Green amendments are emerging as an effective and essential tool in the quest for environmental justice, ensuring that citizens have the constitutional right to a healthy environment, which is intricately linked to their rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

In our conversation with Maya Van Rossem, the founder of Green Amendments for the Generations, we discuss how these amendments provide the necessary legal framework to protect our natural resources from industrial harm and pollution, safeguarding both current and future generations. 

With 19 states already taking steps towards drafting such amendments, we explore the tangible benefits experienced by states like Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania, where citizens enjoy cleaner air, water, and healthier communities. The discussion also highlights the ongoing challenges, including opposition from industries that benefit from environmental degradation, and how grassroots movements can effectively overcome these hurdles. 

Exploring the strategic roadmap for achieving widespread adoption of Green Amendments across the United States, Van Rossem outlines the tactical approach of building momentum at the state level before advancing towards a federal amendment. 

The movement aims to create a robust foundation for a national constitutional amendment that acknowledges and protects environmental rights by fostering awareness and support within individual states. We explore the diverse pathways through which citizens can advocate for Green Amendments, from legislative proposals to citizen initiatives, emphasizing the importance of grassroots involvement. 

Join us as we unpack the bold vision behind the Green Amendment movement and its potential to transform environmental rights into enforceable legal standards nationwide.

Takeaways:

• The concept of Green Amendments emphasizes the need for constitutional rights to a healthy environment alongside life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• As of now, 19 states have proposed Green Amendment initiatives, with notable successes in Montana, New York, and Pennsylvania.
• Green Amendments empower citizens to challenge environmental harm and demand accountability from government officials and corporations alike.
• The recent Held v. Montana case showcases the power of Green Amendments in protecting environmental rights against legislative negligence.
• Green Amendments are not just about current generations; they also ensure the protection of natural resources for future generations.
• Advocacy for Green Amendments is a grassroots movement, urging individuals to take action in states lacking such protections.

Links referenced in this episode:

• globalwarmingisreal.com
• cagreenamendment.org
• greenamendment.org

Thomas Jefferson expressed the Enlightenment's ideal of inalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, of which no law abiding person should be deprived.

Of course, the gap between expression and execution is a long, hard road.

The consequences of Jefferson's words stirred a revolution, eventually leading to the constitutional amendments that codified a right to free speech, due process, voting rights, the right to bear arms, equal protection under the law, and many other essential rights that grounds our story.

As citizens in a free society, these ideas imply the primary right to live without threat from environmental harm, safeguarding access to clean water, clean air, healthy intact habitats, and a climate free from unchecked anthropogenic disruption.

In this conversation with Maya Van Rossem, founder of Green Amendments for the Generations, we'll highlight the growing national awareness of that the same legal standard that secures the primacy of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness must also be applied to the material elements that allow us to thrive as free people.

As of this recording, 19 states have drafted green amendment proposals and eight are actively organizing to adopt constitutional Green amendments.

Montana, New York and Pennsylvania all have Green Amendments in their state constitutions.

Citizens in those states enjoy healthier lives, better economic opportunities, and neighborhoods free from industrial intrusion.

In a natural environment increasingly under siege, Maya Van Rossem offers an audacious, well executed and essential plan for making Green Amendments reality.

Great, great.

Okay, good.

So how are you doing?

How are you holding up in the third day of Trump 2o?

Well, it's emotionally very stressful and angering and frustrating.

Yeah, you know, for me, like I think it is for anybody who cares about people in the environment.

Right, yeah, yeah, yeah, it's.

So what's the update on the Green Amendments?

How are things going with that right now?

The Green Amendment movement.

Yeah.

So the Green Amendment movement is really, it truly is sweeping the nation.

If you look from coast to coast, including the Hawaiian islands, we have 19 states where language has been proposed.

We have another eight states where communities are learning and, or organizing towards a Green Amendment.

And then in the three states where we have an amendment, Pennsylvania, Montana, and most recently, New York, there are advocacy initiatives as well as, when necessary, legal actions to enforce them and make change.

And the recent Held v.

