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Politics & Government

Fanwood Council Ponders Earth Hour Resolution

Members discussed this week whether the borough should support the international event.

Fanwood's Council is considering a resolution that would encourage borough residents to collectively turn their lights off for one hour to conserve resources and help reduce climate change.

At Tuesday night's meeting, Fanwood Environmental Commission member Kalpana Krishna Kumar urged the council to promote Earth Hour, which is an international effort sponsored by the World Wildlife Foundation. The event got its start in Sydney, Australia, four years ago and currently spans 800 cities in 80 countries. This year, Earth Hour will occur between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on March 27. 

In February, the NJ Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee passed its own resolution supporting Earth Hour. The legislation was sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Fanwood).

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In addition to requesting support for the event, Krishna Kumar also asked the council to look for inessential lights in the borough that could be turned off during the hour. 

Councilman Robert Manduca took offense with the implicit suggestion in the resolution that climate change is caused by the actions of mankind. 

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"There's no demonstrative proof that there is man-made climate change," Manduca said. 

The councilman said he felt this event was an attempt to make the issue political, and that he feels that science should be left to the scientists.

Other members of the council disagreed with this reasoning. Borough Attorney Dennis Estes went as far as pulling out his Blackberry and consulting the Environmental Protection Agency for a definition of climate change. The definition, found here, essentially states that changes to the climate are caused by many factors, not just the actions of people. 

Krishna Kumar pointed out that it is not so much the environmental impact that is the point of Earth Hour. Rather, it's the message that's sent by the event.

Mayor Colleen Mahr noted that it's similar to something like National Night Out, which brings people outside to fight crime. The effectiveness can be disputed, but the message is clear, she said. Earth Hour would be showing that people want to fight climate change, no matter the causes. 

One member of the council asked about the possible amount of energy that can be cut down by doing this and Krishna Kumar said she would look into it.

The council concurred that it was open to participating in Earth Hour in some way. They mentioned that even if the town should for some reason decide not to participate, individuals should definitely consider partaking by turning the lights off in their residences. 

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