WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Lake Erie's Rights

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<v Speaker 1>Ahoy, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh and

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<v Speaker 1>there's Chuck, and I am a born and raised Toledo

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<v Speaker 1>win So I am in a very peculiar position to

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<v Speaker 1>speak about this peculiar meaning special in every way, and

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<v Speaker 1>I get to show off my slack. Yeah you pink boy,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna kick back and just listen. Did you ever

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<v Speaker 1>get that key to the city? No, I have not,

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<v Speaker 1>and it bothers me every night while I'm trying to sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>Weren't you offered or No? There was a Toledo and

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<v Speaker 1>I don't remember his name, but he was a dedicated stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>You should know listener some years back who said I

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<v Speaker 1>am going to get Josh the key to the city,

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<v Speaker 1>and you too. I believe um. He was working very

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<v Speaker 1>hard to make it happen, got in touch with some

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<v Speaker 1>local politicians I think was brushed off, and then you

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<v Speaker 1>know called it today. So that moment happens where like

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<v Speaker 1>you and I are standing at the hotel check in

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<v Speaker 1>and they look at you and they go, are you

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<v Speaker 1>going any two keys? And you look at me and

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<v Speaker 1>I'm like, I wouldn't mind a key? Sure, yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>guess too. But but this will be on a podium

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<v Speaker 1>with the mayor. Well, maybe I think that you should

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<v Speaker 1>have the key and and cut with the giant scissors. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'll just be there and support you. Well either way.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean I would be more than happy to share

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<v Speaker 1>the key to the city with you. I mean everything

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<v Speaker 1>that we've done with stuff you should know we've done together.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, but I'm not but you could be an

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<v Speaker 1>honorary citizen too. Let's move on from this petty dispute. Wait,

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<v Speaker 1>wait a minute, I'm not done yet. All right, we

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<v Speaker 1>are talking about Toledo today because Toledo, my hometown, did

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<v Speaker 1>something pretty amazing a few years back, and as far

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<v Speaker 1>as I can tell, they are still very much working

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<v Speaker 1>on it. Right. I love this idea and spirit. The

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<v Speaker 1>Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature a k a.

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<v Speaker 1>GARN is a network of organizations and people from more

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<v Speaker 1>than a hundred different countries that are are actually pushing

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<v Speaker 1>for legals, bodies, and systems around the world to recognize

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<v Speaker 1>nature and ecosystems as having rights. Yes, which you're like, what,

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<v Speaker 1>that's stupid. Consider this. Corporations are considered artificial people under

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<v Speaker 1>the law. They have a lot of the same rights. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>they have a lot of the same rights as you

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<v Speaker 1>and me. So if corporations can have personal rights, why

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<v Speaker 1>shouldn't nature. It makes even more sense to me than

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<v Speaker 1>a corporation having personal rights. And that's kind of the

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<v Speaker 1>push and the the angle that people are coming from

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<v Speaker 1>is like, look, this thing is being harmed, and sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>it can be really difficult to show you have standing

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<v Speaker 1>which means you are being directly harmed by say, polluting

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<v Speaker 1>into like erie um. And it would be much easier

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<v Speaker 1>to like get something done through the courts if this

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<v Speaker 1>thing that was actually suffering the harm the body of waters,

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<v Speaker 1>say like like yerie had those rights, because then you

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<v Speaker 1>could see on its behalf in court. Yeah. I love

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<v Speaker 1>this idea, like where the ecosystem is the actual injured party,

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<v Speaker 1>but when it clearly is. But yeah, because it is

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<v Speaker 1>Ecuador has done this or that they were the first

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<v Speaker 1>country to recognize rights of nature in their actual constitution

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<v Speaker 1>in two thousand eight. Uh and it is quote it

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<v Speaker 1>means nature has quote the right to exist, persist, to

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<v Speaker 1>maintain and regenerate its vital cycles. It seems like a

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<v Speaker 1>no brainer. No, it really unforced. Nature has the right

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<v Speaker 1>to do that. Ye oh, Bolivia as well in two

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<v Speaker 1>thousand ten with their Universal Declaration of the Rights of

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<v Speaker 1>Mother Earth was adopted there, so that this is actually

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<v Speaker 1>happening at places in the world. Yeah, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Toledo,

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<v Speaker 1>Ohio basically are the leaders in this, and so the

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<v Speaker 1>the whole thing with Toledo started um after I think

