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Nov 6, 2012

Press Release: Broadview Heights Adopts Community Bill of Rights Banning Fracking

Press Release: Broadview Heights Adopts Community Bill of Rights Banning Fracking

Today, the residents of Broadview Heights banned fracking from within the City limits through a Community Bill of Rights Charter Amendment. The amendment established the right to clean air and water, and the right to local self-government, banning fracking as a violation of those rights.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success Story

Oct 31, 2012

CELDF and Global Exchange: Occupy Wall Street

CELDF and Global Exchange: Occupy Wall Street

Activists Shannon Biggs of Global Exchange and Ben Price of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund participated in Occupy Wall Street people’s mic teach-in on October 26th at Liberty Park. They shared stories of helping communities insist their local governments make laws removing corporate rights and codifying community rights for local self-governance and decision-making about farming, hydro-fracking, water rights, and more. They gave their talk again at the nearby Epifaneo Collective cafe at 56 Walker Street which is this recording by Joe Friendly.

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Oct 30, 2012

Why do we need a local bill of rights?

Why do we need a local bill of rights?

Democracy School attendee Priscilla Stuckey on “Why do we need a local bill of rights?”

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Oct 26, 2012

NPR Special Series – The Future of Nonhuman Rights: Recognizing The Right Of Plants To Evolve

NPR Special Series – The Future of Nonhuman Rights: Recognizing The Right Of Plants To Evolve

The rights of plants to exist and evolve is explored as interest grows for recognizing the rights of nature.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

Oct 2, 2012

View the trailer for “Rooted Lands – Tierras Arraigadas”

View the trailer for “Rooted Lands – Tierras Arraigadas”

Chronicling community rights organizing in New Mexico to protect residents and the land.

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Sep 15, 2012

Position Paper on Sustainable Energy

Position Paper on Sustainable Energy

Currently, most development of wind energy resources is carried out by a handful of large corporations…. The corporation…controls the land, production of energy from the wind resource, and the distribution of that energy to the grid.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Sep 14, 2012

Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman Interviews Former Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields on the Pittsburgh Community Rights Ordinance that Bans Fracking

Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman Interviews Former Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields on the Pittsburgh Community Rights Ordinance that Bans Fracking

Doug Shields on the Pittsburgh Community Rights Ordinance that Bans Fracking.

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Sep 11, 2012

Anti-fracking group threatens ballot measure

Anti-fracking group threatens ballot measure

Colorado Springs residents launch campaign to put Community Bill of Rights on ballot to protect themselves and their community from fracking.

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Sep 8, 2012

Akron Beacon Journal: Communities seek ways to override state control of oil and gas drilling boom

Akron Beacon Journal: Communities seek ways to override state control of oil and gas drilling boom

Two activists are involved in grass-roots campaigns … pushing [for] what’s called limited home rule in Ohio townships and a community bill of rights in cities and villages, both aimed at increased protection for air, water, health, property values and public safety.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 22, 2012

Why the Recent Act 13 Decision Won’t Help to Stop Fracking

Why the Recent Act 13 Decision Won’t Help to Stop Fracking

How Environmental Groups Keep Leading Communities into Dead-Ends.

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Aug 20, 2012

Bellingham Community Rights vs. Corporate Rights

Bellingham Community Rights vs. Corporate Rights

Why support Bellingham, WA’s Community Bill of Rights? Suzanne Ravet, a member of Coal-Free Bellingham, gives her account. Read more here from Northwest Citizen.

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Aug 7, 2012

Press Release: Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network To Advocate for Community Rights

Press Release: Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network To Advocate for Community Rights

SPOKANE: In late July, citizens from Washington communities gathered in Spokane to launch the Washington Community Rights Network (WCRN). Network members released The Spokane Declaration, calling upon communities across the state to join together in a movement to elevate the rights of people, their communities, and nature above the claimed rights of corporations….The creation of the Washington Community Rights Network comes out of active community campaigns on both sides of the Cascades.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 7, 2012

Press Release: Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network To Advocate for Community Rights

Press Release: Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network To Advocate for Community Rights

Washington Communities Launch Statewide Network to Advocate for Community Rights.

