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Protecting Water and Life: Frontline Stories from Ohioans fighting corporate and state…
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A new system of law based on respect for Nature and the…
Issues, News, Resources, Rights of Nature
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Newsletters
Dec 4, 2020
A bill was just proposed in Missouri to ban Rights of Nature litigation, the American Petroleum Institute just filed a brief to oppose local Rights of Nature laws, as the Democratic Party shows interest in the concept.
Read More | News from the Grassroots, Rights of NatureDec 2, 2020
Save the Date! Join the Oregon Community Rights Network in this upcoming event on corporate constitutional rights.
Read More | Community Wires, EventsNov 10, 2020
Building statewide momentum across New Hampshire. A 2020 organizing update featured in our fall newsletter.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsNov 4, 2020
The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) has prepared the following statement in response to the passage of the Wekiva River and Econlockhatchee River Bill of Rights.
Read More | Blogs, News, Rights of NatureNov 2, 2020
The call for change is clear – we need to rethink how we allocate resources to ensure we are meeting the needs of the community. The realization that existing laws have the dual goals of appearing to protect us while in reality doing the exact opposite is long overdue.
Read More | Blogs, Defunding Violence, NewsOct 30, 2020
Communities across Oregon are taking a stand against corporate claimed rights.
Read More | Chemical Trespass, Community Rights, News, Press Releases & BlogsOct 28, 2020
Protests are shifting the conditions of political action. Immediate structural change may be difficult to see – but it’s happening – culture is shifting. A dedicated and defiant movement is emerging and challenging the purpose of the law.
Read More | Blogs, Newsletters, Press Releases & BlogsOct 15, 2020
A 2020 organizing update from Ohio featured in our fall newsletter.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsOct 9, 2020
Plaintiffs from seven Ohio counties, representing Rights of Nature and corporate control ballot measures, sued the Ohio Secretary of State and Boards of Election officials in trial court for repeatedly keeping binding citizen-proposed laws and charters off the ballot. Several national organizations have filed amicus briefs in support of the appeal.
Read More | Press Releases, Press Releases & BlogsOct 6, 2020
Ohioans are taking a stand against evasive and oppressive tactics used by the State to suppress local ballot measures and stifle democracy. Plaintiffs from seven counties have filed an appeal to the Sixth Circuit in a federal civil rights case against the State of Ohio.
Read More | Press Releases, Press Releases & BlogsOct 5, 2020
A new documentary, “THE PEOPLE vs. AGENT ORANGE”, follows the primary component of the notorious chemical Agent Orange. The film follows resistance in the United States, France, and Vietnam, and features Carol Van Strum, an active participant in Community Rights and Rights of Nature organizing in Oregon. Join the premiere virtually for Oregon audiences at the Eugene Environmental Film Festival, October 2-11. It will be available on PBS in April 2021.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsOct 2, 2020
Residents of Toledo, Ohio win appeal in pro se case against the State of Ohio. Lake Erie Bill of Rights lives to fight another day.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsSep 28, 2020
The collective effort to dismantle oppressive and racist systems relies on decentralizing power. Only when we understand the importance of community control can we envision fair and just systems we must build.
Read More | Blogs, Press Releases & BlogsSep 24, 2020
Despite recognizing the Grant Townships local law to ban injection wells the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection continues to sue the township. CELDF files motion to dismiss on behalf of the community.
Read More | Press Releases, Press Releases & BlogsSep 17, 2020
Register today for this virtual Democracy School in the Colorado area!
Read More | UncategorizedSep 17, 2020
Webinar: Webinar: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State! Register for Module Three- Decolonizing Nature – A Movement’s Voice in the Rebellion. Sign up for the final module in this three part webinar focused on Lake Erie and Rights of Nature.
Read More | Community WiresSep 4, 2020
Some leaders within the growing Rights of Nature movement in the United States have offered perspective and the Democratic Party’s actions
Read More | News, Press Releases & BlogsSep 3, 2020
The international corporate law firm Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP is seeking $207,500 in attorney fees from the City of Toledo for a charter amendment approved by voters.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesSep 3, 2020
Webinar: Webinar: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State! Register for Module Two- A Lakes Voice in the Rebellion. Sign up for the second module in this three part webinar focused on Lake Erie and Rights of Nature.
Read More | Community WiresAug 27, 2020
Webinar: Webinar: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State! Register for Module One – A Community’s Voice in the Rebellion. Sign up for the first module in this three part webinar focused on Lake Erie and Rights of Nature.
