Welcome to New Jersey, The Garden State... Correction: The Warehouse State Op-Ed

     When I founded my nonprofit, The Mercer County Defense League, I was sent a new-business welcome packet in the mail from my county. The first brochure I pulled out was full of colorful images of shipping containers and other warehouse-related images. It had a list of duty fee-relief incentives to encourage the very thing my new business exists to put an end to. I wanted to shout from the rooftops, "What's WRONG with these people?" The answer is almost always money. This is NOT the vision of a Mercer County where people want to raise a family and thrive.   

     Big developers, like Atlantic Realty and Bridge Point, seem to care only about profit. The continued facilitation of BP8 indicates that they don't care that the Garden State will become the warehouse state. Forget that it has been our identity  since 1876, and on license plates since 1954. These developers don't care about the climate crisis. They don't seem to care that increased truck traffic will predictably and statistically increase vehicle accident death, cancers, COPD and asthma, amongst other burdens such as tax revenues to maintain the new infrastructure to support the proposed atrocity. They just aren't rich enough, apparently. How many deaths are acceptable in the name of profit? How much environmental destruction?

     Let this be a warning to all of New Jersey. Our home state is within a 24-hour drive of nearly 40% of the ENTIRE NATION'S POPULATION, according to Moody Analytics, an economic research firm.  Let that sink in... If you are a big developer, NJ is the place to be. Their lobbyists all want the same thing, to grab up remaining swaths of land, pave it over, box it out and start collecting revenues. Their lobbyists work together, while our legislators, naturally, do the "both sides" dance until delays from disagreement pave the way for this massive industry to succeed at destroying our identity and forever damaging the fabric of our community. No more Garden State. To recap, lobbyists work faster than our legislators can agree on protections. The only chance NJ has to thrive, is if Governor Murphy puts a moratorium on all warehouse development, ALL OF IT, without exception, until our legislators can enact real protections. 

     West Windsor, along with every other municipality fighting the same battle, needs to adopt the Municipal Climate Resilience Plan (https://nj.gov/state/planning/assets/pdf/resilience-plan-guide.pdf). I am told that usually happens when municipalities work to revise their master plans, which can happen every ten years or so. These are mandates not guidelines; they are laws. They leave much less room for the continued bludgeoning of our land and people in the name of profit for the already wealthy. Political aspirations, big donors and lobbyists need to have much less power, less impact on the general population.  These rules, that good people are TRYING to implement, will help New Jerseyans tremendously, as well as the world. We should lead by example, yet the only example I see is the power of greed and the weakness of politicians, subject to the manipulation of the mighty dollar bill, as it informs their policies and choices. 

     Speaking of lobbyists, On June 14th, The DEP was to enact "EMERGENCY" PACT rules that would have stopped BP8, a project that is non-compliant with NJ siting guidance. The "emergency" rules, being a true emergency, would have implemented protections that are essential in the battle against climate change. Somehow, they were delayed, right before the WW planning board meeting that approved the monstrosity that is Bridge Point 8.  

     The Department of State is doing its job on paper, but if we cannot adopt and enact legislation because industry whines that they can't make more billions, we will remain at an impasse while we watch the bix boxes blot out what's left of the green space that once cleaned our air, protected our wildlife and lent value to our homes and communities. The only green left will be the cashflow going straight to the moguls, NOT enriching the lives of New Jerseyans, while we pay dearly in more ways than monetary. 

*Contact Governor Murphy and insist on a moratorium of all warehouse development while NJ's left and right work out protections to maintain our quality of life and protect the environment as we brace for the inevitable weather impacts that are getting worse every year.  Be a good citizen and spread the word. Let this be your good deed for the day.