The story of ClientEarth–and of its charismatic Founder, James Thornton–is truly inspirational. His only client is our battered, abused planet, and his favoured arsenal is the rule of law in defense of public interest. The hard-fought victories that you’ll hear about are all important, but more important still are the vision, values and gritty dedication of an amazing group of lawyers and campaigners to whom we owe a very great deal.” —Jonathon Porritt
”Client Earth provides a tantalizing glimpse of how a variety of strategies can converge to create a global environmental effort.” —Nature
”Humanity's grace and dignity are restored each time a case is successfully brought and won…by these exceptional environmental lawyers.” —Emily Young
“This excellent book shows how it is possible to use the law to hold politicians to the promises that they make when they sign agreements on environmental and climate change.” —Peter Wadhams, Professor of Ocean Physics, University of Cambridge
“This book is an inspiration for those of us trying to build a sustainable future–and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to know how and why we must deploy and enforce the law in the fight against ecological destruction.” —Caroline Lucas
“Can lawyers save the planet? Musty court rooms may be less romantic than hugging trees and less dramatic than accosting whalers on the high seas, but the answer may be yes. And guess what, lawyers can hug trees and have a lyrical turn of phrase, too.” —Fred Pearce
“ClientEarth have been pioneers in using the tool of environmental legislation to tackle the modern scourge of air pollution. This is the story of how they're doing it.” —Ed Miliband
“[A] great book about how to save the planet using the long arm of the law.” —Coldplay
“An inspiring read. It shows how the law is not just within the gift of the authorities to wield. Engaged citizens can do it too.” —E&T
“The book is inspirational in a hard headed, let's go to work-and-get-real-results sort of way…There's a global vision. It's quietly amazing. One of the more significant books of the year.” —Oxford Today
“When Ronald Reagan appointed Anne Gorsuch (mother of the newest Supreme Court justice, Neil Gorsuch) to head the EPA, he asked if she was willing to ‘bring it to its knees’. She slashed its budget and, as the New York Times put it, ‘sabotaged the agency’s enforcement effort’. In response, James Thornton, a crusading lawyer, brought private actions to hold polluters to account. In 1982, while the EPA brought 14 cases against industries under the Clean Water Act, Thornton brought sixty.” —Frederick Wilmot-Smith
“Anyone with an interest in environmental activism and environmental law will take pleasure in this vigorous account of justice in the making.” Kirkus Reviews
‘Ahopeful book about the environment and a page-turner about the law.’
‘Can lawyers save the planet? Musty court rooms may be less romanticthan hugging trees and less dramatic than accosting whalers on the highseas, but the answer may be yes. And guess what, lawyers can hug trees and have a lyrical turn ofphrase, too.’
‘[A] great book about how to save the planet using the long arm of the law.’
‘ClientEarth have been pioneers in using the tool of environmental legislation to tackle the modern scourge of air pollution. This is the story of how they're doing it.’
‘This book is an inspiration for those of us trying to build a sustainable future– and I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to know how and why we mustdeploy and enforce the law in the fight against ecological destruction.’
'This excellent book shows how it is possible to use the law to hold politicians to the promises that theymake when they sign agreements on environmental and climate change.’
‘An inspiring read. It shows how the law is not just within the gift of the authorities to wield. Engaged citizens can do it too.’
‘ Client Earth provides a tantalizing glimpse of how a variety of strategies can converge to create a global environmental effort.’
‘The story of ClientEarth – and of its charismatic Founder, James Thornton – is truly inspirational. His only client is our battered, abused planet, and his favoured arsenal is the rule of law in defense of public interest. The hard-fought victories that you’ll hear about are all important, but more important still are the vision, values and gritty dedication of an amazing group of lawyers and campaigners to whom we owe a very great deal.’
‘The book is inspirational in a hard headed, let's go to work-and-get-real-results sort of way … There's a global vision. It's quietly amazing. One of the more significant books of the year.’
‘Humanity's grace and dignity are restored each time a case is successfully brought and won … by these exceptional environmental lawyers.’
2018-01-22
Give a hoot, don't pollute—and sue anyone who does.According to this account by British writer Goodman (Chair, Creative Writing/Univ. of Hull; Suffer and Survive: The Extreme Life of J.S. Haldane, 2007, etc.) and ClientEarth CEO Thornton, an American innovation ranking up there alongside jazz is the fine tradition of taking despoliators of the environment to court; that the New World could teach the Old World something about public-interest law, they add, is "a significant postcolonial act." Thornton and his team of environmental lawyers have taken the American ethic and run with it, their overriding premise being that "without talented lawyers' intense scrutiny of legal language on the Earth's behalf, ecosystems will continue to vanish." The brief of those lawyers is to "assert planetary rights"—and if corporations can have legal personhood, why should the planet not have the same standing? ClientEarth lawyers dug deep into U.K. and EU regulations on fishing to develop sustainable standards, no easy matter in the instance of the EU given that 26 signatory nations have to agree, and EU regulations always seem open to being thwarted. "A legal strategy deployed by a single lawyer at ClientEarth," write the authors, "may stop the destruction of 40 years' worth of health and environmental law built up by the EU." ClientEarth prevailed, though not without considerable difficulty—and considerably impressive lawyering, making the case, for instance, that fish have rights, too. ("Any lawyer for halibut might start with establishing one right: Let the fish breed.") As groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council have learned in the U.S., the courtroom is usually a more effective venue for reform than the sidewalk. Demonstrations have their uses, but, as the authors write, making corporate bigwigs lie awake at night wondering when the next process server is going to show up has its own pleasures.Anyone with an interest in environmental activism and environmental law will take pleasure in this vigorous account of justice in the making.
