by The Happy Broadcast
U.S. Citizens Have a Right to a Clean Environment
Young environmental activists prevailed in a closely watched Montana lawsuit that said state officials weren’t doing enough to protect them from climate change.
Legal observers called it a landmark victory for the 16 plaintiffs: It marks the first time a court in the U.S. has declared that a government has a constitutional duty to protect people from climate change.
These young people were arguing that Montana’s embrace of fossil fuels was hurting the state’s environment by pumping all these carbon emissions into the air, which was was harming the environment, driving climate change, and violating the state’s Constitution. Montana has a very unique clause in its Constitution, which says that citizens have a right to a clean and healthful environment.
Source: PBS
Wild Bison Return to Tribal Lands
The loss of wild bison since the 19th century has been a devastating cultural and subsistence blow for Indigenous communities. As many as 60 million buffalo once roamed North America, before European settlers slaughtered them to near extinction. Buffalo provided the Blackfeet’s primary source of meat, and they used hides for clothing and lodges, sinews for bowstrings, and bladders for containers. The animals played key roles in ceremony and foundational stories. Where the animals migrated, the Blackfeet followed.
The release was the culmination of a decade-long effort championed by the four tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy, which includes the Blackfeet Nation, and supported by wildlife conservationists. It appears to mark the first case in which a tribe released wild bison that will almost certainly make their way onto large neighboring chunks of federal public land.
For many who’ve sunk years into bringing back the animals, the bison release signifies more than just ecological restoration following the national mammal’s near extermination. The effort is also a way to address the legacy of the people who tethered their lives to bison for thousands of years, and who today are leading the charge to restore them.
Conservationists regard bison as a “keystone species,” whose grazing and wallowing played crucial roles in maintaining grassland health and biodiversity. Their long absence from the landscape, however, makes it difficult to fully appreciate their impact.
Source: HuffPost
Ecuadorians Block Oil Extraction in Amazon
Ecuadorians voted against drilling for oil in a protected area of the Amazon, an important decision that will require the state oil company to end its operations in a region that’s home to isolated tribes and is a hotspot of biodiversity.
With over 90% of the ballots counted, around 6 in 10 Ecuadorians rejected the oil exploration in Block 43, situated within Yasuni National Park.
Yasuni National Park is inhabited by the Tagaeri and Taromenani, who live in voluntary isolation, and other Indigenous groups. In 1989, it was designated, along with neighboring areas, a world biosphere reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, also known as UNESCO. Encompassing a surface area of around 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres), the area boasts 610 species of birds, 139 species of amphibians and 121 species of reptiles. At least three species are endemic.
The outcome represents a significant blow to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso who advocated for oil drilling, asserting that its revenues are crucial to the country’s economy. State oil company Petroecuador, which currently produces almost 60,000 barrels a day in Yasuni, will be required to dismantle its operations in the coming months.
Source: Toronto Star