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Aug 2, 2012

Ohio Town’s Lonely Campaign Against Fracking Now Slightly Less Lonely

Ohio Town’s Lonely Campaign Against Fracking Now Slightly Less Lonely

The new year arrived in Youngstown, Ohio, with earthquakes that appear to be tied fracking to wastewater wells and activists standing in the cold protesting. By some lights the poorest community in America, Youngstown had been taking in wastewater from fracking wells in Pennsylvania, which companies then injected back into the ground.

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Jul 30, 2012

Spokane’s Move to Amend, Occupy Spokane, Envision Spokane, and CELDF Join Together to Advance Elections Ordinance Banning Corporate Involvement in Elections and Government While Stripping Corporate “Rights”

Spokane’s Move to Amend, Occupy Spokane, Envision Spokane, and CELDF Join Together to Advance Elections Ordinance Banning Corporate Involvement in Elections and Government While Stripping Corporate “Rights”

Drafted by the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) and Envision
Spokane, the organizations Occupy Spokane and Spokane Move to Amend (SMAC) are
currently qualifying the initiative for the November 2013 ballot. The project represents the
first common initiative of the organizations in the country.

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Jul 24, 2012

Local Officials Standing Up to Protect Their Communities from Fracking

Local Officials Standing Up to Protect Their Communities from Fracking

Local officials from more than 200 municipalities in 15 states, including city councils, town boards, and county legislatures, have banned natural gas drilling that uses hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracking.

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Jul 12, 2012

Alliance for Sustainable Communities: The Importance of Being Radical

Alliance for Sustainable Communities: The Importance of Being Radical

As an activist in Easton, there is one crucial challenge I have encountered in trying to engage residents in any cause, regardless of the issue. Whether it’s fighting fracking for natural gas, sewage sludge fertilization, landfills—the challenge is fragmentation. People—good people—are very busy, working hard to sustain themselves and their families, and they have little free time to divide among additional pursuits. When they do commit to carving out time for meetings, there tend to be so many issues facing any given community, that each community will be fragmented in their efforts….But there is good news—a possible silver bullet that can streamline our efforts to eradicate the root of the disease, rather than wasting scarce time and precious energy running around fighting symptoms wherever they crop up. That silver bullet is to declare and establish local self-governance at the municipal level according to state constitutional rights, including the right to deny corporations the ability to invade communities and run roughshod over The People.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Jun 19, 2012

United Nations Radio: Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature promotes its cause at Rio+20

United Nations Radio: Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature promotes its cause at Rio+20

The Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature is….calling for global recognition and acceptance of Rights of Nature. They say an essential step for achieving this is to introduce a system of jurisprudence that sees and treats Nature as a fundamental, rights bearing entity and not as mere property to be exploited at will.

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Jun 5, 2012

KALW Local Public Radio’s Your Call

KALW Local Public Radio’s Your Call

An Interview with CELDF’s Thomas Linzey and Global Exchange’s Shannon Biggs.

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Apr 23, 2012

Gloucester, MA Part 2

Gloucester, MA Part 2

Gloucester residents celebrate legislation putting control of their municipal water system in community hands – Part 2

Read More | Community Wires

Apr 23, 2012

Gloucester, MA Part 1

Gloucester, MA Part 1

Gloucester residents celebrate legislation putting control of their municipal water system in community hands – Part 1

Read More | Community Wires

Apr 15, 2012

CELDF Press Release: Las Vegas, New Mexico, Adopts Community Bill of Rights; Bans Corporations from Fracking for Shale Gas

CELDF Press Release: Las Vegas, New Mexico, Adopts Community Bill of Rights; Bans Corporations from Fracking for Shale Gas

