Research
Each post picks one environmental justice issue in New Jersey and tests it with public data and published science. Every post has a code project that produces its numbers and figures.
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When it rains, old combined sewers overflow into New Jersey rivers. I looked at how often outfalls discharge and who lives nearby. (7 min. read)
Continue reading →: When It Rains, It Pours Sewage: Combined Sewer Overflows in New JerseyPosted on
Neighborhoods redlined in the 1930s are hotter today, and tree cover explains most of the gap. Satellite heat and redlining in New Jersey. (11 min. read)
Continue reading →: Mapped in 1937, Hotter in 2026: Redlining, Trees, and Heat in New JerseyPosted on
Does the Ironbound really host more environmental-justice-regulated facilities than anywhere in New Jersey? I tested the claim in the PVSC plant case. (9 min. read)
Continue reading →: A Power Plant for Every Square Mile? The Ironbound and the Hardest Case for Environmental Justice LawPosted on
Lead pipes, old paint, and children's blood lead in New Jersey: where elevated levels are concentrated and what Newark and Trenton show about progress. (8 min. read)
Continue reading →: Getting the Lead Out: Pipes, Paint, and Children's Blood in New JerseyPosted on
PFAS in New Jersey drinking water are widely shared across the state. A look at federal testing results, who is affected, and who pays for treatment. (8 min. read)
Continue reading →: Forever Chemicals, Everyone's Problem? PFAS in New Jersey's Drinking WaterPosted on
What happens when rising seas reach New Jersey's contaminated sites? I looked at which sites could flood and which communities live closest to them. (7 min. read)
Continue reading →: Toxic Tides: When Rising Seas Meet New Jersey's Contaminated SitesPosted on
Diesel, distribution, and a gap in New Jersey's Environmental Justice Law: who lives near large warehouses, and what a proposed warehouse bill would cover. (9 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Warehouse State: Diesel, Distribution, and a Gap in New Jersey's Environmental Justice LawPosted on
How New Jersey's Environmental Justice Law works, what the courts have decided, and what the data show as the state Supreme Court reviews the rules. (16 min. read)
Continue reading →: Denial by Default? New Jersey's Environmental Justice Law Goes to the State Supreme CourtPosted on
This capstone builds a cumulative-burden index from 26 measures, compares it with NJDEP's official count, and sorts burdened places into three types. (6 min. read)
Continue reading →: Capstone: Building a Cumulative-Burden Index from the Data UpPosted on
Can free OpenStreetMap data map New Jersey's warehouses? I checked how complete it is and who lives near the mapped buildings, using spatial statistics. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Can Open Data Map New Jersey's Warehouses? A Lesson in Data Gaps and Spatial BiasPosted on
How many serious environmental hazards does each New Jersey neighborhood face at once? Overburdened communities face far more, even within the same county. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Piling Up: How Many Serious Hazards Does Each Neighborhood Face at Once?Posted on
Stress-testing NJDEP's cumulative stressor test as the NJ Supreme Court takes the case: what if one stressor is dropped or the data have small errors? (5 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Supreme Court Takes the Case: Stress-Testing New Jersey's Stressor TestPosted on
Measuring New Jersey's pollution gap like income inequality: which environmental burdens are most unequal, and whether race or income matters more. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: How Unequal Is It? Measuring New Jersey's Pollution Gap Like Economists Measure Income InequalityPosted on
How many New Jersey students go to school next to a major highway, and are they more likely to be low-income? A look at schools and highways. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Back to School Next to the HighwayPosted on
Where are New Jersey's scrap metal yards, and who lives near them? A map and distance analysis of metal recyclers and overburdened communities. (3 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Scrap Yard Next Door: Mapping New Jersey's Metal RecyclersPosted on
On New Jersey's hottest days, power-plant pollution rises and older peaker plants switch on. A look at 2025 emissions, temperatures and who lives nearby. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Peaker Plants on Hot Days: When the Heat Rises, So Does Power-Plant PollutionPosted on
Did New Jersey's heat-island grants reach the hottest, most vulnerable places? A comparison of awards with heat vulnerability and hot spots. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Did the Heat Grants Reach the Hottest Places?Posted on
After a deadly July heat wave, a look at how New Jersey's hottest neighborhoods form large connected clusters and who lives in them. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The July Heat Wave: Mapping New Jersey's Heat Hot SpotsPosted on
A heat vulnerability index for every New Jersey neighborhood shows who is most at risk in a heat wave and how it overlaps with overburdened communities. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Measuring Heat Vulnerability: Who Is Most at Risk When the Next Heat Wave Hits?Posted on
Who lives near New Jersey's high-risk chemical facilities? Overburdened communities are far more likely to, as EPA weighs rolling back safety rules. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: One Bad Day: Who Lives Near New Jersey's High-Risk Chemical Facilities?Posted on
New Jersey's ozone fell over the past decade, but progress has stalled since 2020. A look at monitor data from 2015 to 2025 and who shares the burden. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: A Decade of Ozone: New Jersey's Progress Has StalledPosted on
Who lives within a mile of a toxic-release facility in New Jersey? Overburdened communities are far more likely to, even within the same county. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Living Next to Industry: Who Lives Within a Mile of a Toxic-Release Facility?Posted on
Are health-based drinking water violations more common in New Jersey systems that serve overburdened communities? A look at five years of data. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Is the Water Safe? Health-Based Drinking Water Violations in New JerseyPosted on
