Gov. Christie’s Pipeline

[deminks]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/26/opinion/gov-christies-pipeline.html?_r=0

Three years ago, Gov. Chris Christie proposed a natural gas pipeline that would run right through the environmentally sensitive Pinelands of southern New Jersey. It was a faulty plan, and the guardians of that area — the Pinelands Commission — wisely rejected the pipeline in January. Now Mr. Christie and his allies are trying to pack the commission with people who will see things his way.

The governor has already made a name for himself as something of an anti-environmentalist in his state. He has cut nearly $1 billion from clean energy funds. He withdrew from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a multistate project designed to reduce power plant emissions of carbon dioxide, the main global-warming gas. The pipeline would be another blot on his record.

(snip)

The commission, whose job is to strike a balance between nature and development, narrowly rejected the governor’s plan. Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, called the rejection “the biggest environmental victory under the Christie administration.”

The celebration may be premature. The governor has since replaced two members who voted no. And Cumberland County, one of seven counties that also appoint commissioners, replaced another member who had voted no.

When the issue comes up again, Mr. Christie could win his pipeline. But New Jersey would be the loser.

(end snip)