🚀 go-pugleaf

You guys still arguing this?
While I am not a fan of arguing for rights, the environmental
community has gone a long way past Justice Douglas' minority opinion.
My old prof and friend Rod Nash wrote a landmark piece of environmental
history back about 1988 entitled The Rights of Nature.  This is not a
legal piece, but a summary of the history leading up to today.
He notes some interesting trends not only in law but in fields as
diverse as science and religion.  The issue isn't "if" it's "when."

2 diagrams are attached.
If you need this book, try Books-In-Print.  Let me know when you guys get
to 90s environmentalism.  Long ways to go.

--eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@orville.nas.nasa.gov
  Acting Associate Editor, Software and Publication Reviews
  Scientific Programming
  {uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene
Seeking Books to buy:	Bongard, Pattern Recognition
			Imhof, Cartographic Relief Presentation
			Books on or by Benjamin Whorf

R. Nash (used with permission)
The Rights of Nature
Natural Rights

^                                                          ^
 \                        Universe                        /
  \------------------------------------------------------/
   \                       Planet                       /
    \--------------------------------------------------/
     \                   Ecosystems                   /
      \----------------------------------------------/
       \                   Rocks                    /
        \------------------------------------------/
Future   \                  Life                  /
          \--------------------------------------/
           \               Plants               /
            \----------------------------------/
- - - - - - -\            Animals             /
              \------------------------------/
               \           Humans           /
Present         \--------------------------/
                 \          Race          /
                  \----------------------/
                   \       Nation       /
- - - - - - - - - - \------------------/
                     \     Region     /
Ethical               \--------------/
Past                   \    Tribe   /
                        \----------/
                         \ Family /
- - - - - - - - - - - - - \------/
Pre-Ethical                \Self/
Past                        \  /
                             \/

Figure 1. The Evolution of Ethics


				?
\------------------------------------------------------------------/ 
 \                Nature, Endangered Species Act, 1973             /
  \---------------------------------------------------------------/
   \                           Blacks                            /
    \                    Civil Rights Act, 1957                 /
     \---------------------------------------------------------/
      \                       Laborers                        /
       \             Fair Labor Standards Act, 1938          /
        \---------------------------------------------------/
         \                 Native Americans                /
          \           Indian Citizenship Act, 1924        /
           \---------------------------------------------/
            \                  Women                    /
             \         Nineteenth Amendment, 1920      /
              \---------------------------------------/
               \               Slaves                /
                \            Emancipation           /
                 \        Proclamation, 1863       /
                  \-------------------------------/
                   \     American Colonialists   /
                    \       Declaration of      /
                     \    Independence, 1776   /
                      \-----------------------/
                       \       English       /
                        \      Barons       /
                         \Magna Carte, 1215/
                          \---------------/
                           \   Natural   /
                            \   Rights  /
                             \         /
                              \-------/

Figure 2. The Expanding Concept of Rights