An Essay: An Aspirational Right to a Healthy Environment?

Abstract

A right to a healthy environment is neither novel nor extreme. As this Essay posits, this is a propitious moment for exploring why such a right is supported by this Nation’s legal institutions. This Essay walks through those institutions – our Constitution, the common law, as well as Congressional and state efforts to embed a right to a healthy environment into our legal fabric. Those institutions collectively demonstrate how an aspirational right, such as a right to a healthy environment, enjoys sufficient legal currency and is capable of enforcement.