Green Amendment good for health of the environment

The headline “Deciding to come clean: Green Amendment will give New York voters the chance to improve health of the state,” March 21, pretty much says it all. New York has for far too long allowed corporations and businesses to greedily pollute our air, water and land in the name of corporate profits.

New York residents have paid the price with deleterious effects on their health and safety.

The proposed Green Amendment to the state’s constitution will guarantee us the right to clean air, water and to enjoy a healthy environment.

Once this amendment is approved by the voters: No longer will the burden of living next to pollution-spewing facilities fall mostly on the backs of low-income residents and people of color. No longer will public housing complexes, such as Albany’s Ezra Prentice Homes, be built in an industrial-zoned area of a city. No longer will landfills, such as the S.A. Dunn landfill in Rensselaer, be allowed to be built next to a school. No longer will incinerators such as Norlite be allowed to operate within city limits.

The only ones who stand in the way to the proposed constitutional right to clean air and water are the ones who profit off of poisoning the environment. To them, profit takes precedence over the health and safety of the people. The corporate profiteers turn a blind eye to the effects their business operations have on the poor and people of color.

Effects include extremely high rates of asthma and certain cancers, low birth weights and an inordinate number of child and maternal deaths in areas where there are stressors like high levels of air and drinking water pollution.

All New Yorkers must vote “yes” on the Green Amendment this November.

Dominick Calsolaro

Albany