“Sometimes you just gotta do what’s right inside and hope that maybe the rest of the world will come around to it. And maybe they will and maybe they won’t, but the truth is, you gotta take care of yourself first,“ – Elizabeth Warren, talking about her own life at a campaign rally, December 1, 2019. Perhaps the strongest statement made in this campaign to date.
Today I finished paying off my legal costs resulting from environmental justice activism in rural southwest New Jersey over this past year. It’s been financially devastating; the lawyers’ costs, court costs, fines. Some, including a judge, have admonished me to keep quiet and stay offline with my social media projects. We are aware that government trolls this web site and presumably all of my activism. The prosecutor for the New Jersey Attorney General said “stop breaking the law” as if I had personally created any of the disasters we face today. The past president of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants wrote today in reply to my latest editorial “Come on man!”, apparently ignorant of the real life challenges we face as a result of systematic discrimination under the status quo. A New Jersey elected official threatened me at a public meeting in response to a published editorial critical of government a few months ago.
These comments from prominent community members tell me that they have no clue that this is only the beginning of a movement of peaceful lawbreaking protests against environmental injustice against so many in the lower echelon of the economy. No matter what the cost, backing down, keeping quiet and following the law is not an option. State governments will continue to increase prosecutions against environmental activists, whether they are marching in the street like these protestorsor trying to develop sustainable rural communities like me.
To add insult to injury, there is no indication that any of my attention-getting efforts have resulted in any form of economic development or new opportunities for our community. Nobody I know, from our local Cumberland County elected leaders (Derella and other freeholders) all the way up to the governor’s office, has a viable plan to address continued environmental injustice issues here at the bayshore1, 2. It’s just outside of their scope. Local mayors and business leaders do have viable ideas but lack the financial clout to get it done. My support of a proposed New Jersey State bank drew much criticism lately; many (mostly Republicans) are opposed to the wealth treasure mechanism that moves investment capital to riskier but socially supported projects.
In the end, I just have to do what I know is right, and hope that the rest of the world comes around to it. At this time, it’s the only ethical option.
Tony Novak, environmental activist with Baysave, the target of multiple New Jersey prosecutions in 2019
Footnotes:
1Governor Murphy launched an environmental justice exploratory project by executive order in early 2019 I’ve entered written and oral public testimony as part of that project (covered in my other blogs) and I made multiple requests for follow-up conversation but have had no response to my communications.
2People often suggest approaching federal government with environmental justice concerns. I do maintain good working relationships with our current (VanDrew) and former (LoBiondo) Congressman and both US Senators (Booker and Menendez), both individually and through grassroots PACs. But I find that the federal government has relatively little role in the environmental justice issues that affect us locally. These are primarily state government controlled issues.