Back in the 1970s, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a law, Minn. Statutes, Chapter 116B, the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, which is still on the books, that states that “each person is entitled by right to the protection, preservation, and enhancement of air, water, land, and other natural resources located within the state…” Section 116B.01.
That law subsequently defines “natural resources” as “all mineral, animal, botanical, air, water, land, timber, soil, quietude, recreational and historical resources.” Section 116B.02, Subd. 4.
In other words, Minnesotans do have a statutory right to quietude, defined by Oxford as “a state of stillness,calmness, and quiet in a person or place.”
Right to Quietude
Back in the 1970s, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a law, Minn. Statutes, Chapter 116B, the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, which is still on the books, that states that “each person is entitled by right to the protection, preservation, and enhancement of air, water, land, and other natural resources located within the state…” Section 116B.01.
That law subsequently defines “natural resources” as “all mineral, animal, botanical, air, water, land, timber, soil, quietude, recreational and historical resources.” Section 116B.02, Subd. 4.
In other words, Minnesotans do have a statutory right to quietude, defined by Oxford as “a state of stillness,calmness, and quiet in a person or place.”