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How 'Rights of Nature' Is Recasting the Relationship Between Law and the Earth [1]

In 2006, a local government council in Pennsylvania concerned about sewage sludge dumping enacted the Western legal system’s first formal “rights of nature” instrument. Today, numerous countries have laws recognizing specific rights or even legal personhood for nature. As legal expert Alice Bleby explains, this new perspective arises from a wide range of contexts and plays out in many different ways.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Features [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Activism [3]
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [5]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Justice [8]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Forests [12]
Government [13]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Religion, Faith and Spirituality [18]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [20]
California [21]
Great Lakes (IL IN MI MN OH WI) [22]
Mid-Atlantic (DC DE MD PA VA WV) [23]
International [24]
Africa [25]
Asia [26]
Australia & Oceania [27]
South America [28]
Visibility: 
Public [29]
  • Read more about How 'Rights of Nature' Is Recasting the Relationship Between Law and the Earth [1]

"Forest Service Finds Mining Would Pose Risk To Minnesota Watershed" [30]

"A federal study released Thursday determined that hardrock mining in a Minnesota wilderness area would risk contaminating the region."

Environmental Studies [10]
Forests [12]
Natural Resources [15]
Water & Oceans [19]
Public [29]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: The Hill [31], 06/27/2022
  • Read more about "Forest Service Finds Mining Would Pose Risk To Minnesota Watershed" [30]

The Human Sensory Experience Is Limited. Journey Into Animals' World. [32]

"There's a vast world around us that animals can perceive — but humans can't."

Biodiversity [4]
Environmental Studies [10]
Natural Resources [15]
Science [33]
Wildlife [34]
Public [29]
International [24]
Source: NPR [35], 06/23/2022
  • Read more about The Human Sensory Experience Is Limited. Journey Into Animals' World. [32]

"Mountain Gorillas: The Ripple Effect Of Conservation" [36]

"I could tell she knew I was there. But the burly matriarch of the Nshongi mountain gorilla family was ignoring me as she plucked branches from a bush and lazily munched on the leaves, like a teenager working her way through a packet of crisps."

Biodiversity [4]
Forests [12]
Natural Resources [15]
Wildlife [34]
Public [29]
Africa [25]
Source: BBC News [37], 06/21/2022
  • Read more about "Mountain Gorillas: The Ripple Effect Of Conservation" [36]

"U.N. Nature Summit Set For Montreal as COVID-Hit China Steps Aside" [38]

"U.N. negotiations to seal a global pact to protect nature - already delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic - are set to be moved to Canada in December after an agreement was made with host nation China, environmentalists said on Monday."

Biodiversity [4]
Environmental Health [7]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Wildlife [34]
Public [29]
International [24]
Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn. [39], 06/21/2022
  • Read more about "U.N. Nature Summit Set For Montreal as COVID-Hit China Steps Aside" [38]

"Native American Tribes To Co-Manage National Monument For First Time" [40]

"The Biden administration has reached a historic agreement to give five Native American tribes more say over the day-to-day management of a national monument in Utah, marking a new chapter in the federal government’s often-fraught relationship with tribes."

Environmental Justice [8]
Government [13]
Natural Resources [15]
Public [29]
National (U.S.) [20]
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [41]
Source: Washington Post [42], 06/21/2022
  • Read more about "Native American Tribes To Co-Manage National Monument For First Time" [40]

Ocean and Climate Change Toolbox [43]

Oceans and climate change intersect with many other issues, a crossover likely to be emphasized in the upcoming United Nations Ocean Conference and in future ocean-based climate discussions. This list of resources reflects some of that intersection in order to help environmental journalists better cover the field of “blue climate” solutions.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Special Reports [44]
Topics on the Beat: 
Biodiversity [4]
Climate Change [6]
Environmental Health [7]
Environmental Politics [9]
Environmental Studies [10]
Fish & Fisheries [11]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Policy [16]
Pollution [17]
Science [33]
Water & Oceans [19]
Region: 
National (U.S.) [20]
International [24]
Visibility: 
Public [29]
  • Read more about Ocean and Climate Change Toolbox [43]

Farmers Restoring Hawaii’s Ancient Food Forests That Once Fed An Island [45]

"Maui is a hub for GMO research but Indigenous farmers are trying to bring back the abundant and thriving landscapes of their ancestors for Hawaiians who took only what they needed."

