One path towards real environmental justice (EJ) is the growing movement to recognize that nature — encompassing plants, animals, and the air, land, and water — is not property, not something to own and exploit, but entities that have their own rights to exist and thrive. All too often EJ deals only with environmental racism and not the rights of all current and future beings to justice.
Inside Climate News just ran an article on the city of Port Townsend WA, which issued a proclamation on Southern Resident Orcas. Quoting Mayor David Faber: “The rights of the Southern Resident Orcas include, but are not limited to, the right to life, autonomy, culture, free and safe passage, adequate food supply from naturally occurring sources, and freedom from conditions causing physical, emotional, or mental harm, including a habitat degraded by noise, pollution, and contamination.”
- A Town in Washington Takes a Step Toward Recognizing the Rights of Southern Resident Orcas, by Katie Surma in Inside Climate News..
For more on EJ, including the rights of future generations:
- The Future of Environmental Justice, by Peter Crownfield and Devon Jewell. (from State of the Lehigh Valley, February 2022)
- #TeachTheTruth (with Devon Jewell – SLV Fall 2021)
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