Read More | Community WiresAug 27, 2020
From Executive Producer Mark Ruffalo comes the world’s first documentary film on the Rights of Nature Movement. Attend the virtual world premiere followed by a panel discussion around the Rights of Nature Movement.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsAug 26, 2020
While local electeds refused to defend Nottingham’s Healthy Climate Law, the New Hampshire Supreme Court heard the people’s voice. Now residents are able to defend their rights and this historic law while the corporation cries discrimination.
Read More | Press Releases, Press Releases & BlogsAug 19, 2020
One hundred years ago, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, purporting to grant women the right to vote in the United States. In reality, this right applied only to white women; explicitly racist laws during and beyond the Jim Crow era categorically prohibited Black people from voting, and kept Indigenous and many Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latinx people from obtaining citizenship.
Read More | News from the GrassrootsAug 18, 2020
The UCC hosts CELDFs Tish O’Dell for a Rights of Nature presentation. Watch the full webinar here!
Read More | News from the GrassrootsAug 12, 2020
Toledo, Ohio residents give oral arguments in Lake Erie Bill of Rights pro se lawsuit to advances one avenue for participatory Rights of Nature enforcement.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsAug 12, 2020
Read the pro se argument defending the Lake Erie Bill of Rights presented by Toledo resident, Mike Ferner, on behalf of Lake Erie and the Toledoans who passed the law.
Read More | Community WiresJul 14, 2020
The Network has been initiated by residents who worked to protect Buckingham County, Virginia from a proposed large-scale fracked gas compressor station for the now-defeated Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsJun 23, 2020
A quick guide on how to participate in ongoing BLM protests and support the Movement in an effective way.
Read More | Resource LinksJun 17, 2020
Press Release: Petitioners in Columbus file a lawsuit against the state of Ohio for unconstitutional limits on signature gathering during the COVID-19 pandemic in Columbus. The Columbus city charter imposes a one year time limit on signature gathering.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesJun 11, 2020
Press Release: Petitioners in Lincoln County, OR filed a detailed appeal to a court decision that overturned a local law banning aerially sprayed pesticides as a violation of people’s right to clean air, water, and soil and natural ecosystems’ rights. The Siletz River ecosystem was denied intervention in the case.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesJun 2, 2020
When violent police forces rooted in white supremacy defend property rather than human beings, then property destruction becomes a collective act of self-defense. CELDF stands in solidarity with protesters outraged by racial injustice and violence. #BlackLivesMatter
Read More | Blogs, Defunding Violence, NewsJun 1, 2020
Communities across the country are watching as their rights are violated in the name of Covid. Now more than ever we see people rising up to demand democracy.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesApr 20, 2020
This year CELDF will be hosting an online Q&A with organizers who have been engaging communities across the country in paradigm-shifting work for decades.
Read More | Community Wires, Events, News from the GrassrootsMar 30, 2020
Government allies and corporate interests are treating the global pandemic as a business opportunity. Communities enduring this crisis are taking bold and necessary actions to exercise their powers of self-governance where governments are not functioning in the way people want or need.
Read More | News, News from the GrassrootsMar 25, 2020
PRESS RELEASE: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection enforces local Rights of Nature law. Allows Grant Township to protect vital waterways in revoking permit for dangerous frack waste injection well.
Read More | UncategorizedMar 25, 2020
PRESS RELEASE: Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection enforces local Rights of Nature law. Allows Grant Township to protect vital waterways in revoking permit for dangerous frack waste injection well.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesMar 13, 2020
Press Release: Corporate plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against LEBOR show total disregard for global COVID-19 pandemic as they demand $293,750 from the City of Toledo for defending the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesMar 6, 2020
As the Pennsylvania DEP attempts to block Grant Township’s defense of their ban on fracking injection wells, the court rules that the case can move forward. Grant argues they have the right to local governing authority to protect against corporate harm.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryMar 4, 2020
A decision fro a judge in Grant Township argues that local governing authority is necessary to protect the community’s constitutional rights in the face of harmful state oil and gas policies.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesFeb 28, 2020
In Toledo, OH, a federal judge joined a long list of enablers complicit in the destruction of the natural world by invalidating the democratically enacted Lake Erie Bill of Rights charter amendment.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesFeb 6, 2020
A post-court update of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. Get an in-depth look at the arguments made in federal court as the Corporate State defends its constitutional right to pollute. The City of Toledo is triumphant in defending Rights of Nature.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesFeb 5, 2020
This 6 minute short explains how, across numerous social issues—from housing, worker rights, environmental protection to gentrification—“the people in the community lack the legal authority to determine their own future, a basic tenet of democracy.”
Read More | Blogs, Community Rights, Multimedia, News from the Grassroots, Resource Links, ResourcesFeb 3, 2020
Read the first-hand accounts from attendees at the historic Lake Erie Bill of Rights hearing that took place in Toledo, Ohio last week.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases, Press Releases & Blogs