Climate Crisis Resources

The fact we must face is that Nature has delivered a mandate more fundamental than any environmental law or regulation. As the Earth nears irrevocable climate thresholds, Humanity must urgently reduce carbon pollution. Climate Crisis Resources is essential to our survival as a species. Somehow fate has delivered all of us into this pivotal moment on Earth. We did not live 100 years ago, when it was too early to even imagine the collapse upon us, and we will not be here 100 years from now when it will be too late to save what we still can. We can only claim our moment. As individuals we can choose one of two paths. We can either put our heads in the sand and pretend nothing is happening, or we can each find our own role in this crisis. Unfortunately, the sheer scope and horror of global warming causes most people to choose the former path, living life day to day as if nothing is looming in their future. The purpose of this website is to bring climate crisis to a conceptual level that ordinary citizens, lawyers, and government officials can act on. It is often said that throughout history “ordinary people have considered it their responsibility to do something extraordinary.” This time we live in calls us all to do something extraordinary–mobilize a country to save a planet.

Citizens: Becoming a Victory Speaker for Climate Defense

During times of crisis, heroes emerge. During World War II, Victory Speakers, as they were known, rallied public support for war-time efforts. Click here to learn how you can join a new age of Victory Speakers and bring change to your community one voice at a time.

For Lawyers: The Atmospheric Trust Doctrine

Governments hold natural resources in trusts for their citizens. We can use the court system to hold governments accountable for damaging irreplaceable trust assets such as the atmosphere that we all depend on for survival. Click here to explore this new approach to climate change litigation.

Government Officials: Trustees of our Natural Resources

Governments exist by a mandate from the people to protect them from collective threats. In our time there is no greater threat than global climate change, and our government must face it head on. Now is the time to make history. Click here to find out how agencies, as trustees of the people’s natural resource assets, can use their authorities to protect Nature’s assets.

Public Trust & Climate Legal Scholars

ATL Media Coverage

NPR’s Reality Report

Interview with Jason Bradford | Listen Online

The Climate Crisis Q & A Segments

The Nature of the Problem | Listen Online
Understanding global warming, the tipping point, and nature’s mandate.

The Required Response | Listen Online
How we can each act and collectively require the government to act.

Our Government’s Role | Listen Online
Our government has a legal duty to act to protect our natural trust.

Climate Crisis Resources for Citizens

There presently exists a deep gulf between what we should be doing and what we are doing. We must remember that in a system of democracy, citizens do hold the levers of government. Government will act if citizens demand it. But our leaders will not act if citizens do not demand them to. Abraham Lincoln once said, "Public sentiment is everything. With [it], nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed." The heart of the problem is this: Americans seem to have lost their understanding that government is obligated to protect their natural resources. And when the public loses its sense of government responsibility… government officials quickly lose their sense of responsibility towards the public.

Speeches

"Local Food Production and Regulation," JELL Symposium, "The Local Revolution: How Relationship and Legal Policies are Creating Sustainable Communities Around the Country", Eugene, Oregon (September 9, 2011).

"Climate Crisis and Citizenship," Eugene Rotary Club, Eugene, Oregon (June 8, 2010).

"Urban Homesteading for Kids," 4J School, Eugene, Oregon (June 8, 2010). Click here for Citizens not Consumers. Click here for Urban Homesteading Menu.

"People-powered Politics," Keynote Address, Powershift West Rally, Eugene, Oregon (November 8, 2009).

"350 Day! Artists for Climate Action," Hult Center, Eugene, Oregon (October 24, 2009).

"The Environment as a Public Trust: Climate Change & Planetary Solutions for Survival," interview with Sue Supriano,http://www.suesupriano.com/article.php?&id=157 (July 13, 2009).

"The Climate Victory Speakers," Emerald Empire Kiwanis Club, Eugene, Oregon (upcoming September 17, 2009).

"Nature's Trust and Planetary Patriotism," Address, Grade School History Club, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (June 3, 2009).

