Image courtesy of Polly Higgins.
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As a barrister in London's law courts, Polly Higgins is used to making a good argument and bringing justice to bear. But when it comes to the environment, the courts just aren't a big enough loudspeaker for Higgins, so she's taking her own brand of planetary justice to the masses. How? Last December, on the sixtieth anniversary of the U.N.'s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Higgins put out a new call—laying down a Declaration of Planetary Rights. While traveling to Ireland to present her plan at the UN Climate Change Conference, she gathered supporters along the way, and launched a website, Trees Have Rights Too, which documents the progress of her campaign.
But Mother Earth isn't the only woman Higgins is up for defending. She also created the Wise Women network to encourage women in the U.K. to raise their voices in the fight against climate change. Today, the Wise Women Speakers Database helps promote speakers with expertise in sustainable issues. As if that weren't enough for one person to accomplish, Higgins is also an expert in concentrated solar power and is involved with TREC-UK; she also blogs at The Lazy Environmentalist, (not to be confused with Josh Dorfman's The Lazy Environmentalist, though the two sites coincidentally share the same name).
How did you get into this line of work?
Practising as a barrister in London, in 2005 I decided it was time to stop fighting other people's battles and go fight for what I really care about—the environment. It is our laws that have given us the right to take and to pollute so extensively, so much so it is now considered our norm. We have to redress the imbalance, to ensure the scales of ecological justice are in equilibrium once again.
What was your "a-ha" moment?
It was there from childhood, having spent it in the moors and highlands of Scotland. My father had been a meteorologist, so climate change was an issue he thought and spoke about when I was young. Then, when I was 21, I spent time in Vienna with Hundertwasser, an ecologist and artist. He profoundly shaped my views, and taught me that trees have rights too. This is now the name and basis of my campaign, where I am calling on the United Nations for the implementation of a Universal Declaration of Planetary Rights.
Who is your green hero?
I have quite a few. Cormac Cullinan: he wrote Wild Law: a Manifesto for Earth Justice. When I first read it, it was as if I was reading my own thoughts. We now work together as Wild Lawyers, fighting to prevent and protect the natural world. I am a U.K. Associate of EnAct International, the consultancy that Cormac founded which specialises in developing and strengthening governance systems that promote ecologically sustainable societies.
Rachel Carson, Rosalie Edge, Anita Roddick, Wangari Maathai, Caroline Lucas, and, most of all, the Chipko Movement—the many thousands of nameless women who bravely bind together when needed to save their trees.
What is your ultimate green goal?
To see the Universal Declaration of Planetary Rights implemented by 2012.
What is your motivation?
The firmly held belief that we create our future. We owe a Duty of Care to the planet; now it is time to recognise and uphold the inherent rights of nature, to create the necessary counterbalance for our human-centric laws that have led to our current crisis. We can—and will—make this happen.
What is most important to you, ecologically speaking?
To raise people's consciousness. In doing that we become aware of our interconnectedness with nature. That knowledge in itself brings a certain feeling of responsibility, which in turn makes us act. And that is what we need to do now—take action.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
Raising money! Campaigns need financing, so if anyone reading this would care to assist—do please contact us leaf (at) treeshaverightstoo (dot) com.
What is the most rewarding?
The sheer nourishment of all the wonderful support and assistance that seems to magically manifest itself through everything I do, from my Wise Women network (we've gained 9,000-plus members in 9 months) to the Trees Campaign to writing at the Lazy Environmentalist.
Thousands of people have already demonstrated how much they, too, believe that we need to care for the planet—in fact there are millions of us. We need to stand up and demand of our governments that it is time now to save this wonderful planet. This is why I am an ambassador for the new campaign 999 It's Time, an organization focused on awareness about climate change.
Of the people you have worked with, who impresses you most?
All the wonderful Wise Women whom I meet. They each have impressive stories and are all so committed to saving the planet. It is wonderfully encouraging. We have plans now to open it up internationally to the Word Wide Web of Wise Women so that people everywhere can start organizing their own mentoring and events in their countries.
What green thing do you do everyday?
Breathe in the energy from the trees outside my bedroom window, and breathe out love in return. Then I brush my teeth—with green toothpaste free of parabens, sodium laurel sulphates, artificial sweetners and all those hosts of synthetic ingredients. I am fairly fanatical about using non-damaging products on my skin and body.
What do you wish you could do?
To soar like a bird upon the thermals. I had a taste of it when I went I was ski-paragliding in Switzerland a few years ago when staying at my friend Sophia's eco-camp Whitepod. I will never forget that moment of skiing off a cliff strapped to Alain my instructor and suddenly soaring. Everything was so silent—it was as if time had slowed down, and I savoured every second of it. Sheer heaven!
What is your biggest eco-sin?
Haagen Daz. Nothing tastes as good as their vanilla ice-cream.
If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
People's minds.
What is your best green advice?
Think big.
Change Makers is series of interviews with people famous and obscure who are creating a more sustainable world through their work. Meet more Change Makers here.
More on Environmental Law:
Mexico Approves Corn and Sugar Cane Ethanol Law
Pace University Hosts International Environmental Law Colloquium
Swiss Government Issues Bill of Rights for Plants
Scotland Crafts Own World-Beating Climate Bill
Trees Have Rights Too: A Call For a Universal Declaration of Planetary Rights
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