Montana case that people have heard so much about, the reason why that case was so, so incredibly successful was because its legal foundation was the Montana Green Amendment.

I see, so there was a Green Amendment before the Held lawsuit came up.

Yes, it is, it is.

I see.

Yeah.

From the inception, you know, the, the Green Amendment was a core aspect of the Legal arguments.

There were also some other claims that actually ended up going by the wayside.

And so the, the, the incredible victory was found.

You know, its foundation was in that Green Amendment language.

So that would display the impact of a Green Amendment, how it can create a situation where the, like these, these kids can have a successful lawsuit.

Yes.

And what I really like to make clear to people is that the Held v.

Montana is the most recent Green Amendment victory.

But the truth is, when we look particularly at Pennsylvania and Montana, where the Green Amendments have been around the longest, we have a series of really effective outcomes.

Sometimes advocacy outcomes, sometimes litigation outcomes, but demonstrating how the amendment is a powerful tool for addressing climate change, for ensuring cleanup of long ignored toxic sites, for protecting critical remote ecosystems that the law otherwise was going to subject to devastating harm, including ecosystems outside of Yellowstone national park, which are environmentally, recreationally and economically important.

The amendments have been used to great effect to protect the quality of water and water supplies.

So Held v.

Montana really, you know, most recently highlighted how incredibly effective an amendment can be for people who are facing serious environmental challenges.

But it is by no means the only example.

Good.

So for the folks, can you just kind of give a brief description of what the Green Amendments movement is and are?

So a Green Amendment is a special kind of environmental rights amendment that meets certain essential criteria and as a result, lift up environmental rights.

So they are given the same highest constitutional standing as other fundamental freedoms we all know about and we all enjoy, like the right to free speech and freedom of religion, private property rights, for example.

The thing that makes a Green Amendment so impactful is it is carefully crafted language that's placed in the Bill of Rights section of the state constitution.

So alongside these other fundamental freedoms, it is very clear that it is protecting the environmental rights of the people, not creating those rights.

It's actually respecting the inalienable human rights that people already have by virtue of the fact that they are here on earth.

But because of the constitutional language, we are making those inalienable rights now enforceable.

The language is self executing, meaning it has legal strength whether or not you can find a law implementing it.

People can look to their right to clean water, clean air, a safe climate and healthy environment to secure effective legal protections.

The amendment applies to all levels of government within the state.

So it doesn't just hold the legislature accountable or the governor's office accountable, but local government, county government, state government, all branches of government are responsible for protecting the environmental rights of the people.

And the best Green Amendments are very clear that they also create an Obligation on government officials to ensure that they are protecting the state's natural resources for both present and future generations.

Oh, and that, that environmental right that that is, is articulated in the amendment, respected in the amendment, is also generational right.

So it's not just about protecting those of us who are here today, but there is actually an obligation to protect the rights of future generations and natural resources for the benefit of future generations.

Hence the name of your foundation, Green Amendment for the Generations.

For the generations, exactly.

In fact, when I wrote the book, it was.

When I wrote the book, when I first founded the movement, it was called for the Generations.

And then I wrote the book and I said, wait a second, there are lots of environmental rights amendments in state constitutions, right?

Amendments that.

Constitutional amendments that already talk about environmental rights or the importance of protecting the environment, but they haven't really made a difference.

A Green Amendment is a special kind of environmental rights amendment that again, only exists in three states.

So I titled the book the Green Amendment, coined and defined the term the Green Amendment.

But then I was left with Green Amendment and for the generations.

And I said, hey, it's a perfect pairing that describes my mission.

Green Amendments for the generations.

That's excellent.

Yeah.

So it seems like what you're describing here is more thorough, I guess would be the word I come than like piecemeal legislation that, that goes for like clean up this river or something like that, just.

Which is a lot more effective, obviously.

It seems that a piecemeal approach, well, that's kind of what we've had so far.

And laws can be reversed if it's not part.

Part of the Constitution of a state.

How do you get states?

I mean, I assume that some of these states, there's some pushback on, on this.

What kind of pushback do you get and how do you overcome it?

