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Enforcing the Green Amendment

August 13, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

In November 2021, 70% of New Yorkers voted to include environmental rights in the Bill of Rights of the New York State Constitution. The amendment recognizes and protects the rights of all New Yorkers to clean water and air and a healthful environment. It places these rights on the same constitutional level as other enshrined freedoms, such as the right to freely speak and the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Since its passage, the Green Amendment has been at the center of controversy over how or even whether it is enforced. The state has taken the position that the amendment does not empower citizens to dictate the actions of agencies like the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

A lawsuit filed in 2022 by residents who live near the High Acres Landfill in Monroe County demanding environmental cleanup resulted in a ruling that complying with the Constitution is not optional for a state agency. That ruling was appealed, and the case is currently before an appeals court.

A similar lawsuit is now going on against the state’s largest landfill in Seneca Falls. Once again, the position taken by the state Attorney General is that the Green Amendment does not alter the DEC’s enforcement discretion as to whether to force the landfill operators to take action.

Environmental activists have been staging protests at the state Capital, urging the governor, the state attorney general, and the DEC to shift their approach to applying the Green Amendment. Until this issue is resolved in the courts, it is unclear whether this amendment, put in place by 70% of voters, will actually protect the citizens of New York and its environment.

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New York’s Green Amendment Guarantees the Right to a ‘Healthful Environment.’ Activists Want the State to Enforce It

Photo, posted April 22, 2023, courtesy of Pedrik via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

A Victory For Clean Water | Earth Wise

May 19, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Many of the nation’s environmental laws are under siege from the current administration, but a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has solidified the Clean Water Act’s place as one of the country’s most effective environmental laws.

The case in question was about whether a wastewater treatment plant in Maui has been violating the Clean Water Act by polluting the ocean indirectly through groundwater. Since the 1980s, the Lahaina wastewater treatment facility has been discharging millions of gallons of treated sewage each day into groundwater that reaches the waters off of Kahekili Beach, which is a popular snorkeling spot. Groundwater, like any water beneath the land’s surface, can flow into major waterways such as rivers, streams, and, in this case, the ocean.

In 2012, the nonprofit Earthjustice sued Maui county on behalf of four Maui community groups. Over the years, the Hawaii district court and the 9^th Circuit appeals court ruled in favor of Earthjustice. Last year, Maui County successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme court to hear the case, which could have endangered the Clean Water Act.

On April 23, by a 6-3 vote, the court ruled that point source discharges to navigable waters through groundwater are regulated by the Clean Water Act when the addition of pollutants through groundwater is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge into navigable waters.

With this ruling, the Court rejected the Trump administration’s polluter-friendly position in the clearest of terms. According to the opinion, written by Justice Breyer, the Court could not see how Congress could have intended to create such a large and obvious loophole in one of the key innovations of the Clean Water Act. This is a victory for clean water.

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The Clean Water Case of the Century

Photo, posted June 30, 2018, courtesy of Kirt Edblom via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A Powerful Case For Protecting Whales

October 24, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Efforts to mitigate climate change typically face two major challenges. One is to find effective ways to reduce the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The other is how to raise enough money to implement climate mitigation strategies.

Many proposed solutions to climate change, like carbon capture and storage, are complex, expensive, and in some cases, untested. What if there was a low-tech solution that was effective and economical?

Well, it turns out there is one, and it comes from a surprisingly simple, “no-tech” strategy to capture CO2: increase global whale populations.

According to a recent analysis by economists with the International Monetary Fund, whales help fight climate change by sequestering CO2 in the ocean.

Whales sequester carbon in a few ways. They hoard it in their fat and protein-rich bodies, stockpiling tons of carbon apiece. When whales die, they turn into literal carbon sinks on the ocean floor. While alive, whales dive to feed on tiny marine organisms like krill and plankton before surfacing to breathe and excrete. Those latter activities release an enormous plume of nutrients, including nitrogen, iron, and phosphorous, into the water. These so-called “poo-namis” stimulate the growth of phytoplankton, microscopic marine algae that pull CO2 out of the air and return oxygen to the air via photosynthesis. Phytoplankton are responsible for every other breath we take, contributing at least 50% of all oxygen to the atmosphere and capturing approximately 40% of all CO2 produced.

With other economic benefits like ecotourism factored in, economists estimate that each whale is worth $2 million over its lifetime, making the entire global population possibly a one trillion dollar asset to humanity.

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How much is a whale worth?

Photo, posted June 12, 2013, courtesy of Gregory Smith via Flickr.

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