Mary Christina Wood (born 1962) is an

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

Philip H. Knight Professor of Law and author, best known for her writings advocating for the use of the

public trust doctrine The public trust doctrine is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some Natural resource, resources such as shoreline between the high and low tide lines, regardless of private property ownership. Origins The Roman law, ...

to compel government action on climate change. Wood originated the approach, called atmospheric trust litigation, "to hold governments worldwide accountable for reducing carbon pollution within their jurisdictions, and her research is being used in cases and petitions brought on behalf of children and youth throughout the United States and in other countries." In 2014, after a number of atmospheric trust litigation and petitions were brought by young people worldwide,

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

contributor James Conca wrote, "(i)f the Supreme Court holds the government responsible for at least trying to protect our atmosphere, things could certainly change here in America."

Early life

Wood grew up "watching salmon at a place called Wood's Landing, located on the Columbia River in the State of Washington."

Education

Wood graduated from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...

in 1987.

Career

After graduating from

in 1987, Wood served as a judicial clerk on the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. She then practiced in the environmental/natural resources department of

Perkins Coie Perkins Coie is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1912, it is recognized as an Am Law 50 firm. It is the largest law firm headquartered in the Pacific Northwest and has 20 offices across the Un ...

, a Pacific Northwest law firm.

Law professor

Wood is the Philip H. Knight Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the

University of Oregon School of Law The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...

's Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program. She teaches property law, natural resources law, public trust law, and federal Indian law, and has also taught public lands law, wildlife law, and hazardous waste law. She is the Founding Director of the school's nationally acclaimed Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program and is Faculty Leader of the Program's Conservation Trust Project, Sustainable Land Use Project, Native Environmental Sovereignty Project, and Food Resilience Project.

Author

Wood's book, ''Nature's Trust: Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age'', was published by Cambridge University Press in 2014. An excerpt of the book was spotlighted by

Moyers & Company ''Moyers & Company'' was a commentary and interview television show hosted by Bill Moyers, and broadcast via syndication on public television stations in the United States. The weekly show covered current affairs affecting everyday Americans, and ...

in September 2014. Prior to Nature's Trust, Wood had co-authored a leading textbook on natural resources law (West, 2006), and a textbook on public trust law (Carolina Press, 2013). Wood's work asserting the public trust doctrine's application to the atmosphere has inspired what has been coined atmospheric trust litigation. One non-profit organizing such litigation, Our Children's Trust, has brought a suit on behalf of 21 youth plaintiffs against the US government for its actions contributing to climate change. When the federal judge in that case denied both the federal government and the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in production, refinement, distribution, and many other aspects of the pet ...

's motion to dismiss on April 8, 2016, Wood told NPR station KLCC this: "Basically, what the court is saying is that the government must come into court and defend against these allegations that the government has taken action to put the youth in extreme danger including actions that literally impair their potential survival."

Lecturer, speaker

On January 1, 2015,

Bill Moyers Bill Moyers (born Billy Don Moyers, June 5, 1934) is an American journalist and political commentator. Under the Johnson administration he served from 1965 to 1967 as the eleventh White House Press Secretary. He was a director of the Counci ...

hosted Wood as his last guest on the last episode of

Awards

In 1994, Wood received the University's Ersted Award for Distinguished Teaching, and in 2002 she received the Orlando Hollis Faculty Teaching Award. On March 7, 2015, Wood was awarded the 2015 David Brower Lifetime Achievement Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Mary Christina American environmental lawyers Living people Stanford Law School alumni University of Oregon School of Law faculty Place of birth missing (living people) 1962 births People associated with Perkins Coie