Category: Environmental Justice

Related Organizations

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Faith-Based

General Environmental

  • For the Generations and The Delaware Riverkeeper: The goal of the For The Generations initiative of The Delaware Riverkeeper is to advance a Green Amendment movement that sweeps the nation and secures for all people constitutional recognition and protection of their inalienable rights to clean water, clean air and healthy environments.
  • Sierra Club – NJ: The New Jersey branch of the nationwide organization, which seeks to influence public policy in both Washington and the state capitals through public education and grass-roots political action.
  • Food and Water Watch: Champions healthy food and clean water for all.
  • Environment NJ: For a greener, healthier New Jersey.
  • Clean Water Action: To protect our environment, health, economic well-being and community quality of life.
  • Rethink Energy NJ: Informs and empowers New Jersey citizens and decision-makers about the need for a swift transition to home-grown, efficient and renewable energy, and reduced use of dirty fossil fuels and pipelines that threaten our land, water, health and communities.
  • League of Conservation Voters: New Jersey LCV is the statewide political voice for the environment. We elect environmentally responsible candidates to state and local offices, advocate for strong environmental policies, and hold our elected officials accountable to safeguard the health of our communities, the beauty of our state, and the strength of our economy.
  • Jersey Renews:  Jersey Renews is taking up the charge for strong actions to counter climate change and prepare New Jersey for the future by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, reducing dangerous deadly air pollution, moving toward a truly clean energy future, and creating and securing good, family-sustaining clean energy and green infrastructure jobs.

Resources

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News and Blogs

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Policy Briefs and Positions 

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Please call your legislator, the governor, or the responsible agency to make your position known.

Energy

Forestry

Regenerative Agriculture

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Budget

Water

Plastics

Information for Political Organizing

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The Legislature

Important Laws and Regulations

  • Executive Order 215 of 1989, requiring “departments, agencies, and authorities of the state to prepare and submit to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and environmental assessment (EA) or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) … in support of major construction projects.”
  • The Global Warming Response Act of 2007 “establishes two GHG limits, one for 2020 and another for 2050.”
  • The Pinelands Protection Act required the development of a Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) for the New Jersey Pine Barrens, a relatively undeveloped, ecologically unique area in New Jersey.
  • The Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act requires that the state “preserve the purity and integrity of freshwater wetlands from random, unnecessary or undesirable alteration or disturbance.”[
  • The Environmental Rights Act provides that “any person may commence a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against any other person alleged to be in violation of any statute, regulation or ordinance which is designed to prevent or minimize pollution, impairment or destruction of the environment.”

New Jersey UU Congregations

Test Environmental Justice Page

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Task Force Chair: 
Nancy Griffeth (Beacon: Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit)
Task Force Vice-Chair:
Ray Nichols (Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Princeton)
Email: environment@uufaithaction.org

Our Mission

Environmental Justice links to the seventh principle of Unitarian Universalism, calling on UUs to affirm and promote “respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”

The Environmental Justice Task Force is focussed on three issues:

  • A Renewable Portfolio Standard for New Jersey
  • Remediation of Lead in New Jersey Water
  • Making New Jersey a Community Solar State

UU Faith Action NJ supports setting ambitious goals for the use of renewable energy and providing incentives to promote energy consumption. Two measures have been introduced in the New Jersey legislature, one to transition New Jersey to 100% renewables by 2050 and the other to transition to 100% renewables by 2035. We are gathering information now and will actively support one of these.

We opposed the holiday bill, introduced on December 15, 2017, giving PSEG a rate hike for keeping its nuclear power plants open. Our opposition was based on the rapid, stealthy way it was a introduced; the lack of public oversight on the necessity of the rate hike; the use of excessively complex standards for awarding the Nuclear Diversity Certificates; our general opposition to nuclear power, because we don’t know how to dispose of the waste; and the lack of any planning for transitioning both workers and the power grid to renewables. The bill was not passed in the previous session, but is still active in this session. We will continue to oppose it.

The legislature has introduced bills to rejoin RGGI and to join the US Climate Alliance. We enthusiastically support these.

