Local Democratic Committee Calls for End of Fossil Fuel Use

"Off Fossil Fuels by 2040!" was the mantra of The Bernards Township Democratic Committee, which took action calling for less oil dependency and a cleaner environment yesterday.

At their meeting on Monday, the Democratic Committee unanimously adopted a resolution urging Congress and President Obama to declare 2010 a year for national dialog and subsequently take action beginning in 2011 to phase out the use of all fossil fuels by 2040. Called the "OFF by 2040" program, the resolution specifically:

1. States the United States must work to phase out the use of all fossil fuels by 2040.
2. Asks the President to declare 2010 to be a year for the national dialog, in which the people in public and private groups across the nation discuss the pros and cons of this program and the means for carrying it out.
3. Asks Congress to enact enabling legislation for the program in 2011 and for the President to take all necessary and appropriate actions to initiate and carry out the program.
4. Commits the Bernards Township Democratic Committee to continuing outreach and dialog with local and other levels of governmental and nongovernmental organizations to further the goals of OFF by 2040.

The Bernards Township Democratic Committee meets the first Monday of each month.  The meeting takes place from 6:30pm until 9pm in Program Room B in the lower level of the Bernards Township Library.  The meeting is managed by the Committee's Chair David Restaino and Vice-Chair Jonathan Cloud, both residents of Basking Ridge. The meetings are conducted with philosophy "Politics is local." 

One objective of the committee is to present topics and issues of interest to the citizens of Basking Ridge, encouraging attendance, involvement and membership in the Bernards Township Democratic Committee activities. The committee claimed success in 2009 as the number of registered Democrats in Bernards Township increased from approximately 15,550 to 46,780. In this same period, registered Republicans went from approximately 55,500 to 48,000 individuals, according to committee numbers.

This month's meeting began with the "Off Fossil Fuel by 2040" presentation spearheaded by Bill Allen.  Bill is the committee's Secretary and the last Democrat to serve on the Bernards Township Committee. The elected members of the Township Committee are currently all Republicans.

Bill, in his presentation, pointed out five positive impacts for phasing out the use of fossil fuels.  These are: (1) Impeding climate change and global warming; (2) Providing energy security by removing the dependence on oil; (3) Improving health with cleaner alternative fuels; (4) Increasing jobs by formation of a new infrastructure needs for alternative fuels; and (5) Lowing war costs and military risks associated with protection of oil producing areas. 

After the presentation, robust debate by the 25 attendees resulted in some changes to the resolution as initially proposed. The language additions called for more "politics is local" or grass roots involvement.  After the two hour discussion and debate, Democratic Committee Resolution No. 2010-01 was unanimously enacted.

Following adoption of the resolution, a short business meeting was conducted.  Most of discussion centered on securing individuals to serve as district chairs.  Bernards Township is divided into 24 districts and each district is permitted to have one female and one male who represent the Democratic Committee at county and state events.

The election of local district chairs will occur later this year.  At this time, over 20 district positions are available.  Some discussion over March's meeting topic also occurred though a topic was not selected.  Potential topics include the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision opening doors to unlimited corporate campaign donations, health care, reforms to U.S. financial systems and continuation of the "OFF by 2040" discussion with emphasis on what can be done at the local level.

The next meeting of the Bernards Township Democratic is scheduled for Monday, March 1.  The meetings are open to the public and all are encouraged to attend to be a part of local politics.