We have reached a critical tipping point in our fight for the environment: Corporations profit off climate change, natural disasters devastate homes, BIPOC communities continue to suffer disproportionately from pollution, and the most vulnerable suffer the health effects of pollution. Yet our laws are designed to accommodate this destruction rather than prevent it. Without government support, it’s no wonder people feel powerless.
Fortunately, there is a solution. With The Green Amendment: The People’s Fight for a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment (Disruption Books, November 1, 2022, Second Edition), Delaware Riverkeeper and Green Amendments For the Generations Founder Maya K. van Rossum lays the groundwork for an inspirational new agenda promoting environmental constitutionalism—one that will finally empower people, level the playing field, and provide real hope for communities everywhere.
Featuring forewords by Mark Ruffalo and Kerri Evelyn Harris, this updated edition of her trailblazing 2017 book invites readers to join the growing movement where our state and federal constitutions make a clean, safe, and healthy environment an enforceable right. Through compelling interviews with activists on the ground, clear evidence from experts, and heartbreaking stories from those hit hardest by environmental ruin, The Green Amendment demonstrates how our current U.S. system of environmental protection is failing communities; but then lights a transformational path forward using our constitutions. Under Maya’s leadership, the future of constitutional environmentalism is a bright one. In this second edition, she also turns her attention to the often-neglected issues of environmental racism, the climate crisis, the human health devastation caused by environmental degradation, and the importance of protecting future generations from pollution and environmental harm.
The Green Amendment seeks to revolutionize the United States system of environmental laws and governance by transforming environmental protection from an unfulfilled promise driven by politics and industry to a constitutionally enforceable RIGHT of the people.
* Please send any additional details on the personalization of your book order signature to GAFTG@forthegenerations.org
About the Author:
Maya K. van Rossum is the Founder of Green Amendments For the Generations, a grassroots non-profit organization inspiring a nationwide movement to secure constitutional recognition and protection of environmental rights in every state and ultimately at the federal level. van Rossum is also the Delaware Riverkeeper, leading the watershed based advocacy organization, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, for over 30 years in its efforts to protect the health of the Delaware River and its tributaries. A skilled activist, attorney, strategist and community organizer, she was named in 2020 as a River Hero by River Network, in 2019 as one of Philadelphia Business Journal’s Power 100, and One Of The “10 Most Influential People of 2015” When It Comes to Energy Issues by SNL Energy. Her writing has been featured in such publications as BloombergLaw, Law360, the Boston Globe, and TIME Magazine. Since launching Green Amendments For The Generations, constitutional amendments have been proposed in 11 states, with New York formally passing a Green Amendment in 2021.