"Victory Congregations: Voicing the Sacred Trust Covenant in Climate Defense,"Address, St. Thomas More Newman Center, Eugene, Oregon (May 19, 2009). Download the Speech

"Victory Congregations: Voicing the Sacred Trust Covenant in Climate Defense," Earth Sunday Address, First United Methodist Church, Eugene, Oregon (May 3, 2009). Download the Speech

The Climate Victory Speakers," Address, League of Women Voters, Eugene, Oregon (February 19, 2009).

"Bridging Law and Science in the Face of Climate Emergency," Address, "Sustainable Solutions," A Series of Fireside Conversations on Global Warming, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (February 12, 2009). For more information, please visit Meeting Nature's Mandate.

"Carbon-Cutting for Your Future," Address, Edgewood Community School, Eugene, Oregon (December 11, 2008).

"Act Locally, Think Globally: How Nature's Trust Can Seed Relocalization and Pollinate Planetary Patriotism,"Address, Post Carbon Eugene, Eugene, OR (December 10, 2008).

"Law and Climate Change: Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," Keynote Address, Video-conference, University of Montana, Missoula, MT (February 19, 2008).

Click here for more speeches. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood's curriculum vitae.

Publications

"'You Can't Negotiate With a Beetle': Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age," Natural Resources Law Journal, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Spring 2010).

"The Dawn of Planetary Patriotism: A Citizens' Call to Climate Defense," co-authored with Heather A. Brinton

(forthcoming 2009). To read an abstract of this forthcoming book, click here.

"Law and Climate Change: Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," 10 Environmental Law Reporter (September 2008).

"Nature's Trust: Reclaiming an Environmental Discourse," 25:2 Virginia L. J. (May 2007).

Click here for more publications. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood's curriculum vitae.

Media Coverage

David Swanson, Judge Deliberates on Whether to Save Earth's Atmosphere (May 13, 2012)

Becker, William, “Childreen v. Dirty Business,” The Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-s-becker/our-childrens-trust-lawsuit_b_1418647.html (April 11, 2012).

Plitz, Rick, “Hansen: Climate Science and Moral Responsibility,” http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2012/04/08/hansen-climate-science-and-moral-responsibility (April 8, 2012).

Swanson, David, “As We Ruin Our Kids’ Planet, They Take Us to Court,” http://my.firedoglake.com/davidswanson/2012/04/10/as-we-ruin-our-kids-planet-they-take-us-to-court/(April 10, 2012).

"Stand Up for Our Future," iMatter March, http://vimeo.com/40336812.

Robinson, Jessica, “Environmentalist Push Climate Change Suits on Behalf of Kids,” Northwest Public Radio, http://nwpr.org/post/environmentalists-push-climate-change-suits-behalf-kids (March 5, 2012).

Becker, Bill, "Accepting Responsibility for a Role in Climate Change: 'Blissfully Ignorant' or Morally Responsible?" SolveClimate (December 13, 2009).

"The Politics of Climate Change,"interview with Laurie Mercier, KBOO 90.7FM,

http://kboo.fm/node/12479 (March 2, 2009).

"Obama must act now on climate issue," Opinion Editorial with Tim Ream, The Register Guard (January 27, 2009),http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/news/sevendays/5875322-35/story.csp.

"Barack Obama stands at threshold of catastrophic climate change," Opinion Editorial with Tim Ream, straight.com (January 19, 2009), http://www.straight.com/article-194912/barack-obama-stands-threshold-catastrophic-climate-change; also posted at http://earthequitynews.blogspot.com/2009/01/obama-at-threshold-catastrop... (January 21, 2009); also posted at http://blog.163.com/adr_ouc/blog/static/105679286200902184843199/ (January 21, 2009).

Cooper, Matt, "County weighs cap-and-trade for emissions," The Register Guard, B2 (January 3, 2009).

Interview with Sally Mock, "NPR's Montana Evening Edition," KUSM, http://www.mtpr.net/programs/2008-02-19, Missoula, MT (February 19, 2008). (To listen to the interview: Click on or copy the following URL into your browser:http://www.mtpr.net/programs/2008-02-19; Select " 5:30 PM – 5:55 PM Montana Evening Edition"; Select "Click to Listen." The interview begins 8 minutes, 30 seconds into the program and lasts 10 minutes.)

