Press Release: Report: Climate Change Threatens New Jersey’s Economy and Coastal Communities
| Press Release: Report: Climate Change Threatens New Jersey’s Economy and Coastal Communities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Emily Diamond-Falk, 202-572-3365, ediamondfalk@edf.org
(Washington, DC – July 23, 2008) –A new report released today details the devastating effects climate change will have on New Jersey’s economy and environment. The study was produced by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and the Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER) at the University of Maryland. Environmental Defense Fund helped to finance the research and production of the report.
"State-focused information on the economic impacts of climate change is crucial to policymakers. Since many of the responses by policymakers will require resources, we need to be able to prioritize our plans so that the fiscal implications are minimized, "said Senator Tom Kean from New Jersey. The report found that climate change will have wide-spread consequences across New Jersey including, but not exclusive to:
· Economic Impacts. New Jersey’s coastline is home to 60% of the state’s population and land and property valued at $106 billion. A study by the U.S. EPA at Long Beach Island, NJ found that it would cost between $160 million and $790 million to protect coastal residents from a 1 to 3 foot increase in sea levels.
· Coastal Development. Researchers predict that the temperature in New Jersey will increase from 2° F to 8° F by 2100, which will cause coastal sea levels to rise 2 to 4 feet during the 21st century. This will trigger 1% to 3% of coastline to be lost to rising sea levels.
· Tourism. In 2005, New Jersey’s tourism exceeded $30 billion, 70% of which was generated in the coastal areas. Researchers predict that should climate change force a mere 1% decrease in tourists visiting the region by 2017, the indirect economic impact would be a deficit of $3.7% billion and a loss of 40,000 jobs.
The study was part of the State Economic and Environmental Costs of Climate Change, which examined the impacts of global warming on 12 states around the country. NCSL released the report today during an energy conference at the group’s Legislative Summit in New Orleans. In addition to New Jersey, the report looked at how climate change will impact the economy and environment of Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
The overview of the project can be found at: http://www.ncsl.org/print/environ/ClimatechangeOver.pdf Individual states have already begun to address the issue of climate change: Six states enacted mandatory greenhouse gas reduction laws; 13 states have set voluntary targets; and 26 states have passed renewable energy portfolio standards.
“The Jersey Shore is critical to New Jersey,” said Mark Brownstein, Managing Director of Business Partnerships at Environmental Defense Fund and former member of New Jersey’s Renewable Energy Task Force. “Failure to take immediate steps to cut greenhouse gas pollution threatens the Shore, and with it the multi-billion dollar tourism industry that drives New Jersey’s economy.”
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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
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| Press Release: Release would have harmed water quality and worsened flooding, environmental group says FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sean Crowley, 202-572-3331, scrowley@edf.org Sara Hopper, 202-572-3379, shopper@edf.org(Washington, DC – July 29, 2008) U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer’s decision today against allowing the penalty-free early release of millions of acres of the land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will preserve the nation’s most successful conservation program, according to Environmental Defense Fund. Some members of Congress and producer groups had lobbied the administration to release up to 24 million acres from CRP so the land could be put back into crop production. Currently, there are almost 35 million acres of land enrolled in CRP, but contracts for more than nine million acres of CRP land are due to expire over the next three years.“Secretary Schafer should be commended for resisting calls to gut the nation’s oldest and most successful farm conservation program,” said Sara Hopper, director of agricultural policy for Environmental Defense Fund and a former staff member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. “Putting millions of CRP acres back into crop production would have resulted in the loss of billions of dollars in taxpayer investments in conservation and caused untold environmental damage, while providing little, if any, relief from high commodity prices.”CRP is a federal program designed to reward farmers who take fragile land out of production for 10 to 15 years and instead plant grasses or trees or restore wetlands. Up until now, CRP enrollees who terminated their contracts prior to the end of their 10- to 15-year terms had to reimburse – with interest – the federal government for the rental and cost-share payments they had received, plus pay a 25 percent penalty. Some members of Congress and producer groups had proposed that the USDA waive all these costs for program participants.Lands are enrolled in CRP precisely because they are environmentally sensitive, highly erodible, and marginally productive cropland. While these lands are generally less reliable for producing row crops, they deliver significant public benefits by retaining soil and preventing erosion, cleansing polluted runoff, providing important wildlife habitat and serving as natural flood barriers. Wetland restorations on CRP lands function as an important safety valve, reducing peak flows during storm events by holding water, filtering it, and slowly releasing it into streams and groundwater. |