Greetings fellow Bayshore Watershed folks,

Let me express my gratitude and appreciation to all those people who spent last Thursday evening, February 14^th, Valentine’s Day, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm inside Keyport Borough Hall to listen about local ways to solve global warming. Much obliged for your time! It was a perfect evening to help care for Mother Nature.

Over 60 people were in attendance! Clearly more people attended this meeting than people who commonly attend a regular schedule municipal meeting in various Bayshore communities like Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, Matawan, Middletown Township or Union Beach. There is no doubt that many people are concerned about the local effects of global climate change and wish to play a more active role in its alleviation.

The forum was co-sponsored by the all-volunteer Bayshore Regional Watershed Council, the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Assemblywomen Amy Handlin.  The topic of the free public forum was how local municipalities can become more energy efficient, create healthier communities, and help address climate change on the local level.

Featured speakers for the evening included: Professor Patrick Hossay from Stockton State College, Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger, Joseph L. Fiordaliso of the NJ Board of Public Utilities, and Faith Teitelbaum from the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club/ Cool Cities.

Gratitude and thanks go to Fran Donnelly, Kari Martin, and Joe Sheridan for supplying the awesome amount of yummy food that night. Moreover, appreciation is given to fellow watershed co-chairs, Bill McFarland and Joe Martin, for their help and support.

Some of the notable people in attendance and organizations & municipalities represented included:

Assemblywomen Amy Handlin

Commissioner Joseph L. Fiodaliso, State of NJ Board of Public Utilities

Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger of Middletown Township

Councilperson Larry Fink of Holmdel Township

Councilperson Joe Sheridan of Keyport

Councilperson Jacob Hoffman of Atlantic Highlands

Mike Fedosh, Chair of the Monmouth County Environmental Council and chair of the Middletown Environmental Commission

Annie Eng, Chair of the Hazlet Environmental Commission

Joe Pobega, Chair of Hazlet Open Space Commission

Debbie DePew, Chair of Old Bridge Township Clean Communities

Clean Ocean Action

Brookdale Community College WaterWatch

Monmouth University WaterWatch

Hazlet Area Quality of Life

Union Beach Planning Board

Keyport Environmental Commission

Matawan Environmental Commission

Middletown Environmental Commission

Red Bank Environmental Commission

Marlboro/MCCCP

Hazlet Garden Club

Keyport Garden Club

NJ Clean Energy Program

Aberdeen Township

Atlantic Highlands

Holmdel Township

Little Silver

A recap of the evening is as follows:

The first featured speaker of the evening was Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger. He spoke for about 20 minutes about how Middletown Township is implementing many innovative “green” municipal programs to make the township become more energy efficient and save taxpayer dollars. As declared by Mayor Scharfenberger, the Middletown Township Green Initiative is providing a host of energy and cost-saving proposals ranging from replacing older, less fuel-efficient vehicles to mandating energy-saving heating and cooling systems for municipal buildings.   One of the major components of the initiative is the Dock & Roll Shuttle Bus Service program that is providing a free service to the Port Monmouth Ferry terminal. Other activities include looking into the feasibility of retrofitting existing buildings with solar power, and also including solar energy in the design of new or expanded municipal buildings, and mandating the purchase of Energy Star equipment and appliances for municipal city use.  Moreover, the use of bio-fuels is being used to power many township outdoor equipment items, such as lawnmowers and chainsaws.

 (Professor Patrick Hossay from Stockton State College explaining the many different and wonderful ways that towns can become more pedestrian and bike friendly, and energy efficient and sustainable.)

The next featured speaker of the evening was Dr. Patrick Hossay, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. In clear, direct language, Dr. Hossay discussed different and far-reaching solutions to address climate change on the local level that are taking place right now across the state, country, and the world. He argued for a fundamental restructuring in the way we build and re-develop our towns and cities towards one that is more pedestrian and bike friendly.  He suggested that we need to re-build our communities to resemble the 1920s model of American living: small mutually dependent communities that relied more on local travel or mass transportation instead of the 1950s model that had sprawling development and is solely dependent on long-distance travel by the automobile. Dr. Hossay also suggested that municipalities need to conduct energy audits of their buildings as a cheap and easy way to save energy and money. Moreover, local municipalities need to sign on to the Cool Cities campaign. This will focus government leaders to take action to help solve global warming. From hybrid vehicle fleets, to energy-efficient buildings, to offices and homes powered with renewable energy, local governments are moving forward with innovative solutions that curb global warming, save taxpayer dollars, and create healthier communities. At a time when the federal government is failing to act, many local leaders are moving America toward a safer and more secure future. This kind of positive energy needs to come about in the Bayshore region as well.

The third speaker for the evening was Joseph L. Fiordaliso, Commissioner of the State of New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. He suggested that homeowners and municipalities take advantage of the numerous state programs, services and incentives offered by the New Jersey’s Clean Energy Program. The programs help people save money and help protect our environment from climate change. The programs are designed to help meet New Jersey’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2020. For more information about New Jersey Clean Energy Programs, please visit the website: www.NJCleanEnergy.com

The final speaker was Faith Teitelbaum from the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club. She talked about the Cool Cities program and  declared that the strategy the Cool Cities campaign operates can fall under three categories: cleaner vehicles, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Every one of these local solutions can save taxpayer dollars and improve public health by reducing energy waste and pollution. For more information about Cool Cities campaign in New Jersey, check out this website: http://newjersey.sierraclub.org/ConCom/CoolCities/

Certainly, it was an inspiring evening of good ideas and ways to make our communities more energy efficient to save not only taxpayer dollars, but to help solve global warming on the local level. The local level is where the real action on the fight against Global Warming will take place. It is on the local level where decisions will be made regarding re-development patterns, the protection and preservation of vital open space and wetland areas, and the implementation of energy efficient measures.

The need for local action is undeniable. At least for one night in Keyport on Valentine’s Day 2008, many people from various Bayshore communities came together to listen and learn about how very real and possible it is to deal with global warming, to tackle pollution, and at the same time increase people’s quality of life and lower their tax burden. Hopefully, this will serve as motivation to move forward and to do so quickly!

Bayshore Regional Watershed Council

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