Surveys by the Oregon Values and Beliefs Center, reveal: “Oregonians feel strongly that maintaining a quality environment to attract people and companies to Oregon is more important for economic growth (60%) than relaxing environmental protection regulations to make it easier for companies to do business (25%).”
Furthermore, “More Oregonians thought that protection of the environment should be given priority even at the risk of slowing economic growth (76%), than thought economic growth should be given priority at the expense of environmental quality (23%).”
Given the importance we place on our environment, many Oregonians probably think that we already enjoy a constitutional right to a healthy environment. This isn’t the case!
Probably because of this omission, when aggrieved Oregonians seek legal protection from those placing in jeopardy the natural resources that we hold in trust for future generations by polluting our land, air and water, the courts are not sympathetic. However, they probably would be sympathetic if the right to a healthy environment were enshrined in our state Constitution.
When seeking judicial penalty for, or cessation of, pollution, the nonprofit public-interest law firm Our Children’s Trust has found that courts in states with this constitutional requirement are much more receptive than courts in those states which don’t.
The Oregon Coalition for an Environmental Rights Amendment seeks to overcome this omission in our state by proposing a ballot measure for fall 2026 that would insert into our Constitution the right to a healthy environment. If you support this effort and would like to collect signatures, please contact me at alan@socan.eco.
Alan Journet
Jacksonville
Alan Journet is co-facilitator of Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN).
