Communities of Faith and Ethical Convictions Can Come Together to

Mitigate Climate Change!

Pope Francis, in his 2015 Encyclical (Laudato Si Care for our Common Home)
clearly stated the following:
o Climate change is real;
o Human activities are largely responsible for it;
o Economic activity involving corporate greed is the primary active force
contributing to it; and
o People of faith have a duty to act. (Future generations are counting on
us.)
Major religions agree that they are Stewards of Creation, with a duty to act.
Why cant corporations be reined in?
o Our independence was, to a great extent, achieved for the purpose of
freeing the colonies from corporate domination (British East India
Company and Crown Colonies primarily set up to maximize profit for the
King of England)
o Our constitution intentionally does not mention corporations the
individual states were given the responsibility of chartering corporations
under strict rules of conduct.
o Charters were weakened gradually until 1886 when an Illegitimate
Supreme Court decision (Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad)
gave corporations 14th Amendment Rights rights intended to protect
freed slaves!
o Since then Courts have also given corporations rights under the 1st, 4th,
5th, 6th, and 7th Amendments, resulting in their ability to successfully plead
legal arguments in numerous cases against the interests of We the
People and for their own profit interests.
o The 2010 decision: Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission
(FEC) was the final straw that removed restrictions on corporate moneys
ability to control our elections. (Money has been equated with speech)

o Due to these Corporate Constitutional Rights and money as Speech

many cases involving attempts to rein in corporate actions (such as
greenhouse gas emissions!) are stymied by court decisions protecting
these corporate rights, leading to a government dominated by the wishes
of corporations.
The acceleration of climate change continues unabated!
o Attempts to impose restrictive regulations or legislation on emissions and
other polluting activities have met with legal objections on the basis of a
corporations gifted constitutional rights under the 5th and 14th
amendments. Courts have frequently ruled in their favor.
o The power that corporate donors have over legislators makes it very
unlikely that laws will be successfully passed within the political process.
Only a constitutional amendment can undo decisions by the Supreme Court.
o In todays political environment the likelihood that such an amendment
will be passed by Congress, the normal route, is extremely low.
o The alternative provided under Article V of the Constitution is that 2/3 of
the states shall request a convention to amend the Constitution. This also,
is unlikely and fraught with possible undesirable and unintended
consequences.
Communities of faith and ethical convictions alone have the influence and the
numbers of adherents, should they choose to exert it, of mounting an ethically
based demand to our government to propose and pass such an amendment.
o Communities of faith and ethical convictions exhibit many differences
among themselves, some of which are strongly held and not likely to
change in the foreseeable future.
o On the issue of responsibility as Stewards of Creation to act, there is no
disagreement.
o Should a large number of national communities of faith and ethical
convictions come together to demand change, it would be impossible for
the Executive and the Legislative branches of our Federal Government to
refuse.
o Should this action go forward, this substantial influence exerted at the
state levels would ensure such an amendments ratification.
The passage of an amendment to eliminate corporate constitutional rights and
money as speech would have the following immediate effect:
o It would render the Citizens United 2010 decision invalid.
o It would lead to the passage of laws and regulations that could place
reasonable but effective restrictions on the activities of corporations that
are today contributing significantly to accelerating climate change, and
o It would also permit changes to restore justice and democracy to a
significant range of other issues that today are leading to increasing
levels of injustice, poverty, inequality, racial and ethnic oppression, voter
repression, and many etceteras.
o Given the leadership role that the United States has heretofore enjoyed in
the world, our example would very likely lead to other nations following
suit and imposing similar restrictions on their own corporations and on the
actions of any corporations within their territories.

(Michael Greenman, Interfaith Caucus of Move to Amend;

mgreenmanoh@gmail.com; 614-898-5825)