Green Amendment Would Guarantee Environmental Rights

Today the Senate Environment and Energy Committee released SCR134 (Greenstein), which proposes constitutional amendment to make State trustee of public natural resources and guarantee to the people other environmental rights. The constitutional amendment would protect right to clean air and water. Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, released the following statement:

“Citizens throughout the world have the right to clean air and water, and a healthy planet. Here in New Jersey, we can do something about it. We can adopt a constitutional amendment guaranteeing those rights to every man, woman, and child in our state. For far too long polluters and developers have been getting away with destroying our environment and impacting public health. When government doesn’t work on behalf of the people, citizens should have the right to fight back. When the government ignores environmental problems and sides with special interests, then communities should have a constitutional amendment allowing them to protect themselves and force the government to do their jobs.

“The people of New Jersey have showed time and again that we value clean air and water. We have opposed Christie’s Exxon sell-out that allowed the company to get away with contaminating our natural resources. We have fought against offshore drilling, pipelines, and polluting power plants. We have spoken out about how Trump’s denial of climate change is a denial of our future. The voters have approved funding for open space and dedicating money to environmental settlements. Polluters and developers don’t respect the peoples’ right to clean air and water. We have no doubt that the people of New Jersey believe in their right to clean air and water and would support this Amendment. We all deserve the freedom to be healthy in a healthy environment. After all, you can’t have free speech if you can’t breathe the air.

“With the Trump Administration ignoring sea level rise and siding with fossil fuel companies and big businesses over the welfare and safety of the American people, it’s more important than ever that New Jersey act. People’s right to clean air and water should always come before a gas company’s desire to drill or an industry’s poisoning of our communities. We have the right to preserve the natural, scenic, historic, and aesthetic values of the environment while protecting our public health and safety. We have the right to clean up toxic sites that threaten our communities and health. The people of New Jersey have the right to clean air and water and a healthy environment and this amendment would ensure that those rights are respected.”

“Today moves New Jersey forward when it comes to protecting people’s rights to clean air, water, and natural resources. When government doesn’t work on behalf of the people, citizens should have the right to fight back. When the government ignores environmental problems and sides with special interests, then communities should have a constitutional amendment allowing them to protect themselves and force the government to do their jobs,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “For far too long polluters and developers have been getting away with destroying our environment and impacting public health. We want to thank Senator Greenstein for her leadership on this important issue.”