In front of a standing-room only crowd of residents, by a vote of 3-1, the City Council, Las Vegas, New Mexico enacted the Las Vegas Community Water Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

Apr 9, 2012

CELDF’s Kai Huschke Presents a Two Hour Workshop in Eugene, Oregon

CELDF’s Kai Huschke Presents a Two Hour Workshop in Eugene, Oregon

CELDF’s Kai Huschke of Washington State leads a workshop on Community Rights in Eugene, Oregon, sponsored by the Climate Justice League for its Beyond Fossil Fuels campaign, and No Coal Eugene.

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Apr 6, 2012

Rights of Mother Earth International Indigenous Conference: Understanding Rights, Respect, and Reciprocity

Rights of Mother Earth International Indigenous Conference: Understanding Rights, Respect, and Reciprocity

Tom Goldtooth opens the last day of the Rights of Mother Earth International Indigenous Conference at the Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, KS. CELDF’s Ben Price and Global Exchange’s Shannon Biggs explore Indigenous Rights and the challenges Indigenous Peoples face working with non-indigenous allies.

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Apr 3, 2012

KUNM: Las Vegas Passes Ban on Drilling

KUNM: Las Vegas Passes Ban on Drilling

Sidsel Overgaard of KUNM New Mexico’s Community Powered Public Radio reports on Las Vegas, New Mexico’s historic action to pass a Community Bill of Rights ordinance to protect their water and prohibit shale gas drilling and fracking.

Read More | Uncategorized

Apr 3, 2012

Las Vegas Optic: Anti-fracking law adopted

Las Vegas Optic: Anti-fracking law adopted

The Las Vegas, NM, City Council adopted a Community Bill of Rights ordinance establishing rights to clean water and to local self-government, banning fracking as a violation of those rights. Residents filled council chambers in support of the measure.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success Story

Mar 29, 2012

Las Vegas Optic: Support for city’s ‘rights’ ordinance

Las Vegas Optic: Support for city’s ‘rights’ ordinance

Community members in Las Vegas, NM, urge support for their Las Vegas Community Bill of Rights and Local Self-Government Ordinance, which bans fracking.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Mar 26, 2012

Bulldog Live! with Brian Tilton on WTPL 107.7FM: An Interview with CELDF’s Gail Darrell on March Town Meeting Outcomes in New Hampshire for Community Bills of Rights to stop the Northern Pass project

Bulldog Live! with Brian Tilton on WTPL 107.7FM: An Interview with CELDF’s Gail Darrell on March Town Meeting Outcomes in New Hampshire for Community Bills of Rights to stop the Northern Pass project

An Interview with CELDF’s Gail Darrell on March Town Meeting Outcomes in New Hampshire for Community Bills of Rights to stop the Northern Pass project

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Mar 23, 2012

Philadelphia Inquirer: Op/Ed by CELDF’s Ben Price – Fracking spurs a municipal mutiny in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia Inquirer: Op/Ed by CELDF’s Ben Price – Fracking spurs a municipal mutiny in Pennsylvania

Not content to leave Pennsylvania communities with any control over gas drilling within their borders, state legislators have stripped municipalities of their zoning authority under Act 13, choosing energy corporations over the people who elected them….It’s time we…stopped expecting any other outcome from Harrisburg. It’s time for a grassroots revolt aimed at enshrining the right to community self-government in the Pennsylvania Constitution, protecting local authority from the state. The work begins in our communities, with the adoption of local laws and home-rule charters directly challenging the legal doctrines that subordinate communities to the legislature, as well as the privileges that protect corporations from democracy. More than 100 municipalities across Pennsylvania have begun this journey, elevating the rights of people and communities above the rights of corporations and commerce. These municipalities recognize the need for community rights independent of the legislature and are coming together to form the Pennsylvania Community Rights Network.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Mar 4, 2012

March 4th Occupy Portland: PSU Community Rights

March 4th Occupy Portland: PSU Community Rights

A short interview by Joe Anybody about communities organizing around rights.

