Summary
In 2019, residents of Exeter, New Hampshire voted to adopt a Right to a Healthy Climate Ordinance that recognized rights of nature and banned corporate activities that release toxic waste. “As we are purportedly constrained by state and federal law, which courts interpret to require us to accept such harmful corporate activity, we the people of Exeter are unable under our current system of local government to secure human rights and ecosystem rights by banning said activity,” the ordinance says. It was partially adopted in response to a proposed Granite Bridge fracked gas pipeline project. Some board members held off on certifying the ordinance, but it was ultimately adopted and is still active.