Build a Better: Climate Plan

By Geoff Von Zastrow

The global climate crisis is the most immense and difficult challenge facing New Jersey and the world. New Jersey has long been ahead of the curve in advancing environmental protection, yet in recent years New Jersey has lagged behind other states, and the time for that to change has come. New Jersey can lead the nation in climate preparedness and resilience through holistic adaptation and mitigation initiatives that generate new jobs, healthier communities, and a more robust and resilient state.

Adaptation: A rapidly changing planet presents new challenges each day; we must adapt alongside our environment to reduce the future impacts of these challenges. To accomplish this, a set of primary adaptation initiatives focus on three main pillars; (1) safe water access and increased protection and restoration of New Jersey's 130 miles of coastline, (2) increased access to green space and bike lanes, (3) Community inclusion and education.

(1)   Water: Provide access to safe drinking water to all communities, and increase efforts to protect New Jersey's coastline against damage from storms and sea-level rise.

(A)   Drinking-Water: Prioritize access to safe drinking by mandating all water treatment systems must be retrofitted, prioritizing systems known to cause issues and subsequent testing to all public schools and buildings to ensure water safety, so water is free of heavy metals (including lead and mercury). Furthermore, building owners must test and replace any pipes and fittings that contain led to all commercial and multifamily buildings. Similarly, introduce legislation to create a relief fund that provides health benefits to children suffering from physical health and mental development issues tied to Newark's water crisis.

(B)   Coastal Protection: Increase the number of infrastructure projects focused on coastal conservation and restoration that will not only generate new opportunities for job growth but increase the long-term resilience of our communities, helping to protect against another superstorm sandy. Coastal Infrastructure plans will include natural adaptation methods where possible (such as dunes, restoration of wetlands, and marshes). Additionally, it is vital to continuously update flood maps and evacuation plans to better prepare communities on ongoing bases (every 5 to 7 years).

(2)   Green Space: As New Jersey's cities grow, it becomes more pertinent to protect and expand urban parks and community green spaces by increasing access to green spaces and transforming city streets.

(A)   Access to Green Space: Ensuring every urban resident can access a park within a 15-minute walk from their home is vital. Neighborhoods lacking access to parks would be prioritized, followed by updating existing parks systematically, guaranteeing particular attention and prioritization is paid to parks situated in low-income areas over those in affluent areas, to increase usability and equality.

(B)   Expansion of Bike Lanes: Increase the total number of bike lanes by 50% in New Jersey's cities by 2040. Providing a safer environment for cyclists while offering commuters an easy, healthier alternative to fossil fuel dependent means of transportation and reducing street-level congestion. Promoting greater community interaction and connectivity makes our neighborhoods more livable while strengthening our communities' resilience.

(3)   Community Inclusion is Mutually Beneficial: Collectively, we have the power to make a lasting and resounding impact by bringing together communities giving everyone a voice regardless of age, and increasing education around climate change and sustainability. By doing this, we will build a stronger, more resilient, and engaged community and help guide younger generations down paths that are more lucrative and environmentally friendly.

(A)   Climate Committees: The needs of each community are unique and continually evolving; this can be addressed by forming an inclusive climate committee comprised of individuals from civil society, local business, local government, and high school students; giving a voice to communities that feel their needs are not being heard, similarly providing young activists and concerned citizens a platform to become involved in their community's climate adaptation initiatives, creating greater community inclusion and resilience, that furthers the sustainability and exceptionalism of New Jersey as a whole.

(B)   Climate Education: The growing number of young individuals engaged in the fight against climate change a crossed the country and right here in New Jersey is inspiring; it is clear that they care and wish to see action.  This is why the expansion of the New Jersey public school curriculum to incorporate climate and sustainability specific education is a crucial aspect of combating the climate crisis—leveraging the opportunity to mobilize a larger number of students on what individual and collective actions they can take to be more climate-friendly while informing high school students about possible climate and sustainability career paths with greater earning potential that is suited to both individuals who wish to forgo higher education and those set on continued education.