Agriculture [46]
Biodiversity [4]
Natural Resources [15]
People & Population [47]
Public [29]
Alaska and Hawaii [48]
Source: Guardian [49], 06/20/2022
  • Read more about Farmers Restoring Hawaii’s Ancient Food Forests That Once Fed An Island [45]

"Court Sends EPA Back To Work On Glyphosate Cancer Finding" [50]

"A federal appeals court today scrapped a 2020 EPA finding on the human health impacts of a chemical at the center of a pending Supreme Court petition on cancer risk from the popular Roundup weedkiller."

Agriculture [46]
Biodiversity [4]
Chemicals [5]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Public [29]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: E&E News [51], 06/20/2022
  • Read more about "Court Sends EPA Back To Work On Glyphosate Cancer Finding" [50]

"Can a Law Protecting Endangered Animals Stop New Oil Drilling?" [52]

"A coalition of environmental groups sued the Biden administration on Wednesday for failing to consider the harms caused to endangered species from the emissions produced by oil and gas drilling on public lands."

Biodiversity [4]
Energy & Fuel [53]
Laws & Regulations [14]
Natural Resources [15]
Wildlife [34]
Public [29]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: NYTimes [54], 06/17/2022
  • Read more about "Can a Law Protecting Endangered Animals Stop New Oil Drilling?" [52]

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Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=217

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/features/how-rights-nature-recasting-relationship-between-law-and-earth [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/features [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1 [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/forests [13] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [14] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/religion-faith-and-spirituality [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [20] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [21] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [22] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes [23] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mid-atlantic [24] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international [25] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/africa [26] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/asia [27] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/australia-oceania [28] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international/south-america [29] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [30] https://www.sej.org/headlines/forest-service-finds-mining-would-pose-risk-minnesota-watershed [31] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3535013-forest-service-finds-mining-would-pose-risk-to-minnesota-watershed/ [32] https://www.sej.org/headlines/human-sensory-experience-limited-journey-animals-world [33] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science [34] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife [35] https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/06/22/1105849864/immense-world-ed-yong-animal-perception-echolocation [36] https://www.sej.org/headlines/mountain-gorillas-ripple-effect-conservation [37] https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61788828 [38] https://www.sej.org/headlines/un-nature-summit-set-montreal-covid-hit-china-steps-aside [39] https://news.trust.org/item/20220620094912-ir5bq/ [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/native-american-tribes-co-manage-national-monumeant-first-time [41] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/mountain-west [42] https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/06/20/bears-ears-national-monument-tribes/ [43] https://www.sej.org/publications/special-reports/climate-solutions/ocean-and-climate-change-toolbox [44] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/special-reports [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/farmers-restoring-hawaii-s-ancient-food-forests-once-fed-island [46] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [47] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [48] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/alaska-and-hawaii [49] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/17/hawaii-traditional-farming-methods-ancient-food-forests [50] https://www.sej.org/headlines/court-sends-epa-back-work-glyphosate-cancer-finding [51] https://www.eenews.nepes/court-sends-epa-back-to-work-on-glyphosate-cancer-finding/ [52] https://www.sej.org/headlines/can-law-protecting-endangered-animals-stop-new-oil-drilling [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [54] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/15/climate/lawsuit-oil-gas-drilling-endangered-species.html? [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=216 [56] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=213 [57] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=214 [58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=215 [59] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=218 [60] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=219 [61] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=220 [62] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=221 [63] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land?page=487