100 signatures reached
To: Hoboken City Council
Tell Hoboken City Council to Oppose NJ Transit Fossil Fuel Power Plant
NJ Transit wants to build a highly polluting natural gas-fired power plant (known as NJ TRANSITGRID Traction Power System) within 4 miles of Hoboken. Hoboken’s City Council must pass a resolution to oppose this plant, and must demand of Governor Murphy the rapid transition from fossil fuels to 100% clean, renewable energy in New Jersey.
Why is this important?
I'm a Hoboken parent, my 66-year-old mother lives here, and I know many neighbors who this power plant would put at most risk; children, older adults, and people with cardiovascular, lung or respiratory problems. The NJ Transit Fossil Fuel Power Plant is a $546 million, 140-megawatt natural gas-fired project that would mostly be paid by a Superstorm Sandy Resilience grant. This is a huge contradiction.
1) The proposed site is an active flood plain, and the plant would become the 13th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in New Jersey, dumping 577,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases annually.
2) Ironically, NJ Transit describes this plant as a resiliency project, but the greenhouse gas emissions from the plant would add to the chances of more climate emergencies like Superstorm Sandy.
3) There are cleaner solutions to the resiliency problems that NJ Transit wants to solve with this plant. Those solutions can deliver the same amount of power with much less risk to Hoboken residents – but NJ Transit has not explored them. Renewable technology alternatives – quickly becoming more cost-effective -- include zero-emission technologies like a solar-powered microgrid along with wind and tidal forces combined with battery storage.
WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS?
- Gas infrastructure facilities can annually emit into the air hundreds of tons of pollutants including particulate matter, toxic chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, mercury, and criteria pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides which cause smog, acid rain and contribute to ozone production), some of which are known carcinogens such as benzene and formaldehyde which are known to increase the severity of asthma and other respiratory diseases.
- Particulate matter, once inhaled, can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects including lung cancer.
- Long-term exposure to ozone is linked to aggravation of asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis, and it is likely to be one of many causes of asthma development.
- Long-term exposures to ozone may also be linked to permanent lung damage, such as abnormal lung development in children.
Please sign the petition to prevent NJ Transit from building a polluting gas-fired power plant within 4 miles of Hoboken.
1) The proposed site is an active flood plain, and the plant would become the 13th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in New Jersey, dumping 577,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide equivalent greenhouse gases annually.
2) Ironically, NJ Transit describes this plant as a resiliency project, but the greenhouse gas emissions from the plant would add to the chances of more climate emergencies like Superstorm Sandy.
3) There are cleaner solutions to the resiliency problems that NJ Transit wants to solve with this plant. Those solutions can deliver the same amount of power with much less risk to Hoboken residents – but NJ Transit has not explored them. Renewable technology alternatives – quickly becoming more cost-effective -- include zero-emission technologies like a solar-powered microgrid along with wind and tidal forces combined with battery storage.
WHAT’S SO BAD ABOUT GAS-FIRED POWER PLANTS?
- Gas infrastructure facilities can annually emit into the air hundreds of tons of pollutants including particulate matter, toxic chemicals such as sulfur dioxide, mercury, and criteria pollutants (such as nitrogen oxides which cause smog, acid rain and contribute to ozone production), some of which are known carcinogens such as benzene and formaldehyde which are known to increase the severity of asthma and other respiratory diseases.
- Particulate matter, once inhaled, can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects including lung cancer.
- Long-term exposure to ozone is linked to aggravation of asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis, and it is likely to be one of many causes of asthma development.
- Long-term exposures to ozone may also be linked to permanent lung damage, such as abnormal lung development in children.
Please sign the petition to prevent NJ Transit from building a polluting gas-fired power plant within 4 miles of Hoboken.