Former New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Chairwoman Lisa Jackson is drawing criticism from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and others for her failure to do more about New Jersey’s toxic waste dumps.
“If the EPA is saying that New Jersey's enforcement is bad, you know there is a serious problem,” says Robert Spiegel, executive director of the Edison Wetlands Association, a New Jersey based non-profit that closely monitors several Superfund sites throughout the state. Spiegel says he had urged Jackson to take more immediate action on some sites, and that Jackson’s field staff had done the same, but their pleas had been ignored.
Jackson also has a fair degree of the classic neoliberal problem — wanting to outsource government functions (in this case, some of the toxic waste cleanup) to private industry.
Meanwhile, the Sierra Club, doing its share of Gang Green lifing on behalf of Democrats, is trying to shift more blame to Jackson’s predecessor.
And, Jackson’s personal supporters blame Gov. Jon Corzine for having rhetoric but little action on environmental issues. Why, then, would Jackson quite her department to become his chief of staff? Oops.
There’s a number of good stories and comments linked from the main story; read some of them, too, for yourself.
I wouldn’t grade Jackson at an F, but I would, based on what I read, put her at the upper 70s or so.
Is that Change We Can Believe In? Probably not, but we’re being presented this as Change We Should Accept.
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