To Stop the Cycle of Devastation, We Need to Change the Response by Maya K. van Rossum, Author of “The Green Amendment: Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment” and Executive Director of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network An exhausted-looking woman walked into the government meeting with a well-worn shoe box, which she gingerly placed on
read moreJustice Kennedy was never a steady beacon upon which environmentally-harmed communities and states could depend, but often enough he was often the bulwark against the potentially devastating unraveling of critical environmental protections. As the swing vote, Justice Kennedy tipped the Court in a 5 to 4 direction on decisions that rolled back, as well as
read more→Immigration violence, → Gun violence allowed to continue, and → Environmental violence …are all part of Trump’s active agenda, and it is an agenda that is resulting in unspeakable, indefensible and enduring violence against children. Donald Trump’s immigration policy is ripping crying and distraught children from the loving arms of their families and locking them
read moreIncluding Rolling Back Regulations, Failing to Regulate, and Hiding the Science That Demonstrates Human Health Harms? So what is a person or community to do if Government is allowing, causing and even intentionally advancing pollution and environmental degradation that is devastating their health and lives? How can we hold them accountable? One important way is
read moreWhile many have heard of the epic pipeline battles against Keystone XL and Dakota Access, they may not realize that battles large and small against pipelines have spanned communities across the nation. Just this week, we heard reports of a heroic Theresa “Red” Terry taking a stand in a tree, on her own property, challenging
read moreThe founder of earth day was Gaylord Nelson. His holiday has flowered into this amazing commemoration — some have called it the largest secular holiday in the world. Last year, as the forces of anti-environmentalism were gaining increased momentum, kids mobilized and celebrated the March for Science — elsewhere, people protested against climate change. But let’s not forget another
read moreThis op-ed originally ran on Jan 25, 2018 in NewsPress, Part of the USA Today Network. Proposal 23 is just another “feel-good” constitutional provision that will inspire frivolous litigation, rather than needed environmental protection. That’s how Herschel Vinyard, former secretary of Florida’s DEP, characterized this proposed environmental amendment to Florida’s constitution, currently winding its way
read moreWe Need to Recognize Environmental Rights as Inalienable Human Rights In Our Constitutions United Nations officials visiting communities in California and Alabama have been shocked by the level of environmental degradation and poverty they have witnessed. As one investigator recounted: “raw sewage flows from homes through exposed PVC pipes and into open trenches and pits.”
read moreForty-seven years ago, on April 22, 1970, communities around the nation marched to defend the earth. They brought banners, signs, chants, and a realization that environmental degradation damages every aspect of our lives and our communities. When we pollute the water, the air, and the land, people suffer – our health is impacted, recreational opportunities
read moreThe New York Times’ seemingly objective and forthright piece titled “Climate Change is Complex. We’ve Got Answers to Your Questions” is instantly undermined by its assertion that fracked gas from shale, including for use at power plants, is part of the solution rather than a devastating and growing part of the climate change problem. Among
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