Bolivia to UN: Give human rights to Mother Nature!

[Raph's Girl]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-citizens.html

Bolivia is drawing up a draft UN treaty which would give Mother Earth the same rights as humans, including the right to life, to pure water and clean air.

The South American country wants the UN to recognize the Earth as a living entity that humans have sought to 'dominate and exploit'.

It aims to establish 11 new rights for nature which include: the right to life and to exist; the right to continue vital cycles and processes free from human alteration; the right to pure water and clean air; the right to balance; the right not to be polluted; and the right to not have cellular structure modified or genetically altered.

Bolivia's large indigenous population is ruled by Latin America's first indigenous president Evo Morales, who was elected in 2006.

Morales is an outspoken critic in the UN of countries which are not prepared to limit climate change by holding temperatures to a 1C rise.

Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, Pablo Salon, says his country seeks to achieve harmony with nature, and hinted that mining and other companies would come under greater scrutiny.

The treaty will also enshrine the right of nature to 'not be affected by mega-infrastructure and development projects that affect the balance of ecosystems and the local inhabitant communities'.

The radical new conservation measures have been drawn up to reduce pollution and control industry.

In a pamphlet circulated soon after his election Morales drew up 10 'commandments' as part of Bolivia's plan to save the planet, beginning with the need 'to end capitalism.'

Bolivia has suffered from serious environmental problems from the mining of tin, silver, gold and other raw materials, and the government has admitted that existing laws are not strong enough to protect the country.

The treaty is part of a complete restructuring of the Bolivian legal system and has been heavily influenced by a resurgent indigenous Andean spiritual world view which puts the environment and the earth deity known as the 'Pachamama' at the centre of all life.

The draft of the new law states: 'She (the Pachamama/Mother Earth) is sacred, fertile and the source of life that feeds and cares for all living beings in her womb.

'She is in permanent balance, harmony and communication with the cosmos. She is comprised of all ecosystems and living beings, and their self-organisation.'

Bolivia is one of the worst-placed countries when it comes to climate change. It is having to deal with rising temperatures, melting glaciers and extreme weather such as flooding, droughts, frosts and mudslides.

Research suggests temperatures in the country have been rising steadily for 60 years and are on course to rise a further 3.5-4C over the next 100 years, turning much of Bolivia into a desert.

So... They want to give Mother Nature/Gaia/Pachamama/Terra/Insert Name Here human rights. Um sure maybe they should do the same for Captain Planet while they're at it?

[Candy Kappa]

hmm, hardly think Mother Earth cares for human made ideas. When the time is right she'll eat us all for brunch...

[Jester]

Not that I think we should scar the earth and all that, but come on...how do you give a planet "basic human rights?" How can it have the right "to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." This is a farce.

[Ninjinister]

You have to be human to have human rights.

[gobo]

Originally Posted by Raph's Girl

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-citizens.html



So... They want to give Mother Nature/Gaia/Pachamama/Terra/Insert Name Here human rights. Um sure maybe they should do the same for Captain Planet while they're at it?

How many life-sentences is she serving for claiming human lives? O_o

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

You have to be human to have human rights.

How do pets have 'em then?

[Machias Banshee]

...if they give Mother Earth Human rights, could she be charged with crimes against humanity for the earthquakes/tsunamis/tornadoes/volcanos? Think of the millions that have died over the centuries..

[Ninjinister]

Originally Posted by gobo

How do pets have 'em then?

They... don't? Those are animal rights. They share common ground but have major differences.

Unless something's changed in the last decade and nobody told me.

[TheCanadiandrome]

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

You have to be human to have human rights.

^ this qft

[BubblyShell22]

Um, okay, this is weird.

[Candy Kappa]

Mother Earth have feelings too!

[Spitfire]

Silly as it seems something that helps toward preventing us from completely destroying the Earth over the next 50 years isn't a bad thing. China is going to be at the forefront of all this. As their nation gets richer they start consuming more meat and driving more cars. If they really want to help they should just focus on cutting back on meat production. One cow alone does 4 times the damage to the environment as one car.

[Katie]

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

They... don't? Those are animal rights. They share common ground but have major differences.

Unless something's changed in the last decade and nobody told me.

Exactly.

If my dog spends the day in her crate while I am at work, that's acceptable. My brother puts his two year old daughter in a wire cage while he's at work....child abuse. See the difference?

Anyway....I think something has to be living to get the treatment Bolivia is asking for.


But on the other hand......I totally am for saving the planet and whatnot.

Guess it makes us debate it anyway. Clever bolivia.

[BubblyShell22]

Yeah, someone has to be human to have human rights, and Mother Earth isn't exactly human.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Spitfire

Silly as it seems something that helps toward preventing us from completely destroying the Earth over the next 50 years isn't a bad thing. China is going to be at the forefront of all this. As their nation gets richer they start consuming more meat and driving more cars. If they really want to help they should just focus on cutting back on meat production. One cow alone does 4 times the damage to the environment as one car.

Here, here! Eat more cows! Save the planet!