Interview with Jason Bradford, "NPR's The Reality Report," KZYX, http://www.kzyx.org/joomla/, Mendocino County, CA (April 14, 2008), available athttp://globalpublicmedia.com/the_reality_report_mary_wood_on_government_as_the_trustee_of_common_assets.

Interview with Ed Monks, host of "To Pursue the Truth", Ch. 29 CCTV, Eugene, Oregon (Feb. 12, 2007).

Wise, Carla, "Green All the Lawyers," UTNE Reader, http://www.utne.com/2008-09-01/Environment/Green-All-the-Lawyers.aspx (August 19, 2008).

Metcalf, Peter, Law Professor Says Government Obligated to Curb Climate Change," New West.Net: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains (February 20, 2008).

"Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," Keynote Address, J.E.L.L. Climate Change Conference, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (October 19, 2007).

Click here for more media coverage. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood's curriculum vitae.

Resources

Content is currently being researched, please continue to check back for ongoing updates.

"The Climate Victory Speakers," Address, League of Women Voters, Eugene, Oregon (February 19, 2009).

Websites & Newsfeeds

Earth Equity News, http://earthequitynews.blogspot.com/ (Sign up for free daily newsfeed.)

Global Warming. Global Action. Global Future.

Helios Resource Network, Lane County Oregon, www.heliosnetwork.org

Climate Crisis Resources for Lawyers

The atmospheric trust doctrine provides a means by which courts can hold governments at the national and sub-national level accountable for reducing carbon emissions. Such litigation rests on the premise that all governments hold natural resources in trust for their citizens and bear the fiduciary obligation to protect such resources for future generations. While atmospheric trust litigation bears the risk of any untested strategy, it is perhaps the only macro approach that can empower courts to effectuate the reductions in emissions within the limited time frame afforded to us before critical climate thresholds are exceeded.

Public Trust & Climate Legal Scholars – Press Contacts

Professor Denise E. Antolini, Director, Environmental Law Program, University of Hawai'i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law

Professor Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs & Faculty Development; Boehl Chair in Property & Land Use; Professor of Law; Affiliated Professor of Urban Planning; Chair of the Center for Land Use & Environmental Responsibility, University of Louisville, Louis D. Brandeis School of Law

Professor Michael Blumm, Lewis and Clark Law School

Professor Maxine Burkett, Associate Professor of Law and Director, Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy, University of Hawai'i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law

Professor Fred Cheever, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, University of Denver Sturm College of Law

Professor Karl S. Coplan, Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director, Environmental Litigation Clinic, Pace Law School

Professor Tim Duane, Associate Professor of Law, Vermont Law School, and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Professor Alyson Craig Flournoy, Professor of Law and Director, Environmental & Land Use Law Program, University of Florida Levin College of Law

Professor Eric Freyfogle, Max L. Rowe Professor of Law, University of Illinois College of Law

Professor Patrick McGinley, Charles H. Haden II Prof. of Law, West Virginia University College of Law

Professor Zygmunt J.B. Plater, Professor of Law, Boston College Law School

Professor William Rodgers, Stimson Bullitt Professor of Law, University of Washington School of Law

Professor Joseph L. Sax, James H. House and Hiram H. Hurd Professor of Environmental Regulation, Emeritus, University of California Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law

Professor Gus Speth, Vermont Law School, formerly Dean of Yale School of Forestry

Professor David Takacs, University of California, Hastings College of the Law

Professor Gerald Torres, Bryant Smith Chair in Law, University of Texas at Austin School of Law

Professor Edith Brown Weiss, Francis Cabell Brown Professor of International Law; Co-Director, Joint Degree in Law and Government, Georgetown Law School

Professor Burns H. Weston, Bessie Dutton Murray Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus and Senior Scholar, Center for Human Rights, University of Iowa College of Law

Professor Charles Wilkinson, Distinguished University Professor, Moses Lasky Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School

Professor Mary Christina Wood, Philip H. Knight Professor of Law, Faculty Director, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, University of Oregon School of Law

Speeches

"The Planet On Your Docket, Atmospheric Trust Workshop," University of Oregon, (October 15, 2010).

