This book systematically explores the emerging legal discipline of Earth System Law (ESL), challenging the closed system of law and marking a new era in law and society scholarship. Law has historically provided stability, certainty, and predictability in the ordering of social relations (predominantly between humans). However, in recent decades the Earth’s relationship in law has changed with increasing recognition of the standing of Mother Earth, inherent rights of the environment (such as flora and fauna, rivers), and now recognition of the multiple relations of the Anthropocene. This book questions the fundamental assumption that ‘the law’ only applies to humans, and that the earth, as a system, has intrinsic rights and responsibilities. In the last ten years the planet has experienced its hottest period since human evolution, and by the year 2100, unless substantive action is taken, many species will be lost, and planetary conditions will be intolerable for human civilisation as it currently exists. Relationships between humans, the biosphere, and all planetary systems must change. The authors address these challenging topics, setting the groundwork of ESL to ensure sustainable development of the coupled socio-ecological system that the Earth has become. Earth System Law is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research project, and, as such, this book will be of great interest to researchers and stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines, including political science, anthropology, economics, law, ethics, sociology, and psychology.

This book examines how current energy and water management processes affect Indigenous communities in North America, with a specific focus on Canada. Currently, there is no known Indigenous community-led strategic environmental assessment (ICSEA) tool for developing community-led solutions for pipeline leak management and energy resiliency. To fill this lacuna, this book draws on expertise from Indigenous Elders, Knowledge-keepers, and leaders representing communities who are highly affected by pipeline leaks. These accounts highlight the importance of providing Indigenous communities with technical information and advice, allowing them to practise community-led disaster management, and giving them direct access to lawyers and decision-makers. If implemented into current policy and practice, these tools would succeed in helping rural Indigenous communities make strategic choices for sustainable energy management and utilize their lands, traditional territories, and natural resources to develop a robust, sustainable energy future. Prioritizing Indigenous perspectives on energy management and governance, this book will be of great interest to students, scholars, and practitioners working in the fields of energy policy and justice, environmental sociology, and Indigenous studies.

This book systematically explores the emerging legal discipline of Earth System Law (ESL), challenging the closed system of law and marking a new era in law and society scholarship. Law has historically provided stability, certainty, and predictability in the ordering of social relations (predominantly between humans). However, in recent decades the Earth's relationship in law has changed with increasing recognition of the standing of Mother Earth, inherent rights of the environment (such as flora and fauna, rivers), and now recognition of the multiple relations of the Anthropocene. This book questions the fundamental assumption that 'the law' only applies to humans, and that the earth, as a system, has intrinsic rights and responsibilities. In the last ten years the planet has experienced its hottest period since human evolution, and by the year 2100, unless substantive action is taken, many species will be lost, and planetary conditions will be intolerable for human civilisation as it currently exists. Relationships between humans, the biosphere, and all planetary systems must change. The authors address these challenging topics, setting the groundwork of ESL to ensure sustainable development of the coupled socio-ecological system that the Earth has become. Earth System Law is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research project, and, as such, this book will be of great interest to researchers and stakeholders from a wide range of disciplines, including political science, anthropology, economics, law, ethics, sociology, and psychology.

Pursuing justice is daunting. It plays out in a variety of contexts -- like the environment, employment, the criminal justice system -- and raises tough issues like racism, gender discrimination and poverty. But ultimately the aim of studying justice is to achieve it. This book is about justice in Canada: its definition, its boundaries, its contradictions and its nuances. It is also about the mechanisms and practices that enable the pursuit of justice. It problematizes the notion of justice while defining and pursuing the illusive notion of justice in Canadian society. This second edition features updated content from the popular first edition as well as new content about social justice and racism, the experiences of racialized persons with police, settler colonialism and issues of justice for gender and sexual minorities -- all from a Canadian perspective. Additionally, each chapter contains objectives of the chapter, case studies and discussion questions.

Although there is considerable historical literature describing the social and economic impact of drought on the prairies in the 1930s, little has been written about the challenges presented by drought in more contemporary times. The drought of 2001-02 was, for example, the most recent large-area, intense, and prolonged drought in Canada and one of Canada's most costly natural disasters in a century. Vulnerability and Adaptation to Drought on the Canadian Prairies describes the impacts of droughts and the adaptations made in prairie agriculture over recent decades. These adaptations have enhanced the capacity of rural communities to withstand drought. However, despite the high levels of technical adaptation that have occurred, and the existing human capital and vibrant social and information networks, agricultural producers in the prairie region remain vulnerable to severe droughts that last more than a couple of years. Research findings and projections suggest that droughts could become more frequent, more seveare, and of longer duration in the region over the course of the 21st century. This book provides insights into the conditions generating these challenges and the measures required to reduce vulnerability of prairie communities to them. This volume develops a greater understanding of the social forces and conditions that have contributed to enhanced resilience, as well as those which detract from successful adaptation and examines drought through an interdisciplinary lens encompassing climate science and the social sciences