A wide range of New Jersey environmental groups have banded together as part of a national effort to launch the Solutions for Pollution campaign.

New Jersey League of Conservation Voters Executive Director Ed Potosnak said the campaign provides an opportunity to address climate change, “but also to improve public health, how we can reduce the amount of pollution in our air and water and our land to have healthier families, healthier people, and particularly to protect our children.”

He said the Solutions for Pollution campaign is calling on the Biden administration to use existing authority “under laws like the Clean Air Act to advance 20 different protections to cut pollution from power plants, to reduce pollution in communities of color that have seen an overburdened amount of pollution.”

He said the campaign is also working to “clean up our cars and trucks, industrial sources, and advance energy efficiency and the development of clean energy technologies like solar and wind.”

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Protecting our resources

Potosnak said while the current administration has made important strides in cleaning up the environment, more work needs to be done.

Potosnak noted environmental groups and many average citizens understand we must step up efforts to prevent dangerous air pollution.

“We’re talking about things like mercury and methane that are being spewed into our atmosphere and they’re leading to a higher incidence of cancer and asthma in our state.”

Action is needed

He said if you live in Newark you’re 4 times more likely to have asthma than if you lived 10 miles away.

The Solutions for Pollution campaign is comprised of more than 160 environmental, public health, climate and clean energy organizations, including the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, the New Jersey Sierra Club and the New Jersey Audubon Society.

The New Jersey League of Conservation Voters works to elect candidates to state and local offices with strong environmental policies. The organization says it holds elected officials accountable to safeguard the health of our communities, the beauty of our state, and the strength of our economy.

You can view the Solutions for Pollution Action Plan here.

David Matthau is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at david.matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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