Earth Law Center

As the Executive Director of Earth Law Center, I work to “make good famous” amongst the legal community. We are a team of young legal professionals who help write and enforce a new generation of Earth-centered laws. We call this field “Earth law,” like human rights law but for all living species. By contrast, our current laws normalize the destruction of Nature for short-term profit.

Imagine if all people had an enforceable right to a healthy environment. Imagine if rivers and forests had rights, as well. Imagine if companies were prosecuted for “ecocide” when they destroy ecosystems. These are all emerging realities that have become my life’s passion.

I am applying for the Elevate Prize to receive the training, resources, and guidance necessary to scale our legal models globally. Specifically, my vision is to create a free online resource for lawmakers, activists, communities, and others to easily customize and download Earth-centered laws—like LegalZoom but for the planet.

The Elevate Prize would help me shape this vision and then bring together world-class experts to carry it out. Together, we will create an online resource that will usher in a new generation of protections for our planet and its people.

I am not an environmental lawyer; I am an Earth lawyer. Environmental lawyers enforce our current suite of laws. Earth lawyers fight for stronger laws that address root causes of the global environmental crisis.  

I am one of the first lawyers to have entered this field directly after law school, in 2013. Now, at 35 years old, I am proud to be a lead editor of the preeminent law school coursebook on “Earth law” and to have advanced Earth-centered laws worldwide.

Rewriting the DNA of the legal system so that it works for Nature instead of against it is my passion. We are but one species of millions. All life on the planet deserves a voice in government. 

Under my leadership (with support from many), Earth Law Center has grown from a small team to dozens of staff, interns, volunteers, and Board members. I have also challenged our internal power structures, such as embracing horizontal and democratic leadership structures. 

My ultimate vision is to transform legal systems worldwide to restore balance to our relationship with Nature. To achieve this, I am laser focused on scaling our work—educating millions of people, informing hundreds of new laws, and winning countless legal victories. 

Our legal system is broken for Nature. Ecosystems are defined as mere property under the law. The well-being of local communities is secondary to corporate profits. Children look to the future with fear. 

To solve this problem, Earth Law Center helps inform a new generation of Earth-centered laws that challenge root causes of environmental declines. For example, we help write laws establishing that Nature has basic rights, just as humans do. While we have had some initial success, we need to scale our work globally. 

To fill this gap, we propose to create an online resource with customizable Earth law models. The result will be like LegalZoom for the planet.

Some of the specific legal models will include the Rights of Nature, the rights of future generations, the human right to a healthy environment, defining “ecocide” as a crime, and others. 

Users will visit the website and fill out a form with basic questions about jurisdiction (e.g., Mexico or San Francisco), type of law (e.g., ordinance or constitutional amendment), legal protections (e.g., human environmental rights), and so forth. Users then download a fully customized law.

We will make it easy and effective for legal movements to help save the planet.

Earth Law Center rejects the status quo of environmental laws as being “good enough.” Instead, we innovate and advance a new generation of Earth-centered legal protections. We also take the unique approach of empowering local communities within this framework. 

Here are a few recent successes as examples: 

• We co-launched the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers
• We secured an Earth-centered constitutional amendment in Oaxaca, Mexico.
• We helped secure Rights of Nature within the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 Framework.
• We released templates on the rights of oceans, rivers, and other ecosystems (a precursor to the proposed project). 

Specific to our proposed project, we will be disruptive by putting Earth-centered legal models in the hands of lawmakers and advocates globally. We will also empower thousands of lawyers worldwide by referring website users who download our templates to local counsel. For example, someone who creates a Mexican legal template will be referred to "Earth lawyers" in Mexico to further localize and refine the legal text.

The environmental movement has failed to protect the planet. This impacts humans, as well, because we are all part of Nature. Consider the following trends:

• A 68 percent loss of wildlife populations over the last 50 years; 
• More frequent and severe drought, heatwaves, wildfires, and other extreme weather events due to climate change; and
• 7 million human deaths per year due to air pollution.

A primary cause of this crisis is that the legal and economic systems give preferred treatment to corporate interests and short-term profits over the well-being of the Earth’s community of life, including humans. We challenge this flawed paradigm by promoting a new generation of rights-based laws for the planet. Such legal reform also drives new social and economic paradigms.

