News Highlights
A quick review of top environmental news stories from the past 2 weeks

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​Local

• Toms River Set to Finalize Surf Club Purchase
• Slayne is re-instated to chair Mendham Twp.'s Environmental Commission
• Trail Tracker App Aims to Increase Safety in Ocean County Parks
• Big N.J. horse farm can now be redeveloped as warehouses
• Middlesex County to acquire 18.7 acres of open space located in Metuchen
• County Board Approves Open Space Acquisition of 52 Acres in Raritan and Franklin
• Phillipsburg mayor vetoes warehouse rezoning do-over
• Phillipsburg commits to 20 years of solar power sharing active farmland
• Conservation area springs up around creek's path in Pitman
• Hunterdon County grant will help preserve 71-Acre Frenchtown property
• Howell Mayor, Township Manager at Odds Over Shade Tree Commission
• Raritan Township Approves Increase to Open Space Tax
• Hamilton Township to Purchase Hamilton Area YMCA Sawmill Property
• Flemington will work to prepare for the impacts of climate change
• North Bergen, Hudson County and DEP sued over illegal trailers in park
• Protestors urge to stop power plant construction in Newark
• Trenton Division of Planning Extends Land Development Ordinance Public Comment Period
• Maplewood Residents Call for Ban on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers
• "Nature Through a Child's Eye" Exhibit Opens at Environmental Center ​​

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Around the country

• ​​California commission claims retailers violating plastic bag law
• State denies Chickahominy Pipeline plan for 83-mile unregulated gas line
• Solar recycling is broken, but there's a plan to fix it
• In Alaska, climate change is a supply chain stressor jeopardizing food security
• As spending bill stalls, Biden climate goals remain elusive
• Environmental justice in spotlight as WH official departs
• Hawaii could face more extreme weather if climate change worsens
• More Than 2,250 MW of Renewably Energy Generating Capacity Added Each Month
• EPA to require more facilities to report releases of carcinogenic gas
• What you need to know about California's new food waste recycling law
• 2022 Energy Predictions: Coal Decline Accelerates, Federal Funds Spur Clean Energy 
• U.S. hybrid electric car sales hit record highs
• DOE Awards $35 Million to Small Businesses Pursuing Clean Energy and Climate Solutions
• Appalachian Power Plans to Add Nearly 500 MW Solar and Wind
• Chrysler kicks off plans to go all-electric by 2028
• Hudson River in New York 'Greatly Infested' With Invasive Species
• How New England bungled its plan to transition to renewable energy 
• Here's whether it's actually cheaper to switch to an electric vehicle or not
• Biden Urged to 'Show Us Results' in 2022 on Environmental Equity
• Companies race to stem flood of microplastic fibres into the oceans
• In San Francisco's Most Polluted Neighborhood, Polluters Operate Without Proper Permits
• More hurricanes likely to slam Connecticut and region due to climate change
•  Washington State law requires customers to ask for plastic utensils, straws
• Beach-cleaning robot drives pollution-fighting into the future
• Coming Soon to This Coal County: Solar, in a Big Way
• Plastic Ocean Project working to protect biodiversity of the Carolina coastline
• California bill to stop toxic coal train passes State Transportation Committee
• Invasive species cost the US $21 billion per year
• Supersized art project with bigger message in Middletown CT
• Plastic is putting the planet in peril. Finally, policy solutions are underway.
• US establishes new office for clean energy tech demonstrations
• Groups gather at Arizona Capitol to call for environmental action
• Two bald eagle eggshatched in Florida, part of a huge success story
• Idaho Power to accelerate coal retirements, add 3.8 GW clean energy
• New Mexico Largest Single-Phase Renewable Energy up and running 
• Bill to save seagrass and manatees gets first blue-green light 

Spotlight Analysis

• Remembering E.O. Wilson’s Wish for a More Sustainable Existence
• The two sides of plastic and climate change
• Green Acres program - 60 year anniversary
• The good, the bad and the ugly of climate change in 2021
• Book Review: Coming to Grips with the Plastic Crisis
• No One Asked for Plastic
• What Is the Ocean Battery? It Could Be Crucial for Renewable Energy Storage
• The Global Climate Crisis Is the New Frontier of Justice 
• For thousands of Americans, unhealthy chemical exposures at work are a needless reality
• EPA's Draft Strategic Plan Emphasizes Resilience and Adaption to Climate Change
• 'Soylent Green' (1973) predicted the world in 2022: climate change, inequality
• Telling the story and spreading the word of South African environmentalism

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In New Jersey

• Senate approves bill requiring NJDEP to develop and implement electric school bus program
• Flooding, pipelines, warehouses top 2021 N.J. environmental news
• Madison Mayor To Serve on New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
• Environmental Justice Leaders Plan to Call on Gov Murphy to Stop Newark Power Plant
• Eating oysters? Why you shouldn't throw out the shells in NJ
• NJ Plans for Enhanced Environmental Regulation Enforcement
• Lead in North Jersey, Drinking Water Falls to its Lowest Level
• Some NJ drinking water systems fail dangerous chemical standards
• Ramapo College Receives Grant for Students to Study and Research Climate Change
• New Jersey Forests forum planned for Jan. 25
• Sen. Kip Bateman Gets a "Going Away" Present from NJ Senate Colleagues​

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 Global

• Japan industry group develops bamboo paper cups to reduce plastic waste
• On a mission to clean up Hong Kong's polluted waters
• Green energy share in Jordan exceeds 20%
• China's installed clean energy capacity tops 1 billion-kW
• Companies recycle plastic waste to make building materials
• Chile Rewrites Its Constitution, Confronting Climate Change Head On 
• Bermuda Students turn plastic waste into school calendar to highlight pollution
• Alberta weighs the future of coal mining
• Meet Mr Trash Wheel – and the other ingenious tools that eat river plastic
• Tequila fish returned to the wild in Mexico after being declared extinct
• Kenya turns invasive water hyacinth into cleaner cooking fuel
• China to scrap subsidies for electric vehicles
• Europe Plans to Say Nuclear Power and Natural Gas Are Green Investments
• World's largest coal port to be 100% powered by renewable energy 
• Chile tensions over lithium contracts show scope of clean energy task
• Scientists ID Dozens of Plants, Animals from Free-Floating DNA
• Here's How Climate Change and Covid Are Transforming Skiing
• Plastic-to-hydrogen plants ready to take over the world
• What Norway Can Teach the World About Switching to Electric Vehicles
• New rules in place for invasive species 
• 5 building blocks enabling Greece's rapid transition to green energy
• Antarctica: Invasive species 'hitchhiking' on ships

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Opinion & analysis

• Should utility-scale renewable energy be built on public lands?
• Why Biden's Electric Vehicle Charging Plan Might Be Falling Short
• Did We Just Blow Our Last, Best Chance to Tackle Climate Change?
• It takes green to go green: Powering the president's plan to decarbonize government
• Don't overly politicize the NJ Pinelands Commission
• How to get rural Americans involved in climate crisis
• To avoid a plastic future, New York must update the Bottle Bill
• Let's stop making this climate change mistake
• This green pathway through cities and suburbia will embody the best of NJ

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The views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent positions held by ANJEC.