In this episode, I speak with lawyer and radical environmental activist Will Falk. In this discussion, Will examines the United States legal system, in particular environmental law, and the difficult realities communities around the US continuously face when it comes to protecting natural entities (lakes, rivers, forests, etc.) from ecologically destructive government and corporate projects.

As Will elaborates in this interview, the United States legal system is not designed to effectively protect human and non-human communities from ecologically destructive projects. Instead, as Will explains, it exists primarily “to make it near impossible for the citizenry to oppose those projects” through legal means. This assertion can be demonstrated to be true by examining numerous legal cases that have come up in the last several decades in communities around US—perhaps most dramatically by the community of Toledo, Ohio in their efforts to end the proliferation of toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie—the region’s main source of potable water. In response to this environmental crisis, the community organized to have a “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” on the ballot in their local elections. If enacted, the legislation would effectively grant legal rights to a natural entity (Lake Erie), and would work to protect the lake and the residents of Toledo from the destructive impacts of industrial agricultural runoff (which produces toxic algae blooms as a byproduct). As Will explains in detail, this campaign, despite being extremely well organized, well funded, legally and ethically sound, and having gained enough votes in the election, was shut down by the very legal processes that the community of Toledo relied upon for the success of their campaign. This case, unfortunately, is not unique.

// Episode notes: https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com/episodes/will-falk-2

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