So there, there, there you are right.

A constitutional entitlement has greater staying power.

And when you, once you secure it, you're unlikely to ever lose it.

And when you get a Green Amendment, you are advancing all aspects of environmental protection, water, air, climate, addressing the issues of plastics and toxins, right and energy creation.

Everything gets uplifted and benefited at the same time.

So it is really very powerful that way.

And it is harder to get a constitutional amendment.

There is a higher bar than another piece of legislation.

But as I explained, while it may be harder to get a constitutional green amendment passed, once you secure it, you're unlikely to ever lose it because who's going to vote to give away their right to clean water and Clean air.

So, you know, it's very beneficial that we do, but it's not.

It is a higher bar.

And, you know, there are challenges and believe it or not, and people are often shocked, we do have opposition, we do have industry leaders who boldly come forth and suggest that protecting the right of the people to clean water and clean air is somehow unjustified.

They even use.

One of the biggest arguments emerging in pushback to Green amendments is securing a Green Amendment or pursuing a Green amendment is undemocratic.

You know, the people using the process, their constitutional amendment process, to amend their Constitution, the Constitution that belongs to we the people is undemocratic is the most ridiculous assertion that, you know, one can make.

But yet those are the kinds of arguments we hear.

We, we, you know, we hear that the amendments are going to result in a massive onslaught of litigation, which is simply not true.

If that did happen, it would mean a state was really facing some very serious problems and it's a good thing they had an amendment.

Or they say the language is too broad.

What is clean water?

What is clean air?

To which I respond, you know, language in constitutional Bill of Rights provisions is always broad.

What is free speech?

What is an unreasonable search or seizure?

These broad terms, the language is broad by design.

So we can, as you said, Tom, cover all aspects environmental protection.

And the terms get defined in a Green Amendment the same way they get defined in other constitutional provisions through the democratic process that includes legislation and regulation and permitting and when necessary, the courts.

So we do have challenges, but we have great answers for all of them.

And fundamentally, you know, when we look at who is challenging it is people who are benefiting from, from environmental pollution, degradation and harm, which is, you know, a sad state of affairs.

You know, I work a lot with climate change and, you know, get a lot of pushback on that.

But you can always kind of find some common ground when you talk about clean water and clean air and even the climate change deniers.

Well, yeah, I want clean water and clean air.

Everybody wants that.

And so for a corporation to come in and say, what is clean water in terms of that?

I mean, we have at the federal level, there's the Clean Water Act.

Right.

So doesn't that sort of define it in a sense for.

Well, it defines it to a certain degree in certain contexts.

Right.

And that's that.

I mean, that really, you know, there is a lot of legislation out there at the federal level and at the state, state level, you know, when it comes to clean water, yes, we have the Clean Water act, but we also have, you know, we have the Toxic Substances Control act, right, which focuses on toxic aspects.

We have the Safe Drinking Water Act.

You know, we have a variety of laws that are focused on different aspects of protecting the water and the environment.

But all of them, as you began, Tom, are piecemeal.

They, they address a segment of the problem and we still have lots of areas of pollution and degradation that are not addressed or, you know, are, are legalized either through the permitting process that those laws are fundamentally focused on actually giving permits that allow industries to pollute, or there are big loopholes that are intentionally written into the law or accidentally get in there, or there are fundamental aspects of the environment that were not and could not have been anticipated when that law was written.

For example, forever chemicals, right, that man made family of chemicals known as PFAS, I.e.

devastating water supplies, environments and human health across the nation and around the world.

PFAS was allowed to proliferate because there were no laws at the state level or the federal level to address that.

But had there been green amendments enforceable, meaningful green amendments in place, then when the use of PFAS emerged, when the science came forth and said this is really problematic, then we, the people in states across the nation, and if we had a federal green amendment which opens, hopefully we will get as well, we could have turned to our right to clean water in a healthy environment to ensure that our government officials addressed that problem before it devastated so many lives.

So inherently our environmental protection system is focused on legalizing pollution and filled with gaps and loopholes, accidental or otherwise.

