LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, July 27
Princeton lags in energy savings
To the editor:
Your editorial ("Our state has head start on cleaner air", July 24) raised some interesting facts about how New Jersey stacks up against other states in emissions that contribute to global warming.
One interesting statistic given is that NJ has the 9th highest energy consumption in its housing.
We can start reversing this trend in Princeton by requiring that new development and redevelopment be energy efficient. Although some other towns, including our neighbor, Lawrence Township, are moving forward on this with ordinances that require meaningful energy savings in new development, Princeton has not made this a priority or requirement in the site review process.
As reported in the Packet on July 20, Lawrence is requiring a "sustainable "design assessment which outlines how the proposed development would use sustainable building design, materials and systems.
This includes orienting buildings to take advantage of passive heating and cooling, including passive solar.
New development and redevelopment in Princeton should be planned now with these and other energy saving features, including low energy appliances, so that we do our part to counter global warming and, very importantly, save energy costs for the occupants of these buildings, thus improving local economic factors as well.
This should be an integral part of the early planning process. There are some here who would make energy conservation steps voluntary on the part of the developer. This will not work because most developers have short term interests. It is the ultimate buyer or renter who will foot the long term and increasing energy costs well after the developer has moved on.
Princeton should become a leader in energy conservation by putting in place the appropriate requirements as soon as possible so they are incorporated into the early building designs and site review process, and not as an after-thought.
Grace Sinden
Ridgeview Circle
Princeton
Lacrosse program thanks a host
To the editor:
On behalf of the Bobby Campbell Lacrosse Foundation I would like to thank Stuart Country Day School for providing us the use of their facilities for our first summer lacrosse camp last week.
Approximately 40 boys, over half of whom were from our Trenton BRIDGE Lacrosse program, participated in the three-day camp where they learned lacrosse skills along with lessons of character and teamwork from Chazz Woodson, John Christmas an Kyle Harrison, three prominent professional lacrosse players.
We would like to thank Stuart’s board for making their facilities available to us, the maintenance crew for providing fields in excellent condition, and to Bill Curnan and Sister de la Chapelle for their kindness in ensuring we had whatever we needed to conduct a successful camp.
Thank you to Stuart for this great opportunity and we look forward to another successful camp next year.
Ken Foulk, executive director
Bobby Campbell
Lacrosse Foundation
Herrontown Road
Princeton
West Windsor bike path safety problems
To the editor:
Last Saturday I was bicycling on the new paths in West Windsor. They are very nice but they lack metal poles at the intersections to prevent drivers from entering or from discouraging people on the paths from slowing down and looking in both directions before crossing. Meanwhile, there is a metal pole on either end of the footbridge over the Bear Brook adjacent to Community Park. There is no need for that metal pole. You should be slowing down when going down from the top of the bridge anyway.
All of this struck me funny because the day before I was on the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, near the New York-Connecticut border. Over there, there are sometimes five metal poles at an intersection (three poles across, then two poles). Other intersections have two metal, non-overlapping gates across the path.
Please don’t tell me that West Windsor’s inaction was done for budgetary reasons. I cannot take the news of a child on a bike not wearing a helmet being killed by a driver going too fast while the child was crossing the road on the bike path. I cannot take news like what happened in New York City when a driver drove one mile on the Henry Hudson Bikeway, killing a biker from East Brunswick.
Please do something now. Don’t wait for someone to be killed.
Daniel Rappoport
Co-founder, Princeton Freewheelers
Holly House
Princeton Community Village
Princeton
University clout worries him
To the editor:
I would like to comment on the Guest Opinion column by Jim Firestone, in the Thursday, July 10, issue of The Princeton Packet.
I am not a resident of Princeton, but my family has lived in nearby Franklin Township for several generations, I worked at Princeton Medical Center in the 1970s, I was a graduate student at Princeton University (P.U.) in the 1980’s, and I continue to visit Princeton on a regular basis.
I was unpleasantly surprised to read about friction between PU and the townfolk, as expressed in Firestone’s "company town" remarks. If it is true that one has to "watch out for the retribution, then I am worried because I currently am engaged in a legal dispute with PU over a civil rights violation matter. I certainly am no match for an institution with a $13 billion endowment and an alumni organization that raised over $49 million during the past year.
The economic and political clout of PU and its alumni is well known and impressive, but also disturbing. For example, during the past week, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, PU Class of 1981, had to apologize when he got caught using the New York State Police to besmirch the reputation of his political opponent.
Also, US General David Petraeus, P.U. classes of 1985 and 1987 and commander of multinational forces in Iraq, announced plans to keep US troops in Iraq through 2009, a decision guaranteed to enhance the level of danger for all US citizens worldwide.
One wonders what forces are at work behind the scenes at PU, if it has premanently lost all connections with its religious roots, and what might be its real "mission" in the world.
David Wade, Ph.D.
Wade Research Foundation
Rodney Avenue
Somerset

