Category Archives: News

Join us at the NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference June 14-16, 2022

Posted on Friday, 3 June, 2022 by | Leave a comment

The 2022 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference will be held virtually on June 14-15 and in-person on June 16 at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.

The conference will feature 36 sessions, a virtual and in-person exhibit area, and ways to connect with fellow attendees as it brings together bold ideas, innovative solutions, proven concepts, and best practices for creating better, more inclusive, and equitable places where people live, work and play.

The conference format will feature a mix of concurrent sessions that are pre-recorded, live-streamed, and in-person. The virtual sessions will be available via Pheedloop, the conference platform, with Zoom integration.

We look forward to gathering in person on the final day of the conference at the Hyatt in New Brunswick.

How can we reimagine and redevelop more equitable cities?

Answers to these and other questions, along with many innovative ideas, will be presented through 36 sessions, a virtual and in-person exhibit area, and opportunities to connect with fellow attendees at the 2022 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference hosted by @NewJerseyFuture and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association @njapa.

See you on June 14-16! Register today! #NJPRC22

Scroll down for more information or click to register: https://pheedloop.com/njprc22/site/home/

We know that many New Jersey communities are struggling with a multitude of economic, social, and environmental challenges. How can we create more equitable areas to live, work, and play?

Connect with New Jersey elected officials, professionals, and community leaders to discuss bold ideas, innovative solutions, proven concepts, and best practices for creating better, more inclusive places at the 2022 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference.

Join us virtually on June 14-15 and in person at the Hyatt in New Brunswick on June 16. New Jersey is at a turning point, and the only way we can propel our state toward a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future is together!

Hundreds of visionary New Jersey professionals, elected officials, and community activists will be discussing how to restart, recover, and reimagine land use in a rapidly changing environment. The three-day conference features 36 sessions, a virtual and in-person exhibit area, and opportunities to connect with fellow attendees. Register today!

https://pheedloop.com/njprc22/site/home/

Registration Rates

  • Member: $300
  • Non-Member: $350
  • Elected Official: $250
  • Speaker: $250
  • Student: $200


Registration includes a full access pass to all conference programming including:

June 14-15: Convening virtually from 9:00am – 1:00pm each day

  • Eighteen (18) virtual sessions, including 2 plenaries
  • Virtual exhibit floor and networking
  • Virtual session videos will be available to all registered attendees for three months following the conference.

June 16: Convening in person at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick from 9:00am-5:00pm
The in-person offerings will follow safety guidance provided by the CDC and NJDOH.

  • Eighteen (18) in-person sessions, including 2 plenaries.
  • Exhibit floor and various networking opportunities.
  • Breakfast, lunch, and reception in the exhibit atrium.
  • Note: In-person sessions will not be recorded.

 

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Posted in Community, Events, New Jersey, News, Redevelopment, Sponsors

2022 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference June 14-16

Posted on Monday, 2 May, 2022 by | Leave a comment

How can we reimagine and redevelop more equitable communities?

Answers to these and other questions, along with many innovative ideas, will be presented through 36 sessions, a virtual and in-person exhibit area, and opportunities to connect with fellow attendees at the 2022 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference hosted by @NewJerseyFuture and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association @njapa.

See you on June 14-16! Register today! #NJPRC22

Scroll down for more information or click to register: https://pheedloop.com/njprc22/site/home/

We know that many New Jersey communities are struggling with a multitude of economic, social, and environmental challenges. How can we create more equitable areas to live, work, and play?

Connect with New Jersey elected officials, professionals, and community leaders to discuss bold ideas, innovative solutions, proven concepts, and best practices for creating better, more inclusive places at the 2022 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference.

Join us virtually on June 14-15 and in person at the Hyatt in New Brunswick on June 16. New Jersey is at a turning point, and the only way we can propel our state toward a more sustainable, resilient, and prosperous future is together!

Hundreds of visionary New Jersey professionals, elected officials, and community activists will be discussing how to restart, recover, and reimagine land use in a rapidly changing environment. The three-day conference features 36 sessions, a virtual and in-person exhibit area, and opportunities to connect with fellow attendees. Register today!

https://pheedloop.com/njprc22/site/home/

Registration Rates

  • Member: $300
  • Non-Member: $350
  • Elected Official: $250
  • Speaker: $250
  • Student: $200


Registration includes a full access pass to all conference programming including:

June 14-15: Convening virtually from 9:00am – 1:00pm each day

  • Eighteen (18) virtual sessions, including 2 plenaries
  • Virtual exhibit floor and networking
  • Virtual session videos will be available to all registered attendees for three months following the conference.

