Mary Christina Wood

Mary Christina Wood (born 1962) is an Oregon Philip H. Knight Professor of Law and author, best known for her writings advocating for the use of the public trust doctrine 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 contributor James Conca wrote, "If 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 in 1987.

Career After graduating from Stanford Law School in 1987, Wood served as a judicial clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. She then practiced in the environmental/natural resources department of Perkins Coie, a Pacific Northwest law firm. Prior to Nature's Trust: Environmental Law for a New Ecological Age, Wood had co-authored a leading textbook on natural resources law (West, 2006), and a textbook on public trust law (Carolina Press, 2013).

Lecturer, speaker

On January 1, 2015, Bill Moyers hosted Wood as his last guest on the last episode of Moyers & Company.

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.