And the truth is, you can't anticipate and imagine everybody, every single future circumstance or every specific environmental condition.

There are some places and spaces where, when you read the law or you read the regulation, yes, that industrial operation can be located in that place and spew that much pollution into the air.

But when you look at what the, you know, the Native American community next door or the, you know, black or brown communities next door are already being exposed to in terms of air contamination, in terms of neurotoxic, you see that the addition of this new source cumulatively with those other existing impacts are going to just be devastating and rise to that constitutional level.

So we need that overarching protection in all of those places and spaces when the law just fundamentally doesn't work.

Yeah, that makes me think when, like with state green amendments, how does a state With a green amendment respond to like the state next door doesn't have a green amendment and doesn't care and has all sorts of pollution coming up.

And of course it doesn't stay within that state, it goes into another state.

How, how does the green amendment respond to another state's pollution that's coming into their state?

Well, it responds by being part of the green amendment movement and helping me get a green amendment in every state.

Because you're right, you know, a green amendment is ensuring that when governor government actors within the green amendment state act that they are doing so in a way that honor, honors, respects and protects the environmental rights of the, of the people of their state and protects their natural resources.

But they cannot reach beyond their boundaries with their state constitution.

Right.

And you know, control the actions of neighboring states.

That is why we need a green amendment in every state.

And also there are aspects of the environment where it is in federal control.

And so we need a green amendment to address what the federal government is doing and also to additionally help with those cross boundary issues.

And that's why the movement is not, does not lightly.

My goal is not a green amendment here or there.

My goal is a green amendment in all 50 states and at the federal level as soon as possible.

How long?

You know, this might be difficult because I'm sure every, obviously every state is different.

But from starting the process to having agreed amendment.

About how long does that take?

Well, every state is a little bit different and in fact I'm doing the count right now.

But there are dozens of states where you actually could accomplish a green amendment within a one year timeframe that you have.

For example, in New Mexico, if the New Mexico legislature, each of the legislative houses passes the green amendment by majority vote once, it then goes before the people for a vote of the people.

And there are multiple states where that's the case.

It's a vote, sometimes it's majority vote, sometimes it's 2/3, sometimes it's 3/5.

But the legislature passes it once and then it goes to the people.

And then there are other states where in lieu of that or in addition, if you can't pass that one year vote count threshold, if you were to have the amendment go before two consecutive legislatures and each of those consecutive legislatures votes by majority vote in support of the amendment, then it goes before the people.

So in those states generally you're talking about three to four years because it depends where within that two year legislative cycle which legislatures are the amendment first passes.

So that was, you know, pretty quick.

Or.

2020?

So, you know, so, so it's a little bit of a, of a, of a mixed bag.

And then there is also in a number of states, there is the citizen initiative process.

So that if, if it's very clear that your legislators are not going to respect the process and give the people the opportunity to vote on their own constitution by, you know, shepherding it through the process, then in a number of states, you know, you can do a citizen initiative where they, the citizens write the language, get enough votes or get enough signatures to have the amendment placed on the ballot, and then the people as a whole vote on it.

That's interesting.

I'm in California, so what, what's the, how are we doing here in California with this?

Okay, so in California, there was.

And I'm actually right this very second, I'm looking up the, the, the, the California process.

So I'll tell you.

To get a constitutional amendment in California, you.

The legislature has to vote each of the legislative houses in support of the amendment by two thirds.

Two thirds, right.

And then the amendment can go before the people for a vote.

There's also Constitutional convention and there is an initiative process.

So, you know, it depends with which path pathway you go.

The language was not as robust as we're seeing in states like New Mexico, Michigan and elsewhere, but it did a solid job, but it did not make it through the legislative process.

So.

And you know, again, it's a higher bar.

So there has been a proposal, it has gone.

You know, the concept has been introduced in California.

Now we need it to be reintroduced.

Right.

Like next year, try it to try again or there has to be a citizen initiative process.

And I will tell you, I am speaking, speaking with organizations in California that are interested in pursuing that path.

So if people.

Stay tuned to CA for California.

