New Book from Leading Activist Makes Case for Constitutional Amendments to Protect Environment

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Contact: Robyn Shapiro, robyn.shapiro@berlinrosen.com, 202-800-7407

The Green Amendment by Maya van Rossum with Foreword by Mark Ruffalo Proposes New Constitutional Solutions

New York, NY – Today, Disruption Books announced the publication of The Green Amendment: Securing Our Right to a Healthy Environment, a new book by leading environmental activist Maya van Rossum. Inspired by her work with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, van Rossum calls for constitutional amendments to protect the environment, enshrine our rights for clean water and clean air, and hold polluters and fossil fuel companies accountable.

The Green Amendment includes stories of toxic contamination of the environment, deforestation, the dangerous impacts of fracking and dirty energy infrastructure and highlights van Rossum’s team’s legal victory in 2013 which breathed legal life into the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Environmental Rights Amendment and struck down pro-drilling legislation in the state. Through a detailed review of current environmental law and the impact environmental degradation is having on people’s lives, van Rossum demonstrates how passing so-called “green amendments” can empower American communities with a brand new legal strategy that can protect their water, air, families, and communities.

“By claiming a healthy environment as a fundamental liberty and ensuring that this right is recognized alongside other longstanding freedoms like free speech, people across America can better protect themselves,” said Maya van Rossum. “Constitutional green amendments comprise the linchpin of new environmentalism. Unlike its alternatives, this strategy will hold our leaders accountable for defending the inalienable, indefeasible, and inherent rights we all possess as residents of the earth.”

The book is especially timely as new efforts from the Trump Administration threaten to undermine critical and longstanding environmental safeguards like the Clean Water Act. As polluters gain even more power in a legal system that already favors their interests, van Rossum’s campaign illuminates the path forward, showing how the legal system can be reworked to enable people and communities to prevent life-threatening pollution.

The Green Amendment is now available for purchase on Amazon and wherever books are sold. Previews and excerpts are available upon request; please email Robyn.Shapiro@berlinrosen.com.

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About the Author: Maya van Rossum is the Delaware Riverkeeper, leader of the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, and a prominent environmental activist who has dedicated thirty years of advocacy to protecting the Delaware River watershed from the pollution caused by dirty energy.

About Delaware Riverkeeper Network: The Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is a nonprofit membership organization working throughout the 4 states of the Delaware River Watershed including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York. DRN provides effective environmental advocacy, volunteer monitoring programs, stream restoration projects, public education, and legal enforcement of environmental protection laws.

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