Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment

Fresh Air, Clean Water: Our Right to a Healthy Environment — page 7
My son Owen and me at the September 27 2019 climate strike in Vancouver BC What will our climate look like for future generations MEGAN CLENDENAN enough to stop polluters from dumping chemicals from those mines into the rivers that people depended on for water to drink and fish to eat My mom worked for a time at a dry cleaner’s where she was exposed to toxic chemicals Later she got cancer and passed away Although I’ll never know for sure I still wonder how did all those chemicals she breathed at work affect her health Everyone from me to you to people on the other side of the world depends on clean air to breathe safe water to drink and nutritious food and so does every form of life on the planet from oak trees to grizzly bears to ladybugs Clean air and fresh water give people a better chance to fight off health threats such as the COVID-19 virus But what if your drinking water is dangerous your air is polluted and your food is contaminated What if you live in a city that floods as the sea rises What can you do about that Do you have the right to demand change And what about trees rivers and animals Do they have rights too I wanted to learn more about how we can protect both our own health and our environment environment That led me to wonder Do we have the right to a healthy environment And if we don’t what can we do 2 Megan Clendenan