In the same week large swaths of the US were under extreme heat warnings, Joe Biden’s Justice Department filed its most recent motion to dismiss a landmark climate case by arguing that nothing in the Constitution guarantees the right to a secure climate.
They’re right though. There is nothing in the US constitution that guarantees the right to a healthy environment.
Cool that it isn’t stopping them from putting a lot of climate action in motion.
What a dumb article.
Not only is there nothing in the constitution to prevent them from adding to it, the forefathers urged us to do so, and created systems for exactly that reason. The forefathers weren’t dummies, they were smart guys. That’s why they created something that is supposed to be a living document.
They are also dead and thus very easy to speak in name of.
Just stop building politics around dead or nearly dead people. There are living ones to take care of.
While we’re at it let’s give everyone a right to world peace.
I think the compromises they struck have put a lot of that wishful thinking out of reach.
The rules in the Constitution are only relevant so far as they are within the ability of the government to provide. Outlawing slavery, the right to free speech, the right to vote, these can all be provided and protected by the government. The global climate can only be protected by ensuing that the rest of the world does not ruin the climate, in other words, the US would have to invade any country that endangers the climate for is citizens to ensure that right. This is why the Constitution does not provide he right to travel anywhere outside of US borders either.
the US would have to invade any country that endangers the climate for is citizens to ensure that right.
The US has invaded several countries to ensure their citizens have the right to cheap oil, which is also not covered in the constitution.
And you’ve proven my point.
No. The complete opposite of your point.
It is not in the constitution, so it can’t be done - your point.
I am saying that the US has done things outside the constitution and in breach of international law to directly and materially aid their citizens.
But this time it is different somehow…
This isn’t a US issue. No one’s Constitution can guarantee this.
the US would have to invade any country that endangers the climate for is citizens to ensure that right.
Well, that depends on what we think about climate change. If we think the climat change will destroy the humanity then this seems to be justifiable.
The US subsidizes the world’s demand for military and protection as well as the world’s healthcare. There’s no excuse, we could have this world fully renewable if we had the will to do so.
I mean…it doesn’t
Who thinks it does? What a silly idea
Correct, the constitution does not literally call out the right to a stable climate, however it’s kinda hard to make good on any other constitutional right if populations being culled by extreme heat becomes the new worldwide norm.
Yes, we should take aggressive action to eliminate every trace of fossil fuels currently in use.
But also, bringing legal action to enforce a law that pretty plainly doesn’t exist doesn’t do anyone any good.
Cool, but don’t try to make the legal argument that the Constitution says so and so when it doesn’t. It’s a giant waste of time and money.
Yeah the declaration of independence mentioned a few things like the rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, all of which are impossible if the oceans are boiling. These politicians have failed in their duties.
Did they even track and measure weather anywhere close to what we have now?
Following centuries old doctorines is still weird to me
It’s the basis of law and order. You can’t just do whatever you want, that’s a dictatorship.
I’m not arguing for anarchy haha
I’m just saying that it’s not modified more/restructured/etc
Seems like governmental philosophizing (surely there’s a term for this) has gone stale these days.
Breaking news: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness does not include a right to a liveable environment.
(yes I know this is from the DOI, not the constitution, and has no legal force)
How can one live without a stable environment?
Apparently, the right to life and the right to keep living are two very different things to the justice department.
Then again, why are we surprised when a life spent is solitary confinement does not meet the definition of “cruel and unusual punishment” for the same group.
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Apparently right to life is not right to live
There isn’t. That doesn’t mean that this isn’t a noble cause, but come on. There’s no point in using the Constitution as the deciding factor of all that is good.
Americans are utterly obsessed with their constitution. They treat it like a holy book, despite (and perhaps sometimes because of) the fact that it’s pretty much impossible to convince enough people to change these days, despite it also needing changes.
This is a legal proceeding and the constitution is the fundamental basis for legal precedence in the US.
The government’s argument is not that this right cannot exist but that it is not presently defined.
This is a legal proceeding and the constitution is the fundamental basis for legal precedence in the US.
Someone should tell that to the supreme court.
While I very much disagree with many SCOTUS interpretations, many of the legitimate justices throughout the years have successfully espoused this policy
The current Supreme Court being largely a cruel joke does not falsify this claim
Thanks.
I was going to say, that it’s not an environmental document and climate science was barely a thing when it was written. (meteorology was but not climate science as we know it).
Time for a new amendment then, bitches. Let’s fucking do this.
The Jacobin is such a rag lol.
Biden’s done more for climate policy than every President before him combined, and the DOJ is no more “his” here than it is when it prosecutes Donald Trump.
Americans, legally, do not have a constitutional right to anything regarding the climate. This makes standing on climate policy difficult (but clearly not impossible, as the article itself notes) to prove.
This isn’t some “gotcha”
The constitution gotta protect guns in case the king of England invades your F250 but heaven forbid you protect the environment.
If someone’s invading your guns have already failed.
The Constitution also explicitly states that we have rights not enumerated in the Constitution.
The Constitution defines the government and sets its limits. If you’re looking for anything more than that, you’re going to be disappointed.
Very progressive
