Should Trees Have Standing?

In his groundbreaking work, Christopher Stone challenges the legal premise that nature and trees are to be treated as objects in the eyes of the law. He argues that it is pointless to state that natural objects should have no rights to seek legal redress merely because they cannot speak up for themselves. He elaborates by using the case of corporations, who cannot speak but still employ lawyers to act on their behalf; the same can be said for states, estates, children, etc. Accordingly, he proposes that someone could apply to the courts to be the guardian of a natural object that is perceived to be in danger. Therefore, for nature to have rights under the law, the fundamental basis of legal systems must change.