"Perfection v. Survival: A Lawyer's Role in the Age of Global Warming," Address, Environmental and Land Use Section of the Lane County Bar Association (February 25, 2009).

"The Climate Victory Speakers," Address, League of Women Voters, Eugene, Oregon (February 19, 2009).

"The Planet on Your Docket," Keynote Address, Montana Trial Lawyers Association, Flathead Lake, MT (August 7, 2008).

"Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," Keynote Address, J.E.L.L. Climate Change Conference, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (October 19, 2007).

Click here for more speeches. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood's curriculum vitae.

Publications

"Atmospheric Trust Litigation Around the World," chapter in Fiduciary Duty and the Atmospheric Trust (Ken Coghill, Charles Sampford, Tim Smith, eds) Ashgate Publishing (Australia) (January 2012). For purchase information: http://www.ashgate.com/default .aspx?page=637&title_id=10736& edition_id=14050&calcTitle=1&l ang=cy-GB

"Atmospheric Trust Litigation," in Climate Change Reader (W.H. Rodgers, Jr. and M. Robinson-Dorn, eds.) Carolina Academic Press (2011).

"How to Sue for Climate Change: The Public Trust Doctrine" and "Enforcing the Atmospheric Trust Fiduciary Obligation," co-authored with Susan O'Toole, Outlook: Oregon State Bar Environmental and Natural Resources Section Newsletter Vol. 10 No. 2 (Winter 2009)

"'You Can't Negotiate With a Beetle': Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age," Natural Resources Law Journal, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Spring 2010).

Comments on Nature's Trust Approach submitted to Office of Management and Budget, Federal Regulatory Review, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Request for Comments, 74 Fed. Reg. 8819 (February 26, 2009).

Atmospheric Trust Litigation, chapter in Adjudicating Climate Change: Sub-National, National, And Supra-National Approaches (William C.G. Burns & Hari M. Osofsky, eds.) (2009, Cambridge University Press). To read an abstract of this article, click here. For Word document of chapter, click here.

"Nature's Trust: A Legal, Political and Moral Frame for Global Warming," 34:3 Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review (May 2007).

Click here for more publications. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood's curriculum vitae.

Briefs and Materials in Atmospheric Trust Litigation

Law Professors' Amicus Brief in Alec L. et. al. v. Lisa Jackson (federal ATL case).

Dr. James Hansen's Amicus Brief in Alec L. et. al. v. Lisa Jackson (federal ATL case), with The Case for Young People: A Path to a Healthy, Natural, Prosperous Future attached (setting forth scientific prescription of carbon emission reduction necessary to achieve 350 ppm by century'a end).

Media Coverage

David Swanson, Judge Deliberates on Whether to Save Earth's Atmosphere (May 13, 2012)

Costello, Greg, “The Gathering of the Tribe,” The WELC Blog, http://www.westernlaw.org/blog/2012/03/gathering-tribe (March 16, 2012).

Plitz, Rick, “Hansen: Climate Science and Moral Responsibility,” http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2012/04/08/hansen-climate-science-and-moral-responsibility (April 8, 2012).

Swanson, David, “As We Ruin Our Kids’ Planet, They Take Us to Court,” http://my.firedoglake.com/davidswanson/2012/04/10/as-we-ruin-our-kids-planet-they-take-us-to-court/(April 10, 2012).

"Stand Up for Our Future," iMatter March, http://vimeo.com/40336812.

Schendler, Auden, “Cigarettes’ Lessons for Climate Change, (March 4, 2012).

Bollier, David, “Atmospheric Trust Litigation vs. the Obama Administration,” David Bollier: News and perspectives on the commons, http://bollier.org/atmospheric -trust-litigation-vs-obama-adm inistration (December 16, 2011).

Thomson, Claire, "The Young and the Restless: Kids Sue Government Over Climate Change," Grist, http://www.grist.org/climate-change/2011-12-08-the-young-and-the-restles... (December 8, 2011).