Modeled air toxics cancer risk is slightly higher in New Jersey's overburdened communities, and the gap comes from local sources like ports, rail and cars. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Earth Day 2026: The Air Toxics Picture in New JerseyPosted on
What changed when New Jersey updated its overburdened communities map, and why some neighborhoods may flip status. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: A New Map of Burden: What Changed When New Jersey Updated Its Overburdened CommunitiesPosted on
New Jersey must replace its lead service lines by 2031. How big is the job, and which communities are most affected? (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Five Years Left: Can New Jersey Replace Its Lead Pipes by 2031?Posted on
Sewer overflows look like they are falling, but so did rain. A rain-adjusted analysis of New Jersey's combined sewer outfalls. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Sewage in the Rain: After Accounting for Weather, Are New Jersey's Sewer Overflows Declining?Posted on
How much does New Jersey's overburdened-community map depend on three threshold numbers? A sensitivity analysis. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Where Do You Draw the Line? How Three Numbers Decide Who Is 'Overburdened'Posted on
A court upheld New Jersey's environmental justice rules. I also checked whether NJDEP's overburdened-community math can be reproduced. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Court Upholds the Rules: What the Appellate Division Decided, and Can We Check NJDEP's Math?Posted on
Are trucks and diesel exhaust concentrated in New Jersey's overburdened communities? A look at the data behind the warehouse boom. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Warehouse Boom: Are Trucks and Diesel Concentrated in Overburdened Communities?Posted on
A court paused a fourth power plant in Newark's Ironbound. Distance-ring data show how much pollution burden surrounds the site. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Ironbound's Fourth Power Plant: A Court Hits PausePosted on
New Jersey's newest childhood lead report was three years old. Here is where elevated blood lead is concentrated and why. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Lead in Children's Blood: What the State's Newest Report Showed, and Why It Was Already Three Years OldPosted on
Do overburdened communities have more contaminated sites nearby even within the same county? A test of New Jersey's data. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Five Years After the EJ Law: Contaminated Sites Next DoorPosted on
Drinking water data show different PFAS chemical fingerprints in South Jersey, and what the DuPont settlement means for nearby communities. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Chemical Fingerprints: What the DuPont Settlement Means, and What South Jersey's Water ShowsPosted on
Where New Jersey is shortest on shade, and what tree canopy and pavement data suggest for the state's new urban heat program. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Planting Shade: Where New Jersey's New Heat Program Could Do the Most GoodPosted on
Satellite data show which New Jersey towns run hottest in summer, and why pavement matters more than anything else. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Hottest in the City: What Satellites Show About Heat in New Jersey's TownsPosted on
Who lives next to New Jersey's fuel-burning power plants? Overburdened communities are about three times as likely to live near one. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Plants Behind the Bill: Who Lives Next to New Jersey's Power Plants?Posted on
What did EPA's EJScreen, taken down in February 2025, show about New Jersey? A look at 13 pollution indicators and the share of people of color. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Map EPA Took Down: What EJScreen's Last Data Showed About New JerseyPosted on
New Jersey has more Superfund sites than any other state. Who lives within a mile of them? A look at proximity in overburdened communities. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Superfund State: Who Lives Near New Jersey's 113 Most Hazardous Sites?Posted on
Where does New Jersey stand on the fine particle (PM2.5) standard that EPA announced it would reconsider? A look at monitor data across the state. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: The Soot Standard Under Review: Where New Jersey Stands on Fine Particle PollutionPosted on
How often did New Jersey's air fail the federal ozone standard in 2024? A look at monitor data and why ozone is shared more widely than other pollutants. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: Ozone Season 2024: How Often Did New Jersey's Air Fail the Federal Standard?Posted on
A first look at what New Jersey's factories report releasing in the Toxics Release Inventory, and why pounds are not the same as harm. (4 min. read)
Continue reading →: What Do New Jersey's Factories Report Releasing? A First Look at the Toxics Release InventoryPosted on
Who lives near New Jersey's four trash incinerators? Nearly everyone within a mile lives in an overburdened community. (3 min. read)
Continue reading →: Burning Trash Next Door: Who Lives Near New Jersey's Incinerators?Posted on
Who lives among New Jersey's permitted air pollution sources? Overburdened communities have far more of them per square mile than other neighborhoods. (3 min. read)
Continue reading →: Licensed to Pollute: Who Lives Among New Jersey's Permitted Air Pollution Sources?Posted on
Who has parks and open space nearby? Comparing park access in New Jersey's overburdened communities and other neighborhoods, county by county. (3 min. read)
Continue reading →: Room to Breathe: Who Has Parks and Open Space Nearby?Posted on
Who lives near New Jersey's waste and recycling facilities? Overburdened communities are about twice as likely to have one in the neighborhood. (3 min. read)
Continue reading →: Where the Trash Goes: Who Lives Near New Jersey's Waste and Recycling Facilities?Posted on
Who lives where lead paint is most likely? A look at pre-1950 housing in New Jersey's overburdened communities compared with other neighborhoods. (3 min. read)
Continue reading →: Old Homes, Old Paint: Who Lives Where Lead Paint Is Most Likely?Posted on
Introducing a project on environmental injustice in New Jersey, using the state's own data to compare overburdened communities with other neighborhoods. (5 min. read)
Continue reading →: Environmental Injustice Is Real in New Jersey: Introducing This ProjectNo posts match those filters.
