BY CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN AND JAMES J. FLORIO, NJ.COM Government serves many purposes. As former governors, we led debates about what programs, priorities and initiatives it should undertake, but at the core of government is the ability to conceive of and carry forward bold, transformative projects that provide broad benefit to citizens. Few things are as transformative as ensuring access to clean water. We turn the faucet on and water comes out. Water travels down [...]

BY CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN AND LEON PANETTA, POLITICO When world leaders gathered last fall at COP26, it was billed as the “world’s last best chance” to save the planet from the climate crisis. The conference ended with real uncertainty as to whether comprehensive action will be taken, here and abroad, to avoid catastrophe. Fortunately, one of the best opportunities for progress is all around us: the waves, wind and water along the U.S.’s nearly 100,000 [...]

BY ZACK BUDRYK, THE HILL Two former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators praised Michael Regan, President Biden’s nominee for the position, before a House panel Wednesday and expressed hope that the Biden administration would restore morale among the agency’s rank and file. Christine Todd Whitman, who served as EPA administrator from 2001 to 2003, issued veiled criticism of the Trump administration EPA without specifically naming the former president. “In recent years, EPA leadership has suffered under [...]

BY JON HURDLE, NJ SPOTLIGHT NEWS If you want to know whether your local water system contains lead service lines, meets state requirements for treating bacteria, spends money on annual maintenance, or has an affordability program for households, where do you turn? Customers can now get all that and a slew of other information from Jersey Water Check, a website — believed to be the first of its kind in the United States — that consolidates granular [...]

BY CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Following four years of regulatory rollbacks from a president determined to ignore the pressing reality of climate change, President Joe Biden’s first few weeks in office are a welcome change. Biden’s swift series of executive orders will move our country forward toward a future powered by clean energy — a move we can’t afford to delay. Taking action on climate through executive orders certainly has pitfalls. Executive orders limit [...]

BY KELSEY TAMBORRINO, POLITICO ON 02-01-21 BIPARTISAN GROUP LAUNCHES TO PROTECT AMAZON: A bipartisan group of former Cabinet officials and climate negotiators is pressing the Biden White House to protect Amazon rainforests, issuing a spate of policy recommendations Congress and special climate envoy John Kerry can take to mobilize $20 billion. The group's recommendations call for invoking public and private funding, trade, supply chains and diplomacy. Dubbed The Climate Principals, it includes Bruce Babbitt, former Interior secretary under President Bill [...]

Six former EPA heads from Republican and Democratic administrations joined over 100 ex-employees in a sweeping report on how a future administration should revitalize environmental protection, promote scientific expertise and remove political intrusion from agency decisionmaking. The report, "Resetting the Course of EPA," released by the nonpartisan Environmental Protection Network, argues the Trump administration has depleted EPA of credibility, scientific integrity and, ultimately, its core mission of protecting human health and the environment. Although it [...]

BY JANE KENNY & MARK MAURIELLO, NJ SPOTLIGHT Medical experts tell us that the best defense against the coronavirus (and many other illnesses) is to wash our hands with soap and water.These days, the minute we walk in the house, we head to the sink for a vigorous scrub. We also rely on running water for drinking, cooking, sanitation and hygiene every day; sheltering at home 24/7 only heightens its importance. But not everyone has [...]

BY STEPHEN LEE & AMENA H. SAIYID, BLOOMBERG ON 03-19-2020 The new coronavirus pandemic that is sharply curtailing Americans’ activities may soon limit field inspections from the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers, former federal officials say. Over time the national self-quarantine “would obviously start to cramp inspections as everyone is being advised to avoid social contact,” said Eric Schaeffer, the former director of EPA’s Office of Civil Enforcement under the Clinton and George W. [...]