By Jeff Tittel
We're already seeing the impacts of climate change here in New Jersey and now new reports show that it's getting worse. With the increased threat of the Trump administration, we must move our state forward on fighting climate impacts and sea-level rise.
According to a 2018 report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we may have as little as 12 years to reach critical levels in stopping emissions before Earth reaches a dangerous temperature. A Rutgers University study notes that sea level may rise almost three feet by 2100. Research shows that this is a dire situation for the entire planet and New Jersey is especially at risk. We must immediately begin working to mitigate climate change.
With the sixth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy this month, we're seeing more extreme weather events without enough preparations. Fish are already living in storm drains on Long Beach Island. Some roads go underwater every time there's a full moon, and we're losing coastal wetlands at an alarming rate. Many homeowners face rising insurance rates and high costs to elevate their homes. Our low reservoir levels have led to an increased threat of saltwater intrusion, further threatening our water supply. Many inland cities such as Hoboken also see frequent flooding. We can't wait a couple years to start fighting back. It has to be now.
After eight years of being held up under Gov. Chris Christie, we now have a governor who has committed to fighting climate change and sea-level rise. However, Gov. Phil Murphy has yet to take real action on climate change. The state Department of Environmental Protection recently announced Coastal Resilience Plan lacks the urgency needed to address the climate crisis.
We can't afford to wait a year or more for this plan to be finished. We must start taking real actions to fight climate change now. We are still the only state in the region without a climate adaptation and mitigation plan. We are still building in vulnerable areas and granting permits under Christie-era regulations that don't protect against climate change or storm impacts.
There are some direct and immediate actions that the Murphy administration can take in the meantime to begin strengthening New Jersey.
Murphy can create a cabinet-level committee to coordinate all agencies in coastal resiliency and reducing greenhouse gases. This includes updating all state regulations to include climate impacts and redoing the Water Supply Master Plan. We must use the most up-to-date data in our mapping and planning. Murphy should also put a moratorium on all new fossil-fuel projects and move toward 100 percent renewable energy.
Murphy can also reopen the Office of Climate Change and the Office of Climate Adaptation and Mitigation. To deal with climate and flooding, we can use green infrastructure such as blue roofs. We should be using buyouts to restore natural systems such as stream corridors, wetlands and dunes. New Jersey can protect vulnerable infrastructure with protective barriers as a part of a holistic approach.
It's critical that the Murphy administration reverse Christie's rollbacks to important water protections and regulations, including the flood hazard rules, water-quality management-planning rules, the Coastal Area Facility Review Act, wetlands and stormwater management rules. Christie's weakened rules allow more development growth in flood-prone areas. We must fix those rules because they put more people in harm's way while removing key protections for important waterways.
We need to be taking a multiple-state approach to tackling sea-level rise and climate change. We must reduce greenhouse gases and protect coastal ecosystems with natural features such as flood storage -- not building concrete walls that only redirect the flooding problem while causing other issues. When we rebuild, we need to not only rebuild more resiliently, we need to use it as a way to fix problems of the past such as implementing green building codes, energy-efficiency standards and retrofitting stormwater systems that do not work.
Nature is already doing our planning for us with flood after flood. We're not stronger than the next storm and we need to take this situation seriously. We need the Murphy administration to restore stronger protections for floodplains, waterways and wetlands to reduce flooding. We also need to stop proposed large development in these areas that lead to increased flooding and pollution. We can meet the Paris accords, stop fossil-fuel infrastructure and move to a green economy. We must act now and move forward with an aggressive agenda to fight climate change and sea-level rise impacts.
Jeff Tittel is director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
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