Proposed DNC Platform Takes Bold Step Towards the Rights of Nature
The Democratic Party’s Climate Council recently released its proposed 2020 environmental and climate platform. Among other things, it advances the “Rights of Nature.”
If adopted by the DNC , the platform could provide an opportunity for meaningful change by reinforcing the truth that human welfare is inseparable from the welfare of Nature.
Specifically, among the recommendations of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Council on the Environment & Climate Crisis is to “Establish a commission, similar to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, to explore incorporating Rights of Nature principles into U.S. law.”
The Democrats’ commitment to explore Rights of Nature would represent a turning point in the decades-long struggle to protect and restore Nature, which is in severe decline.
The U.S. legal system is rooted in exploitation of Nature. As a young lawyer, I spent years fighting against governments that allowed rivers to be diverted and dammed to death. Oftentimes, this onslaught was not only legal, but encouraged by a culture of consumption and an economy that measures success by hollow economic growth. Now even the mighty Colorado River, which provides water to seven states, is shriveling. Its waters rarely reach the ocean, yet we continue…