Free Republic

New Jersey's lawmakers are poised to impose new pollution penalties on power companies -- the first step in determining who pays for contributing to global warming and who profits from preventing it. By year's end, the Legislature is expected to approve a plan requiring the companies to pay for the greenhouse gases they produce, a charge that could amount to $70 million or more each year. The system is designed to give companies an incentive to cut emissions. But in the short run, at least, the price of polluting is likely to be passed on to consumers. And that could...

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Reuters) -- New Jersey on Friday became the first U.S. state to mandate sharp greenhouse gas reductions by 2050 in an effort to fight climate change. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, signed a law on Friday making the state the latest to bypass the Bush administration by setting mandatory regulations to fight emissions of gases scientists link to global warming. "We want to send a message to Washington. Wake up, get with the program and start doing something about greenhouse gases," Corzine told reporters at Giants Stadium on the eve of former Vice President...

Wildwood's famous boardwalk could be underwater. Smog in the suburbs, heat-related deaths in Newark and beetle infestations in the Pinelands all could worsen. The Holland Tunnel could be closed every five years on average - because of flooding.Or New Jersey could become a nationwide leader by passing "the strongest, global warming legislation in the country."  That was the choice outlined today by Suzanne Leta Liou, global warming and clean energy advocate for the non-profit group Environment New Jersey, who strongly urged the latter course of action."If we don't take drastic action, global warming will touch every corner of New Jersey,"...