We help communities and groups like yours.
We are not a typical environmental organization. We assist communities to develop first-in-the-nation, groundbreaking laws to protect rights – including worker, environmental, and democratic rights, and rights of nature. CELDF provides free and low cost legal services, grassroots organizing, and education, to communities, states, and countries facing injustice. We help them to assert their rights to fight the harms they face. Learn more about how we work, or call us now at: 717-498-0054.
News from the Grassroots
-
World Policy On Air: "The Rights of Trees"
As global warming accelerates, a radical change in how we view and interact with nature is necessary. World Policy on Air's David Alpern interviews CELDF's Mari Margil.
-
The Spokesman-Review: Federal judge tosses suit by Raging Grannies seeking to ban coal and oil trains through Spokane
A federal judge does not consider the people's right to a healthy climate in a lawsuit filed by Spokane residents who are fighting to protect their community from fossil fuel activities.
-
Press Release: Court Dismisses Climate Lawsuit on Procedural Grounds; Constitutional Right to a Healthy Climate Ignored
A federal judge uses "standing" to dismiss Spokane residents' lawsuit asserting a right to a healthy climate, ignoring the urgency of climate change and the people's rights.
-
The Gazette: Board's charter decision an insult to democracy
Medina County, OH, resident calls out the County Board of Elections for their refusal to let the people vote on their qualified county charter initiative. The measure secures democratic and environmental rights, and bans fracking infrastructure.
View All Upcoming Events
-
We the People 2.0 in Brattleboro, VT
August 22, 2017Brattleboro, VT, residents host a screening of We the People 2.0 as they explore Community Rights to protect themselves from environmental harms.
-
Community Rights Awareness Workshop in Brattleboro, VT
September 10, 2017Vermont residents face a range of harmful corporate activities, and are working to stop them. Join us for the Community Rights Awareness Workshop!
-
Democracy School in Napa, CA
September 29, 2017 — September 30, 2017Sonoma County, CA, residents are organizing to protect their community and ecosystems from unsustainable development. Join them in Democracy School, September 29th - 30th.
-
Democracy School in New Hampshire
October 13, 2017 — October 14, 2017Nottingham and Barrington, NH, team up to host Democracy School as they fight to protect their communities from corporate water withdrawals for resale. Check it out here!
-
Community Solutions: A Conference in Yellow Springs, OH
October 20, 2017 — October 21, 2017How do we create the vibrant and sustainable communities we envision, when sustainability is illegal? Community rights. Learn how with CELDF's Tish O'Dell.
Sign up for the official CELDF newsletter.
Always know the latest news from the front of the movement. Aside from donating time or money, joining this list is the best way to support the ongoing efforts of CELDF.
Featured Articles
Blog: The US Constitution Is So 1789. It’s Time for a Serious Overhaul.
May 3, 2017The 1% drive for a constitutional convention, advancing their own corporate interests. But we don't need a convention. We need a whole new constitution.
Press Release: Colombia Constitutional Court Finds Atrato River Possesses Rights
May 4, 2017Reversing course from mainstream views of nature as property, Colombia's Constitutional Court finds the Atrato River is a rights-bearing entity - a necessary step to protect life on earth.
PR: First Right to Climate Law Passes in Colorado
April 5, 2017Lafayette, CO, is the first community in the state to adopt a right to climate ordinance, recognizing the right of residents to a healthy climate.
A Problem: Corporations have been granted rights allowing them to wreak havoc in communities for over 200 years.We can stop this. Here's how...
Fight for a more democratic tomorrow, today.
Our democracy has been usurped by corporations. Please give today to help CELDF return the democratic process to the people. CELDF uses every dollar of your donation to fight for rights.
Immerse yourself in the fundamentals of our current legal system.
Learn how to better understand the issues of our time.
Discover the keys to affect lasting change.
Learn MoreShow Your Support. Take Action Now.
-
Ohio Counties Fighting for Their Rights and Their Future
Show Your SupportOhio residents in Medina, Portage, and Athens Counties are fighting to protect themselves from fracking wastewater injection wells, pipelines, compressor stations, and more. In response, the corporate state is placing people’s environmental and democratic rights in their cross-hairs.
These communities aren’t blinking.
-
Sign Up Now to Support Youngstown, OH, Fighting for Community Rights
Show Your SupportYoungstown, OH, residents, like many communities across the U.S., live under a structure of law and governance that favors big business exploitation and profits over the democratic and environmental rights of communities. With the oil and gas industry and their own local government working against them, the Youngstown community refuses to give up.
Sign up now to show support for their uncompromising commitment to protect their community.