*[Enwl-eng] Hey, Justice, You Can’t Dodge Climate Change.
enwl
enwl at enw.net.ru
Sun Jun 25 20:14:11 MSK 2023
Hey, Justice, You Can’t Dodge Climate Change.A ray of hope in a poor Supreme
Court decision.
News of the world environment
NEWSLETTER | JUNE 22, 2023
Climate Chaos in Undeniable
The Supreme Court this week narrowly
rejected an attempt by the Navajo Nation to understand how much water it is
has rights to, under an 1868 peace treaty with the United States. In a 5-4
split, the court threw out a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court that could
have led to an accounting for water rights owed the tribe from the dwindling
Colorado River and other waterways. These rights have never been
adjudicated, which means they remain unmeasured and unfulfilled.
The answer to that question has critical
implications for the tribe, which is severely under resourced. And it has
major implications for how to divvy up the water of the Colorado River, a
process currently bedeviling Western states.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the
majority (and sidestepping the issue entirely), claimed the US government
was not required to take “affirmative steps” to provide water to Navajo
Nation. The Navajo Nation has vowed to continue to seek answers.
While I anticipate more legal analyses on
this issue in the weeks ahead, I did notice another sidestep in the decision
by Kavanaugh: He almost — but not quite — acknowledged that climate change
exists and is having an impact on our legal landscape. In providing context
for the decision, Kavanaugh acknowledged the worsening aridity of the
Western United States. “Water has long been scarce [there], and the problem
is getting worse. From 2000 through 2022, the region faced the driest
23-year period in more than a century and one of the driest periods in the
last 1,200 years. And the situation is expected to grow more severe in
future years.” This is true, even if Kavanaugh elides the underlying cause
and even as the court shows itself an impediment to climate action.
How much longer, I wonder, can our political
and legal systems keep on the blinders? After all, climate change long ago
left the realm of theory and has entered the real world, with real
consequences. Insurance companies know the truth, for example, and are now
refusing to provide policies in certain areas prone to wildfires and floods.
A handful of children are forcing the issue in court in Montana. And every
day we see more and more evidence of a world changed.
This week’s lack of legal acumen by the
highest court in the land does not bode well for us in the short term, at a
time we need smart answers about where and how we put our resources.
However, in reading between the lines, I see a ray of hope: The fact that
our climate is changing for the worse is becoming undeniable, even among the
deniers.
Brian Calvert
Associate Editor, Earth Island Journal
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From: Earth Island Journal
Sent: Saturday, June 24, 2023 3:44 AM
Subject: Hey, Justice, You Can’t Dodge Climate Change.
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