The Green Amendment

A veteran environmentalist shares her roadmap to a healthier world—one that uses the law to empower activists and provide hope for communities everywhere.

We have reached a critical tipping point in our fight for the environment: Corporations profit off climate change, natural disasters devastate homes, and the most vulnerable suffer the health effects of pollution. Yet our laws are designed to accommodate this destruction rather than prevent it. Without government support, it’s no wonder people feel powerless.

But there is a solution. In The Green Amendment, veteran environmentalist Maya K. 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.

Through compelling interviews with activists on the ground, clear evidence from experts, and heartbreaking stories from those hit hardest by environmental ruin, The Green Amendment lights the path forward. In this updated edition of her trailblazing 2017 book, van Rossum invites readers to join the movement by sharing:

• Why Green Amendments work where other movements have failed
• How to position Green Amendments and what specific language offers the strongest legal protections
• How to argue in favor of environmental rights, and the economic and health benefits that will help activists make the case
• How Green Amendments address the crucial intersection of environmentalism and anti-racism
• What everyone—from artists and students to scientists and lawyer—can do to further the cause

With the power of The Green Amendment, we can claim our environmental rights, ensuring a clean, safe Earth for generations to come.

    Maya K. van Rossum is the founder of Green Amendments For the Generations, a grassroots non-profit inspiring constitutional recognition and protection of environmental rights in every state and ultimately at the federal level. van Rossum is also the Delaware Riverkeeper, leading the 4 state, watershed-based advocacy organization, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, for 30 years. She co-hosts Green Genes, an environmental podcast with her daughter. Since launching her Green Amendment movement, New York passed a Green Amendment in 2021, proposals are advancing in 12 additional states, and there is increasing use of amendments in Pennsylvania and Montana. She lives in Delaware County Pennsylvania with her family.