Summary

Chapter 27 - The Right to Clean Air and Pure Water. This chapter begins with a quote from the Pennsylvania Constitution stating that “the people have a right to clean air [and] pure water … Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people … as trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all people” (235). After a somewhat nervous John Smith and his legal allies make their case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, they are surprised when the chief justice (who had ordered all protestors on both sides to leave their signs outside) finds in their favor. The court’s decision, which author Griswold points out is longer by far than most decisions offered by the court, finds in favor of all the team’s arguments...