Cagreenamendment.org that is the California page on our Green Amendments for the Generations website where people can keep up to date on what's happening in California when, when there is an opportunity.

Well, I'll be one.

Yeah.

And they can see what happened last year when Assemblymember Brian proposed it and you know, the information sheets and the language and, and some precedence and you know, get a little bit more information about, about what was proposed and, and what were the arguments for and against.

Okay, that's interesting.

And I assume you can do that for any state that you got it.

Any state where there's an amendment process.

Yeah.

And some states, if, if the process is, you know, more in the, in the nascent stages, you'll just find a page on our national website for other states.

If you go to our, if you go to that moniker, you know, the two letters of the state, green amendment.org you'll, you'll find a, a whole robust website that we've built out for that state with more resources because there's more engagement there.

Good, good.

You've, you've got this all mapped out.

That's great.

That's great.

Well, I'm trying.

I think, you know, the biggest hurdle is that people, when they learn about this pathway, are really excited by it.

They see the value of it, particularly right now in the age of Trump watching all environmental protections at the federal level just being washed and wiped away.

And of course, it was already happening because of the Supreme Court.

And they're seeing, you know, worried about the devastating consequences and want to know, what can I do?

And then they learn about the power and the value of having a state level green amendment and how empowering that is for environmental protection at the state level, and they get really excited and they want to come on board.

And so it's making sure that I'm working with every community because it's a unique body of knowledge and experience that I have.

So making sure that I'm working with every community, helping them become leaders and experts in their state, helping them navigate the challenges they will face, and making sure that we can find the philanthropic resources to support all of this.

Because like I said, at this point, 50% of the nation is in one form or another involved in the green amendment movement.

Got a small operation working with all those communities.

Yeah.

So that's the biggest challenge is just rising to the challenge of helping everybody who needs help.

Right.

And, and is it a challenge?

Do you perhaps despite the, the devastation that were with Trump at the federal level, is there kind of a converse to that, that, that people are seeing?

Oh, my God, look what's happening.

You know, like, I can't believe he declared an energy emergency like the United States pumps more oil and gas than anybody else.

And what, where's the anyway anyway?

No, there is no right.

It's all.

But we know everything that comes out of Donald Trump's mouth in, in one part or another is, is either a lie or a stretch.

Right.

And you Know, the foundation of truth is so slim and so few and far between, and that's just the reality.

And particularly when it comes to the environment.

Right.

He has no semblance of care for our Earth.

And the critically important, you know, the importance of protecting our environment for the benefit of protecting the people, including the economy.

Right.

Like businesses need clean water and clean air, too.

Exactly.

But as you said, when it comes to energy, right, The United States of America is pumping out oil and gas at an astronomic rate, shipping it overseas, spewing pollution into the air, into the water, having devastating consequences.

And while the United States of America is particularly now going to be doubling down on fossil fuels, guess what?

The smart countries, the smart leaders are barreling forth advancing good quality, clean, renewable energy projects.

And in the not too distant future, when that oil and gas has run out here in the United States of America, and it will, or it is no longer financially feasible or technologically accessible, and that will come very, very soon, then the United States of America will be truly dependent on foreign sources of energy, but it will be clean energy because we won't have any more fossil fuels here to be able to pump out of the ground to support all the energy consumption here and or abroad.

So smart politicians, smart leaders, smart business leaders are going all in on clean energy.

It is only the stupid that are doubling down on dirty energy.

And it seems like that's probably happening in the.

Despite Trump in the US as well, with what Biden did, the IRA and all the money that went into clean energy, I assume even the, the red states, a lot of money's been poured into these states to develop clean energy projects.

And they don't want to, they don't want to back out of that.

So it just doesn't make any sense.

What?

No, it's absurd, right?

It's absurd.

I mean, you know, he's ripping the rug away, you know, from, from his friends in business.

They're just in the clean energy business.

Some of them are dirty energy and clean energy, Right.

You know, so he's just ripping the rug out from under them.