We are developing legislation to support the interests of Environmental Justice communities and Low and Moderate Income families in the renewable economy. Most are unable to purchase solar panels, but should be able to subscribe to a properly designed Community Solar plan. We will be offering amendments to Assembly bill A457, establishing the Neighborhood Solar Investment Program, to make Community Solar accessible to EJ and LMI communities.

At the annual plenary each Spring an annual report lays out the focus for each area in the coming year.

Results from Beacon Survey of Green Practices In the Congregation

Nearly 70 households responded. 

Here are some of the ways that we are protecting the Earth

*** actions with 30 or more responses
**   actions with 20 or more responses
*     actions with 10 or more responses

REDUCING USE OF FOSSIL FUELS
Use CFL/LED light bulbs **
Drive fuel efficient/hybrid/electric car *
Walk *
Wash laundry in cold water *
Use public transportation *
Use green energy electric company*
Turn off lights, chargers when not using
Lower thermostat in winter, raise in summer
Reduce airline travel/buy carbon offsets
Bike
Choose a smaller/more efficient home
Seal windows and doors/insulate
Hang up the laundry to dry
Plan errands to drive less
Lower water temperature
Selected energy efficient appliances
Use home solar
Keep car tuned, maintain tire pressure
Drive 55 mph

REDUCING WASTE
Recycle ***
Compost **
Minimize use/ replace single-use items *
Use recycled paper products *
Use fewer plastic bags/use cloth grocery bags
Reuse, repair, repurpose items
Buy previously owned clothing
Purchase items with less packaging
Use used/salvaged items to build or furnish home
Purchase beer in cans, no bottles
Participate in clean up days
Read books from the library instead of buying

CONSERVING WATER
Have water-saving shower/toilet *
Have water-saving washing machine
Shorter shower/Turn off water when showering
Water the lawn sparingly/don’t water lawn
Collect water in a rain barrel
Capture water not-yet-hot and use elsewhere
Turn off water when brushing teeth

EATING WITH EARTH IN MIND
Eat less meat/vegetarian/vegan*
Buy local *
Buy organic *
Grow food in home garden
Buy less processed food
Plan, buy, cook to reduce wasted food
Member of CSA Raising food animals humanely and w/o drugs

PROMOTING A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM
Reduce/eliminate use of lawn chemicals *
Plant native trees, shrubs, flowers *
Reduce/eliminate use of toxic cleaners
Eliminate or replace lawn with other plantings
Reduce/eliminate harmful beauty products

WITNESSING, SUPPORTING, ADVOCATING
March in climate marches/ Join rallies
Write/call lawmakers Lead or join local environmental group
Work in Earth-supporting job
Donate to environmental organizations
Raise awareness of friends and neighbors
Demonstrate at lawmakers’ offices
Vote for environmental activist candidates

Environmental Justice Teams in Congregations

UU Congregation UU Address UU Phone UU Minister UU Environmental Group/
Environmental Contact
First Unitarian Society of Plainfield 724 Park Ave
Plainfield NJ 07060-1614		 908-756-0750 Rev. Ann Marie Alderman Sharon McGuire (Social Justice Coord.), info at fusp.org
The UU Congregation at Montclair 67 Church St.
Montclair, NJ 07042-2714		 973-744-6276 Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael
& Rev. Scott Sammler-Michael		 Earth Justice Team (Green Sanctuary)
Silke Spinorum,
silkespr7 at gmail.com
Unitarian Universalist Church
at Washington Crossing		 268 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road
Titusville NJ 08560-1524		 609-737-0515 Rev. Kimberly Wildszewski Earth Ministry (Green Sanctuary)
Co-chairs: Al Johnson & Barbara Drew
earthministry at uucwc.org
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Princeton New Jersey		 50 Cherry Hill Road
Princeton, NJ 08540-7626		 609-924-1604 Rev. Bill Neely Ray Nichols,
hbnich at gmail.com
UU Congregation of Somerset Hills 123 East Cliff St.
Somerville, NJ 08876-2400		 908-927-0601 Rev. Jennifer Kelleher Green Sanctuary
Nadine Sapirman
GreenSanctuary at uucsh.org
Beacon UU Congregation in Summit 4 Waldron Ave
Summit NJ 07901		 908-273-3245 Rev. Robin Tanner Green Earth Ministry
Margaret Babcock
mlbabs at msn.com

New Jersey Legislature

The following tables provide information about legislators whose voting records indicate that they may be sympathetic to environmental legislation. Not all districts have Unitarian Universalist congregations. The closest congregations are listed.