June 16: Convening in person at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick from 9:00am-5:00pm
The in-person offerings will follow safety guidance provided by the CDC and NJDOH.

  • Eighteen (18) in-person sessions, including 2 plenaries.
  • Exhibit floor and various networking opportunities.
  • Breakfast, lunch, and reception in the exhibit atrium.
  • Note: In-person sessions will not be recorded.

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Posted in Events, New Jersey, News, Redevelopment

Executive Director’s Year-End Letter

Posted on Monday, 16 December, 2019 by | Leave a comment

The Climate Crisis and What We’re Doing About It

Financing the Transition to a Regenerative Economy
With the Aim of Restoring the Climate and the Earth

Download PDF version of our year-end letter here

Executive Director’s Year-End Letter 2019

“Being alive right now means rethinking boundaries, pushing on the walls of your imagination. It means feeling around in this world for another one.” (Dan Zak, “Everything is Not Going to Be Okay: How to Live with Constant Reminders that the Earth Is in Trouble,” Washington Post)

Dear Friends and Supporters,

2019 has been a pretty tumultuous year for us, including both substantial achievements and disappointing setbacks. The good news is that Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) legislation is on its way in New Jersey, with both the Legislature and the Governor endorsing some version of this long-awaited financing tool. We expect PACE to be operational in 2020, and it could be as early as first quarter.

The first version of PACE legislation was introduced and passed into law in 2011; unfortunately it was flawed, and the Christie Administration took advantage of these flaws to block any meaningful action. Our organization, operating as New Jersey PACE, has been seeking to amend this law for more than seven years, during which time we co-authored at least three prior versions that were rejected. While in retrospect it seems unreal, there were good reasons to believe that PACE could be implemented in each of these years, despite the resistance of the banking industry and of the Governor’s staff at the time.

Evolving and Expanding the PACE Model

But since PACE is still not available in New Jersey (and many other jurisdictions), we continue to seek demonstration projects for the two alternative clean energy financing approaches that we have developed in partnership with structured finance experts, including a major NJ social impact investment fund. Once successfully piloted, these “PACE/Alternatives,”* as we’ve called them, including our New InterCreditor Clean Energy (NICCE, pronounced “nice”) and Deed-registered Renewables & Energy Efficiency Measures (DREEM), will provide commercial property owners anywhere in the US with access to PACE-like financing, regardless of whether PACE is allowed in their jurisdiction.

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Posted in Climate Change, Cohousing, Community, Contribute, CRCS, Energy, G4CM, Global Issues, New Jersey, News, NJPACE, Nonprofit Activities, Regenerative Development, Sustainability, Transformation

Possible Planet Holiday Party & Fundraiser – Saturday, Dec 14, 2019, 2-6 pm

Posted on Friday, 29 November, 2019 by | Leave a comment

You’re invited to our

 Join us for community, thoughtful discussion, and the opportunity to make a difference.

Saturday, December 14
2-6 p.m.
@ 8 Revere Drive, Basking Ridge, NJ

Bring something to share / BYOB
Bring your voices, instruments & holiday songs!

Meet people who care about restoring our communities and the climate.

Can’t Attend But Want to Support Us?

At the party, we’ll share our mission and initiatives, and you can contribute to the “mother ship,” Possible Planet, or earmark your donation to one of our initiatives:

Global Carbon Reward 
Ecovillage New Jersey 
Ecovillagers Alliance
New Jersey PACE / Regenerative Financing 
Possible Planet (General Fund)

 

Attend the Party

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Posted in Climate Change, Cohousing, CRCS, New Jersey, News, Nonprofit Activities, Transformation

This Saturday at Cooper Union: Voices of the Millennial Generation on Climate Change

Posted on Thursday, 22 February, 2018 by | Leave a comment


This Saturday, February 24, 2018 we’re participating in a panel discussion on Mitigation and emerging solutions for addressing the climate change issue, along with a number of other speakers.

The event is from 1 to 6 p.m. in the Great Hall at Cooper Union (30 Cooper Sq, New York, NY 10003), with limited seating, so please RSVP or sign up for the live stream link at MillennialsWorld.org.

