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Jan. 9-15:
Cooking with Gas
A new dimension was added to the partisan wars in Washington. A controversy began when Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg in an interview that gas stoves represented “a hidden hazard” and that a ban was “on the table” for gas stoves, which research has linked to health problems, including asthma.
This week,U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2nd) announced that he will introduce legislation that would prohibit federal agencies from banning any gas-powered appliances.
The same day that Van Drew made his announcement, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), issued a statement, saying, “To be clear, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so.”
The controversy began with the publication of a study in December that linked 13% of childhood asthma to stoves that burn natural gas. There has been a long-standing concern on the part of environmental groups that gas stoves emit harmful pollutants. Physicians for Social Responsibility have produced a gas stove pollution fact sheet.
In December 2022,Trumka’s comments and statements that the commission might consider regulating new appliances set off fears that gas stoves would be taken from people’s homes or banned as new appliances.
The CPSC has stated that it will be seeking comment from the public early this year about gas stove emissions. If any action is taken, the agency says the goal would be reducing emissions in new appliances.
Traffic Deaths
State police data shows that Cape May County experienced 15 traffic fatalities in 2022. That number is up from 12 in 2021. One factor that distinguishes last year’s numbers from the previous several years is the fact that eight of the fatalities involved pedestrians.
Last year, across the county, there was great concern over the number of bicyclists involved in fatal crashes. Municipalities began taking action to protect bicyclist on the roads. The large number of pedestrians involved in traffic fatalities this year suggests more work is needed.
Three municipalities south of the Cape May Canal banded together to reduce speed limits on municipal streets and they convinced the county to join them by taking similar action on Cape Island county roads.
According to Jennifer Homendy, chairperson of the National Transportation Safety Board, heavy electric vehicles pose an increased safety risk on American roads. The push to electric vehicles, part of the national response to climate change concerns, is resulting in much heavier vehicles doing greater damage when a participant is in a traffic collision.
Homendy cites several examples of electric vehicle models that are a ton to two tons heavier than their equivalent gas-powered cousins. She noted that an electric GMC Hummer has a battery pack that, by itself, is roughly the equivalent weight of a gas-powered Honda Civic. She said she was worried about the potential “unintended consequences” of a growing number of electric vehicles on the country’s roads and highways.
Whales
Seven dead whales washing up on beaches in New York and New Jersey have given new life to the controversies surrounding New Jersey’s ambitious offshore wind initiative. While defenders of the wind farm developments have argued that there is no proof that offshore wind developments have been a causal factor in the whale deaths, many who have opposed the offshore wind plans or expressed concern about the speed with which they are being implemented have called for a pause in activities so that studies concerning environmental dangers can be completed and fully analyzed.
For those for whom the dangers of climate change are of central concern, any slowing of the process for developing clean energy options is a failed strategy. For those who feel the state is moving too quickly, increasing the negative impacts on the economy and the environment, halting now in order to get a clearer picture of the consequences of massive wind farm developments is sensible and reasonable.
The whale deaths have fed into an ongoing struggle with little evidence so far that they have changed very many individuals’ previously held positions. Van Drew is calling for congressional hearings.
Happenings
A series of loud atmospheric bangs accompanied by noticeable tremors were most likely the result of U.S. Navy fliers breaking the sound barrier over an approved and designated area off the Atlantic coast.
The suspect being held in a hit–and–run accident that took the life of an Upper Township resident is being held in jail awaiting trial. The decision came in a pretrial hearing this week.
A new Mexican restaurant is planned for the site of the old Coldwell Banker building in Avalon. The borough’s Planning Board also acted favorably on a request from Anthony Zurawski to extend the time from his 2019 approvals for a residential subdivision along Ocean Drive, from 20th to 21st streets.
Upper Township honored first responders involved in a recent water rescue when a small craft floundered at Corson’s Inlet.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract for the hydraulic beach replenishment of Seven Mile Island. All sand will come from Townsend’s Inlet, increasing the costs to Stone Harbor. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a ban on the use of federal funds for dredging sand from nearby Hereford Inlet.
A couple passed out in a vehicle at the Rio Grande Avenue Wawa in Wildwood found themselves under arrest for drug distribution.
A Court House man was arrested on child porn charges. The Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office reported that thousands of “child abuse sex materials” were found following a search.
Ocean City adopted a resolution that upgraded several unwanted behaviors to breaches of the peace in an effort to give police more flexibility to deal with gangs of rowdy juveniles that have plagued many beach communities the last two summers.
Upper Township is seeking public input on the municipality’s bike path extension. The path would run from Beesley’s Point to the existing bike path in Dennis Township. The southern bike path already runs from Dennis Township to Ferry Road in Lower Township.
Meanwhile, the Upper Township School Board found itself at the center of some controversy when reports surfaced that the board approved a $300,000 settlement with its outgoing school superintendent. So far, the board has been silent on why it felt the need to change superintendents in the middle of a school year.
Spout Off of the Week
South Seaville – Remind everyone you know…picking up trash on the beach is now the in thing to do! Great exercise too. Bend down and pick the trash up, walk to trash can. So easy. Everyone can do it.
Read more spouts at spoutoff.capemaycountyherald.com.