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<v Speaker 1>in August of two thousand fourteen, there was a terrible

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<v Speaker 1>incident where there was a cyanobacteria algae bloom and Ciana

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<v Speaker 1>bacteria is very much toxic to humans, and it got

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<v Speaker 1>into the water intake crib uh in Lake Erie that

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<v Speaker 1>supplies Toledo with its um stock for the water that

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<v Speaker 1>it sends through its taps too people's homes, and for

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<v Speaker 1>three days, the people of Toledo could not bathe, they

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<v Speaker 1>had no water to drink, they couldn't cook, they had

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<v Speaker 1>no water all of a sudden for three days until

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<v Speaker 1>the water company could figure out what to do about this.

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<v Speaker 1>People are having across state lines to get bottled water.

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<v Speaker 1>It was a nightmare. It was a mess, and that

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<v Speaker 1>really prompted some people to get involved and be like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>enough is enough. That's those algae blooms are not supposed

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<v Speaker 1>to be happening there the result of irresponsible fertilizing practices

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<v Speaker 1>by local industrialized agricultural groups that are polluting the lake

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<v Speaker 1>through runoff, and we're all suffering from this. We need

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<v Speaker 1>to figure out what to do that's right. And we'll

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<v Speaker 1>take a break right now and talk about a great

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<v Speaker 1>toledo In an American named Marky Miller right after this. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>now we're on the road driving in your truck. Want

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<v Speaker 1>to learn a thing or two from Josh dam Chuck

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<v Speaker 1>stuff you should know, all right, all right, Josh Clark

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<v Speaker 1>one great Toledo win. Markey Miller another great toledo In. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I think between me and Markey Miller, Markey Miller should

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<v Speaker 1>probably get the key to the city. Jamie far great

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<v Speaker 1>to lead. And Jamie Farr was really from Toledo, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>he really was. It wasn't just part of Klinger's character.

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<v Speaker 1>He really was. He always talked about Tony Pacos, which

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<v Speaker 1>is still around. I love it. So mar Key Miller

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<v Speaker 1>is a long time to Ledowin, who after this water

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<v Speaker 1>fiasco got fed up and started trying to get some answers,

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<v Speaker 1>went to the town hall meetings, said all the things

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<v Speaker 1>as a citizen that you can do and they like,

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<v Speaker 1>how can we, you know, make sure this doesn't happen again,

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<v Speaker 1>And they basically said, let's move forward about mitigation, but

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<v Speaker 1>we don't really want to talk about what caused this

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<v Speaker 1>in the first place, Like let's just kind of brush

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<v Speaker 1>that under the rug. And Markey Miller said, no, not

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<v Speaker 1>good enough yet yet. And so Markey Miller in her

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<v Speaker 1>late twenties started attending these meetings with and getting kind

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<v Speaker 1>of people kind of riled up on her side. And uh,

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<v Speaker 1>they named themselves the Toledo Wins for Safe Water. And

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<v Speaker 1>this eventually led to what's known as drawing up the

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<v Speaker 1>Lake Eerie Bill of Rights. Handful of people saying that

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<v Speaker 1>they're fed up and this lake, this exquisite, great lake,

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<v Speaker 1>actually needs to be protected with its own bill of rights. Yes, um,

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<v Speaker 1>And what one of the said things about Lake Erie

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<v Speaker 1>is like it used to be really bad off, like

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<v Speaker 1>it was not a thing that you want to swim in,

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<v Speaker 1>which coincidentally was the time when I was swimming in

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<v Speaker 1>Lake Erie as a kid. But I remember catching fish

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<v Speaker 1>and like some guy going past out to the lake

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<v Speaker 1>on his boat and my dad and I fishing on

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<v Speaker 1>this channel and him being like, do not eat that

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<v Speaker 1>like just throw it back. And I remember being like,

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<v Speaker 1>what is this guy talking about? My dad's like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>we really shouldn't eat the fish out of here. Raster stripe. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>it was still alive in my mouth. Um. But but

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<v Speaker 1>but lake Erie got cleaned up. It was a success story.

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<v Speaker 1>And then now it's getting repolluted again. So that makes

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<v Speaker 1>it even more tragic, and it makes that campaign for

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<v Speaker 1>the Lake Area Bill of Rights like even more vital.

