About this episode

The episode discusses the concept of land that owns itself and the implications of granting rights to nature.

The “rights of nature” is the idea that if a corporation can have legal standing as a person, why can’t a river or a mountain? Thomas Linzey, one of the early architects of a legal framework for granting rights to nature, now believes that structure doesn’t go far enough: Even when ecosystems are granted rights, the land is still owned by someone or some entity, even if that is a land trust or conservancy.   Through Linzey’s work in collaboration with the Sacred Contract Coalition, a 30-acre mountain in Colorado was recognized in June 2025 as the first mountain to own itself. What could this mean for protecting other places? Guests: Thomas Linzey, Senior Legal Counsel, Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights  Crystal Wolfchild, Guardian of The Mountain Kumu Ramsay Taum, Cultural Advisor Highlights: 00:00 – Introduction 02:30 – Thomas Linzey on his career fighting projects on behalf of communities 05:40 – Linzey on why federal environmental laws don’t protect air, water, or communities 11:00 – Linzey explains rights of nature legal framework 16:30 – Successful rights of nature cases in other parts of the world 19:15 – Rights of nature is Western law catching…

People in this episode

Guests: Thomas Linzey, Crystal Wolfchild, Kumu Ramsay Taum

Topics covered

• rights of nature
• environmental law
• ecosystem protection
• Indigenous cosmovisions
• land ownership
• legal frameworks

Keywords

• rights of nature
• Thomas Linzey
• land ownership
• environmental rights
• ecosystem
• Colorado mountain
• Indigenous rights

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, Sacred Contract Coalition

Places: Colorado

More episodes of Climate One

• Cleaner Steel is Coming. Will the Communities That Built the Industry Benefit? · July 17, 2026 · 56 min
• ENCORE Dead Heat: The Danger Of Home Power Shutoffs · July 3, 2026 · 59 min
• When Your New Neighbor Is… a Data Center · June 26, 2026 · 1h 2m
• Making Solar Great Again · June 19, 2026 · 1h 4m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Climate One podcast page.