Conservation Voters Victory Fund Announces $200K Get-Out-the-Vote Push to Support Phil Murphy Before Election
Press Release •
The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund today announced plans to invest $200,000 between now and Election Day to help Phil Murphy across the finish line in the 2017 gubernatorial race.
The money is being spent on digital ads and a targeted mail campaign contrasting Murphy’s commitment to a 100 percent clean energy New Jersey, protecting drinking water, and holding corporate polluters accountable with the horrendous record of the current administration of Chris Christie and Kim Guadagno, which includes environmental rollbacks, inaction on climate change, and giveaways to big business.
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Announces Legislative Endorsements
Press Release •
TRENTON – The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (New Jersey LCV) announced its legislative endorsements on Thursday, a bipartisan list that includes a record 38 candidates.
New Jersey LCV endorsed candidates running in 18 legislative districts, including eight full slates of candidates, two Republicans running in competitive districts, and five newcomers.
“We’re really pleased to support these candidates who have shown deep commitment to the environment and have a solid plan to win their respective elections,” said New Jersey LCV Executive Director Ed Potosnak.
Ballot Question 2: Create a ‘Lock box’ for Pollution Settlements
Press Release •
TRENTON – Advocates for cities and towns across New Jersey where industrial pollution has contaminated rivers and dumped chemicals in our communities are campaigning for a ballot measure that puts a lock box on settlements meant to restore defiled natural resources.
The advocates held a tele-press conference on Thursday to inform voters about Question 2 on the November ballot and encourage them to ‘Vote Yes.’
“Voting ‘Yes’ on Question 2 will ensure that communities impacted by pollution receive the settlements they are due and that our environment is restored,” said Ed Potosnak, chair of New Jersey Keep It Green, a coalition of more than 150 environmental organizations that is leading the ballot question campaign. “Together we can safeguard legal settlements paid by polluters and ensure they go to restore parks, rivers and streams, fish, wildlife populations, and habitat.”
NJ Conservation Voters Endorses Fulop for Re-Election
Press Release •
TRENTON – The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (LCV) on Wednesday announced its endorsement of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop for re-election.
New Jersey LCV executive director Ed Potosnak said the statewide environmental organization continues to be impressed by Fulop’s commitment to addressing climate change and improving access to parks for children and families living in New Jersey’s second most-populated city.
“New Jersey LCV is pleased to endorse Mayor Fulop for his leadership in the fight against climate change,” said Potosnak. “Fulop was the first mayor in New Jersey to sign a pledge to drastically cut the percentage of the city’s energy produced from fossil fuels, and his administration undertook a citywide greenhouse gas audit to determine where its carbon output could be reduced.”
LCV Launches Digital Ads Holding Frelinghuysen Accountable for Budget Cuts to Environment, Thanking LoBiondo For His Opposition
Press Release •
TRENTON – One week after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a spending bill that slashes funding for several environmental priorities, the League of Conservation Voters launched a $50,000 digital ad campaign holding members of Congress, including Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R, NJ-11), accountable for his support of the bill, and thanking Frank LoBiondo (R, NJ-2) for standing up to these attacks.
The appropriations bill, H.R. 3354, makes unacceptable funding cuts to the National Park Service, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Environmental Protection Agency while containing a slew of harmful anti-environmental policy riders. The ads are running on Facebook in the members’ districts starting today.
America doesn't care about climate change because we elected Trump? Hogwash! | Opinion
News Article • • by Ed Potosnak at NJ.com
When the solar eclipse happened on Aug. 21, millions of people in the continental U.S. went outdoors to witness this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon of nature. No one called it a hoax, denied it was happening, or asked what was the cause.
Climate change – and the human activity that causes it – is equally validated by scientists, but unfortunately some continue to deny the reality as the clock ticks and temperatures rise.
In a recent column, Paul Mulshine falsely concluded that voters don’t care that much about climate change because they elected a climate-denying president who promised to lead the resurgence of coal mining.
Hogwash! Voters in New Jersey care deeply about the environment. According to a recent poll by Washington, D.C.-based Global Strategies Group commissioned by the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, 62 percent want the government to do more to address climate change, and 57 percent oppose President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement. Seventy-one percent want our next governor to be a leader in fighting climate change, and more than two-thirds support moving New Jersey to a 100 percent clean energy portfolio.
Environmental Advocates & Rep. Watson Coleman Call Out Trump EPA Budget Cuts, As New Analysis Shows Impact on the Delaware River Watershed
Press Release •
TRENTON – With a deadline for Congress to approve a federal budget approaching by the end of next month, public officials, environmentalists, public health advocates and business organizations joined the call for full funding of EPA to protect the Delaware River watershed around the release of a new report detailing the success of the EPA and the impacts of the Trump Administration’s full-frontal budget cuts on EPA’s mission. The effort was part of a broader effort by the New Jersey environmental community to rally public support to support the mission of the EPA in the face of funding and regulatory rollbacks.
“Rough Waters Ahead: The Impact of the Trump Administration’s EPA Budget Cuts on the Delaware River Basin," issued today by Environment New Jersey Research & Policy Center, examined the impacts of the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts to EPA water programs on the Delaware River watershed. More specifically, the report found that the EPA has jurisdiction for more than 1,000 pollution permits in the lower Delaware, the proposed Trump budget would slash enforcement by more than 25%, had to take over the clean-ups for 4 Superfund sites in the watershed and millions of dollars of funding to reduce water pollution is still up in the air.
Gopal, Houghtaling, Downey Earn New Jersey LCV's Endorsement
Press Release •
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ — New Jersey League of Conservation Voters endorsed the Democratic slate in New Jersey’s 11th Legislative District: Vin Gopal for State Senate, and Assembly members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey.
“As an organization whose mission is to support candidates and legislators who champion the environment, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters is proud to endorse Vin Gopal for state Senate, and his running mates, Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling and Assemblywoman Joann Downey for re-election,” said Ed Potosnak, Executive Director of NJLCV. “Gopal demonstrates the leadership we need to maintain the health and safety of our ocean, expand beach access and preserve open spaces. Houghtaling and Downey, in their first term in the Legislature, have supported environmental safeguards and shown that they will stand up for clean water and air. With Gopal, Houghtaling, and Downey representing the 11th District, families and businesses would gain a consistent voice for the environment that will benefit all New Jerseyans.”
Trump Takes Hatchet to Environmental Programs in First Federal Budget
News Article • • by Angela Delli Santi at Insider NJ
Environmental groups from all corners of the state are teaming up with legislators of both political parties to press Republicans in Congress to reject President Trump’s proposed budget, which they agree would devastate New Jersey’s environment.
Trump’s first federal budget contains such severe cuts to environmental protection and conservation programs that every New Jersey resident and business would feel them. Folks who don’t always agree have no trouble seeing eye to eye when it comes to protecting precious natural resources like the Jersey Shore. Thus, the “Save the EPA” campaign was born.
NJ Environmental Leaders Oppose Trump Budget Cuts
News Article • • by Phil Gregory at WBGO.org
Environmental groups and New Jersey officials are urging Congress to reject President Donald Trump's proposed 30 percent cut in the Environmental Protection Agency's budget.
They expressed their opposition to Trump's plan in Brick Township at the base of a bridge that was wiped out by Superstorm Sandy nearly five years ago.
Ed Potosnak leads the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. He says the budget cuts would put the state’s environment in grave danger.
"With more than 40 percent of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection dependent on federal funding, it's more important than ever that Congress gets together to push back against the draconian Trump budget proposal and ensure full funding for the agencies we count on to protect our health and the environment."