The Law of Mother Earth

Great news from Bolivia: for the first time in recorded human history, a country is attempting to pass legislation that will grant nature rights equal to those enjoyed by human beings. These rights include:

• the right to life and existence
• the right to continuing life cycles and processes free from human interference
• the right to pure water
• the right to clean air
• the right to balance
• the right to be unpolluted
• the right to be free from genetic modification

The Bolivian people are leading the way because their culture has a strong sensitivity about its interdependence with nature, even as many developed nations move further away from that kind of awareness. Much of Bolivia is dependent upon glaciers for water... and we all know what's happening to our planet's glaciers. The people of Bolivia have also seen their share of bizarre weather because of global climate change -- floods, droughts, mudslides and untimely frosts. They see, more clearly than those of us disconnected from nature, that everything, living and non-living, forms an interconnected web that suffers when one thing is given precedence over another. That Bolivians would decide to pass laws declaring that humans are equal to all other entities, and as such, need to stop taking advantage of less vocal parts of creation, is not a surprise when you consider that Pachamama, or Earth Mother, is part of their indigenous belief system. They believe that it's important to respect Earth Mother and work with her to keep things in balance.

It's a good start, but how do these laws play out in reality? Bolivia needs mining capital to keep its economy going, and I imagine there are other less-than-environmentally-friendly practices occurring in the country. But at least they've got the chutzpah to bring forth an attempt to provide safeguards for their environment somehow. It might take them a while to give the laws teeth, but even getting the laws on the books is a sign of the kind of radical change it takes to get the ball rolling in the environment's favour.

I live in a country where all that a lot of our politicians seem to care about is the economy. The people in power refuse to believe in climate change or the need to do anything to protect our environment from further degradation. I wish they would realize, as the Bolivians do, that everything on earth forms a big family, and that they need to treat more than just large corporations with respect. We're heading toward an election, and the head of the only political party that makes the environment a priority wasn't even invited to the national leaders' debates, when she should have been front and center because she understands that, without a healthy environment, there is no economy. Her party may not be organized enough to run a country, but their ideas still deserve to be heard.

Go, President Evo Morales; go people of Bolivia! Maybe you'll wake up the rest of the world's leaders. I hope so.