The work of Earth Law Center and partners is already beginning to take hold. We have established Rights of Nature laws in numerous countries, enforced the human right to a healthy environment in court, trained thousands of lawyers, and much more. But until we create world-class legal models that are scalable and enforceable, the Earth law movement will not reach its full potential. Our proposed plan to create customizable legal templates will fill this gap. 

Earth Law Center's services generally falls into two categories: 1) direct legal representation and advocacy, and 2) legal training.

First, we provide pro bono legal support to local communities fighting against destructive projects (e.g., dams, oil development, and deforestation) as well as to governments seeking to pass stronger legal protections for Nature. Currently, we are engaged in 20+ projects representing 100+ people directly and tens of thousands indirectly. Activities include writing ecocentric laws, submitting amicus briefs, developing toolboxes and policy reports on Earth law topics, engaging in occasional litigation, and providing legal strategy. 

Second, we serve 1,000+ lawyers and law students in any given year, such as the 50+ people taking our summer course on “Earth law” and the hundreds of people who attend our continued education courses. Universities and law schools are also beginning to teach our book, Earth Law: Emerging Ecocentric Law--A Guide for Practitioners, further expanding our reach. We are training a new generation of legal professionals in how to better protect Nature.

Finally, Earth Law Center directly serves the entire community of life on our planet, both humans and “more than humans.” As “Earth lawyers,” we directly represent the Earth and its many inhabitants.

Earth Law Center seeks to protect Nature forever through transformative legal reform. We believe a fundamental purpose of our legal system must be to maintain and restore Nature. An Earth-centered legal system will also catalyze a transformation of our culture and economic system. This vision corresponds most strongly to SDGs 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15.

Towards that goal, our "LegalZoom for the Planet" project will make it easy and effective for legislators to join our movement. Here is the basic plan:

• Write 20+ legal templates for the website within one year.

• Launch the “LegalZoom for the Planet” website within one year.

• 1,500+ users download our templates within three years.
  

• 50+ users propose laws based on our templates within three years. 
  

• 30+ laws are passed based on our templates within three years.

• The ultimate impact corresponds to the practical effect of enforcing our laws—e.g., outcomes of protecting ecosystems based on the Rights of Nature, establishing guardianship bodies for Nature, enforcing the rights of future generations, etc. The specific impact will vary, but we estimate that ecosystems in 5-10 countries could be protected in the short-term, with the large-term impacts being a transformation of our relationship with Nature.

I need help making “Earth law” famous. Earth Law Center has already innovated the field of Earth law with some initial victories scattered across the globe--new laws giving a voice to Nature, court wins for human environmental rights, etc. However, Earth law as a legal field is still relatively obscure. I want Earth law to be as commonly known as corporate law, environmental law, family law, and other fields. 

Part of the reason that Earth law is not famous is because the media visibility has not caught up to the strength of the movement itself. Furthermore, our legal team often operates behind the scenes when working with local communities. A partnership with the Elevate Prize Foundation would help make our good ideas famous.

We have some specific needs. For example, I need technical help to create the "LegalZoom for the Planet" website. I want to also work with communications professionals to ensure that the website gets our mission across effectively and inspires trust from our core audience, particularly lawmakers. The Elevate Prize Foundation would be an essential partner in these goals.

Example website: 

The Elevate Prize platform would help establish myself and the Earth Law Center team as visionary legal drafters for our planet’s future. I would use the attention received from the Elevate Prize to demand environmental rights for the planet and its many inhabitants, including humans, which will be my life's legacy. I would hope to make regular TV, radio, and webinar appearances, reaching millions of people with this vision. 

I also hope that tens of thousands of additional lawyers would learn of our movement and join us. We would certify hundreds of these lawyers in the field of Earth law (through a certification course we are currently developing) and then list them on the "LegalZoom for the Planet" website as experts for hire in different regions of the world.

Although I would certainly embrace the limelight as Executive Director, just as important for me is to elevate Earth Law Center’s entire team, because their talent and dedication equals my own. I see the next generation of environmental leaders as being collaborative, non-hierarchical, and equitable. I would embrace this mindset by elevating our entire staff--a core group of "Earth lawyers" and advocates fighting for the planet's future.

A diverse, equitably, and inclusive leadership team is core to Earth Law Center's values. For example, over the last six months, we have been transitioning Earth Law Center to a horizontal, democratically-run organization with numerous “co-directors" who operate programs on Latin America, Indigenous rights, community advocacy, ocean rights, and so forth. As a result, everyone on our team is empowered to be a leader and innovator within their own programs. I believe this model is especially valuable for white male environmental leaders (such as myself) to distribute power to a greater diversity of voices.

