Birds, Bees and Trees May Get Legal Standing

Eco-wackos want to give plants the right to sue in court.

Can the right to vote be far behind?

by Noaki Schwartz

What if a trimmed tree could sue as an amputee or a shucked clam could claim wrongful eviction?

In an effort to ban everything from drilling oil to incinerating garbage, about a dozen communities across the country have adopted ordinances that give nature legal standing and water down the rights of businesses.

The long-debated philosophy could face court challenges. But it has gained traction among those who believe the environment needs greater protection, even while critics ridicule the thought of arming bugs with legal rights against foes such as lawn mowers.

"What if nature had rights?" said Shannon Biggs, with Global Exchange. "What if the Amazon could sue an oil company for environmental damage?"

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Hopi Tribal Council bans environmental groups

Actions by environmental groups threaten total

economic collapse of the tribe, council declares

by Navajo-Hopi Observer

KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. - The Hopi Tribe has a message for the Sierra Club and other environmental groups: Keep out!

That is the response of the Hopi Tribal Council on Monday to what it says has been continuous concerted attacks from local and national environmental groups "bent on advancing their interests and agenda at the expense of the Hopi Tribe and its sovereign interest."

The council wants the Sierra Club and other environmental groups and on-reservation organizations affiliated with these groups to know they are not welcome on the Hopi Reservation, declaring them persona non grata - no longer favored or welcome.

By a resolution approved 12-0, the council said environmentalists have deprived the tribe "of markets for its coal resources" and coal revenues needed to sustain governmental services, provide jobs for tribal members and safeguard Hopi culture and tradition.

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