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<v Speaker 1>And it wasn't just Markey Miller and the Toledo Wins

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<v Speaker 1>for Safe Water who were all about protecting Lake Erie.

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<v Speaker 1>They had to get a bunch of signatures to get

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<v Speaker 1>a to get on a petition to have a bill

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<v Speaker 1>introduced to be put up to a vote on how

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<v Speaker 1>to protect Lake Eries rights. And they got I think

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<v Speaker 1>double the amount needed of signatures to get the petition

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<v Speaker 1>on the ballot. Easy, peasy, lemon squeeze. Everybody's on board.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody wants to support uh lake Erie and get it

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<v Speaker 1>cleaned up and give it its own Like let's let's

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<v Speaker 1>get a lawsuit going on behalf of Lake Erie. Like

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<v Speaker 1>how cool is that? Yeah, So they get double the

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<v Speaker 1>signatures and they knew that was step one and getting

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<v Speaker 1>it actually to a vote would be tough. And I

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<v Speaker 1>believe they we're up against you know who. You would

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<v Speaker 1>think they would be up against these big industrial companies

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<v Speaker 1>that said no, actually, that'd be really bad for us.

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<v Speaker 1>If we couldn't pollute the lake, would be bad for

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<v Speaker 1>our business. There was a three hundred thousand dollar anti

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<v Speaker 1>Lee Boar campaign. Um. Even though it passed by in

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<v Speaker 1>they came out with a victory, a very sad and

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<v Speaker 1>short lived victory because about twelve hours later, uh an

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<v Speaker 1>agricultural company, filed a lawsuit against the city and said

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<v Speaker 1>this law is detrimental to our business. We got to

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<v Speaker 1>pollute that lake, you guys right. Um. There was a guy,

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<v Speaker 1>the judge in the case, Judge Jack Suhari, basically said, like,

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<v Speaker 1>this is terrible. This is a terrible law that Toledo passed.

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<v Speaker 1>Like it makes sense in its spirit, and like I

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<v Speaker 1>respected for that, but it was really poorly written. And

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<v Speaker 1>basically what he said was two fold. One, it's way

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<v Speaker 1>too vague to be constitutional. He said that you could conceivably,

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<v Speaker 1>under the law, be prosecuted for fishing in Lake Erie. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>A second one is that Toledo extended its protections across

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<v Speaker 1>Lake Erie. Lake Erie is shared by a bunch of

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<v Speaker 1>different cities from Toledo to Cleveland to Buffalo, New York

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<v Speaker 1>to Erie, Pennsylvania. They're all on Lake Erie. And this

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<v Speaker 1>this this the law cross state boundaries and state jurisdictions,

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<v Speaker 1>like like Toledo was the You could you could dump

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<v Speaker 1>something in Buffalo, New York, and you could be sued

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<v Speaker 1>in Toledo, Ohio for it because of this law. So

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<v Speaker 1>it was an overreach, but it was a good first step.

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<v Speaker 1>And I think it shows that the public is like

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<v Speaker 1>on board with this. It's just that they they we

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<v Speaker 1>need to figure out how the law needs to be

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<v Speaker 1>written to to make it survive court challenges. Right. And

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<v Speaker 1>also and I think, uh, I think Miller is right

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<v Speaker 1>in in her contention that, like she said, quote, you

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<v Speaker 1>have to redefine what it means to win. Like, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think they thought, well, this is it, We're done.

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<v Speaker 1>They knew it would be short lived, they knew it

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<v Speaker 1>would probably be overturned. But what it did was make

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<v Speaker 1>the news. And it's one more step closer to change exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>And so there are UM there are more UM Rights

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<v Speaker 1>of Nature movement UM movements. I guess that are kind

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<v Speaker 1>of popping up around the country and around the world, um,

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<v Speaker 1>in places like Hawaii and Florida, like you would expect

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<v Speaker 1>in Washington State. UM. And it's a I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>a great way to to I think that's a good

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<v Speaker 1>direction to be progressing. I think it's a it's I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's the future. Agreed. Well, cool, Well, there's not

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<v Speaker 1>much more to say about it right now, but who knows,

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<v Speaker 1>we'll be talking about it hopefully in a few years.

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<v Speaker 1>When is the law of the land across the globe.

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<v Speaker 1>And by the way, we found this article originally on

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works and you can go read it there

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<v Speaker 1>if you like. And with that short stuff is out.

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff you Should Know is a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the I heart

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