"An optimistic and often enthralling book of advocacy for environmental justice." —Kirkus Reviews
"An optimistic and often enthralling book of advocacy for environmental justice." —Kirkus Reviews
"If we were writing our Constitution for the first time today, wise leaders would surely insert protections for our environment." —Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, Eaarth, and Radio Free Vermont
"If we were writing our Constitution for the first time today, wise leaders would surely insert protections for our environment." —Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, Eaarth, and Radio Free Vermont
"Van Rossum hopes [green amendments] and other strategies will turn the tide against the advancing degradation of our planet; it's a hope readers will share after finishing The Green Amendment." —Booklist
"Van Rossum hopes [green amendments] and other strategies will turn the tide against the advancing degradation of our planet; it's a hope readers will share after finishing The Green Amendment." —Booklist
“In an age of environmental pessimism, van Rossum gives me hope.” —Mark Ruffalo, actor, clean water activist, Founder of Water Defense, and Cofounder of The Solutions Project
“In an age of environmental pessimism, van Rossum gives me hope.” —Mark Ruffalo, actor, clean water activist, Founder of Water Defense, and Cofounder of The Solutions Project
"A rallying cry not only for conservationists and wildlife biologists, but for pediatricians, teachers, psychologists, architects, city planners—everyone who is concerned about the welfare of all species, including human beings. Please read this important book." —Richard Louv, Chairman Emeritus of the Children Nature Network and author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle
"A rallying cry not only for conservationists and wildlife biologists, but for pediatricians, teachers, psychologists, architects, city planners—everyone who is concerned about the welfare of all species, including human beings. Please read this important book." —Richard Louv, Chairman Emeritus of the Children Nature Network and author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle
"You will be inspired by the notion, transformed into a call for a constitutional amendment, that we, the people, have always had more power than we thought." —A.R. Ingraffea, PhD, PE, Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering Emeritus and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University
"You will be inspired by the notion, transformed into a call for a constitutional amendment, that we, the people, have always had more power than we thought." —A.R. Ingraffea, PhD, PE, Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering Emeritus and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University
"Maya’s latest book…will help expand readers’ knowledge and understanding of what it means to work to protect our fragile environment." —Joanne Ferrary, State Representative, D-New Mexico
"Maya’s latest book…will help expand readers’ knowledge and understanding of what it means to work to protect our fragile environment." —Joanne Ferrary, State Representative, D-New Mexico
“This book is an inspiration and a road map....well-written, engaging, and informative." —Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, State Senator, D-New Mexico
“This book is an inspiration and a road map....well-written, engaging, and informative." —Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, State Senator, D-New Mexico
"The Green Amendment asks us to imagine a world in which the right to pure water and healthy air exist on par with due process and free speech—and then shows us how to make it so." —Sandra Steingraber, PhD, author of Living Downstream and Raising Elijah, recipient of the Rachel Carson Leadership Award, and Cofounder of New Yorkers Against Fracking
"The Green Amendment asks us to imagine a world in which the right to pure water and healthy air exist on par with due process and free speech—and then shows us how to make it so." —Sandra Steingraber, PhD, author of Living Downstream and Raising Elijah, recipient of the Rachel Carson Leadership Award, and Cofounder of New Yorkers Against Fracking
"Constitutional protection of natural and human communities may be our best hope for survival." —Bradley M. Campbell, President of the Conservation Law Foundation, former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and former Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"Constitutional protection of natural and human communities may be our best hope for survival." —Bradley M. Campbell, President of the Conservation Law Foundation, former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and former Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"If we were writing our Constitution for the first time today, wise leaders would surely insert protections for our environment." —Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, Eaarth, and Radio Free Vermont
"Maya’s latest book…will help expand readers’ knowledge and understanding of what it means to work to protect our fragile environment." —Joanne Ferrary, State Representative, D-New Mexico
"The Green Amendment asks us to imagine a world in which the right to pure water and healthy air exist on par with due process and free speech—and then shows us how to make it so." —Sandra Steingraber, PhD, author of Living Downstream and Raising Elijah, recipient of the Rachel Carson Leadership Award, and Cofounder of New Yorkers Against Fracking
"You will be inspired by the notion, transformed into a call for a constitutional amendment, that we, the people, have always had more power than we thought." —A.R. Ingraffea, PhD, PE, Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering Emeritus and Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University
"A rallying cry not only for conservationists and wildlife biologists, but for pediatricians, teachers, psychologists, architects, city planners—everyone who is concerned about the welfare of all species, including human beings. Please read this important book." —Richard Louv, Chairman Emeritus of the Children Nature Network and author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle
"This book is an inspiration and a road map....well-written, engaging, and informative." —Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, State Senator, D-New Mexico
"Constitutional protection of natural and human communities may be our best hope for survival." —Bradley M. Campbell, President of the Conservation Law Foundation, former Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and former Regional Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"Van Rossum hopes [green amendments] and other strategies will turn the tide against the advancing degradation of our planet; it's a hope readers will share after finishing The Green Amendment." —Booklist
"In an age of environmental pessimism, van Rossum gives me hope.” —Mark Ruffalo, actor, clean water activist, Founder of Water Defense, and Cofounder of The Solutions Project
11/01/2022
In this updated edition of her 2017 book, environmentalist and environmental lawyer van Rossum (founder of the Environmental Law Clinic at Temple Univ. Beasley Sch. of Law) presses her case for state and federal constitutional amendments to protect the environment. Until 2021, only Pennsylvania and Montana had passed such amendments; in 2021, New York State enacted an amendment of its own: "Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment." Van Rossum explains the legal and practical mechanics of constitutional "green amendments" like these (for instance, the state must often be designated as the trustee of all natural resources), along with enumerating the negative health effects of fracking, chemical manufacturing, and urban/suburban expansion. The book is well-written but should have included more discussion of how green amendments would promote environmentally friendly resource-extraction. In addition, while lauding environmentalist judges, the book does not explain how to support the legal allies who will have to interpret often-vague green amendments. VERDICT Purchase for readers interested in environmental issues.—Harry Charles