Here’s the current program  and list of speakers for the event:

Voices of a Generation – February 24, Event Speakers

Welcome: Joyce Freeling, President Millennials World

Keynote Panel: The World Millennials, Their Children, & Grandchildren Could Live In

  • Sophie Kivlehan, Granddaughter, Dr. James Hansen, Climate Scientist
  • James Hansen (Video) on the Science of Warming
  • Nicole Crescimanno, Columbia University, Rising Sea Level
  • Andrew Herrera, Ramapo College, Harsher Weather
  • Annaisabele DeJesus, Heat Waves & Health
  • Ariana Freitag, The Cooper Union, Deforestation, Species Extinctions, Ocean Acidification
  • Sophie Schneider, The Cooper Union, Food Insecurity
  • Anastasia Caulfield, Ramapo College, Climate Refugees

Actions: Fee & Dividend (Citizens’ Climate Lobby) – Children’s Trust Federal Law Suit
(Polling) 

Mitigation & Solutions Underway – Developed World/Developing World

  • Miriam Horn, Environmental Defense Fund, Author & Film Maker
  • Jonathan Cloud, Director, NJPACE, Financing Renewable Energy for Communities
  • Toby Cumberbatch, Founder, Center for Sustainable Engineering, Art and Architecture – Materials, Manufacturing and Minimalism (SEA2M3)

(Polling)

Pathways to Sustainability – Promise for the Future – The World Millennials Can Change

Students from Columbia University, Earth Institute:

  • Sarah Ann Burns, Harnessing Natural Sources of Energy
  • Megan Ross, Urban Sustainability
  • Andrea Christina Ruiz, Regenerating Forests, Sustainable Food Production
  • Miriam Nielsen, Communicating the Value of Sustainability to Society
  • Jesse Thorson, The Need for New Narratives

(Polling)

A New Social Compact – Shift to Long-Term Thinking & Responsibility to Successor Generations

  • Joyce Freeling

Art & Design Charrette – Transforming Statements in Graphics (Millennial Visions)

  • Mike Ryan
  • Patrick Schlitzer
  • Danny Castillo

Announcement of Step-into-the-Future Social Media Competition

 

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Posted in Climate Change, Community, Events, Global Issues, News, Sustainability

Restarting the Clean Energy Revolution in New Jersey

Posted on Tuesday, 19 December, 2017 by | Leave a comment


New Jersey is about to experience a surge of new clean energy projects, unleashing a considerable amount of additional private financing for energy efficiency and renewables.

Amendments to NJ’s existing PACE law are being passed in the NJ Legislature this month. Governor Christie has the opportunity to sign this legislation before he leaves office. Given that the new bill includes amendments based on his 2015 conditional veto, Governor Christie could (and we think, should) sign Commercial-only PACE legislation as part of his economic legacy.

PACE — Property Assessed Clean Energy — is a new source of financing for commercial projects. More than a dozen states have PACE programs which have collectively financed almost half a billion dollars worth of projects across the US and created almost 7,500 jobs. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of new construction and retrofit projects that are eligible for this new form of financing

For a general description of PACE see What is PACE?

The key benefits of Commercial PACE are that it:

  • Saves property owners money on energy
  • Creates local jobs and economic development
  • Helps the environment by reducing carbon emissions

The most appealing features of Commercial PACE for energy efficiency, renewable energy and resiliency financing are that it:

  • Covers 100% up front financing, including project development costs, and can be off-balance sheet
  • Allows terms of up to 30 years, allowing projects to be cash-flow positive from the start
  • Remains with the building upon sale
  • Allows payments to be passed along to tenants, resolving the split incentive issue
  • Increases the value and competitiveness of the building

Property owners can receive subsidies and incentives from the NJ Clean Energy Program, and use PACE financing to finance 100% of the remaining hard and soft costs.

Other potential sources of energy-improvement financing include state programs such as the proposed Public Bank, a possible Green Bank, and the New Jersey Resilience Bank (which has already committed all of its available funds). But each of these is likely to take longer to implement than PACE, requiring additional legislative approvals.

The distinguishing feature of PACE is that it does not involve any public funds, is wholly decentralized through the municipalities and the private sector, and is not managed by the state. It can get off the ground immediately, and make a substantial impact on creating jobs and reducing emissions.

 

Ramping up both public and private funding

Our preliminary estimates suggest that the potential for clean energy improvements of commercial properties in New Jersey may be more than $75 billion, including renewables and efficiency improvements, even a fraction of which is capable of creating an enormous boost in jobs and economic development.

What this means is that PACE could rapidly exceed the current level of public clean energy financing in the state, potentially more than doubling the extent of market transformation. Commercial PACE can provide 100%, non-recourse, and off-balance-sheet financing for a wide range of projects; or simply bridge the gap between what the Clean Energy Program provides and the total cost of the project. In addition, there are other innovative financing structures that have been devised specifically to take the place of PACE where PACE is not yet available. So the private market is going to drive the transition further and faster than ever.

