On this episode we’re joined by Mary Wood, Philip H. Knight Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Law School’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center at UO. In this episode, she discusses her work with her Atmospheric Trust Litigation Strategy, approaches in protecting blue carbon areas, and the Pacific Northwest Framework for Atmospheric Recovery. Wood explains how environmental law can drive meaningful climate action locally and globally, offering both practical solutions and hope for addressing climate challenges.

Topics

• From interest to impact in environmental law [1:18]
• Stakes in climate change and reason for hope [2:43]
• What is Atmospheric trust litigation? [5:26]
• Inside the atmospheric recovery framework [7:55]
• Solutions for protecting blue carbon ecosystems? [11:59]
• Turning environmental legal damages into community climate solutions [15:01]
• Expanding climate legal strategies beyond the Pacific Northwest [18:48]

Guest

• Mary Wood, Philip H. Knight Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Law School’s Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center

Resources

• Mary Wood, expert in environmental law and natural resources, learn more about Wood’s career in environmental law and climate solutions.
• Mary Wood, Philip H. Knight Professor, Faculty Director for the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center, explore more about Wood’s teaching, research and contributions at University of Oregon’s School of Law.
• Trailblazing legal scholar aims to clean up the carbon spill in the sky, read an OregonNews article highlighting Mary Wood’s work in natural land-based climate legal solutions.

Quotes

• “For me, it was personally devastating to watch something so rich with natural beauty and functions just disappear in a matter of a few years.” [1:54]
• “People from all corners and walks of life are stepping up with this understanding that, you know, we’re all part of the problem in that we all participate in this fossil fuel economy, but that also means can all be and actually, we all must be part of the solution.” [4:25]
• “If we spew fossil fuel emissions and drive up the planet’s average temperature, the climate system becomes disrupted, and we pay the price in loss of life and property loss and economic collapse.”
• “So, we often just think of climate crisis as a problem of emissions or pollution. Too much fossil fuel use, sending those pollutants into the sky. But we could halt all fossil fuel use tomorrow, and we would still be sliding towards a climate cliff. And that’s because we have exceeded the highest safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by a long shot.” [8:12]
• “Inevitably people think, ‘Oh I can meaningfully participate in this small way, and I always say, you know, ‘You can’t save the world alone, but the world can’t be saved without you.” [23:47]

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