DEP Report finds more streams, lakes, bays, and ocean waters fail to meet standards - trends worsen due to sprawling over-development Unsafe to eat fish from, swim in, or drink from most NJ waters Last week, we disclosed that more than 12.5% of NJ residential drinking water wells failed to meet drinking water standards, and that residents of more... Full story »

John McCain's landmark choice of Sarah Palin as his VP candidate overshadowed Barak Obama's landmark acceptance speech as we all noticed whether we liked to or not. Whether Mrs. Palin is ready or qualified to be Vice President I would leave to others who are much smarter then I am to decide. However, her nomination should resonate hard among... Full story »

Squeezed, this year, between two conventions, Labor Day is unlikely to generate the attention it deserves. The holiday, advanced by trade unions more than a century ago, was conceived as a tribute to the contributions of all workers to the nation http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm and, as such, it should prompt us to take a hard look at the condition of those... Full story »

Erosion of public right to know - DEP reverting to Whitman era Back in 2004, when DEP scientists assembled the initial round of just 6 months of data on drinking water well contamination submitted under the recently enacted Private Well Testing Act, agency head Bradley M. Campbell made it a priority to inform NJ residents of the health risks... Full story »

[Update: 8/30/08 - I just checked the DEP webpage to see if they had gotten around to issuing a press release on the PWTA Report. Not yet, but I did find that DEP made it a priority to issue a "good news" release about lifting the Delaware shellfish ban, but not "bad news" about drinking water wells. See:http://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2008/08_0043.htm I... Full story »

I don't know much about Tim Pawlenty, the Minnesota governor who is in the running to be John McCain's running mate. But I've already found something to dislike about him. He wants more toll roads.  Full story »

Residents of over 50,000 NJ homes drinking polluted water - 12.5% of wells fail to meet standards [Update: Here is today's APP story - DEP is merely responding - this is bad news they would have preferred to have stayed under the media radar:  Full story »

DEP Report: Residents of over 50,000 NJ homes drinking polluted water According to a DEP report required by the Private Well Testing Act, residents of over 50,000 NJ homes are unknowingly drinking unsafe well water, yet DEP and local health officials are ignoring the problem.  Full story »

Last Friday a New Jersey state appeals court rebuffed efforts by two unions (NJEA and CWA) to keep pension assets away from hedge funds. Aside from any investment impact of the decision, the fact that this case was even brought and adjudicated makes it clear most parties understand that state worker pensions can be forfeited. Why would the NJEA... Full story »

Faithful readers of my columns know that I am fond of quoting higher authorities--I guess it stems from the time my graduate school adviser told me 1. I knew nothing and 2. He did not want to know what I thought, but what I thought based on who (or what) I read. From that day to this I have... Full story »

Netflix, the movie-by-mail service, experienced a significant technology glitch last week, causing delays in shipping DVDs to more than one third of its 8.4 million subscribers. Instead of irate reactions, customers applauded the company. What? Why celebrate an interruption of services, and, moreover, stick with this company, especially when the competition--digital delivery services like Amazon on Demand and iTunes--offers... Full story »

Is additional car dependent public access worth the destruction? Back in January, while hiking on Baldpate Mountain (Hopewell Township, Mercer County) I was shocked to come across a new access road and parking lot blasted through forest - an experience that prompted me to write this post (with pictures): Pave paradise: Put up a parking lot http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wolfe/2008/01/pave_paradise_put_up_a_parking.html  Full story »

Demand growing. Supply shrinking - Get used to higher prices Although I think they got the story wrong (i.e. by attributing the problem more to underinvestment in exploration and political restrictions on access to supplies, than to a decline in recoverable supply, or peak oil), according to the NY Times business page:  Full story »

A study by Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University found that establishing a price for carbon emissions would reduce energy demand (full disclosure - my kids attend Tepper and CMU). The study explores a "price as low as $35 per metric ton of CO2". By way of comparison, NJ's global warming policies are based on a $2... Full story »

Having faced the opposition of the National Rifle Association to Ceasefire NJ's campaigns to reduce gun violence for over a decade, I've come to know the NRA and its ways all too well. I've been frustrated, at times, by the attitude of many non-NRA folks, who believe the NRA is an honest citizens' lobby, acting with good will and... Full story »