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posted by Fnord666 on Wednesday September 02 2020, @01:56PM   Printer-friendly
from the loonie-bin dept.

Can the moon be a person? As lunar mining looms, a change of perspective could protect Earth's ancient companion:

Everyone is planning to return to the moon. At least 10 missions by half a dozen nations are scheduled before the end of 2021, and that's only the beginning.

Even though there are international treaties governing outer space, ambiguity remains about how individuals, nations and corporations can use lunar resources.

In all of this, the moon is seen as an inert object with no value in its own right.

But should we treat this celestial object, which has been part of the culture of every hominin for millions of years, as just another resource?

[...] As a thought experiment in how we might regulate lunar exploitation, some have asked whether the moon should be granted legal personhood, which would give it the right to enter into contracts, own property, and sue other persons.

Legal personhood is already extended to many non-human entities: certain rivers, deities in some parts of India, and corporations worldwide. Environmental features can't speak for themselves, so trustees are appointed to act on their behalf, as is the case for the Whanganui River in New Zealand. One proposal is to apply the New Zealand model to the moon.

[...] Can we support the legal concept of personhood for the moon with actual features of personhood?

Journal Reference:
Eytan Tepper, Christopher Whitehead. Moon, Inc.: The New Zealand Model of Granting Legal Personality to Natural Resources Applied to Space, New Space (DOI: 10.1089/space.2018.0025)


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  • (Score: 1, Redundant) by OrugTor on Wednesday September 02 2020, @05:56PM (2 children)

    by OrugTor (5147) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday September 02 2020, @05:56PM (#1045510)

    Hundreds of thousands of years covers Sapiens. The issues is precursors going back millions of years. Please understand the post fully and then restrain yourself from making a crass ad hominem attack.

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  • (Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @06:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 02 2020, @06:41PM (#1045536)

    he issues is precursors going back millions of years. Please understand the post fully

    Don't fucking tell me what to do!

    restrain yourself from making a crass ad hominem attack

    Fuck off, you mentally deficient, shallow-end-of-the-gene-pool piece of shit.

    Is that better?

  • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 03 2020, @02:11PM

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 03 2020, @02:11PM (#1045854) Journal

    crass ad hominem attack

    The moon has been part of the culture of every ad hominem for trillions of years.

    --
    People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.