Eco-Logic

• multitasking EVs -
• beach recovery -
• pocket gophers -
• Mt. St. Helens -

GREEN AMENDMENTS: PROGRESS AND OBSTACLES

Green amendments secure a constitutional right to pure water, clean air, a stable climate, & healthy environments for all people, including future generations, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomics.

It seems that such an amendment would not be needed because those rights would be automatic. However, we live in a society that values profit over environmental health. There is a movement to pass Green Amendments in every state. So far, three states have one (Pennsylvania, Montana, and New York) and 27 states have active campaigns.

Green amendments are designed to be self-executing, but in practice, even when one has been adopted, without enabling legislation, it is often overlooked. Too often, constitutional issues are looked at as matters of principle, as aspirational—but in reality, just like freedom of the press or freedom of assembly, they are meant to be realized in practice, not simply theories. Like so many beneficial laws, Green Amendments need to be enforced. Principle, without supporting laws, is rarely enough. Voter vigilance is always key. Especially now, with so many environmental protections being taken away or ignored, it's more important than ever for states to come through. Expecting politicians to come through without vigilance and activism is like Charlie Brown expecting Lucy to let him kick the football.

A Green Amendment is not the same as a Rights of Nature amendment (a coalition in Westchester County is working on Rights of Nature for New York); a Green Amendment provides for human rights to clean air, water, and environment, but does not provide for the right of a river to flow or wildlife to have protected habitat, for a couple of examples. One obstacle has been the “siloing” of such issues as public health, affordable housing, and environmental protection; they are all connected, and we need to come together to pass and use green amendments and other legislation.

We will discuss how to use this tool when we have it and how to get it when we don't yet, plus how to overcome lack of enabling statutes. What are the possible arguments against this amendment? What do we say to counter them? What are the Environmental Justice aspects of Green Amendments?

Our guests this week are Maya van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper and founder of the Green Amendments For The Generations Movement and Joel Kupferman from the National Lawyers Guild Environmental Justice Committee.

We begin the show with news segments. This week: multitasking EVs, a successful beach recovery from overuse, and pocket gophers restoring the Mt. St. Helens ecosystem.

Our music for you this week is Paul Pino's “It Ain’t Over ’Til We Win,” Paul is a past guest on Eco-Logic and he is with the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium.

• Joel Kupferman - National Lawyers Guild Environmental Justice Committee
• Maya van Rossum - Green Amendments for the Generations

• Eco - Logic Theme Medley
• It Ain’t Over Till We Win -  Paul Pino

• http://ecoradio.org

• https://forthegenerations.org