Imagine if we can claim a constitutional right to keep the Columbia River clean.
This magnificent natural feature in our backyards is not currently guaranteed a healthy future — but we can change that with a Green Amendment.
A Green Amendment (GA) is a constitutional protection that safeguards everyone’s right to pure water, clean air and a healthy environment (similar to the right to freedom of religion or speech). A grassroots group in Washington is working to get it reintroduced in the 2026 legislative session. If legislators know the Green Amendment is backed by their constituents, they are much more likely to vote for it.
Three states have won a GA already: Montana, Pennsylvania and New York. The GA has been used in these states to prevent fracking and other major sources of pollution, on the basis that such activities threaten people’s inalienable right to a healthy ecosystem.
If we want Washington to remain both beautiful and livable, we need a stake in the ground to guarantee its protection — for our sake and for the sake of future generations.
Maya Van Rossum, the founder of the national forthegenerations.org movement, is doing a tour across six cities in Washington in September to educate residents and legislators on the importance of a Green Amendment. Vancouver’s event will be Tuesday, Sept. 16 ,from 6 to 8 p.m. at Clark College.
All are welcome.
Marii Herlinger
Seattle
•••
Letters To The Editor
Readers are encouraged to express their views by writing to the editor of The Reflector. Letters are limited 500 words. Deadline is noon Thursday. Writers are limited to two letters per calendar quarter. All letters must be signed with name, address, plus phone number for verification. Items submitted are subject to editing and will become the property of this newspaper. Opinions expressed in the Letters to the Editor section of this newspaper do not necessarily reflect those of The Reflector or its staff.
Email: letters@thereflector.com
Mail: The Reflector, Attention: Letters to the Editor,
209 E Main St., Suite 121 Battle Ground, WA 98604
