Saturday, October 26, 2019

City Gives Lake Erie Same Rights as Human Beings. A Real Story



I do believe in protecting a person's rights. As American citizens, we have certain rights when it comes to the law, voting, employment and more. These rights are vital to us being productive citizens of our American society. The citizens of Toledo, Ohio, believe that citizens of America have rights, but they also believe Lake Erie should have rights like any American citizen. They voted for Lake Erie to have the same legal rights as a human being. I wonder how the other great lakes feel about this development. I'm sure Lake Michigan would have an issue with it since this is the only great lake entirely inside the United States. I wonder who Lake Michigan will be voting for in the next election?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.


Voters in Toledo, Ohio, approved the Lake Erie Bill of Rights on Tuesday, granting the body of water the same legal rights as a human being.
The measure was approved during a special election and passed with 61 percent approval, according to the Sandusky Register.

This makes me wonder about the campaign to make Lake Erie have human rights. Was there a special group that was organized called Human Rights for Lake Erie? Did the group go around and speak to prospective voters about it?

After a knock on the door.

“Hello, who are you?”
“I'm here on behalf of Human Rights for Lake Erie. We are working on a measure to grant Lake Erie the same rights as a human being.”
“It's an intimate object.”
“It's a living breathing ecosystem that needs to be granted rights for its survival.”
“What happens if the fish in the lake refuse to go along with it?”
“They're fish.”
“Oh, you support a lake having rights but are willing to discriminate against the fish in the lake. I can't support this movement.”
“Why?”
“I'm the head of Human Rights for the Fish of Lake Erie”
“Oh.”


Under the measure, residents are granted the right to take legal action on behalf of the lake when its right to "flourish and naturally evolve" has been violated.
Supporters of the measure say the law is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will guarantee the body of water protection from significant environmental harm.

(Sarcasm Alert)

If Lake Erie decides to sue someone for violation of their right to flourish and naturally evolve, I wonder how it will appear in court. How will opposing counsel be able to question Lake Erie? Will Lake Erie be able to describe how exactly its right to flourish and naturally evolve rights were infringed? This could create a new area of the law practiced by lake rights representatives. If this is all it takes to protect nature from experiencing significant environmental harm, national parks should be given the same rights as human beings. This could also be expanded to cover parks, mountains, streams and more. If a lake decided to sue a mountain, I bet things would get interesting.


It was definitely a long, hard struggle to get to this day, but all the hard work and countless volunteer hours by everyone in our local community group has paid off,” she told the Register. 
“We started this more than two years ago and had to overcome election board decisions and protests in court just to get on the ballot,” she continued. 

(Sarcasm Alert)

I'm shocked. Why would any person have an issue with granting human rights to one of the Great Lakes? What is wrong with these people? Giving human rights to lakes should not be a problem to have on the ballot. I'm surprised it never happened before. Next thing you know people with be upset with the idea of giving vehicles the same rights as humans as well as buildings, computers and more. This type of discrimination must be stopped before it starts.

What kind of person actually thinks giving a lake human rights is a good idea? I suppose lakes are able to work and pay taxes, raise little lakes and have them grow up to become productive members of American lake society.

It may not make any sense, but I'm sure the idea made people of a certain mindset feel good and morally superior. To these people, this is probably more important than reality.


The push to obtain such rights for the lake comes on the heels of the 2014 Toledo water crisis, United Press International reported. Toxic algae blooms in the lake, which was caused by chemical fertilizer runoff from local farms reportedly became so thick that drinking water from the lake was unsafe.

Now, why would anybody want to file a lawsuit against farmers and their chemical runoff? I suppose making a lake have the same rights as a human being will resolve the issue. I'm sure Lake Erie could be given special protected status since it is the only lake that has the same legal rights as a human. This will make it eligible for a number of different federal government programs. I doubt all of this will make the water from Lake Erie any more drinkable than when it was just a lake without human rights. It doesn't matter because there I'm sure there are delusional people somewhere thinking they did something noble. At the very least their story was part of the news cycle for a short period of time.

Below is a link to the article.



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