But the other thing is, I mean, the reality is even, you know, aside from those kinds of subsidies, when you look at the economic benefits and values of clean energy of wind and solar, including the job creation.

Right.

Wind and solar are far ahead of dirty fossil fuels in being, you know, economic winners and job creators.

And so just from a business perspective, it is much smarter to go in on wind and solar than to, you know, like, go back to the dark ages of Going all in on dirty fossil fuels.

Yeah, yeah.

So as far as the Green Amendments, Amendments go, I assume that we're not anticipating a federal amendment in the next four years.

No, and we weren't into.

The thing is we weren't anticipating that regardless of who was in office.

Unfortunately, you know, we, we, we.

And, and part of it's the politics, but a lot of it is that, you know, I, when I, when I first started this movement 10 years ago, and I would mention the idea of constitutional protection for environmental rights, or even talk about environmental rights, people either thought they already had environmental rights or they thought they were stunned because they had never thought about this idea that the right to free speech, the right to bear arms was protected more powerfully than the right to clean air or clean water.

Now, I like to take at least some credit for this.

Right now.

It is coming into the, the mainstream of thought and interests, but people still don't fully understand it.

And so, you know, a lot of my work is educating people and bringing them along state by state by state.

And while I'm doing that work, we're going state by state getting green amendments, but also laying the foundation that's going to be necessary to successfully get a federal amendment.

So strategically I designed the whole movement to go states first.

And while we do that work to be laying the foundation at the same time for the federal amendment.

And when the time is right, when we reach that tipping point, you know, rest assured, I will be ready to strike with Green Amendment, with the federal Green Amendment and start rolling.

That will be, that, that'll be a big lift though, to get a federal constitutional amendment.

But that, that'll be.

So in, in a best case scenario, how, when will, when is it going, when are we going to have a federal Green Amendment?

Okay, so I am always, I am always the positive thinker here.

I can't predict when we will get it, but I do like to believe that within the next five to seven years we'll be poised to earnestly start to pursue it.

We will have enough Green Amendment success at the state level and as a result built enough awareness and support of the values of this pathway to be poised to truly get a federal champion and start to make progress.

Because at the federal level, the states need to vote right in support.

So we need that state support and movement politically as well as coming from the, from the people.

And, and you know, we're going to build that by doing the state by state approach first.

Yeah, I guess if you have like, let's just say all the states with a Green amendment and then you go to the federal level, that'll be a lot easier to.

Because the states.

We have a Green amendment already, so why not make it.

Yeah, we have a Green amendment already.

And you know, the only, the, the only thing that's happening that's problematic is the, in the areas where the federal government controls and has preempted state authority, the federal government's not properly protecting our environment.

And we want, we identify that as a gap in a loophole and we want to fix it.

You know, and so they, they will recognize the values of the amendment and really we will have demonstrated Green amendments.

You know, one of the biggest arguments is the sky's going to fall economically and there's going to be no more business and nothing's going to happen.

You know, and we will have, have demonstrated again and again and again the absurdity of that assertion.

All a Green amendment does is make sure that we're protecting the quality of our environment so we can in fact have healthy economic development.

Because history has proven when you have dirty water, dirty air, devastated environments, you know, sick workers, partially as a result that, you know, you, you do not have economic success, so you need a clean environment for economic health.

And we will also have demonstrated that with a Green amendment in place, you can pursue those good quality businesses and jobs while ensuring you are protecting your people and the environment and future generations at the same time.

We truly can have it all.

You just have to go about it the right way.

Right.

So can you give some examples of, of what you just spoke of in Montana, New Yorker, Pennsylvania.

Yeah, and Pennsylvania.

So.

And in fact, Pennsylvania was the first Green amendment and that is where the movement was founded.

Because of a legal victory I had in challenging a pro fossil fuel law that actually was mandating.

It preempted local authority and mandated that operating drilling and fracking well pads be allowed to be located in the heart of residential communities, right next to people's homes and playgrounds and schools, and said to the municipalities, while you can create a residential zone that is industry free with regards to every other industry when it comes to fracking and fossil fuels, you can't, you have to allow them to be plopped right in the middle of everything and every where, which of course would have devastated the quality of people's lives, their property values.