(C)  Food: Health and food share a direct link. As we face a growing number of challenges, such as an increased number of new viruses, allergies, and increased climate events, it is much more important to instill healthy eating habits in younger generations. To accomplish this, the underlying issues must be addressed, starting with the elimination of food deserts in low-income communities. Providing incentives for grocery stores to open in existing food deserts and bodegas to offer a more extensive section of nutritional foods. Education is vital to improving eating habits. By incorporating school gardens within elementary and middle schools, children are given a hands-on understanding of what it takes to grow their food. The food grown and harvested from these school gardens would be used by each school's cafeteria, reducing the amount of processed food served to students, or donated to local food banks and soup kitchens. Similarly, increasing the number of community gardens in each neighborhood will provide an opportunity to grow fresh produce while further increasing green space and community interaction. 

Mitigation: Together, we are facing the environmental repercussions stemming from decades of profit-driven decisions. The path forward is rooted in mitigating these climate events through a three-pronged approach; (1) Accelerating New Jersey's renewable energy transition and leading the nation in renewable energy access. (2) Advancing New Jersey's pathway to zero waste while reducing food insecurity. (3) Reducing the urban heat island effect and advancing building sustainability.

(1)   Energy Transition: Clean energy is a cornerstone of New Jersey's future economic development and environmental sustainability. Having already committed to 100% renewable energy by 2050 and as the nation's seventh-largest energy producer in 2019; this presents New Jersey the opportunity to become a national leader in renewable energy access for every individual and become a net clean energy exporter, spurring further economic development and job security.

(A)   New Jersey Energy Access Platform: The creation of the New Jersey energy access platform (NJEAP) will provide each New Jersey resident easy access and understand their options for opting into renewable energy (such as wind and solar) through their current utility provider, with step by step directions on how to contact your utility provider and request the transition. For home and building owners, the NJEAP will provide up-to-date information on federal and state incentives, tax rebates, and feed-in tariffs available for solar installation; also, the NJEAP will provide trusted regional contacts for solar installation appraisals. By further adding incentives for adopting renewable energy installation by local businesses and individuals. This will increase the demand for skilled technicians and operators, support local businesses, and drive local job creation.

(B)   Energy Production: Committing New Jersey to the development of commercial-scale renewable energy production that accedes the states total required needs by a minimum of 125% by 2050, leveraging New Jersey's geographic position to establish the state as a regional clean energy hub and exporter. Positioning New Jersey as a net energy exporter will result in sector wide resilience, stimulating job creation, and job security.

(2)   Advance Zero Waste & End Food Insecurity: Waste and hunger in the United States are interlinked, with COVID-19 exposing the extent to which American families struggle to put food on the table, while nearly half of our nation's food is wasted, further contributing to climate change. This provides the opportunity to address two issues simultaneously.

(A)   Access to Food: Pass legislation that enables foodbanks & soup kitchens to have the ability to accept food from grocery stores and supermarkets more easily. Understanding food waste, hunger, and climate nexus is essential, as 774,860 people (1 in 9 are children) are food insecure in New Jersey. In contrast, 40% of America's food supply ends up in a landfill each year, contributing to 18% of total U.S. methane emissions that come from landfills (methane is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide). Building off NYC's donateNYC Food Portal's success, this legislation would include the development of a New Jersey food donation platform catering to businesses and individuals alike. Increasing foodbanks & soup kitchens access to food would reduce the number of families and children who go without food daily and reduce New Jersey's overall food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

(B)   Zero Waste: Commit New Jersey's largest urban areas to the C40 cities' Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration, pledging to cut individual waste generation by 15% by 2030, and reduce waste sent to landfills by 50%, and increasing the diversion of waste from landfills by 70% by 2030.

(3)   Reducing the Urban Heat Island Effect: The urban heat island (UHI) is an urban area significantly warmer than the surrounding rural areas. This is a direct result of human activities. The UHI contributes to significantly higher daytime heat and slows nighttime cooling, resulting in increased energy consumption that leads to rolling blackouts and heat-related illnesses.

(A)   Reducing Urban Heat: As we face hotter temperatures and longer summers, reducing the urban heat island effect becomes much more critical. Evidence shows that simple changes can make large impacts in the heat island effect generated in urban areas; simple upgrades requiring all building roofs to be white rather than black have been shown to reduce the heat island effect by up to 1/3.

(B)   Building Sustainability: Introduce enhanced building regulations through a phased approach, where regulations become increasingly stringent every five years, using LEED building requirements as a baseline standard for all new commercial and multifamily buildings starting in 2025. This would make our cities more sustainable, further reducing the heat island effect and decreasing tenants' utility costs.