The air, water, and lands across our state have been continually polluted and exploited with disproportionate health impacts on people of color and degraded and diminished natural habitats for all living beings.
We can change that, but we need your help.
One thing proud Southern Marylanders from all walks of life can agree on: our love for our coastal home.
Our treasured Chesapeake Bay watershed includes so many beautiful scenic views to enjoy along the Bay, Potomac, and Patuxent Rivers. Our forests and shorelines are teeming with flora and fauna to the envy of more developed regions of the state and a legacy of rural stewardship.
Maryland owes a debt of gratitude to the native peoples who sustainably conserved the beauty and bounty of the water and land for generations. Many of the names of Maryland’s rivers, forested tributaries and coastal wetlands still come from the Piscataway and other not-yet federally recognized indigenous peoples. But since the founding of our state – even with recent stringent environmental laws – the air, water and lands across our state have been continually polluted and exploited with disproportionate health impacts on people of color and degraded and diminished natural habitats for all living beings. If you look at the foundational documents of our state, the Maryland Constitution you will find that the declaration of rights includes free speech, free press, right to vote and right to education and yet mention of the environment is nowhere to be found.
The Maryland Sierra Club is proud to be working alongside diverse partners to amend the State Constitution to guarantee the right to a healthful sustainable environment and to direct the state to act as trustees and stewards of our natural resources for current and future generations.
As simple as this principle is, the status quo is very strong. Enactment of this Amendment will take large-scale organizing, coalition building, and public support to ensure passage by 3/5 majority in the General Assembly legislative session that runs from January through April. If successful, it will head to the ballot where it can become part of our constitution if approved by voters in November 2022. But it can be done. New York voters recently adopted their version of this Amendment with 68.9% of voters approving. Help us declare the value of clean air, water, and a healthy environment for all, from the first peoples to the most recent immigrant communities. Let us guarantee that stewardship of our earth is fundamental to who we are as Marylanders.
4 Ways to Help
- Sign petition: https://bit.ly/scMDEHRA
- Register for lobby night: mdlobbynight.com
- Send a letter or call your elected officials in the Maryland General Assembly
- Check out sierraclub.org/maryland/calendar for more events
