Interest is building for the values of a Constitutional Green Amendment in New Hampshire. Multiple folks have reached out and are doing their due diligence behind the scenes to see how to best get the ball rolling. 
But, meanwhile, an interested graduate wants to share some of the economic values of a New Hampshire Green Amendment. Below, please find some of his awesome research.
And if you are inspired to want to be part of the effort to advance a New Hampshire Green Amendment, stay tuned to this page, we will update with New Hampshire info and engagement opportunities as the movement begins to advance and grow. Meanwhile, sign up for our complimentary membership so you are first on the list to be up to speed when things advance.
Some of the Economic, Recreation & Business Values of a New Hampshire Green Amendment.
Economy
Outdoor recreation is deeply rooted in New Hampshire’s identity. It, more than anything, is what the State is known for. This includes sports such as boating, hiking, fishing, snowmobiling, and skiing. But all of this is under threat due to the warming climate. This threat is not in a far-off time, the State is seeing the effects right now.
For example:
- An ice fishing Derby on Lake Paran was cancelled due to thin ice (Source).
- Relatedly, ice-out was declared on Winnipesaukee on March 17, 2024, the earliest day on record (Source). During the same month, the Pittsburg Snowmobile Parade of Lights was cancelled because of poor weather and trail conditions (Source).
- When it comes to hunting, moose populations are in decline due to increased numbers of ticks caused by milder winters (Source) and this is reducing the number of moose tags available (Source).
These examples represent threats not only to NH’s identity but to its economy as well.
Outdoor recreation contributes $3.3 billion and 30,000 jobs to NH’s economy (Source). Of that, the ski industry contributes $1.3 billion and 10,000 jobs (Source). The National Ski Areas Association has declared that the warming climate is the number one threat to the industry (Source). With winter and spring temperatures expected to continue to rise, the climate will continue to harm NH’s ski industry until something is done about it (Source).
Beyond recreation, flooding, as seen twice in Hampton in 2024 (Source), can have devastating impacts on the economy. Between 2001 and 2019, flooding caused $100 million in property damage in the State (Source). Further, flooding is expected to increase in the winter and spring months year after year (Source) which will inevitably drive these costs up as time goes on. Compounding the issue, the New Hampshire Seacoast is expected to see more and more frequent storms like those that caused the floods in 2024 (Source). As climate change continues unmitigated, it is estimated that NH will have to spend $1 billion in order to counter this sea-level flooding by 2040 (Source).
Correspondingly, drought is expected to increase during the summer and fall months and the combined effects of drought and flooding have the potential to harm agriculture in the state (Source). Another staple of NH’s identity, the maple syrup industry, is likewise at risk because while the old adage ‘syrup needs warm days and cold nights’ is true, the State simply has fewer cold nights (Source).
Threats to health and life
More than recreation and the economy, your health, and perhaps your life, are threatened by the destruction of, and disregard for, the environment. Environmental destruction threatens biodiversity which in-turn, threatens medicinal drug supplies (Source). This is a risk to people everywhere, including New Hampshire. Furthermore, exposure to animal carried diseases increases with human encroachment and destruction of habitat (Source) and this puts humans at an increased risk of contracting such diseases.
Reports further warn of the ways in which various symptoms of climate change and environmental pollution negatively impact human health such as heat related deaths corresponding with rising temperatures, air pollution causing millions of death per year worldwide, and extreme weather events not only directly killing people but causing the spread of disease (Source).
The research is borne out in NH as well.
- University of New Hampshire study indicates that threats to residents of the State include increased injury or death due to high temperatures, extreme weather events, respiratory and cardiovascular injury due to pollution, as well as both insect-carried and waterborne disease (Source).
- Further, emergency room visits and deaths increase when the heat index is over 95 degrees as compared to 75 degrees and NH is expected to have a continually increased number of 90-degree days for the foreseeable future (Source), this is a strain for the health of NH residents and its healthcare industry.
Also, those who suffer from allergies may have noticed longer allergy seasons. This is because with fewer freezing days every year, pollen-producing plants start producing earlier and the State averages eight fewer freezing days every year (Source). The warming climate is also causing ticks to spread more easily and thus is aiding in the spread of tick-borne diseases (Source). New Hampshire has the third largest increase in reported incidents of Lyme disease, behind Maine and Vermont, it has become such a problem that Governor Sununu declared May to be Lyme Disease Awareness Month (Source). However, it is not just Lyme disease that ticks can give people but also anaplasmosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus and Borrelia miyamotoi (Source).
Your rights
Just as you are guaranteed rights under the United States and New Hampshire Constitutions, you have human rights as well. They are just as inalienable and just as important. Your rights to clean air, clean water, as well as a safe, clean, sustainable and healthy environment have been recognized internationally (Source) and by several states (Source). These rights include clean air, a safe and stable climate, access to safe water and adequate sanitation, non-toxic environments in which to live, work, study and play, healthy biodiversity and ecosystems, access to information, the right to participate in decision-making, access to justice, effective remedies, and the secure exercise of these rights (Source). As a part of these rights, states should provide for education and public awareness on environmental matters, provide public access to environmental information, and provide affordable, effective and timely access to information to any person upon request (Source). Moreover, people should exercise their right to have their views heard, participate in decision making, and seek remedies for violations of their rights (Source).
Building on this, states should require the prior assessment of the possible environmental impacts of proposed projects and policies, including their potential effects on the enjoyment of rights (Source). The public should be involved in the decision making process early, the assessments should be thorough, and should consider not only environmental impacts but also how those impacts will affect the rights of the people (Source). Finally, states should provide for and facilitate public participation in decision making related to the environment, and take the views of the public into account in the decision-making process (Source).
In sum, the people have the right to be heard by their government and governments need to inform the people about proposed policies or projects that could affect people’s rights (Source).
As people, these are your rights, but as citizens of New Hampshire they are not yet protected. But we can change that. NH needs a Green Amendment so that people in the State can fight for their rights. Green Amendments can take several forms, Pennsylvania’s, for example, reads as follows:
The people have 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. (Source)
You can read more about how that right was used to successfully protect the people and natural resources of Pennsylvania here.
A Green Amendment in New Hampshire would be similar but could include additional protections related to recreation, the economy, and additional safeguards so that the State government must always protect your rights.
New Hampshire will continue to be hit hard economically by the increasingly warming climate and pollution. This is a reality that is not far off in the future but is something we are seeing right now. It is affecting homes, recreation, industry, and our State identity. We have the right to clean air, water, a healthy life, and a healthy environment. They are as inalienable as the rights in the US Constitution and they should be recognized in New Hampshire’s Constitution.
You can help advocate for your rights by signing up here for a complimentary membership and information related to the Green Amendment movement, including in NH.
(Research provided by a student research project; not independently verified by GAFTG.)
