Organisation - April 21, 2011
Constitution
'It is important for all Dutch citizens to be able to live in a healthy and varied environment', wrote 79 professors last week in an open letter to the cabinet venting their deep concern about the government's nature policy.

Go without saying indeed. I checked the constitution. The constitution that every Dutch citizen should be familiar with. At least the members of our cabinet. The quality of our environment gets a whole article to itself. Article 21: 'The government's concern is focused on the liveability of the country and with conserving and improving the environment we live in'.
The cabinet may well push the letter from the worried professors to one side, but surely the words of the constitution - no more than 1500 of them all told - cannot just be ignored? Where is the CDA now with its wardenship ideas? Of the 500 million euros spent on nature, 300 million are to be cut. What in heaven's name would it take to make clear to the cabinet that they are the ones who are supposed to be improving the environment we live in?