Harvard Law to Teach Rights of Nature
People think that such a whacky idea will never gain traction. But the nature-rights movement is making great headwayThis article is reprinted from National Review with the permission of the author.
Image Credit: David Fuentes - The mainstreaming of the rights-of-nature movement is accelerating — to the point that it is deemed worthy of a class at Harvard Law and History Department. From two professors’ announcement:
Professor Lepore and Professor Salzman are seeking a Teaching Fellow for the Fall 2024 semester for their new course, Rights of Nature.
The class will examine this fast-growing field, assessing the origins, practice, and potential of granting legal personhood to natural objects. The class is jointly offered through the History Department and will be equally split between HLS and FAS students.
Opponents had better start passing laws federally and in each state preserving “rights” and legal standing strictly to the human realm (as Utah did recently).
Why isn’t that happening more often? Complacency: People think that such a whacky idea will never gain traction. But the nature-rights movement is making great headway, including discussions for potential inclusion in a pending environmental treaty being negotiated at the U.N.
Complacency is the greatest political weapon the rights-of-nature radicals have. That’s a fool’s game. If the law grants geological features, viruses, and pond scum “rights” throughout the West — China would never be so stupid — our economies and human exceptionalism will be the victims. But then, that’s the whole point.
You may also wish to read: Utah goes up against “nature rights.” Utah is the fourth state — the others are Ohio, Florida, and Idaho — restricting rights to the human realm where they belong. Indeed, it is our obligation as humans to benefit from the earth’s bounties in responsible ways. But nature rights would stifle our ability to thrive and shrivel the principle of human rights. (Wesley J. Smith)
