I thought I’d heard everything when I learned that a city near me has declared that dog owners should be called dog “guardians” so that their pets aren’t offended by the idea of being someone’s property. Then I read that a newly planted tree in Pittsburg may achieve the legal status of personhood.
     Whaaat?
     Through a complicated legal arrangement, a black gum tree may own the land on which it is planted, may become legally autonomous, and may become its own owner. Then it could...