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Jan 25, 2012

Santa Monica Patch: Council Moves Toward Making ‘Green’ Goals Mandatory

Santa Monica Patch: Council Moves Toward Making ‘Green’ Goals Mandatory

Santa Monica City Council members unanimously passed a resolution backing a bill of rights for the environment, which would give legal standing to city officials to protect the environment within Santa Monica’s borders if passed as a law in the future.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Jan 24, 2012

An End to Begging and Pleading?

An End to Begging and Pleading?

Interview with Thomas Linzey on Earthairwaves.

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Jan 24, 2012

Earth Air Waves: An End to Begging and Pleading?

Earth Air Waves: An End to Begging and Pleading?

Sidsel Overgaard of KUNM, New Mexico’s Community Powered Public Radio, interviews CELDF’s Thomas Linzey about elevating community rights and rights of nature above corporate “rights” to protect local communities and ecosystems.

Read More | Uncategorized

Jan 22, 2012

CELDF’s Projects Director Ben Price will be interviewed by David Bacon of KSFR 101.1 FM

CELDF’s Projects Director Ben Price will be interviewed by David Bacon of KSFR 101.1 FM

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Jan 1, 2012

Statement on Efforts to Amend the U.S. Constitution following Citizens United

Statement on Efforts to Amend the U.S. Constitution following Citizens United

A great deal of activism has emerged in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. FEC. In that case, the Court declared that corporate First Amendment “free speech” rights were violated by federal law which limited corporate spending in elections. Following the ruling, several groups began working to propose amendments to the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United. CELDF was invited to participate in those efforts based on our ongoing legislative work on corporate “rights.”… As the Legal Defense Fund has observed the national activism following the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United, we’ve declined to participate in proposed efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution for two main reasons.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Nov 18, 2011

Marcellus Protest 2011: November 18th – Power to the People, Not the Corporations

Marcellus Protest 2011: November 18th – Power to the People, Not the Corporations

Be part of something big. Something really big! Plan to join us on November 18th in State College, PA at the Penn State University campus for Marcellus Protest 2011: “Power To The People, Not The Corporations” rally.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 15, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Peters council opposes proposed drilling regulations

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Peters council opposes proposed drilling regulations

Less than a week after residents in Peters overwhelmingly voted to reject a ban on Marcellus Shale gas drilling, council members passed a resolution opposing legislation that would further restrict the zoning powers of municipalities. Council members unanimously voted Monday night to pass the resolution in response to a state House bill that would eliminate local zoning regulations in favor of new statewide rules governing gas well drilling operations.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 15, 2011

This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement

This Changes Everything: Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement

The editors of YES! Magazine bring together voices from inside and outside Occupy Wall Street to convey the issues, possibilities, and personalities associated with the movement. Featuring contributions by CELDF’s Thomas Linzey, Naomi Klein, David Korten, Rebecca Solnit, Ralph Nader, and others, This Changes Everything offers insights for those actively protesting or expressing support for the movement, and for the millions more who sympathize with the goal of a more equitable and democratic future.

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Nov 13, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Election showed fracking’s key role in region

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Election showed fracking’s key role in region

Right up to Election Day, Peters residents were receiving sleek fliers in the mail encouraging them to vote against a referendum to ban gas drilling in the Washington County community. The mailers weren’t coming from local opposition, but from Houston-based industry group Consumer Energy Alliance.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 10, 2011

Philly.com: Pittsburgh suburb: No to drill ban

Philly.com: Pittsburgh suburb: No to drill ban

By a ratio of more than 4-1, voters in an affluent Pittsburgh suburb said natural-gas drilling could go on in their township. In Tuesday’s general election, nearly 5,200 Peters Township voters rejected a referendum proposal that would have barred drilling, compared with a little more than 1,100 who voted for a ban.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 9, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Who knows best: On drilling, Republicans sell out on local control

