Indigenous principles inspire Rights of Nature movement to combat environmental threats

As the environment faces increasing pressures from the onset of climate change and industrial pollution, some say granting nature personhood status is the way forward.

The organizers of the first Earth Day event in 1970 wanted to raise awareness of the environment in the collective consciousness. Now, a half-century later, environmentalists are looking to give nature personhood status.

Many contend that environmental protections like the Clean Water Act have proven insufficient to shield wetlands from growing developmental pressures. Nor have laws been sufficient to prevent waterways from being polluted by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), microplastics and other contaminants as climate change exacerbates the problem.

Read the full article here.