Blow up dams or use tort law

This is a picture of a few of us outside the frat house post-singalong.

Other than the singalong, what I most appreciated about the conference was the variety of speakers and panels. The two that I got the most out of were from disparate ends of the spectrum.

I'll put it out there: I'm a Derrick fan. Like Tharani and Mike, I appreciate the radical viewpoint he brings to the table. While not all of us are talking to trees, blowing up dams and cheering every time the Dow drops another point, some of us need to be doing that sort of thing. Not only does it keep moderate environmentalists from being viewed as the extremists, but it keeps things exciting. What other speaker at that conference could boast full audience support for dismantling western society?

Contrasting Derrick's keynote and his panel on how to avoid getting classified as an ecoterrorist was the group of lawyers who spoke about applying common law tort doctrines to obtain compensation for those affected by global warming. Being the expert in tort law that I am, the idea definitely seemed like a bit of a stretch. But all three lawyers explained clearly how doctrines like nuisance can be used to litigate against major polluters. They were specific and detailed, supplementing the overall ideas with actual jurisprudence. Matthew Pawa showed us the case being led against major greenhouse gas emitters on behalf of a tiny shoal island community in Alaska, which is being slowly swallowed by raising ocean levels. Another lawyer spoke about cases where he had used the tresspass doctrine to successfully sue air polluters on behalf of those suffering the effects of a contaminated local atmosphere. Cool!

Thanks to Michaelin for organizing, the ELC and all who made the trip possible.