Evans, Chris, "Atmospheric Trust Litigation," West Coast Environmental Law, http://wcel.org/resources/environmental-law-alert/atmospheric-trust-liti... (June 14, 2011).

Brash, Kate, "Young Citizens Lawsuit Seeks to Compel US Action on Climate Change," State of the Planet Blogs, Earth Institute, http://links.visibli.com/f13175188cf85b66/?web=bf2dbe&dst=http%3A//blogs... (May 31, 2011).

Wise, Carla, "Lessons From the Rapture That Wasn't for the Climate Movement? No – Just Ideas on a Way Forward,"huffingtonpost.com, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carla-wise/lessons-from-the-rapture-_b_869... (June 1, 2011).

EPA: Former General Counsel Martella discusses agency's decision to delay boiler rules," E & ETV, http://www.eenews.net/tv/2011/05/25/ (May 25, 2011).

"The Reason Why," Opinion Editorial, The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/51855160-82/state-agencies-petition... (May 23, 2011).

Interview with Alec Loorz, "A Teenager Sues Uncle Sam over Climate Inaction," Living on Earth, http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=11-P13-00020&segmentID=5 (May 20, 2011).

Florio, Gwen, "Montana Supreme Court orders state to respond to children's climate change lawsuit,"missoulian.com, http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/article_88abd69a-8151-11e0... (May 18, 2011).

Firger, Daniel, "A Novel Use of the Public Trust Doctrine," Center for Climate Change Law, Climate Law Blog, Columbia Law School, http://blogs.law.columbia.edu/climatechange/2011/05/10/a-novel-use-of-th... (May 10, 2011).

Black, Richard, "Generation game warms legal climate," Earthwatch, bbcnews.com, http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/richardblack/2011/05/generation_... (May 6, 2011).

Kahle, Don, "Kids take legal route to force grown-ups to save the future," The Register Guard.com, http://www.registerguard.com/web/opinion/26210151-47/future-trust-kids-k... (May 6, 2011).

Worth, Dan, "A Matter of Trust: What the Next Generation Wants for Mother's Day," huffingtonpost.com, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-worth/protecting-earths-atmosphere_b_8... (May 5, 2011).

Boatsie, "guerrilla law-fare: climate activist youth sue government," Daily Kos Community Site, http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/05/973520/-guerrilla-law-fare:-cli... (May 5, 2011).

Nelson, Gabriel, "Young Activists Sue U.S., States Over Greenhouse Gas Emissions," newyorktimes.com, http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2011/05/05/05greenwire-young-activists-sue-... (May 5, 2011).

"Suit claims fed not protecting Earth," UPI.com, http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/05/05/Suit-claims-feds-not-protectin... (May 5, 2011).

Greenspan, Jesse, "Enviros Launch Climate Change Suits Against US, States," Law360.com, http://www.law360.com/articles/243093/enviros-launch-climate-change-suit... (May 4, 2011).

Becker, Bill, "Defending the Atmosphere: Part 2," Climate Progress, http://climateprogress.org/2011/05/05/defending-the-atmosphere-part-2 (May 5, 2011).

Loorz, Alec, "Why I'm Suing the Government of United States," Earth Island Journal: The EnvironmentaList, http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/elist/eListRead/why_im_suin..., (May 4, 2011).

Barringer, Felicity, "Suit Accuses U.S. Government of Failing to Protect Earth for Generations Unborn," The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/05/science/earth/05climate.html?_r=2&ref=... (May 4, 2011).

Brown, Matthew, "Climate Activists Target States With Lawsuits; Atmosphere As a 'Public Trust'" CNSnews.com, http://cnsnews.com/news/article/climate-activists-target-states-lawsuits (May 4, 2011).

Becker, Bill, "Defending the Atmosphere: Part 1," Climate Progress, http://climateprogress.org/2011/05/04/defending-the-atmosphere (May 4, 2011).

"The Politics of Climate Change," interview with Laurie Mercier, KBOO 90.7FM,http://kboo.fm/node/12479(March 2, 2009).

