PostmediaNews.com is reporting that Bolivia has just passed a similar law, called the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, enacted in January by Bolivian President Evo Morales, that gives bugs, trees and other creatures the same status as humans. The South American nation now wants the U.N. to do the same and to recognize the earth as a living entity that humans have sought to "dominate and exploit" to the point that the "well-being and existence of many beings" is now threatened.
The Bolivian law speaks of the country's natural resources as "blessings," and grants the Earth a series of specific rights that include rights to life, water and clean air; the right to repair livelihoods affected by human activities; and the right to be free from pollution, PostMedia reports.
It also states that "Mother Earth has the right to exist, to persist and to continue the vital cycles, structures, functions and processes that sustain all human beings."
The law also establishes a Ministry of Mother Earth, and provides the planet with an ombudsman whose job is to hear nature's complaints as voiced by activist and other groups, including the state.
"If you want to have balance, and you think that the only (entities) who have rights are humans or companies, then how can you reach balance?" Pablo Salon, Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, told Postmedia News. "But if you recognize that nature too has rights, and (if you provide) legal forms to protect and preserve those rights, then you can achieve balance."
Once applied, the new law could pose problems for companies operating in Bolivia. Salon claims his country is just seeking to achieve "harmony" with nature, but did indicate that mining and other companies may come under greater scrutiny.
"We're not saying, for example, you cannot eat meat because you know you are going to go against the rights of a cow," he said. "But when human activity develops at a certain scale that you (cause to) disappear a species, then you are really altering the vital cycles of nature or of Mother Earth. Of course, you need a mine to extract iron or zinc, but there are limits."
President Morales, who is Latin America's first indigenous ruler, is known for his radical environmental beliefs. He distributed pamphlets at a UN Summit in 2008 that listed 10 "commandments" to save the planet, which began with the need "to end capitalism."
Canadian activist Maude Barlow is among global environmentalists who are backing the drive. Author of the book, Nature Has Rights, he told PostMedia the campaign for Mother Earth is going to have "huge resonance" around the world.
It might sound farfetched to most, but similar ideas have indeed made headway in radical groups throughout the world, many of which have influenced the UN.
For instance, the Gaia Hypothesis, a theory first articulated by a British atmospheric chemist named James Lovelock, contends that the Earth is a self-regulating, self-sustaining entity which continually adjusts its environment to support life. Adherents have managed to project these theories onto the world stage in many ways. According to Goddess Earth, Exposing the Pagan Agenda in the Environmental Movement by Samantha Smith, “Gaia worship is at the very heart of today's environmental policy. The Endangered Species Act, the United Nation's Biodiversity Treaty and the President's Council on Sustainable Development are all offspring of the Gaia hypothesis of saving ‘Mother Earth.’”
The Pontifical document, Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life, agrees with Smith's assertion:
“To some, the Gaia hypothesis is a ‘strange synthesis of individualism and collectivism. It all happens as if New Age, having plucked people out of fragmentary politics, cannot wait to throw them into the great cauldron of the global mind.’ The global brain needs institutions with which to rule, in other words, a world government. ‘To deal with today’s problems New Age dreams of a spiritual aristocracy in the style of Plato’s Republic, run by secret societies . . .’ This may be an exaggerated way of stating the case, but there is much evidence that Gnostic elitism and global governance coincide on many issues in international politics.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
"Mother Earth" to be Given the Same Rights as Humans?
By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Bolivia is planning to introduce a draft United Nations (UN)treaty this month that will give "Mother Earth" the same rights as humans.
PostmediaNews.com is reporting that Bolivia has just passed a similar law, called the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, enacted in January by Bolivian President Evo Morales, that gives bugs, trees and other creatures the same status as humans. The South American nation now wants the U.N. to do the same and to recognize the earth as a living entity that humans have sought to "dominate and exploit" to the point that the "well-being and existence of many beings" is now threatened.
The Bolivian law speaks of the country's natural resources as "blessings," and grants the Earth a series of specific rights that include rights to life, water and clean air; the right to repair livelihoods affected by human activities; and the right to be free from pollution, PostMedia reports.
It also states that "Mother Earth has the right to exist, to persist and to continue the vital cycles, structures, functions and processes that sustain all human beings."
The law also establishes a Ministry of Mother Earth, and provides the planet with an ombudsman whose job is to hear nature's complaints as voiced by activist and other groups, including the state.
"If you want to have balance, and you think that the only (entities) who have rights are humans or companies, then how can you reach balance?" Pablo Salon, Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, told Postmedia News. "But if you recognize that nature too has rights, and (if you provide) legal forms to protect and preserve those rights, then you can achieve balance."
Once applied, the new law could pose problems for companies operating in Bolivia. Salon claims his country is just seeking to achieve "harmony" with nature, but did indicate that mining and other companies may come under greater scrutiny.
"We're not saying, for example, you cannot eat meat because you know you are going to go against the rights of a cow," he said. "But when human activity develops at a certain scale that you (cause to) disappear a species, then you are really altering the vital cycles of nature or of Mother Earth. Of course, you need a mine to extract iron or zinc, but there are limits."
