Pennsylvania's constitution contains a rare protection, an Environmental Rights Amendment, in Article 1, Section 27. Although it was adopted decades ago, it was largely overlooked until a state Supreme Court ruling breathed new life into it. Unfortunately, lawmakers, policy makers, and regulators still ignore it. 

Last January, the Better Path Coalition organized two days of action in Harrisburg to raise awareness of the amendment and call on our governor and legislators to uphold the amendment, as they'd just sworn to do weeks earlier. With the help of Team Lorax, we delivered 9,000 petition signatures and a copy of the book, The Lorax, to the governor and every state legislator.

Unfortunately, they didn't listen. The past year has seen more climate-killing bills and policies, some that have broad bipartisan support. It's as if Harrisburg hasn't heard about the climate crisis. So it's time for Return of the Lorax.

This time, Team Lorax will ask elected officials to take a pledge that spells out what it means to uphold our constitution and be a climate leader. We want young people to write the pledge.

 

Students, please submit your ideas! Parents, Relatives, Educators - help us spread the word to the young people you know.

Here’s how to participate! Submissions can be as simple as bullet points for the pledge that start, “I will…”  or they can be photos or drawings that show what protecting the environment or being a climate leader looks like or show things that need protecting.Text, photos, and scanned or photographed drawings can be sent to betterpathpa@gmail.com. Electronic submissions are best, but we can also accept hard copies via regular mail to: Karen Feridun, 260 East Main Street, Kutztown,  PA 19530. 

The deadline to submit is February 27. We'll put together the pledge and send it out via a petition to Pennsylvanians across the state for your endorsement. It will be delivered on April 6th
too!

If you'd like to particpate on April 6, check out our event page on Facebook. SWPA members are organizing transportation and lodging. Let us know if you're interested in connecting with them. We're planning an educational event on civic engagement and a cool family-friendly action on April 5 for those who can come early.

We're posting details and updates on our Facebook event pages:
Pledge event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/134214884305608/
Return of the Lorax event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/1359860977526911/