Environment

States consider making a clean environment a right

Only three states’ constitutions currently include it.
This Aug. 6, 2018, file photo shows the Rio Grande flowing south of Taos, New Mexico. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

Frustrated by the government response to environmental threats, some state legislators want to empower citizens to take matters into their own hands.

Lawmakers in at least six states have introduced legislation this session to provide a constitutional right to a clean environment. Advocates say it would create a novel way to fight pollution when legislators and laws fall short.

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