Wise, Carla, "Green All the Lawyers," UTNE Reader, http://www.utne.com/2008-09-01/Environment/Green-All-the-Lawyers.aspx (August 19, 2008).

Hall, Bennett, "Law Professor Wants to Use Courts to Fight Global Warming," Corvallis Gazette Times (June 1, 2008); also posted by Climate Crisis Coalition, (June 1, 2008).

Click here for more media coverage. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood's curriculum vitae.

Voicing the Fiduciary Obligation

Jim Hansen, Speech at Freedom Plaza, Sept. 27, 2010: Equal Protection of the Laws, available athttp://www.columbia.edu/%7Ejeh1/mailings/2010/20100929_FreedomPlaza.pdf

Jim Hansen, Am I an Activist for Caring About My Grandchildren's Future? I Guess I Am, The Guardian, Aug. 26, 2010,, available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2010/aug/26/james-hansen-climate-change

Jim Hansen, Remarks Accepting Sophie Prize, Oslo, Norway, June 22, 2010, available athttp://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2010/Sophie_20100722.pdf

Bill Becker, Road to Copenhagen: Part 6: Tragedy of the Commons v. Action by the Uncommon, Climate Progress Blog, Nov. 9, 2009, available at http://climateprogress.org/2009/11/09/road-to-copenhagen-tragedy-of-the-commons/

,ATL Resources >Carbon & Courts: Atmospheric Trust Litigation

ATL Background

Mock Trial: Asia v. Group of 8 Countries (charged with planetary malpractice resulting in inter-generational damage)

Climate Science

United Nations Environment Programme, Climate Change Science Compendium (2009), available athttp://www.unep.org/pdf/ccScienceCompendium2009/cc_ScienceCompendium2009_full_en.pdf

The University of New South Wales Climate Change Research Centre, The Copenhagen Diagnosis, 2009: Updating the World on the Latest Climate Science. (CCRC).

United States Global Change Research Program, Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States (2009).

Dr. James Hansen, How Will Global Warming Change Where People Can Live?, 06 June 2011 Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement Oslo, Norway

Trajectories and 350 prescription/Global Emergency Response

1. James Hansen, Makiko Sato, Pushker Kharecha, David Beerling, Valerie Masson-Delmotte, Mark Pagani, Maureen Raymo, Dana L. Royer & James C. Zachos, Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim? (2008), 2 The Open Atmospheric Sciences Journal 217 (Nov. 2008), available at http://arxiv.org/abs/0804.1126

2. A 350 ppm Emergency Mobilization Pathway, http://gdrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/a-350-ppm-emergency-pathway-v2.pdf

3. David Spratt & Philip Sutton, Climate Code Red: The Case for a Sustainability Emergency (Friends of the Earth 2008),

Allocation the Burden of Carbon Reduction

1. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/conveng.pdf

2. The Greenhouse Development Rights Framework, http://www.ecoequity.org/docs/TheGDRsFramework.pdf

Legal Resources

1. Mary Wood, Atmospheric Trust Litigation in Climate Litigation (Cambridge University Press)

2. Mary Wood, Atmospheric Trust Litigation in Climate Reader (Rodgers)

3. Mary Wood, The Planet on Your Docket

4. NEDC v. Owens Corning, 434 F. Supp. 2d 957

Please click here for an extensive list of resources regarding atmospheric trust litigation. Research is ongoing, so please continue to check back for updates.

Climate Crisis Resources for Government Officials

Governments exist by a mandate from the people to protect them from collective threats. In our time there is no greater threat than global climate change, and our government must face it head on. The choice for government officials is now disaster prevention or disaster relief. This is a chance for officials and politicians to become true leaders, to explain clearly the nature of the threat, and to connect in Americans’ minds the need for short-term investment and regulation in order to avoid long-term calamity. (True leaders know how to do that. All other leaders must quickly learn how.)

Speeches

"Perfection v. Survival: A Lawyer's Role in the Age of Global Warming," Address, Environmental and Land Use Section of the Lane County Bar Association (February 25, 2009).

