Some activists in Florida are trying to pass an amendment to the state constitution that would protect the right to clean water.
On WMNF’s Tuesday Café, host Seán Kinane spoke with Capt. Karl R. Deigert, the chair of the Florida Political Action Committee, Florida Right to Clean & Healthy Waters, and Joeseph Bonasia, the group’s Southwest Florida Chair.
Listen to the show here:
2024 ballot question
They are gathering signatures now for a citizens’ ballot initiative. The group is trying to gather 900,000 signatures and wants the question on the ballot in 2024.
Rights of Nature
On WMNF’s Tuesday Café, Deigert said, “The Rights of Nature movement is global, national and now Florida has basically become the epicenter of that. It is to give ecosystems — natural systems like rivers, forests, even a specific plant, a grain of rice for example that’s important to a native tribe — the rights to exist, flourish and regenerate. And to be protected with the highest level of law, which is a constitutional right.”
The right to sue to protect the right to clean water
In an op-ed, Deigert writes, “every citizen, including advocacy groups and cities of Florida, will have the legal standing to sue state executive agencies that harm or threaten to harm our waters.”
He continues, ‘over 9,000 miles of our waterways and 80% of our springs are now classified as “impaired.”‘
Watch this interview:
WMNF’s Tuesday Cafe
WMNF’s Tuesday Café airs every Tuesday beginning at 10:06 a.m. on 88.5 FM Tampa/St. Pete. You can also listen on the WMNF app or wmnf.org.