SENATE

First Name Last Name Legislative District Party Position UU Congregation
Nilsa Cruz-Perez 05 – Camden and Gloucester D Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill
Vin Gopal 11 – Monmouth D Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County
Linda Greenstein 14 – Mercer, Middlesex D Assistant Majority Leader Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Princeton New Jersey
Shirley Turner 15 – Hunterdon, Mercer D Unitarian Universalist Church
at Washington Crossing
Christopher Bateman 16 – Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset R Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Princeton New JerseyUU Congregation of Somerset Hills
Bob Smith 17 – Middlesex and Somerset D Chair, Environment and Energy The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick)

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Somerset Hills
Patrick Diegnan 18 – Middlesex D Chair, Transportation The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick)
Joseph Vitale 19 – Middlesex D Chair, Health, Human Services, and Senior CItizens The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick)

The Unitarian Society of Plainfield
Joseph Cryan 20 – Union D Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County
Richard Codey 27 – Essex and Morris D (Former Governor) Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship
Sandra Cunningham 31 – Hudson D Deputy Majority Leader

Chair, Higher Education
Nia Gill 34 – Essex and Passaic D The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County
Loretta Weinberg 37 – Bergen D Senate Majority Leader Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades
Joseph Lagana 38 – Bergen D Central Unitarian Church

ASSEMBLY

First Name Last Name Legislative District Party Position UU Congregation
Gabriela Mosquera 04 – Camden and Gloucester D Chair, Women and Children Unitarian Universalist Church in Cherry Hill
Reed Gusciora 15 – Hunterdon and Mercer D Unitarian Universalist Church
at Washington Crossing
Verlina Reynolds Jackson 15 – Hunterdon and Mercer D Unitarian Universalist Church
at Washington Crossing
Roy Freiman 16 – Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset D Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Princeton New JerseyUU Congregation of Somerset Hills
Andrew Zwicker 16 – Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset D Chair, Science, Innovation, and Technology Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Princeton New Jersey

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Somerset Hills
Joseph Egan 17 – Middlesex and Somerset D Chair, Labor Unitarian Universalist Congregation
of Princeton New Jersey

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Somerset Hills

The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick)
Robert Karabinchak 18 – Middlesex D Deputy Whip The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick
Nancy Pinkin 18 – Middlesex D Chair, Environment and Solid Waste The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick
Craig Coughlin 19 – Middlesex D Assembly Speaker The Unitarian Society: A UU Congregation (East Brunswick

First Unitarian Society of Plainfield
Jamel Holley 20 – Union D Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County
James Kennedy 22 – Middlesex, Somerset and Union D First Unitarian Society of Plainfield
Mila Jasey 27 – Essex and Morris D Deputy Speaker Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship
John McKeon 27 – Essex and Morris D Chair, Financial Institutions and Insurance Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County

Morristown Unitarian Fellowship
Cleopatra Tucker 28 – Essex D The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair

First Unitarian Universalist Church of Essex County
Angelica Jimenez 32 – Bergen and Hudson D
Shavonda Sumter 35 – Bergen and Passaic D Majority Conference Leader Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood NJ

Central Unitarian Church
Benjie Wimberly 35 – Bergen and Passaic D Deputy Speaker

Chair, Housing and Community Development

 Lakeland Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood NJ

Central Unitarian Church
Gordon Johnson 37 – Bergen D Speaker Pro Tempore

Chair, Commerce and Economic Development

 Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades
Valerie Vainieri Huttle 37 – Bergen D Deputy Speaker

Chair, Homeland Security and State Preparedness

 Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Palisades
Lisa Swain 38 – Bergen and Passaic D  Central Unitarian Church
Christopher  Tully  38 – Bergen and Passaic  D Central Unitarian Church