climate change, and protect the state, especially coastal areas, from the impact of extreme weather events is wind power. Not only will offshore wind help drive our goal to reach 100% renewable energy, but it will create thousands of green jobs.

The NJ Sierra Club reports that New Jersey is moving forward in its first utility-scale offshore wind farm. Ocean Wind, a project off the South Jersey shore, will power more than 500,000 homes, will create over 4,000 jobs over the project’s 25-year lifespan and generate $1.2 billion in economic growth.

Of course, not everyone loves wind farms. You can submit your comments pro or con about the project at regulations.gov/commenton/BOEM-2022-0021-0001

I mentioned this to a friend who commented "Who wants to look at those things when you're on the beach?" I had to tell him that offshore wind farms are located far enough from the coastline - at least 9 miles out and usually 15-20 miles out - that, if they are visible at all, the impact to the view will be minimal. The lights they’ll use at night will be visible to airplanes and boats but not to people on shore.  

One thing we want is for offshore wind farms to be installed in a way that is minimally impactful. Environmental impact statements are a crucial component.

The Bureau of Energy Management (BOEM) is holding virtual public hearings on the Ocean Wind Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) today, Wednesday July 20th and Tuesday, July 26th. Attendees can ask questions and provide oral testimony. Registration information can be found on the Ocean Wind 1 DEIS Virtual Public Hearings page on BOEM’s website, boem.gov.

Sierra NJ provides these facts about offshore to help you understand the issue and comment.

• Offshore wind has the capacity to produce 2 times the amount of electricity the US consumed in 2019, and 90% of 2050 projections if we electrified our buildings, transportation system and industry.
• It is estimated that the offshore wind industry in the US will create 83,000 jobs and deliver $25 billion in annual economic input by 2030.
• Climate change is the greatest existing threat to wildlife: 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction due to a rapidly changing environment.
• Switching from fossil fuels to wind and solar can reduce risks of asthma, heart disease, and other conditions that threaten lives and cause billions of dollars in healthcare costs. Nearly 1 in 4 children in Newark suffer from asthma, a preventable result of burning fossil fuels.
• Offshore wind will reduce greenhouse gasses and carbon emissions that worsen the impact of climate change. Tropical Storm Ida showed how devastating extreme weather events are for public health in New Jersey, with the number of victims who died during flooding now at 30.
• Fossil fuel production and combustion creates climate change that can directly affect human health, releasing pollutants that lead to early death, heart attacks, respiratory disorders, stroke, and exacerbation of asthma. 
• Overwhelmingly, to serve our power needs, power plants are located in communities of color – unfair ‘sacrifice zones’ that are the direct result of environmental racism and must be redressed. 
• States like New Jersey and Delaware have some of the worst air quality issues in the country. According to the American Lung Association, both states received poor air quality grades in 2019 and 2020, largely due to the factories, refineries and other industrial facilities in both states which release millions of pounds of chemicals into the air.  
• With offshore wind farms, Delaware, New Jersey, and other Mid-Atlantic states will no longer need to rely on fossil fuels for their power. Instead, they will transition to clean and renewable wind energy, drastically reducing state carbon emissions and cleaning the air in communities most affected by pollution.

Climate Lobby Day

Climate Lobby Day is a day of action to tell legislators to fight climate change and support green energy. This New Jersey event is part of the Empower NJ-No Fossil Fuel Projects campaign calling for Gov. Murphy to place a moratorium on all fossil-fuel infrastructure projects in the state.

Empower NJ-No Fossil Fuel Projects is a coalition of over 70 environmental, citizen, faith, and progressive groups. Some of the groups involved in this campaign are, NJ Sierra Club, Green Faith, Food & Water Watch, Indivisibles, Environment NJ, Blue Wave, People Over Pipelines, Clean Water Action, UU Faith Action NJ, Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Citizen Action and more.

New Jersey is being impacted by climate change. We are being overrun by fossil-fuel infrastructure projects that will deepen climate impacts. If 8 proposed pipelines and 5 power plants are all built, they will increase our CO2 and GHG by 32% and block Governor Murphy’s 100% renewable energy goals.

We will be asking legislators to urge Gov. Murphy to put a moratorium on all fossil fuel projects in the state. We will also be urging legislators to support bills that will move New Jersey more quickly to 100% renewable energy, expand EV use and reduce greenhouse gases to combat climate change. These bills and others can help create more green jobs and build a green economy.

Who: Empower NJ, including the New Jersey Sierra Club, Food and Water Watch, Clean Water Action, Delaware Riverkeeper Network and other groups.

What: Lobbying legislators to support key bills promoting green energy, and urging them to support a moratorium on fossil-fuel projects.

Where: New Jersey Statehouse Annex, 137 West State St., Trenton, NJ 08608, meet by the cafeteria whenever you arrive.

When: Monday, June 10, 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

RSVP: https://forms.gle/By89fdCuP9ZpoifLA

Directions to the Statehouse Garage: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislativepub/directions.asp

Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/404853236772969/

Empower NJ Website: http://empowernewjersey.com/

New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club

The New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club has a mission to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environments.

With about 20,000 members, the New Jersey Chapter is the 10th largest of the 65 chapters in the USA, Canada and Mexico. We have full-time professional staff in our Trenton office, and many Local Groups which hold monthly meetings in various locations throughout the State.

Members and professional staff engage in (1) Lobbying - for and against legislation at federal, state and local levels; (2) Outings for the appreciation of wilderness - locally, nationally and internationally, on foot, by canoe, on skis, by bicycle, etc., (3) Campaign support for legislative candidates pledged to defend our interests, (4) Social interaction at monthly, local Group meetings, and (5) Lawsuits, where necessary.

Anyone is welcome to attend local group meetings and participate in Club outings. Their dates, times and locations are published in the quarterly newsletter, "The Jersey Sierran", accessible online.

The Sierra Club is a national, member-supported environmental organization, which seeks to influence public policy in both Washington and the state capitals through public education and grass-roots political action.

Sierra Club Opposes Leg Hold Trap Rule

The New Jersey Sierra Club, as part of a coalition, has filed an appeal in the Appellate Court for a stay on the new leghold trap rule in New Jersey because it violates state law.

Leghold traps have been banned in New Jersey for 30 years; however, starting in November, the NJ Fish and Game Council approved a rule for them to come back. These leg hold traps are cruel to the trapped animals, hazardous to other animals and pets and can harm the public including hikers and children.

“We are challenging this rule in court because it is illegal, immoral and inhumane. Leghold traps are dangerous and were banned in New Jersey 30 years ago by the legislature. Now the NJ Fish and Game Council is going to allow them to be used again. They were banned for a reason and there is no reason that they should ever be allowed to be used. These leghold traps maim and harm animals and are indiscriminate. They are dangerous to pets and to people who enjoy the outdoors and nature. Now the Governor is siding with the trapping industry and the hunting lobby as part of his national political agenda and that’s why they are bringing them back. This is unacceptable and against the law and that’s why we are fighting this,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “The rules, which were likely proposed at the behest of the trapping and fur industries are inhumane and are illegal under New Jersey law especially since there are other trapping techniques available. This rule violates the law and legislative intent and that’s why we’re challenging it.”

Sierra Club Appeals to Put a Hold on Dangerous DEP leg Hold Trap Rule