Politics & Government

NJ Environmentalists Respond to Christie's Earth Day Silence

Governor offers no official recognition of Earth Day

by Tom Johnson, NJSpotlight.com

Earth Day passed, if not away, then at least quietly in New Jersey yesterday.

There were an array of small events, but not the usual big ceremonies celebrating the state’s once unyielding commitment to the environment, a record embellished by some of the nation’s toughest laws to protect the air, water and public from harmful pollution.

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Gov. Chris Christie, the target of criticism from environmentalists during his tenure, failed to even acknowledge the day.

Asked whether that reflected his interest in the environment, his spokesman, Michael Drewniak, responded: “It signifies nothing and the premise of your loaded question is false and offensive.’’

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David Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation, which endorsed Christie in his election effort, said Christie's failure to do an Earth Day event reflects the fact that he does not have much to brag about. Responding to Drewniak's comment, Pringle added, "It's typical -- when you can't attack the message, you attack the messenger -- whether it's Tom Johnson or Jeff Tittel [director of the New Jersey Sierra Club].

Perhaps fittingly, it rained all day, bringing welcome precipitation to a state parched by unusually dry weather with worries New Jersey soon could be in the midst of a new drought crisis.

At a time when environmental laws face increased scrutiny and criticism in Trenton, and, more so in Washington, the view that the public and New Jersey might be moving in that same conservative direction where environmental laws apparently have less support was disputed by some environmentalists.

“You see a lot of young people going green -- recycling and bringing canvas bags to supermarkets. You see a lot of companies going green -- putting solar on their roofs or grounds,’’ Tittel said.

“Now, you see government going in the wrong direction,’’ said Tittel, citing both the Christie and Obama administrations.

Nevertheless, it did not stop Democrats from hurling criticism at the Republican governor.

In a press release issued by the Democratic press office, Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex), a sponsor of the bill creating protections for the New Jersey Highlands, the source of drinking water for many residents, sharply lashed out at the appointment of a new executive director at the regional agency.

“The Christie administration continues to play politics with the environment by pushing Morris County Freeholder Gene Feyl as executive director of the Highlands Council, following the unconscionable ouster of Eileen Swann, who was removed from her post, despite doing an outstanding job of implementing the Highlands Act,’’ McKeon said.

Feyl was hired as executive director of the council this past Thursday, a move that some environmentalists saw as a ramping up of what they view as a bid by the governor to repeal the Highlands Act, not by legislative means, but from the inside, according to Doug O’Malley, field director for Environment New Jersey.

“The truth is there’s not much to celebrate this Earth Day,’’ said O’Malley whose group was among 27 organizations that joined together to file a lawsuit against a controversial new rule that would allow the Department of Environmental Protection to waive environmental regulations if they were deemed unduly burdensome.

Read more at NJSpotlight.com

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