World Ocean Radio - Protection
The public trust doctrine is designed to protect our natural resources for the benefit of future generations. Plaintiffs in a number of legal cases around the country, with the help of Our Children’s Trust, have been fighting to bring legal action against state and federal governments, claiming not enough is being done to protect their future by reducing global warming. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss one particular climate change case, a landmark victory in Eugene, Oregon, which rejected all arguments raised by the federal government to deny youth their right to proceed with the case. This is a monumental step forward, proving that plaintiffs do in fact have a right to bring charges of violations under the public trust doctrine.
Oysters have had a history of ebb and flow, plenty and scarcity, and in New York Harbor there was a time when the waters were so polluted that oyster populations diminished and interest in consumption vanished. Enter the Harbor School, an innovative high school on Governor’s Island on the East River in New York City. They have launched a project to revive the defunct oyster populations through an ambitious goal of restoring no less than one billion oysters to the harbor. In this episode of World Ocean Radio, host Peter Neill will discuss the school’s history and their restorative ecosystem service activities and their effort to reconnect the harbor to the 30 million people living within its vast urban watershed.