President Morales, who is Latin America's first indigenous ruler, is known for his radical environmental beliefs. He distributed pamphlets at a UN Summit in 2008 that listed 10 "commandments" to save the planet, which began with the need "to end capitalism."
Canadian activist Maude Barlow is among global environmentalists who are backing the drive. Author of the book, Nature Has Rights, he told PostMedia the campaign for Mother Earth is going to have "huge resonance" around the world.
It might sound farfetched to most, but similar ideas have indeed made headway in radical groups throughout the world, many of which have influenced the UN.
For instance, the Gaia Hypothesis, a theory first articulated by a British atmospheric chemist named James Lovelock, contends that the Earth is a self-regulating, self-sustaining entity which continually adjusts its environment to support life. Adherents have managed to project these theories onto the world stage in many ways. According to Goddess Earth, Exposing the Pagan Agenda in the Environmental Movement by Samantha Smith, “Gaia worship is at the very heart of today's environmental policy. The Endangered Species Act, the United Nation's Biodiversity Treaty and the President's Council on Sustainable Development are all offspring of the Gaia hypothesis of saving ‘Mother Earth.’”
The Pontifical document, Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life, agrees with Smith's assertion:
“To some, the Gaia hypothesis is a ‘strange synthesis of individualism and collectivism. It all happens as if New Age, having plucked people out of fragmentary politics, cannot wait to throw them into the great cauldron of the global mind.’ The global brain needs institutions with which to rule, in other words, a world government. ‘To deal with today’s problems New Age dreams of a spiritual aristocracy in the style of Plato’s Republic, run by secret societies . . .’ This may be an exaggerated way of stating the case, but there is much evidence that Gnostic elitism and global governance coincide on many issues in international politics.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
PostmediaNews.com is reporting that Bolivia has just passed a similar law, called the Law of the Rights of Mother Earth, enacted in January by Bolivian President Evo Morales, that gives bugs, trees and other creatures the same status as humans. The South American nation now wants the U.N. to do the same and to recognize the earth as a living entity that humans have sought to "dominate and exploit" to the point that the "well-being and existence of many beings" is now threatened.
The Bolivian law speaks of the country's natural resources as "blessings," and grants the Earth a series of specific rights that include rights to life, water and clean air; the right to repair livelihoods affected by human activities; and the right to be free from pollution, PostMedia reports.
It also states that "Mother Earth has the right to exist, to persist and to continue the vital cycles, structures, functions and processes that sustain all human beings."
The law also establishes a Ministry of Mother Earth, and provides the planet with an ombudsman whose job is to hear nature's complaints as voiced by activist and other groups, including the state.
"If you want to have balance, and you think that the only (entities) who have rights are humans or companies, then how can you reach balance?" Pablo Salon, Bolivia's ambassador to the UN, told Postmedia News. "But if you recognize that nature too has rights, and (if you provide) legal forms to protect and preserve those rights, then you can achieve balance."
Once applied, the new law could pose problems for companies operating in Bolivia. Salon claims his country is just seeking to achieve "harmony" with nature, but did indicate that mining and other companies may come under greater scrutiny.
"We're not saying, for example, you cannot eat meat because you know you are going to go against the rights of a cow," he said. "But when human activity develops at a certain scale that you (cause to) disappear a species, then you are really altering the vital cycles of nature or of Mother Earth. Of course, you need a mine to extract iron or zinc, but there are limits."
President Morales, who is Latin America's first indigenous ruler, is known for his radical environmental beliefs. He distributed pamphlets at a UN Summit in 2008 that listed 10 "commandments" to save the planet, which began with the need "to end capitalism."
Canadian activist Maude Barlow is among global environmentalists who are backing the drive. Author of the book, Nature Has Rights, he told PostMedia the campaign for Mother Earth is going to have "huge resonance" around the world.
It might sound farfetched to most, but similar ideas have indeed made headway in radical groups throughout the world, many of which have influenced the UN.
For instance, the Gaia Hypothesis, a theory first articulated by a British atmospheric chemist named James Lovelock, contends that the Earth is a self-regulating, self-sustaining entity which continually adjusts its environment to support life. Adherents have managed to project these theories onto the world stage in many ways. According to Goddess Earth, Exposing the Pagan Agenda in the Environmental Movement by Samantha Smith, “Gaia worship is at the very heart of today's environmental policy. The Endangered Species Act, the United Nation's Biodiversity Treaty and the President's Council on Sustainable Development are all offspring of the Gaia hypothesis of saving ‘Mother Earth.’”
The Pontifical document, Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life, agrees with Smith's assertion:
“To some, the Gaia hypothesis is a ‘strange synthesis of individualism and collectivism. It all happens as if New Age, having plucked people out of fragmentary politics, cannot wait to throw them into the great cauldron of the global mind.’ The global brain needs institutions with which to rule, in other words, a world government. ‘To deal with today’s problems New Age dreams of a spiritual aristocracy in the style of Plato’s Republic, run by secret societies . . .’ This may be an exaggerated way of stating the case, but there is much evidence that Gnostic elitism and global governance coincide on many issues in international politics.”
© All Rights Reserved, Living His Life Abundantly®/Women of Grace® http://www.womenofgrace.com
