Catch up on all the drama surrounding pipelines in the Garden State by watching the videos above.

Environmental groups opposed to new natural gas pipelines in New Jersey have found a new strategy against pipelines proponent Gov. Chris Christie: Wait him out.

The groups' game plan has always involved obstruction — turning every transmission line application into a drawn-out and public fight, with the hope that popular opinion will eventually compel regulators and politicians to reject the project.

But with Christie's tenure winding down — the general election is November 7 and Christie's last day is Jan. 16 — there's another wrinkle.

"For us, we just want someone who is going to look at this stuff honestly and fairly," the New Jersey Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel said Thursday. "We believe that if the next governor does that then many of these pipeline projects would go away."

Part of our job, he said, "is to slow this down and wait for the next governor."

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Natural gas is generally a cheaper fuel than nuclear and cleaner than coal, but it is also a fossil fuel and a contributor to the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which drives the existential threat of climate change.

It's that last bit that has conservation-minded organizations digging in to stop new transmission pipelines, even as energy companies are making a substantial push to expand the supply of natural gas in the Northeast.

At least four major natural gas pipelines are currently proposed in New Jersey — a sign of the pressure to move more fuel from the wells in Pennsylvania to customers on the East Coast and elsewhere:

The Cape Atlantic Reliability Project: a 22-mile pipeline that would run under roads through the Pinelands and connect to the B.L. England power plant.

The Southern Reliability Link: a 30-mile pipeline that crosses into the Pinelands preserve via the Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst.

PennEast: a 120-mile interstate pipeline that ends near Pennington in Mercer County.

Northeast Supply Enhancement: a $1 billion project that would cross the Raritan Bay from Old Bridge to Brooklyn.

The Cape Atlantic project is the furthest along in terms of permits and approvals, but it remains tied up in the courts. The New Jersey Sierra Club and others have sued to stop its development.

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Christie inserted his office into the debate when he replaced a Pinelands Commission board member and then demoted the chairman after South Jersey Gas failed to advance in January 2014.

Minutes before the rearranged commission voted to approve the pipeline in February, Pinelands Preservation Alliance Executive Director Carleton Montgomery told the Asbury Park Press that he anticipated lawsuits could tie the project up through the end of Christie's time in office.

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A new governor would not only be able to remake the Pinelands Commission, but they could have considerable influence on the priorities of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the state Board of Public Utilities.

“No matter who is in the governor’s office, if NJDEP takes a hard look at whether these proposed projects are needed, and upholds the state and federal standards that apply, they will find that these projects do not pass muster," said Tom Gilbert, campaign director, ReThink Energy NJ, which advocates for the adoption of clean energy.

In a statement to the Press on how she sees the future of power in New Jersey, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, didn't mention natural gas once.

Atop the Democratic polls, Phil Murphy is pushing for 100 percent clean energy generation by 2050.

Christie's office did not immediately respond to a message from the Press seeking comment.

For their part, energy companies are saying publicly that their projects will succeed on the merits alone, regardless of who is governor.

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As an abundant domestic source of energy, nothing is more cost competitive than natural gas in the current landscape.

Solar and onshore wind are closing the gap, but utilities like South Jersey Gas, which owns the Cape Atlantic project in the Pinelands, and New Jersey Natural Gas, a shareholder in PennEast and the proprietor of the Southern Reliability Link, are betting millions on natural gas in the near term.

South Jersey Gas is "very confident" the Cape Atlantic pipeline will move forward, according to spokeswoman Barbara Del Duke.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app,com