Article 1, Section 27 of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:
“The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”
Don’t let your representatives forget this when considering a data center in your area!

On August 16, 2026, former state Sen. Franklin L. Kury, passed away at the age of 89.

He was the author and lead advocate for the Environmental Rights Amendment to the state constitution.

In 1971, the people of Pennsylvania voted by  a 4 to 1 margin  to add this right to the state constitution along with the rights to religious freedom, and the freedom of press and speech.

This victory was described in his autobiography – Clean Politics, Clean Streams: A Legislative Autobiography – published by the Lehigh University Press.

The PA Environmental Defense Foundation (PEDF), secured a Supreme Court decision in June 2017 which brought the Environmental Rights Amendment to life.

The Supreme Court said it placed a duty on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the General Assembly, Governor and each state agency and local government to conserve Pennsylvania’s natural resources, as a trustee preserves a trust for the beneficiaries of the trust.

The Amendment put the natural resources in an enforceable trust, making the government the trustee.

While some politicians still deny Article 1, Section 27 of our Constitution, PEDF’s John and Kim Childe continue the important court battle to ensure that they follow the letter of the law and protect our environmental rights.