Isn’t nature already protected by all our environmental laws?

Answer

Not really, as our environmental laws are part of our regulatory system which regulates our activism more than protecting our environment.  These laws implicitly allow pollution (how many parts per million, etc.) instead of banning pollution altogether. And the constitution is a document of property and commerce, so nature has no inherent rights itself, only those who own the land on which the contested natural environment is located have rights – the way slaves had no rights, but their owners had rights over their bodies.