Global Warming and Rights

So far the debate over global warming has been pretty abstract and long-term. But now the science has gotten more certain and the lawsuits have begun. These Inuit claims that global warming is a violation of their right to maintain their lifestyle and traditions are not terribly likely to succeed, I think. There is too little support for collective rights and too much history of changing traditions (everywhere) for these to get much traction in the Western legal system. But the article also points to claims of damages and lost use, in other words, property rights claims, which stand a much greater chance of success IF a responsible party can be identified. Most of the suits are probably going to be directed against the US, or the US and other industrialized nations, and that won't necessarily force action. (one of the fallacies, rarely mentioned, in our attempt to make Iraq an"America-friendly democracy" is that it is actually pretty hard to coerce real democracies: external pressure is only one factor in a two-level equation. It's easier to pressure republics, of course, particularly ones with strong chief executives.)

Literary Non Sequitur: Jonathan Edelstein, riffing on an actual novel being cowritten by a Mexican detective writer and Zapatista Sub-Commandante Marcos, proposes several other joint projects that would be a great deal of fun to read.