ecuador hugs turtles, turtles withdraw suit

Galapagos Tortoise, originally uploaded by Wiggum03.

Big news! My friend Catherine reported today that Ecuador has approved a new constitution officially giving nature, um...natural rights. My mother, who with my father spent two weeks in the Galapagos Islands, is heartily in favor of this (she also does the best Blue-Footed Booby mating dance this side of the equator).

The new constitution specifies that nature "has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution" and tasks the government to take "precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles."

I'm a fan of nature, and I hope you are too. These guys heartily approve!

Ecuador, Galapagos, animals, birds, seals, penguins, owls, “Galapagos Islands”, “Vic Sofras”, originally uploaded by vic sofras, vsofras@loyno.edu.