skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 23, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Suspect held after woman set on fire in NY subway car dies; Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal over 'ridiculous' fees; A year of growth for juvenile diversion programs in SD; The ups and downs of combating rural grocery deserts in ND; Report: AZ one of eight Western states that could improve conservation policies.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Congress passes a last-minute budget stopgap. Trump's second-term tariffs could harm farmers, and future budget cuts could reduce much-needed federal programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

Does Nature Have the Right to Defend Itself in Court?

play audio
Play

Monday, September 11, 2017   

NEWPORT, Ore. – Can a river defend itself in court?

On Monday, a judge in Newport will answer that question in the case of the Siletz River Ecosystem.

Last May, Lincoln County residents approved a measure banning aerial pesticide spraying – a measure that stated the river had the "right to be free from toxic trespass."

Its backers are worried that the large pesticide sprays on forests before they are logged are putting hazardous chemicals into rivers and streams, which also provide some of the county's drinking water.

Carol Van Strum was in court as the river's advocate in July when the motion to intervene was originally filed.

"That's why I call it the 'Lorax issue,'” she states. “Somebody has to speak for the trees, the rivers, the fish, the birds, everything that's out here – because no one else is going to."

Two plaintiffs representing farms in Lincoln County are looking to overturn the ban so they can continue spraying pesticides. Other opponents of the measure say its language is too broad.

Van Strum has been involved in other cases fighting for the environment, typically against the government and chemical manufacturers.

She recently published a trove of documents, known as the "Poison Papers," from legal cases over the past 40 years that detail industry's influence on the Environmental Protection Agency.

In August, “The Poison Papers” became available online. Van Strum says this case is part of that legacy, and that the movement to defend nature's rights in court has been building.

"It sounds like a novel idea, but it's not,” she stresses. “It's a matter of the courts catching up to the last 50 years of reality, and they're going to have to do it eventually. Other countries have."

Over the past year, high courts in New Zealand, India and Colombia have recognized the rights of rivers, and Ecuador's Constitution has recognized the rights of nature since 2008.







get more stories like this via email

more stories
The Federal Trade Commission reported older adults are less likely to report scams than those ages 18-59. Because the majority of fraud cases are not reported, the commission estimates national losses last year alone may be as high as $61.5 billion. (fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

The holidays are the busiest time of the year for many people, including scammers. Oregonians lost $136 million to holiday shopping scams last year…


Environment

play sound

Across Pennsylvania and other northern U.S. states, climate change -- from burning oil, coal and methane gas -- is increasing the number of winter …

Social Issues

play sound

The Internal Revenue Service will be in the crosshairs in the second Trump administration, as the president-elect's recently announced choice to run …


Millions of families across the U.S. depend on home-based child care, with over 750,000 children enrolled in these programs, often because parents consider them more flexible than traditional child care centers. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama is part of a national program aimed at diversifying early childhood education. The Enriching Public Pre-K Through Inclusion of Family Child …

Social Issues

play sound

West Virginia schools' reliance on zero-tolerance policies are driving more kids into the juvenile justice system - with lifelong consequences…

Critics argue Florida's book removals limit access to important information. At the same time, state officials insist they ensure only age-appropriate materials remain in schools, rejecting claims of outright bans as a "hoax." (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent changes to Florida's education laws have removed information on consent, contraceptives and prenatal development from many health lessons at …

Health and Wellness

play sound

If you find yourself in a less than festive mood this holiday season, you are not alone. In Wisconsin, the recent school shooting tragedy in Madison …

Environment

play sound

By Jennifer Oldham for Civil Eats.Broadcast version by Eric Galatas for Colorado News Connection reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-Public…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021