As an organization that speaks on behalf of Nature's interests, diversity is absolutely essential to our legitimacy and mission. Of ELC’s eight paid team members, we are proud that six are women and five are BIPOC. Half of our Board are BIPOC. 

We also list our commitments to social justice and anti-racism front and center on our homepage. They can be read here: https://www.earthlawcenter.org/georgefloyd. We will continue to evolve and innovate in this space.

I am uniquely positioned to advocate for a new generation of Earth-centered laws because of my subject matter expertise (e.g., co-writing a law school coursebook on this topic) and my ambition to scale transformative Earth-centered legal models across the world. I also have worked on frontlines legal campaigns all over the world--in Africa, Latin America, Europe, and many other places--and have built a reputation as an honest and driven lawyer who defends community interests (full bio here). 

But it is the larger team at Earth Law Center who is truly special. Many of our team members are from the countries in which we most frequently work in, e.g., advocates from Chile, Ecuador, and Nigeria. Other team members have spent their career protecting local communities from pollution or defending marine ecosystems and are well-respected in those spaces. We are a global team with diverse experiences.

The effectiveness of our legal models depends entirely on community buy-in.  We always consult local communities before engaging in projects. We also provide thousands of hours of pro bono legal support (e.g., representing community leaders in Latin America). Ultimately, we cultivate staff members who are not only talented, but who are trusted by local communities.

Several years ago, Earth Law Center had a period where fundraising dried up, and “death with dignity” became a proposed option for the organization. Although we were innovative and winning campaigns, fundraising for longer-term solutions proved to be challenging.

Things looked grim.

But instead of giving up, our team rose to the occasion. We worked relentlessly--nights, weekends, early mornings. We learned that raising money is not about selling anything, but about finding win-win partnerships with funders who believe in our mission and resolve. 

As Executive Director, I especially took it upon myself to do everything in my power to be a steady hand. I knew that Earth Law Center could change the world for the better, and so survival was paramount. 

To say we turned things around is a huge understatement. Foundations and other funders began to take notice. We were able to increase our team from just a few staff members to eight (full- and part-time). We felt empowered and begin to scale our models. 

Now we are not only totally stable, but we are thriving. We are here to stay. This situation taught us to be bold and believe in ourselves in the face of immense challenges.

Here are a few examples: 

• Speaking event on the rights of rivers: https://bit.ly/2SwtUkK
• News video on Indigenous rights campaign: https://fb.watch/6pEoSHMCU4/
• Course for lawyers (note: behind paywall): https://bit.ly/3dmB56t

I need significant financial resources in order to meet the full potential of the "LegalZoom for the Planet" project. I want to hire (as contractors) the best experts in the world--experienced legal drafters for governments, Indigenous leaders, subject matter experts (in the Rights of Nature, ecocentric law, constitutional law, etc.), professors, and so forth. I will create a world-class team to draft the legal templates that will be featured on the website. Part of their job will also be to learn from and incorporate (with partner organizations) some of the existing legal models that are out there. Assembling this world-class team will require stipends as well as additional staff to manage everyone. 

Similarly, I want to hire talented web developers and designers to create the site itself. It should be inspiring, functional, and professional. 

Finally, with Earth Law Center's entire team being law and policy experts, I need financial assistance to hire a world-class marketing and communications team to ensure that our work reaches a broad audience and inspires an entire movement. Currently we have incredible support from a team of volunteers, some of whom I hope to hire. 

ELC’s works to build a global movement for a new generation of transformative laws for the planet. We always seek to collaborate with like-minded groups in order to maximize our impact. It is also a major part of our scaling strategy to train NGOs in other countries that can localize our legal models and put them into place.

Some of the main groups we partner with include the following: 

• Environmental and international organizations such as International Rivers, Earth Thrive, the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature, Save the Colorado, the UN Harmony with Nature Initiative, and many others.
• Indigenous-led organizations such as Sacred Sea.
• Local groups and leaders in every country we work in--e.g., in Mexico, we work closely with Litigio Estratégico Indigena A.C., and in Nigeria we work with River Ethiope Trust Foundation.
• Various universities that teach our book and have externship programs through Earth Law Center.
• Progressive governments that partner with us to advance stronger laws.
• Many others

We often provide our partners with legal models or other tools that they incorporate into their local campaigns, although each partnership is a bit different.