"The Climate Victory Speakers," Address, League of Women Voters, Eugene, Oregon (February 19, 2009).

"Law and Climate Change: Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," Keynote Address, Video-conference, University of Montana, Missoula, MT (February 19, 2008); Keynote Address aired on Missoula Community Access Television, Channel 7 in Missoula and 8 in Grant Creek, (March 12 & 14, 2008).

"Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," Keynote Address, J.E.L.L. Climate Change Conference, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR (October 19, 2007).

Click here for more speeches. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood’s curriculum vitae.

Publications

"Atmospheric Trust Litigation Around the World," chapter in Fiduciary Duty and the Atmospheric Trust (Ken Coghill, Charles Sampford, Tim Smith, eds) Ashgate Publishing (Australia) (January 2012).

Proposed Draft Executive Order on Climate Change (September 2009).

"'You Can't Negotiate With a Beetle': Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age," Natural Resources Law Journal, Vol. 50, No. 1 (Spring 2010).

"Advancing the Sovereign Trust of Government to Safeguard the Environment for Present and Future Generations,"Climate Legacy Initiative Project, (white paper) (May 2008).

To read an executive summary of this article, click here.

"Law and Climate Change: Government's Atmospheric Trust Responsibility," 10 Environmental Law Reporter (September 2008).

The Presidential Climate Action Project, Chapter 9, "Natural Resources Stewardship" (contributing author)http://www.climateactionproject.com (September 2007); "Nature's Trust: A Paradigm for Natural Resources Stewardship" (white paper) (December 2007).

"Nature's Trust: A Legal, Political and Moral Frame for Global Warming," 34:3 Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review (May 2007).

Click here for more publications. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood’s curriculum vitae.

Media Coverage

David Swanson, Judge Deliberates on Whether to Save Earth's Atmosphere (May 13, 2012)

Plitz, Rick, “Hansen: Climate Science and Moral Responsibility,” http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2012/04/08/hansen-climate-science-and-moral-responsibility (April 8, 2012).

Swanson, David, “As We Ruin Our Kids’ Planet, They Take Us to Court,” http://my.firedoglake.com/davidswanson/2012/04/10/as-we-ruin-our-kids-planet-they-take-us-to-court/(April 10, 2012).

"Stand Up for Our Future," iMatter March, http://vimeo.com/40336812.

Schendler, Auden, “Cigarettes’ Lessons for Climate Change, (March 4, 2012).

"The Politics of Climate Change,"interview with Laurie Mercier, KBOO 90.7FM,http://kboo.fm/node/12479(March 2, 2009).

Cooper, Matt, "County weighs cap-and-trade for emissions," The Register Guard, B2 (January 3, 2009).

Metcalf, Peter, Law Professor Says Government Obligated to Curb Climate Change," New West.Net: The Voice of the Rocky Mountains (February 20, 2008).

Interview with Sally Mock, "NPR's Montana Evening Edition," KUSM, http://www.mtpr.net/programs/2008-02-19, Missoula, MT (February 19, 2008).
To listen to the interview:
• Click on or copy the following URL into your browser: http://www.mtpr.net/programs/2008-02-19
• Select " 5:30 PM – 5:55 PM Montana Evening Edition"
• Select "Click to Listen."
• The interview begins 8 minutes, 30 seconds into the program and lasts 10 minutes.

Click here for more media coverage. For a complete list, please refer to Professor Wood’s curriculum vitae.

Websites & Newsfeeds

Mock Trial: Asia v. Group of 8 Countries (charged with planetary malpractice resulting in inter-generational damage)

Earth Equity News, http://earthequitynews.blogspot.com/ (Sign up for free daily newsfeed.)

Union of Concerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/

Center for Climate Strategies, http://www.climatestrategies.us/

UO’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, Climate Change Initiative

Climate Crisis Resouces for Legal Scholars

Professor Denise E. Antolini, Director, Environmental Law Program, University of Hawai’i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law

Professor Michael Blumm, Lewis and Clark Law School

Professor Maxine Burkett, Associate Professor of Law and Director, Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy, University of Hawai’i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law