Lake Erie now has the legal rights of a person

After witnessing toxic algae blooms for years, along with other threats to their drinking water, the residents of Toledo, Ohio, finally voted in favor of a measure that grants Lake Erie the legal rights of a human being. 

Sixty-one percent of voters in Tuesday’s special election voted in favor of Lake Erie’s Bill of Rights, which allows residents to take legal action against entities that violate the lake’s rights to “flourish and naturally evolve” without interference.

Toledoans for Safe Water led a years-long campaign to convince voters that their city’s charter must be amended to ensure that the “environmental burden” carried by the lake, which provides drinking water to 12 million Americans and Canadians, must be reduced.

Read more here: https://www.ecowatch.com/lake-erie-bill-of-rights-2630261411.html