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The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at �̾�����Ƶ hosted the launch of author and alumna Maya K. van Rossum’s book, The Green Amendment: The People's Fight for a Clean, Safe, and Healthy Environment, on �̾�����Ƶ’s New York City campus on Thursday, October 27. In this new edition of her book, officially released November 1st, van Rossum presents her radically simple plan for a green future: bypass local laws and turn to the ultimate authority—our state and federal constitutions—to ensure we have the right to a healthy environment. Author Maya K. van Rossum was joined by her former law school professor, Nicholas A. Robinson, a renowned scholar and pioneer in the field of environmental law, who led an insightful and engaging discussion focusing on the roadmap van Rossum outlines in her book for a healthier world. The event was attended by influential environmental law experts and eco-advocates.

“The reason why I think we need a constitutional green amendment in every state constitution across the United States of America, and ultimately, at the federal level, is because the way our U.S. system of laws was written, and the way it has been increasingly implemented overtime, is it is really focused on legalizing environmental pollution and degradation through reviews and permits,” said van Rossum. “It’s not really focused on preventing harm in the first place.” Van Rossum is founder of Green Amendments For The Generations, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring a movement to amend state constitutions to recognize and protect environmental rights on par with other inalienable civic and political freedoms. She is also the Delaware Riverkeeper, leading the regional advocacy organization, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, for over 27 years.

“The magic I see happening here is that now through states adopting the green amendment, we are basically taking a watershed, an interstate watershed that happens to have a compact and breathing into it a high obligation to protect, not just the water, but the environment as a whole,” Professor Robinson shared.

Watch the book talk below or

About Green Amendments For The Generations (GAFTG) is a non-profit environmental advocacy organization dedicated to inspiring, supporting, and enforcing constitutional Green Amendments - self-executing and enforceable environmental rights amendments that protect the right to clean air, pure water, a stable climate, and healthy environments - throughout all fifty states and ultimately at the federal level. GAFTG is currently working with communities in over a dozen states, including New Mexico, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington, Maine, and Hawaii, among others. GAFTG has increased the enforcement of Green Amendments in Pennsylvania, New York and Montana, the only 3 states with Green Amendment protections currently in place. .