Ajamu Baraka on Environment

Adopt the Precautionary Principle

• Protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators. Ban neonicotinoids and other pesticides that threaten the survival of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
• Label GMOs, and put a moratorium on GMOs and pesticides until they are proven safe.
• Support organic and regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and sustainable forestry.
• Protect the rights of future generations. Adopt the Precautionary Principle. When an activity poses threats of harm to human health or the environment, in the absence of objective scientific consensus that it is safe, precautionary measures should be taken. The proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof.
• Invest in clean air, water, food and soil for everyone. Clean up America.

State has responsibility to ensure a clean environment

So for the first time in 30 years, there is a real opportunity to push back on the ideological ascendancy of the Right, which has been pretty successful in convincing people of the superior efficiency of the private market system and that anything the state touches will be screwed up. This is where the power of the human rights framework comes in. This framework provides clear values around issues of human dignity and justice that help people to understand both the proper role of the government and the proper limitations on a private market system.