Going Green? Evaluating the effectiveness of New York State's right to a healthy environment through case law and PM2.5 emissions

How has New York’s Green Amendment—enacted January 1, 2022, guaranteeing a right to a healthy environment—impacted air quality, measured in PM2.5, in New York State? To address this question, this undergraduate thesis analyzes court decisions that cite the Green Amendment and evaluates PM2.5 data from cases where plaintiffs successfully sued the state for violating their environmental rights. Legal and statistical analysis suggests that the Green Amendment alone is insufficient to impact air quality in New York. Therefore, political capital on environmental issues should be spent on other areas instead of on enshrining a right to a healthy environment in constitutions.