Community Corner

NJ Democrat Says Congress Doing Nothing About Sea Level Rise

Nonprofit group releases survey showing NJ voters want state and federal governments to get more involved in planning for climate change

Written by Jon Hurdle, NJ Spotlight

New Jersey voters may want the government to do more to plan for rising sea levels and climate change, but the issue is dead in the water in Congress, according to U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th).

Speaking at a conference organized by the nonprofit Clean Ocean Action, Pallone told the audience that Tea Party members in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives refuse to discuss the matter.

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“Congress is doing nothing,” the Democrat said. “They can’t bring this up -- if they do, they just get slapped down. We have to get this issue away from the ideology of the Tea Party and the right wing.”

Clean Ocean Action used the event -- which marked more than a year of post-Sandy cleanup by almost 14,000 volunteers across the state -- to release a survey showing that 96 percent of respondents believe climate change is at least a contributor to sea-level rise.

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Some 52 percent believe the oceans will rise between one and five feet in the next 50 years.

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NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.


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