An Ironic Illustration of how “Nature Rights” Could Bring Human Thriving to a Screeching Halt

Well, this is rich: The President of Ecuador is one of the first to be on the receiving end of the ridiculous granting of “rights” to nature that he put in Ecuador’s new constitution. It seems Correa wants to open up some of the country to mining, which would increase the prosperity of the population. No can do!, say opponents. That would violate the rights of nature. From the story:

[Ecuador President] Correa insists that responsible mining is necessary for Ecuador’s development….But Dr. Byron Real López, an expert in environmental law, wrote in a recent report that the Mandate “is concerned with solving important issues…such as the corruption surrounding the indiscriminate granting of concessions. But the proposed law ignores the ecological and social conflicts that mining activity causes…and thus would tend to aggravate them.” López argues that the proposed law would violate a number of provisions in the new constitution, such as those protecting the rights of nature and indigenous communities.

I have no idea whether the mining plan is good or bad. But, it should be judged by determining what is best for the people of Ecuador, which includes analyzing the hoped for benefits of the harvest, while also keeping in mind our duty to conserve and protect the environment, both because there is intrinsic value in that, and for the benefit of posterity.

What did Correa expect from this hair brained scheme? Granting rights to nature puts flora, fauna, and perhaps even minerals, on an equal footing with people, giving the no growthers just what they need to stymie prosperity and human flourishing, because, thanks to the new constitution, natural resources are now people too.

We can now see how nature rights, if the concept spreads, would bring most productive human activities to a screeching halt as the earth firsters would have constitutions on their side. What a stupid idea, but one fully in keeping with the cultural currents pushing us toward human unexceptionalism.