You know, the reason why anybody would want to come to portions of Pennsylvania who wants to come and locate themselves next to a 24,7 operating fracking operation.

Exactly.

And you know, the amendment, the law also Relieved the fracking industry of the obligation to notify people on private drinking water wells that their drinking water had become pot potentially contaminated by toxic fracking chemicals.

Again burdening the people with the devastating consequences of fracking, undermining their, their physical health, but also the economic health of the investment that they had made in their property, which for most of us is the biggest investment we make in our lives other than education these days.

Right, right.

So, but, so we were able to, with Pennsylvania's Green Amendment, get those problematic portions of the law excised out, declared unconstitutional.

And so that no longer was the local authority of local government preempted.

Now they could use their zoning authority to say, look, residential zones are off limits to the industrial operations of fracking.

And that is a good outcome.

We've also had in Pennsylvania where there was a supersaturated toxic site, site saturated with trichloroethylene and other dangerous contaminants from an operating company that was now shut down.

But the site was so saturated, the pollution was seeping into the groundwater below.

There was a spreading pollution plume.

And neighboring communities had good reason to believe that the very serious health consequences, like brain tumors that their kids were experiencing could be related to this site.

This is a site where there were known responsible parties under the law.

Johnson Matthew Corporation and Whitaker Corporation, super, super wealthy companies.

Super wealthy that had the legal obligation to clean up the site.

But the state government, rather than require those super wealthy corporations to clean up that toxic contamination, cut a sweetheart deal with a developer that said you can develop this site with over 200 residential homes while it remains in its toxic condition with no plan to clean it up, bringing new families and new kids to this highly toxic site.

Right.

With devastating.

You can just imagine the consequences for the health and the safety of those communities, but also their property values.

Who's going to want to.

So we were able to, through the Green Amendment, through advocacy complemented by legal action, say to the Department of Environmental Protection, there is an existing law that allows you, requires you to require these wealthy corporations to clean up this site.

And you should not, you know, have this sweetheart deal.

You should instead be requiring cleanup.

And the long and the short of it is because of the Green Amendment at this point point, the residential.

The developer is still trying to press his development project, but his sweetheart deal has been wiped away.

And the responsible corporations are being held accountable to put forth the money for that site to be remediated so the neighboring communities could be protected.

In Montana, like I said, there was a very remote critical Ecosystem outside of Yellowstone national park untouched by human hands, wildlife abounds, which was connected with the Yellowstone park, which is an economic driver for Montana and the region and where the health of the environment is critical to that economic vitality.

People come from over for that.

And a permit was issued that would have allowed test wall drilling out in that remote area.

The building of roads and all these 24, 7 noise, light and pollution would have had devastating consequences for this remote ecosystem.

Because of the amendment, that permit was challenged as saying, hey, you didn't consider the environmental consequences and improperly address them.

The long and the short of it is because of the Montana Green Amendment, that permit was declared unconstitutional.

The government could have gone back and done the work to try to, you know, reconsider, but in the end, the permit was never reissued.

Why was it never reissued?

It was never reissued because that project should have never gone forward.

Right, right.

And people had an opportunity to make that case.

Just like the youth in the Held v.

Montana case had the opportunity to make the case that the law that was passed by the state government that prohibited.

Prohibited government officials from considering the climate changing impacts of their decisions.

Youth were able to challenge that and have that law declared unconstitutional because.

Because they had a constitutional right.

And the constitutional right is above the law that the legislature sets.

And we all know so many of our laws and our regulations and the permitting decisions is unfortunately part of a negotiation that happens with wealthy industry who in no small part impact how laws are written and whether or not they actually get enforced.

But if we the people have a constitutional right, when our government officials let us down, we can use our constitutional right to try to set it straight.

So those are just a few examples.

Yeah.

And that illustrates the importance of an amendment, a constitutional amendment.

That's right.

Because all those actions and activities that had happened or were happening, including the failure to enforce the law, that was other than the sweetheart deal, which we did challenge and defeat on legal grounds.

