By: Isabel Molina, RNJCC Strategic Advisor
2024 was the hottest year on record since 1880, breaking the previous top record-holding year, 2023. 2025 is on track to receive second place for hottest year recorded. With temperatures consistently climbing, it has never been more important for people to have access to a cool environment during extreme heat events.
Cooling often starts with the household, but when the average New Jersey resident is paying an average of about $3 per day or $1,095 annually on electricity (based on PSE&G August 2025 rates; with the average residential customer consuming 3,029 kilowatt hours annually), it’s no wonder why some residents are increasingly shying away from keeping their homes at a comfortable temperature, and others are justifiably frustrated with their energy bills.
Unfortunately, there is no easy solution. With growing demand and a slow, long, pending queue to interconnect more energy to the grid, it’ll take very good public policy and political will to ensure that energy bills are affordable for everyone. There need to be other changes at the neighborhood and household level – from planting trees with canopies that partially cover a building from direct sunlight (which can result in significant energy savings), to enrolling in community solar for 15-30% savings on your electricity bill, to pairing shut-off prevention programs with access to cooling as a guaranteed right. The list goes on.
But what does my energy bill increasing have to do with rewilding? A lot of people spend so much of their time in their own homes, relying on household-level temperature control for comfort, and often miss the opportunity to connect with their community and with nature – in a publicly available third space. For those of us who can, we should set our thermostats a little higher in the summer, leave our homes, and head to a park, splash pad, public library or community center.
Third spaces have the potential to reconnect us with others and ourselves, while keeping us cool. Sitting in shade near a body of water can be a great way to self-reflect and appreciate nature. Taking your child to a splash pad can be a way to socialize with other parents in your neighborhood. Going to a community center can allow you to meet the broader community and stay in air conditioning. Visit the beach; go to a state or county park; stop by a farm; visit a free or affordable museum.
I’m not suggesting that this is THE solution to our energy crisis, to energy costs increasing, or to the planet warning. What I am suggesting is another option for how we normally spend our days, while reducing your energy bill. Third spaces give us the opportunity to experience more of what our communities and state has to offer; it is what allows us to connect with our surroundings and build community resilience. These critical yet sometimes overlooked spaces are meant to be utilized – and that starts with you.
Let’s get WILD New Jersey!
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