DeepSummary
In this episode, Maya van Rossum, an environmental activist and author, discusses the limitations of current environmental laws and how they fail to prevent pollution and degradation. She proposes Green Amendments as a solution, which would enshrine the right to clean water, air, and a healthy environment in state and federal constitutions, giving these rights the highest legal protection.
Van Rossum explains that Green Amendments have already been successful in Pennsylvania, Montana, and New York, enabling victories against pro-fracking legislation, youth climate litigation, and securing cleanup of toxic sites. She emphasizes that Green Amendments ensure environmental rights are protected equitably, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, advancing environmental justice.
Van Rossum's organization, Green Amendments for the Generations, is working with communities in over 15 states across the political spectrum to secure Green Amendments. She remains optimistic about the future, inspired by the people coming together to create positive change through this constitutional pathway.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Current environmental laws fail to prevent pollution and degradation, legalizing harm through permits and reviews.
- Green Amendments enshrine the rights to clean water, air, a healthy environment, and a stable climate in state and federal constitutions.
- Green Amendments reorient government action towards prevention and equitable protection of environmental rights for all citizens.
- Green Amendments have achieved successes in states like Pennsylvania, Montana, and New York, defeating pro-fracking legislation and enabling youth climate litigation.
- Maya van Rossum's organization, Green Amendments for the Generations, is working with communities across the political spectrum in over 15 states to secure Green Amendments.
- Green Amendments address environmental racism and advance environmental justice by ensuring equitable protection of environmental rights.
- Van Rossum remains optimistic, inspired by the people coming together through the Green Amendments movement to create positive change.
- Green Amendments provide a transformative, constitutional pathway to secure a clean, safe, and healthy environment for all.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “So a Green amendment is an amendment that gets added to the Bill of Rights section of our state and federal constitutions and literally lifts up the right to clean water, clean air, a healthy environment, and stable climate.“ by Maya van Rossum
- “In practice, having that highest constitutional recognition and protection necessarily reorients all government action and decision making. So it's focused on prevention of pollution and degradation and harm first, because there's this constitutional obligation to protect the environmental rights of all the people.“ by Maya van Rossum
- “The fact of the matter is, the way our current system of laws are written in every state across our nation and at the federal level. Environmental racism, systemic environmental racism, is very literally built in so that communities of color, indigenous communities, low income communities, become intentionally targeted for highly polluting industrial operations or environmentally degrading activities under sort of the claim that if we continue to voice pollution, degradation, and burden on the same communities over and over, we sort of are protecting everybody else.“ by Maya van Rossum
- “What makes me optimistic about the future is there are so many wonderful people out there that really are making change, that are coming together and making change. And I have the joy and the honor of meeting these people day in and day out through my green amendments for the generations organization and movement, and they inspire me.“ by Maya van Rossum
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Episode Information
Climate Changers
Ryan Flahive
6/15/23