ORANJ - MEETINGS

2008 Spring Meeting of ORANJ Devoted to Environmental Issues

The spring semi-annual ORANJ meeting took place on April 16 at Medford Leas. After a brief business meeting, the morning was devoted to a presentation by Solomon Randall, Founder and Executive Director of NJ Sustainable State Institute, a Rutgers University think tank devoted to strategies to enhance sustainability in NJ. “Sustainability” or “Sustainable Development” means protecting the resources and systems that support us today so that they will be available to future generations.

Mr Randall pointed out that we have finite resources, i.e. air and water and that we need to live within these limits. Our consumption of these resources, can be defined as our “ecological footprint.” Thus, Princeton’s ecological footprint requires an area 61 times the size of Princeton itself. The footprint reflects not only the number of acres needed to sustain a person but also by the number of acres lost by the trash generated by each of us. Therefore, we lose 4,000 acres of open space daily in part because each person produces 90,000 pounds of trash in his lifetime.

Even though the US has not signed the Kyoto Protocol, many of the cities, have designed their own plans to deal with global warming. Among the strategies are efforts to decrease pollution by encouraging people to move more closely together and to increase the amount of open space . With higher population density public transportation becomes economically viable and pollution due to car travel decreases. Another set of strategies is the adoption of green building practices, which may be expensive in the near term.

He emphasized that it will be important to engage all sectors of society to bring about environmentally friendly changes in practice, including the public and private sector, the schools etc. But if we neglect such efforts we can expect catastrophic results from global warming. As an example, he pointed out that if the average high temperatures in NJ were to rise 15 degrees we could expect significantly less rain and the earth will become too warm to soak in whatever rain there is. To avoid such a disaster, NJ must mandate energy efficient practices, increase the amount of biomass used for fuel, and levy a carbon tax. He suggested as a target for NJ that 22% of our energy needs will be satisfied from renewable sources by 2021.

To help communities measure their effectiveness in combating global warming, his institute has developed a set of measurable goals, indicators, and actions. However, he pointed out that one of the problems with design of energy policy is that actions that lead to desired outcomes can also have unintended negative consequences. For instance, Brazil gets 50% of its fuel from biofuels but this decreases the food supply available to the population.

The afternoon presentation was made by Fred Profeta, a former mayor of Maplewood, NJ, and currently Deputy Mayor of Maplewood for the Environment. As he put it, “For me, the environment is the number one issue.” But he was optimistic that American ingenuity that is able to put a man on the moon will also be able to tamp down the “doomsday scenario” of the environmental movement.

He pointed out that Maplewood is known as a “green” community and has made great strides in that direction. It has been expensive but it has earned Maplewood a significant dividend. According to the realtors, residential properties in Maplewood have maintained their value despite the drop elsewhere.

He described the new police station as the first public green building in NJ. It has solar panels on the roof which, together with its tinted windows, reduces electricity consumption by 20% . The building also has sensors which turn on the light and respond to motion and to an increase in the amount of CO2 when additional people enter the room. The savings from these strategies more than pay for the extra investments.

In addition, Mr Profeta has persuaded the community to commit to hybrid cars and he hopes that the entire municipal fleet will be green by 2015. Also, the community has instituted jitney service for commuters during rush hours, which, they calculate, will take 300 cars off the roads.

Mr. Profeta pointed out that we cannot yet evaluate all the effects of global warming. For instance, what will happen to our local trees and plants that cannot migrate north when local temperatures rise? What will happen to the ski industry in VT and NH when the snow disappears?

On the other hand, we can try to buy local products to reduce emissions from trucks that transport goods, and could benefit local producers. We can encourage the use of fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescents, build bike paths and place racks where they will provide an incentive to use bicycles instead of automobiles. We can also plant trees, a good CO2 sink and forbid the destruction of trees above a certain height unless they are deceased.

One of the main ways to encourage “green” is to develop the tool kits, such as new books in the “Dummies” series, e.g. “Environment for Dummies,” help to establish criteria to measure whether efforts have been successful, and provide incentives to encourage effective strategies. As Mr. Profeta said, “This is our job. Can we do it? Sure but we need everyone to get aboard.”

-Ellen Handler

The 2007 Fall Plenary Meeting

The Plenary Meeting of ORANJ on October 16, 2007 at Franciscan Oaks in Denville attracted about 120 attendees from 16 members CCRCs. Among the attendees were Joan Duggan, CEO of the NJ Homes and Services for the Aging and Peter Desh of the Department of Community Affairs in Trenton.