 

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Posted in Carbon Pollution, CRCS, Energy, Money, New Jersey, News, NJPACE

Beyond Reconciliation — RVCC Conference April 21, 2017

Posted on Monday, 20 March, 2017 by | Leave a comment

On April 21, Professor Dan Aronson at Raritan Valley Community College is hosting a conference on the potential for common ground between environmentalists and labor. Entitled “Beyond Reconciliation,” the keynote speaker is University of Iowa Prof. Benjamin Hunnicutt, who discovered articles from labor activists in the 1830s recommending that workers reduce spending/consumption in order to protect time for education and other worthwhile pursuits. 

Hunnicutt is the premier historian on US work hours. He has written for The Wall Street Journal and Politico. His books include Kellogg’s Six-Hour Day, and Free Time: the Forgotten American Dream. He has worked as a consultant to unions and businesses interested in shorter hours and the potential of leisure to improve the community and workplace. He is currently working on a book titled, The Age of Experiences: The Promise of Liberation Capitalism.

Professor Aronson writes, “In our own time, reductions in consumption can be associated with an increase in material well-being. For example, there is a strong and growing market for real estate near transit and energy-efficient buildings. Meeting this demand would reduce spending on automobiles and energy, but the strong demand for walkable neighborhoods/efficient buildings indicates that such amenities are valued.”

To register visit: www.raritanval.edu/conference_register

For more information, download the conference brochure here: P2356_Beyond Reconciliation.

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Posted in CRCS, Events, News

New Directions for 2017

Posted on Monday, 23 January, 2017 by | 1 comment

CRCS will be moving in several new directions this year, which we think will be of interest to a wider audience than just those of us interested in financing clean energy. We’ve been focusing more on communities in the past year, and on the values and vision that led to our mission, to assist local communities and neighborhoods to become more resilient in the face of the widening impacts of a changing climate.

We are proposing to work with one or two towns in New Jersey on their revitalization and self-renewal. Culture actually holds the key to greater local resilience, alongside the physical transformation of communities into eco-communities. And organization is what’s needed to transform culture. We are planning to create “civic cooperatives” that will lead these communities into a positive self-generating future. Many communities are today experiencing decline, or struggling to ignite a self-renewal, within the broader context of the need for a world for a world that shifts carbon from the atmosphere back into the soil. The cooperative model has proven itself to be more enduring, more beneficial, and often more valuable to communities than the conventional marketplace business model.

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Posted in Climate Change, Cohousing, Community, CRCS, Energy, New Jersey, News, Nonprofit Activities, Regenerative Development, Sustainability

Acknowledging Our New Jersey PACE Sponsors

Posted on Sunday, 31 May, 2015 by | Leave a comment

After 3 years of working to bring PACE to New Jersey, and close to a real launch, we have scheduled The New Jersey PACE Summit – the first of its kind event for PACE in NJ. We are seeking Founding Sponsorships and Event Sponsorships, a schedule of which you can view at NJPACE-Sponsorship.

From the Sponsors’ perspectives, they’re passionate about being able to award dollars for something they believe in and want to support, while gaining recognition and acknowledgement far beyond what they could get through paid advertising.

Our goal in recognizing our Sponsors is therefore to convey something significant about them, and about their support for us.

MSL-LogoHeaderSM2Our first Founding Sponsor is an out-of-state company — MSL Group — that’s been doing PACE projects in other states. It’s ironic, perhaps, that no local company or firm would jump into the water as a Founding Sponsor. But it’s an indication of what energy services firms who are operating in states where PACE is thriving, know, that NJ firms don’t yet know: that PACE is actually as good as it sounds, for every stakeholder.

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Posted in New Jersey, News, NJPACE, Nonprofit Activities, Sponsors

NJ PACE 2015 Summit to Focus on What’s Possible for New Jersey

Posted on Tuesday, 26 May, 2015 by | Leave a comment

The theme of this year’s New Jersey PACE Summit is “PACE: what’s possible for New Jersey?” The subtitle gives part of the answer: “Resiliency • Clean Energy • Jobs”— these are the major elements of the story, that will be explored at the conference. And there’s more to it as well — PACE can provide regenerative community benefits, support new technologies, and foster new approaches to the global challenges of our times.

PACE, which stands for “Property Assessed Clean Energy,” is redefined in NJ’s new amending legislation to include “the purchase, lease, or installation, or any combination thereof, of renewable energy systems or the energy produced by such systems, energy efficiency improvements, water conservation projects, flood resistant construction projects, hurricane resistant construction projects, storm shelter projects, or safe room projects, undertaken by property owners on properties within a municipality.”

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Posted in Carbon Pollution, Climate Change, CO2 Mitigation, Community, CRCS, Energy, Events, Global Issues, New Jersey, News, NJPACE, Sustainability