Santa Monica Sustainability Bill of Rights Law Passed

Rights of the environment and human rights to clean air and water were enshrined in a unique new ordinance, the Sustainability Bill of Rights, passed by Santa Monica City Council this week, paving the way for other cities across the U.S. to move power from corporations to citizens.

Unlike what many fear about the U.N.’s Agenda 21, this ordinance that follows much of what is in the UN document to foster human rights by ensuring citizens and the environment are protected from entities, such as Big Energy, presently destroying both.

The Sustainability Bill of Rights ordinance says that corporations and their leadership have no special privileges or powers that supersede community’s rights.

It requires the Office of Sustainability and the Environment to prepare a report every two years documenting the Sustainable City Plan progress, an effort begun in the mid-1990s to create benchmarks and goals for Santa Monica to be more environmentally friendly, and that City Hall hold a public hearing.

Finally, and perhaps most controversially, some believe that the law gives residents the ability to sue a polluter themselves when one of those rights are violated, without waiting for City Hall or other agencies to get the ball rolling.

Councilmember Kevin McKeown’s says that the ordinance is a fundamental power shift away from business interests and toward the community that has not yet happened in the environmental movement.

“Unrestrained capitalism has extracted the good out of our environment in many, many cases,” McKeown said. “Here, for the first time, we as a city are taking a stand and saying we’re not going to let that happen anymore.” 

Cris Gutierrez at [email protected]  said last week, ”The city and community have worked hard to protect the natural ecosystems that make life possible.”

Citizens need to ensure rights of the community and natural ecosystems take precedence over corporate interests, Gutierrez asserted,  ”because big corporations are dominating people, Nature and our democracy.”

Read more about the new ordinance here.