My son went to the faucet for a glass of water to
drink. It came out clean, clear and
fresh. He enjoyed his first single sip
and then gulped the rest down.
As a resident of the United States do I have the right to
expect healthy water for my son to drink?
How
about my 17-year old daughter? Does she
have a right to expect clean and healthy water for her future children to drink
and bathe in?
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that according to
Pennsylvania’s Constitution the answer should be a resounding “Yes” – a yes for
pure water, clean air and preservation of the natural environment.
But is that the case everywhere? And even in places like Pennsylvania where
environmental protection is being given higher priority in decisionmaking, will
it be the case if the President of the United States is given authority from
Congress to sign onto the Transpacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP)?
Most people assume that access to healthy water, clean air,
safe soils, oxygen-generating trees, and the many contributions of our native
wildlife is a given, for today’s generation and those yet to come. While in principle this should be true, is it
in reality?
Every day, here in the United States, companies are given
permission to pollute water and air, to fill wetlands, to cut down forests for
profit-driven development and more.
Politicians continue to pass and perpetuate laws that allow
environmentally damaging activities to happen.
Often the decision of how much pollution and harm to allow is driven by
statistical calculations, liberal assumptions, and political connections.
There is a growing body of science that connects pollution,
deforestation, wetlands destruction, and stream devastation with increasing
sickness, cancer, autism, developmental disabilities in children, infertility
in adults, flooding, drought; and yet the legality of polluting, as long as you
have the necessary permits, is settled law.
But there is a line – at least in Pennsylvania there now is
one. When PA’s Governor Corbett
overreached to help the gas drilling industry, magnify the incredible level of
pollution and harm it inflicts through its fracking, drilling and run-away
levels of development the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said the line had been
crossed. In response, the PA court
declared unconstitutional sections of the law that would allow drilling/fracking
sites, including their liquid pollution pits, a mere 100 feet from homes,
hospitals, day care centers and schools.
Also struck were provisions that stripped municipalities of their zoning
authority and required automatic waivers of already meager environmental
provisions. The PA Supreme Court said that
the Environmental Rights Amendment of the Pennsylvania Constitution promised
all generations of Pennsylvanians the right to pure water, clean air and a preserved
natural environment, giving them the ability to defend that right in the courts
if ignored by government.
While the PA Supreme Court
did not stop shale gas development and all its pollution harms, the decision
was an important step in the right direction for community and environmental
protection. The PA Supreme court
recognized that the right to pure water, clean air and a healthy natural
environment is an inherent right, one preserved by the Pennsylvania
Constitution, not granted by it. It recognized that industries cause pollution and
that as a result people get hurt, and that it is government’s job – every level
of government’s job, at least in
Pennsylvania – to, through their lawmaking and rulemaking, ensure they are
earnestly fulfilling their obligation to protect natural resources for the
benefit of all generations.
The PA Supreme Court decision
should inspire a new generation of environmental protection in Pennsylvania –
inspiring strong legislation by newly emboldened and empowered legislators, and
supporting strong litigation when industry dollars are used to drive bad
legislation and bad political acts.
The decision should also
inspire other states, and even the federal government, to construct their own
social contracts promising pure water, clean air and healthy environments for
present and future generations.
We should use the wisdom
of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices to inspire protection that will span
the nation and span the generations.
But it is not good enough
to just pass this kind of constitutional protection, you also have to defend
it. Today, defending that right means
preventing passage of Transpacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPP) and the
Fast Track authorization that would allow the President to sign the agreement
before the Congress or the public have even had a chance to see it.
Leaked sections of the TPP
demonstrate it is light on environmental preservation and heavy on corporate
protection. The TPP would give foreign
corporations the right to sue our government for millions of dollars if they believe
a U.S. environmental law (State, Federal or local) has diminished its ability
to make profits. If the TPP is signed by
the U.S. it would undermine U.S. environmental protections and sacrifice the
sovereignty of our State, local and federal government to international
corporate interests.
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with
provisions similar to those proposed in the TPP, a private drilling company is
about to sue Canada for $250 million because of a ban on fracking passed to
allow time to study the dangerous process.
(To see a copy of the Nov 8 Notice of Intent to Submit a Claim to
Arbritration: http://www.international.gc.ca/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/assets/pdfs/disp-diff/lone-01.pdf)
It is easy to see similar suits being filed against the U.S. government because
of bans to shale gas development in New York, Colorado and elsewhere. Even if the legal action does not win, it
could have a chilling affect on passage of necessary environmental protections.
Organizations and individuals from across the nation are reaching out to their legislators to
urge them to vote “no” on the proposed fast track legislation and in so doing to
shut the door on the TPP. Be sure to add
your voice via phone, email, or letter.
For information on how to speak out and what to say:
Delaware Riverkeeeper
Network: http://bit.ly/DRN-NoTPPorFastTrack
Flush the TPP: www.Flushthetpp.org
Article
1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution promises:
“…a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the
natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.
Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the
people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the
Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the
people.”
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