EJ Rules Upheld, But Will They Stick?
By Renée Pollard and Urmila Malvadka
Industrial toxins are often disproportionately concentrated in underserved communities. To protect these communities from having to shoulder even more industrial activity, New Jersey adopted the Environmental Justice (EJ) Law in 2020 and adopted an underlying set of EJ Rules in April 2023. In January, despite objections from business and industry, the NJ Appellate Court upheld the EJ Rules.
Volunteer With Us!
By Joe Testa • chapter.chair@newjersey.sierraclub.org
We use the word volunteer often in the Sierra Club—for good reason. Page 12 of this newsletter features a box titled “New Jersey Chapter Leadership.” Did you know that everyone listed there, except the four people listed in the blue-shaded section, is a volunteer?
Transportation Committee: Sherrill and Our EV Future
By Bill Beren • Transportation Committee Chair, Beren1@verizon.net
With the election of Mikie Sherrill as New Jersey’s 57th governor, the Sierra Club is hopeful that she will energize New Jersey’s transportation picture by strengthening New Jersey Transit and continuing the push to electrify the transportation sector.
Offshore Wind Picks Up
By Tony Hagen • editor@newjersey.sierraclub.org
There has been a fresh breeze blowing. In recent months, there have been 5 court rulings against Trump administration attempts to shut down the offshore wind industry. Work has now been allowed to proceed on Sunrise Wind and Empire Wind off New York, Revolution Wind off Rhode Island, Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind off Virginia, and Vineyard Wind off Massachusetts.
Protecting Night Skies: 2025 in Review
By John Kashwick and Jonathan Wall • Sierra Club New Jersey Light Pollution and Night Skies Committee
In 2025, the Light Pollution and Night Skies Committee of the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club expanded its work to reduce light pollution and protect the state’s remaining night skies. Through legislative advocacy, municipal outreach, and public education, the committee advanced recognition of artificial light at night as a serious environmental, wildlife, public health, and climate issue.
Trump Weakens PFAS Standards
By Patricia Hilliard • Hudson County Group
For centuries, applied science has been busy creating new products to solve problems and make life easier for modern humans. Unfortunately, in this century many products were made of chemicals now referred to as “forever chemicals,” or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
How to Manage Our Rising Energy Costs
By Betsy Longendorfer, Pat Miller, and Steve Miller • Building Electrification Team
In the PJM interconnection area, hundreds of millions of square feet of data centers are proposed, built, or under construction, requiring 67 gigawatts (GW) of power, according to an August 2025 report. It is estimated that about 38% of PJM’s auction pricing is due to data center loads that haven’t been built yet. The forecast raises many questions. How accurate is it? Why are customers paying for it now? Shouldn’t data centers be held responsible for these extra energy and capacity costs?
Plastic Turf Is No Bargain
By Judith Green • Co-Chair, Climate Change, North Jersey Group
There are many serious downsides of artificial turf in the areas of health, safety, and the environment, suggesting that this product, rather than being an asset, is an overall liability to us and our communities.
Clean Energy Jobs Could Win Over MAGA
By John Miraglia • johnworks3@aol.com
The environmental movement received many setbacks last year, such as rollbacks in environmental protection policy and threats to prior climate gains, but we can reassert momentum by expanding our base to include both populists (workaday people) and progressives (typically influential in society).
Fighting for Parks and Trails
By Steve Krinsky • Outings Coordinator for Hudson County Group
Today there are close to 40 miles of the Morris Canal Greenway (MCG) completed and open to the public, with many more sections in various stages of development.
Let Us Help With Your Estate Planning
By Jim Andreano • Fundraising Committee Chair, Jimandreano@gmail.com
Is estate planning on your to-do list for 2026? If so, we can help.
Hold the Insta-Trash!
Following really strong advocacy by Clean Water Action, Sierra Club, Beyond Plastics NJ, and many others in New Jersey, outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy signed “Skip the Stuff” legislation on January 20, 2026.