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Who knows best: On drilling, Republicans sell out on local control

Republicans often say they are advocates of local control, repeating bromides such as “the people know better than the politicians or bureaucrats.” But not when it comes to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania. On this subject, the politicians and bureaucrats are poised to tell the people that they know best — and never mind the local concerns of residents of municipalities across the state who will have to live with the results. Harrisburg knows best.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Nov 9, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Bid to ban drilling in Peters is defeated; voters in State College succeed

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Bid to ban drilling in Peters is defeated; voters in State College succeed

Despite the work of a very determined group of citizens, a referendum banning Marcellus Shale gas drilling was overwhelmingly defeated Tuesday in Peters, Washington County….A similar measure in the city of Warren, Warren County, also was defeated, though one in the borough of State College, in Centre County, was approved by voters there.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 9, 2011

Real Clear Politics: Upscale Pittsburgh suburb rejects drilling ban

Real Clear Politics: Upscale Pittsburgh suburb rejects drilling ban

By a margin of more than four-to-one, voters in an affluent Pittsburgh suburb say natural gas drilling can go on in their township. In Tuesday’s general election, nearly 5,200 Peters Township voters rejected a referendum that would have barred drilling, compared with just over 1,100 who voted for a ban….Jules Lobel, a University of Pittsburgh law professor who represented the anti-drilling group in court, said the issue concerned the “whole question of local control over one’s life, over things that matter.”

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 8, 2011

CELDF Press Release: State College Voters Adopt Community Rights Charter Amendment That Bans Gas Drilling

CELDF Press Release: State College Voters Adopt Community Rights Charter Amendment That Bans Gas Drilling

By a vote of 72% in favor, the people of the Borough of State College, home of Penn State University, adopted an amendment to their home rule charter that constitutionalizes a Local Bill of Rights, and protects those rights by prohibiting natural gas extraction and associated activities.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 8, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gas-drilling ban stalls in Peters

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Gas-drilling ban stalls in Peters

Despite the work of a determined group of citizens, a referendum banning Marcellus Shale gas drilling was overwhelmingly defeated in the Washington County township of Peters tonight….The referendum was among one of the first in the nation in which voters had a direct voice in determining whether gas well drilling — and hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” — should be allowed in their neighborhoods.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 6, 2011

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Drilling war in Peters fought on the ballot

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Drilling war in Peters fought on the ballot

Amid the sea of colorful, plastic campaign signs scattered around Peters are angrier, bolder signs flapping in the wind, screaming “VOTE NO!! Protect Your Township,” and “Vote Yes! Protect Our Property Values.” They are part of the battle for the hearts and minds of voters in this affluent municipality of about 21,000 residents. The fight, which has already garnered attention from the national media, pits residents and energy companies who advocate drilling in the Marcellus Shale gas formation against a citizens group that is seeking to ban it in Washington County’s most populous municipality through a voter referendum on Tuesday.

Read More | Community Wires

Nov 3, 2011

When Civil Rights Matter: The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

When Civil Rights Matter: The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund

The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit, public interest law firm providing free and affordable legal services to communities facing threats to their local environment, local agriculture, the local economy, and quality of life.

Read More | Uncategorized

Nov 3, 2011

Peters Patch: Letter to the Editor: A Resident’s Reply

Peters Patch: Letter to the Editor: A Resident’s Reply

Mr. Merrell recently posted an open letter to the people of Peters in which he made several assertions regarding the content of the ballot referendum. Based on the development of the western intellectual tradition in the last century in relation to environmental ethics, environmental law, and human rights, I respectfully disagree with several of his comments and conclusions. Further it is my contention that the referendum is not a meaningless document but the natural outgrowth of the western intellectual tradition that has its origin in the philosophies of the Enlightenment thinkers.

Read More | Community Wires