This op-ed originally ran on Jan 25, 2018 in NewsPress, Part of the USA Today Network. Proposal 23 is just another “feel-good” constitutional provision that will inspire frivolous litigation, rather than needed environmental protection. That’s how Herschel Vinyard, former secretary of Florida’s DEP, characterized this proposed environmental amendment to Florida’s constitution, currently winding its way
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In the NY times article “Corporations Have Rights. Why Shouldn’t Rivers?” we learn about a recently filed lawsuit in which a judge is being asked to recognize the Colorado River as a person. This lawsuit is testing an important legal theory — giving rights to nature — similar to Ecuador’s model. In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to
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Department of Defense Photo found at: https://www.defense.gov/Photos/Essay-View/CollectionId/17251/ I am struck by the two different ways we, as a nation, are talking about two vitally important and fundamental issues — freedom of the press and access to clean water. Just the other day, President Trump tweeted: Appropriately, there is now a robust conversation about the fact that the President
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