Earth Ethics is working to establish The Rights of Nature for the Pensacola Bay Area Watershed. According to the Global Alliance of the Rights of Nature, “Rights of Nature is the recognition and honoring that Nature has rights. It is the recognition that our ecosystems – including trees, oceans, animals, mountains – have rights just as human beings have rights.”

We believe in the preservation and conservation of our natural resources and the protection of the species that inhabit them. We understand that there is a need for the use of natural resources, but we believe that Rights of Nature is about balancing what is good for human beings against what is good for other species. We recognize that the human species is part of the deeply intertwined relationship with nature. We need to change our current philosophy to embrace this deep connectivity.

Pensacola Bay possesses rights including, but not limited to, the right to naturally exist, flourish, regenerate, and evolve; the right to restoration, recovery, and preservation; the right to abundant, pure, clean, unpolluted water; the right to natural groundwater recharge and surface water recharge; the right to a healthy natural environment and natural biodiversity; the right to natural water flow; the right to carry out its natural ecosystem functions; and the right to be free of activities or practices, as well as obstructions, that interfere with or infringe upon these rights.

Every resident of the City of Pensacola possesses the right to a healthy, flourishing Pensacola Bay; the right to pure, clean, unpolluted water, including the right to sustainably access, use, consume, and preserve water drawn from natural water cycles; the right to a healthy natural environment and natural biodiversity; and the right to be free of activities or practices that interfere with or infringe upon these rights.

Thank you for taking the time to complete in full this petition.  Your assistance is extremely valuable as we work to make the world a better place.