The morning speaker was Candy Ashmun, a private consultant on environmental matters including land use and preservation (www.anjec.org) accompanied by Michelle Byers of the NJ Conservation Foundation (www.njconservation.org).

Ms. Ashmun spoke about two major environmental issues affecting the state, the country and the world: Climate change, especially that segment caused by human behavior, and land use, especially as it affects water supply. She mentioned that NJ is an old, industrial state that has been blessed with good water. Therefore, the state is famous for its good beer and pharmaceuticals. However, it needs to take concerted action to protect its water supply and this is difficult to achieve because of its fragmented responsibilities. The state has 566 municipalities in 21 counties that have a hand in land use and badly needs regional plans in order to be effective.

She emphasized what the CCRCs and their residents can do, including but not limited to:

· Start their own Environmental Committee at each CCRC.

· Volunteer to serve on the municipality’s Environmental Commission.

· Have their community conduct an energy audit.

· Address energy conservation issues including the use of fluorescent bulbs, which provide as much candle-power, at a far lower wattage, than the incandescent bulbs in use.

· Set up composting facilities so that the mulch that is generated may be used in the spring rather than having to buy it.

· Plant native species of plants and trees.

· Install solar panels for heating water and/or generating power with voltaic cells.

In the afternoon, Linda Rose, Vice President of Health Services for Presbyterian Homes and Services, spoke on “How to talk to Your Doctor.” She pointed out that seniors have many problems in communicating with their doctors. Often they are unable to adequately inform their doctor of their problems or even of the medicines that they are taking. They also have problems in remembering what they are told. She emphasized preparing for a visit with your doctor, writing down questions, taking notes and asking another person to accompany them as an additional pair of ears.

Ms. Rose gave every attendee a pamphlet entitled “A Guide for Older People; Talking with your Doctor.” It contains information and recommendations developed by the Federal Government’s National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. It also includes work sheets that will help patients to prepare for their visits with their doctor. Anybody who was not present at the meeting can obtain one of the pamphlets from the website, www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications and click on “Healthy Aging.”to order copies of “Talking with your Doctor.”

An additional source of help is the websites listed at the back of the pamphlet that provide further information for communicating with busy physicians.

The 2007 Spring Plenary Meeting

On April 18, 2007, ORANJ held its plenary meeting at the Pines at Whiting. 104 members attended, representing 19 CCRC communities and 3 guests.

In the morning session, Steven Schragis, founder of One Day University, described his programs. Four or five of the most popular professors of Ivy League colleges are asked to speak in a day of classes. The program is popular with seniors. It was suggested that individual CCRCs might be able to work with him to develop programs for members of one or groups of CCRCs.

In the afternoon session, two nurses from the Living Independently Group described various devices and monitoring techniques for keeping people safe in their own homes.

The 2006 Fall Plenary meeting

On October 18, 2006, Michael Patterson from AARP addressed the fall meeting of ORANJ (the Organization of Residents Associations of New Jersey) at Stonebridge at Montgomery in Skillman, NJ. The meeting attracted a record turnout of over 100 people from various CCRCs (Continuous Care Retirement Communities) throughout the state. The presentation on brain health is part of a national Staying Sharp initiative, which is a joint project of NRTA: AARP’s Educator Community, (formerly the National Retired Teachers Association): and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives.

Summary of Mr. Patterson's address

2006 Spring Plenary Meeting

Koza Address - Responsive Leadership
At the 2006 Spring Plenary Meeting of ORANJ, Dennis Koza, CEO of Medford Leas, described the five “Truths” a CEO needs to believe for effective communication with residents of a CCRC. The first truth is: The residents pay my salary. ,,Koza Speech..

Catherine Kelly of Seabrook spoke on the Health Insurance Portability Accountabiility Act and Ford Livengood of the Essex County Fraud Unit spoke on identity theft.

Minutes of the 2006 Spring Meeting

2006 Meeting of the South West District - Representatives of Southwest Disctrict CCRCs met to share information so that ideas and best practices may be disseminated among CCRCs. Meeting Minutes

American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA-2005)-- ORANJ representative, Helen Vukasin, of Medford Leas, attended the fall meeting of AASHA in San Antonio, Texas, November 6-10, 2005. Meeting concurrently with the AASHA conference was a meeting of the National Continuing Care Residents Association (NaCCRA-2005) Ms. Vukasin's formal reports to ORANJ can be viewed at the links provided.