How can we respond urgently and effectively to the ecological crisis—and stay sane doing it? …
According to traditional jurisprudence, nature is property without any legal rights, so environmental laws have focused only on regulating exploitation. Recently, however, the inherent rights of the natural world have been recognized in Ecuador, New Zealand, and India, meaning that cases can be brought up on its behalf.
— Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis by David Loye (Page 94)
In "Sustaining Lake Superior", Nancy Langston says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's early function was to license and regulate pollution, rather than protect the environment, per se.