About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


10 Earth Jurisprudence & Envtl. Just. J. 5 (2020 )

handle is hein.journals/earjujo10 and id is 1 raw text is: THE RIGHTS OF NATURE MOVEMENT IN THE UNITED STATES: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING, LOCAL LEGISLATION, COURT CHALLENGES, POSSIBLE LESSONS AND PATHWAYS Marsha Jones Moutrie* INTRODUCTION In 2000, representatives from around the world adopted the Earth Charter. It declares: [w]e are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Since then, political leaders, theologians, academics, environmentalists, scientists, lawyers, and others have worked to achieve the goal of a sustainable society founded on respect for Nature. Many have been guided by the teachings of Father Thomas Berry, whose Ten Principles of Jurisprudence included: [t]he universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not objects to be used. As a subject, each component of the universe is capable of having rights.2 Environmental attorney, * Marsha Jones Moutrie is a California attorney (UCLA School of Law, 1975), who served as City Attorney of Santa Monica, California from 1994 through 2016. During that time, she wrote, co-wrote, or approved as to form the city's environmental laws, including its Sustainability Rights Ordinance. She also directed the city's litigation, including the successful litigation against global corporations whose gasoline additive had polluted the city's water wells. Since retiring from municipal service, she has practiced law primarily as an Earth Law Center volunteer. 1 Earth Charter Initiative, Charter of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), International Law& World Order: Weston's & Carlson's Basic Documents (2001). https://earthcharter.org>virtual-library2>the-earth-charter>text [https://perma.cc/46X4-TMED] (last visited Sep. 6, 2020). 2 Thomas Berry's Ten Principles of Jurisprudence, GLOBAL ALLIANCE FOR THE RIGHTS OF NATURE, https://therightsofnature.org/thomas-berrys-ten-principles-of- jurisprudence/ [https://perma.cc/BV4P-VY9R] (last visited Sep. 6, 2020). 5