New Mexico should consider adopting Green Amendment

The current session of the New Mexico Legislature may soon be considering a proposed constitutional amendment known as the Green Amendment. Only four other states have an article that deals specifically with the environment.

In 1972, I was one of 100 delegates elected to a constitutional convention in Montana that was charged with drafting a new constitution. That document, which was ratified by the people, has a separate article (IX) on Environment and Natural Resources. It states that “the state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment.” The article goes on to provide remedies and protections of environmental life-support systems from degradation.

In addition, the Montana document included a section (II:3) in its bill of rights, stating that “all persons are born free and have inalienable rights. They include the right to a clean and healthful environment.”

The amendment being proposed for New Mexico would secure the right to pure water, clean air, a stable climate and healthful environment. This section would be added to the current bill of rights.

Constitutional rights are the prerogative of the people, and specifying them in our foundational document is a critical step toward securing the basis for litigating violation of our natural resources. Whenever proposals such as this are put forward, there will be debate about their merits. Calling the current proposal the Green Amendment may immediately put some on the defensive. However, this proposal reaches beyond partisan positions.

Montana is a far more conservative state politically than New Mexico, and its people adopted their article 50 years ago. I would hope New Mexicans would give careful consideration to recognizing these rights in our charter.

Gene Harbaugh lives in Carlsbad.