NJPIRG canvassers begin clean-car campaign

Organization seeks students to knock on doors in area.

By: David Campbell
   NJPIRG, a public-interest advocacy group, announced the opening of its Princeton canvass office Thursday and the start of the NJPIRG Clean Cars for Cleaner Air summer campaign.
   The organization plans to recruit local high school and college students to canvass thousands of residents this summer in Mercer and Hunterdon counties, said Campaign Director Doug O’Malley. The advocacy group has run an annual outreach office in Princeton since 1984, Mr. O’Malley said.
   NJPIRG is targeting key Central Jersey districts to rally support for the Clean Cars Act, pending state legislation that would tighten emission standards for cars sold in New Jersey.
   "Central New Jersey breathes some of the worst polluted air in the state, and indeed in the nation," Mr. O’Malley said. "After a full year of inaction at the statehouse, NJPIRG is taking its campaign to the people of Mercer County."
   The automobile industry has lobbied aggressively against the bill, which is modeled after tougher car-emissions standards set by California. New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine have already adopted similar standards.
   While many legislators in the Assembly and Senate have supported the restrictions, the bill remains stalled in committee. Co-sponsors of the bill include Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence), Sen. Peter Inverso (R-Hamilton), Assemblywoman Linda Greenstein (D-Plainsboro) and Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Princeton Borough).
   NJPIRG is pushing to have the bill passed by the end of the current legislative session June 30, Mr. O’Malley said.
   The group also released a white paper Thursday that claims Mercer County residents are exposed to smog levels that greatly exceed federal standards and has one of the highest rates of adult asthma in the state.