In a striking turn of events, as the Great Salt Lake faces an ecological crisis, Utah has enacted a law that bans the recognition of legal personhood for natural entities. This legislation comes in direct response to the rights of nature movement, which has been gaining momentum in the state.
The Great Salt Lake, one of Utah’s most iconic natural landmarks, is on the brink of collapse. Despite this, on March 20, 2024, Governor Spencer Cox signed a law that prevents state and local governments from granting legal rights to animals, plants, or major ecosystems like the Great Salt Lake. This move places Utah alongside Ohio and Florida, states that have also prohibited rights of nature laws.
Rights of nature laws are designed to disrupt corporate exploitation of the natural world, and the pushback from legislative bodies is not unprecedented. It mirrors historical resistance faced by other rights-based movements, such as civil rights and women’s suffrage.
The article suggests that rights of nature advocates must adapt their tactics and strategies. They need to find ways to enforce these rights outside of courtrooms and legislative processes, aiming for a long-term transformation of the legal system to include a rights of nature framework.
This development is a critical juncture for environmental activism and raises questions about the future of ecological conservation and legal rights for nature within the state of Utah and beyond.
Read the article at The Great Salt Lake is Disappearing… So Utah Bans Rights of Nature, by Will Falk, Counterpunch, April 21, 2024.