Re: What If Mother Nature Had Rights? She Does in Ecuador

David Suzuki is right: Ecuador and Bolivia may not have all the answers, but at least their laws are beginning to take into account the intrinsic value of the natural systems within their borders and their right to exist and flourish.

The anthropocentric view of the world, one that posits that nature is merely a repository of resources waiting to be exploited for short-term economic gain, is a dangerous illusion. It will take a lot to break free from this illusion, especially when most government and industry leaders have successfully deceived us (and themselves) into believing that our well-being depends on consuming more and more “stuff.”

After all, as Kenneth Boulding, an adviser to John Kennedy, said almost 50 years ago, “anyone who believes in indefinite growth on a physically finite planet is either mad, or an economist.”

Note: This appeared as a Letter to the Editor in the Globe & Mail.