But all the rest of it was perfectly legal because the legislators have a right to pass laws that say clean water is water so contaminated with toxins that it will give kids cancer.

And if they pass a law that says that, then guess what?

When the regulatory agency gives a permit that allows an industry to spew contaminants into the water that will give kids cancer, it's legal.

And we the people can do nothing about it except try to elect better people to office.

And that comes too late after kids have already or families have already been impacted.

But if we have a Green amendment, if we have a constitutional right that belongs to us, that is above the law.

And when our government officials fail, we, the people, have an actual meaningful seat at the table and a tool that we can use to set things right, which otherwise does not exist in too many places and spaces when it comes to the environment.

So New Mexico is the next state.

Well, so we've got a lot.

Yeah, we've got, we've got proposals just in the last couple of weeks in New Mexico, in Michigan, in Hawaii, in Nevada, just yesterday in.

Did I say in Washington, in Oregon, in New Jersey, in.

You know, like I said, there are 19 states.

They span the nation.

So we have a lot.

But those are states where the amendment was just proposed or reproposed in, like, within the last couple of days.

And more, you know, are coming down the pike as legislative sessions kick in.

But I am going, you know, physically to New Mexico this week because there is such an incredible opportunity there with the way the constitutional process is set up.

Again, majority vote of each legislative house, and then it goes to the people.

And the amendment has been put forth there multiple times.

So there's a lot of awareness.

And we have really great legislative champions who really understand the power and importance of this pathway.

So, you know, I'm hopeful by that, by going there, helping with the education, serving as the expert, you know, we can make a difference this year.

That's, that's great.

So people listening to this and, and they're, they want to, they live in a state where perhaps a green amendment has not been proposed yet.

What, what, what do they do?

What do people that are really want to do something about this?

How do they approach getting a green amendment started?

So if there is an amendment in their state, they should get active.

We need them.

Right.

It's a people movement.

And so if people go to greenamendment.org, go to the active states page, you can see if, if, if your state's there.

But, but if you, you don't see your state there and, you know, you want to be the, the person to get it started, what I really say is, give me a call.

The truth is, the New Mexico movement started because one person read my book, the Green Amendment, and called me up and said, how do I make it happen?

Same in Maine.

One person, you know, heard me on a podcast like your show, Tom, hold me up.

And so sometimes it's a legislator that calls me up and they want to propose it.

Sometimes it's an organization that's well organized and well resourced, but it is not uncommon that it's just a person who calls me up and we start the work together of how do we spread the word, how do, how do we get organizations and legislators engaged?

And you'll be amazed at how quickly we can make a difference.

I mean, I got that kind of phone call from two separate people in the state of Georgia within a month of each other.

And so we are now having that conversation.

I brought the two people together and we're starting that conversation for Georgia.

And there are many states like that.

So literally, literally, I take this very personally.

I really believe in this movement and I believe that it is driven by the people, not by big greens.

It's really a movement that is driven by the people.

So call me up.

Go to green.org my number's there.

There's a form to fill out.

Truth be told, my staff sends the form right to me.

I will see it.

And if I am not the person to call you back or email you back, rest assured that the person who did get back in touch with you did it because I said get back in touch with them.

Excellent.

Well, you are, you're doing great work.

And you an example of the importance of individual activism and people, people taking charge of their environment.

And I think this is great.

And it's certainly necessary in the climate.

That's kind of ironic.

And the climate we're in now with, with Trump.

So, Maya, it's been a great conversation.

Thank you very much for your time.

And let's, let's get all the states green amendment, and then let's go for the federal green amendment.

Thank you so much, Tom.

And thank you for helping to spread the word.

This is how we do it, all of us together.

It's my pleasure.

And let's make it happen.

We will.

Okay.

You take care and good luck in New Mexico.

Thanks.

Okay, bye.

Bye.

There's always more we can do to stop climate change.

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And now more than ever, your involvement matters.

To learn more and do more, visit globalwarmingisreal.com thanks for listening.

I'm your host, Tom Schueneman.

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