A look at efforts in New Jersey to combat climate change

With climate change becoming a global focus, many people here in New Jersey are doing their part to protect the planet.

News 12 Staff

Oct 12, 2019, 12:35 AM

Updated 1,674 days ago

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With climate change becoming a global focus, many people here in New Jersey are doing their part to protect the planet.
The nonprofit group Climate Central says that transportation is now emitting more carbon dioxide than electric power plants. The group says that reusing and recycling products is one way to cut down on shipping from faraway places – a practice that increases emissions.
Students at Rutgers University tell News 12 New Jersey that there are many environmentally friendly aspects to their school.
“At Cook Douglass Campus is the Café Harvest, where they actually promote compost recycling, single-steam recycling,” says Rutgers student Melanie.
‘Something that I've noticed is that around all the buildings and in the gym, we have reusable water filters that have purified water. And it lists how many plastic bottles you save,” says student Liz.
And it is not just the actions of Rutgers students that are making a difference. New Jersey is rapidly switching to renewable energy. Solar power has increased by 15% per year since 2014. Wind power has increased by 2% each year since 2006 and plans for an offshore wind farm are moving forward.
Solar energy alone provides for roughly 10,000 jobs in the Garden State and those numbers continue to grow.
Experts say that one thing that someone who is concerned with climate change can do is to eat locally grown food. New Jersey has seen an increase in "farm-to-table" at both restaurants and grocery stores.


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