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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
Jun 14, 2019
CELDF’s community organizer Tish O’Dell on what it takes to protect Lake Erie and Rights of Nature as the state of Ohio attacks both.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsJun 7, 2019
As Ohioans make strides to advance Rights of Nature, the people’s own state government fights to stop them.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsJun 7, 2019
Grant Township, PA, resident speaks out on criticism aimed at Township’s efforts to protect the community from a toxic fracking wastewater injection well.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsJun 6, 2019
With CELDF-supported attorneys, Tacoma, WA, residents filed a 1st Amendment petition with the Supreme Court challenging continued denial of ballot access for qualified citizen initiatives.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesJun 5, 2019
A Toledo woman’s journey to discover and join the Rights of Nature movement, protecting her daughter, community, and the rights of Lake Erie.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryJun 5, 2019
Jim Hightower, national radio commentator, author, and public speaker, points to the Rights of Nature movement as a grassroots effort to protect the biosphere and challenge corporate rule.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryJun 3, 2019
Derrick Jensen interviews CELDF’s Ben Price on his newly published book, How Wealth Rules the World.
Read More | News from the GrassrootsMay 30, 2019
CELDFs national organizing director, Ben Price, reveals that our constitution and legal system were intentionally designed to give more rights to the wealthy propertied class than the rest of us.
Read More | PublicationsMay 29, 2019
The Yurok Tribal Council adopts law recognizing the rights of the Klamath River, which is central to the culture and life of the Yurok.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryMay 28, 2019
Ohio Attorney General files complaint to overturn Lake Erie Bill of Rights on behalf of industry, arguing there is a right to pollute.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesMay 24, 2019
Wealthy interests seeking to crush human rights in Denver, Colorado, out raised local supporters of the Denver “Right to Survive” initiative 23:1. This is the story of a fight for human rights that cannot be trampled by corporate hegemony.
Read More | Blogs, Community Wires, NewsMay 23, 2019
The story of one Toledo mom and her taking action to protect her children, her community, and the Great Lake Erie through Community Rights and Rights of Nature.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryMay 21, 2019
May 20, 2019
An interview with CELDF’s Ben Price on Denver’s Right to Survive ordinance, and the $2.3 million spent by industries to defeat it.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsMay 9, 2019
Today, the Ohio House adopts provisions to block communities and local governments from enforcing recognized legal rights for ecosystems.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesMay 8, 2019
“This idea of a real human right to survive in the 21st century … was born – through the determination and commitment of the people who live [in Denver].”
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesMay 8, 2019
As a judge denies Toledoans and Lake Erie intervention to defend the Lake Erie Bill of Rights against an agribusiness lawsuit to overturn it, community members file an appeal.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesMay 7, 2019
It’s time to recognize the rights of ecosystems and the authority of communities to stop harmful projects. “[T]he best defenders of nature and biodiversity are the communities themselves.”
Read More | News from the GrassrootsMay 6, 2019
“[It’s time to] enact laws that recognize the inalienable rights of ecosystems to exist, flourish and naturally evolve, and the authority of the community to protect [it]”
Read More | News from the GrassrootsApr 29, 2019
Community members in North Union Township, Pennsylvania, engage with CELDF and its partner Network to discuss using Community Rights to protect their water from being siphoned off.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsApr 27, 2019
Oil corporations were forced to back off native lands in Ecuador. A court decision held that their actions were “inadequate and violated the ‘community’s right to self-determination.'”
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryApr 24, 2019
More than just recognizing legal rights, the growing Rights of Nature movement is a paradigm shift in the relationship between human beings and nature.
Read More | News from the Grassroots, Success StoryApr 22, 2019
Community Rights leader Markie Miller, from Toledo, Ohio, speaks to the UN General Assembly. She was invited to talk about the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, an historic law adopted by Toledoans in February.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryApr 22, 2019
Earth Day celebrations span the globe, highlighting Earth’s beauty and the threat of climate change devastation. Rights of Nature is a growing movement to stop climate change and other harms.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsApr 16, 2019
The oil and gas industry tried to quash the Lake Erie Bill of Rights at the ballot. The agriculture industry is trying to quash it in court. CELDF is crowdfunding as we represent Lake Erie and Toledo community members to protect the Lake’s rights.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsApr 14, 2019
The Editorial Board of the Toledo Blade calls out the irony of Houston-based BP Corporation funding the anti-Lake Erie Bill of Rights campaign, which attacked the citizen initiative as led by “outside influencers.”
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsApr 6, 2019
BP Corporation was the sole monetary donor behind the campaign to quash the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR). The measure won with 61% of the vote.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsApr 3, 2019
Community members from Toledo, Ohio, are invited to the United Nations this month to speak about the Lake Erie Bill of Rights adopted by citizens in February.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryApr 2, 2019
GRANT TOWNSHIP, INDIANA COUNTY, PA: On April 1, federal Judge Susan Paradise Baxter issued an order that was not a joke: Grant Township (pop. 741), Baxter declared, owes Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) over $100,000 in attorney’s fees and costs.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsMar 25, 2019
The people of New Hampshire have the right to govern themselves and protect their communities from corporate harm – yet the state legislature blocks them from securing that right in the state constitution.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsMar 25, 2019
The New Hampshire Community Rights Amendment, CACR8, went before the state House of Representatives last week. It was blocked from advancing to a vote by New Hampshire citizens.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsMar 19, 2019
Lake Erie files a motion to intervene in a lawsuit filed by industry to overturn the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsMar 19, 2019
The Great Lake Erie files to intervene in a lawsuit brought by the agricultural industry to overturn Toledo, Ohio’s, Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsMar 17, 2019
Nottingham, New Hampshire, residents adopt the second right to healthy climate law in the state at Town Meeting.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success StoryMar 13, 2019
Yesterday, Exeter, New Hampshire, residents adopted their Right to a Healthy Climate Ordinance at Town Meeting. This is the first right-based climate law in the state.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success StoryMar 12, 2019
Thom Hartmann interviews CELDF’s Ohio organizer Tish O’Dell on the Lake Erie Bill of Rights adopted by Toledo residents.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryMar 10, 2019
“What we really need to do is look at the (lake) as a whole, as an ecosystem that has inherent rights, that transcends the political parties of the day.”
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryMar 1, 2019
“We’ve been using the same laws for decades to try and protect Lake Erie. They’re clearly not working.” Thus, Toledo, Ohio, community members recognized the rights of Lake Erie via the ballot.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryMar 1, 2019
The Editorial Board of the Toledo Blade takes a stand for the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsFeb 28, 2019
Lake Erie joins growing numbers of ecosystems around the world where people and governments are recognizing their rights to exist, flourish, and evolve.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 28, 2019
Lake Erie’s legal rights are now acknowledged following Toledo, Ohio’s, special election on Tuesday.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsFeb 27, 2019
Lake Erie now has legally-enforceable rights, with the overwhelming majority of Toledo, Ohio, residents voting in support of their Lake Erie Bill of Rights citizen initiative.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 27, 2019
A groundbreaking election in Toledo, Ohio, puts this midwestern city on the map – voters recognized the rights of Lake Erie and can take legal action to protect it.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 27, 2019
Lake Erie Bill of Rights is enacted by the people of Toledo, Ohio!
Read More | Community Wires, Success StoryFeb 26, 2019
Today, Toledo, Ohio, residents are voting on recognizing the rights of Lake Erie to exist and flourish – the next step in a changing landscape where the rights of ecosystems are expanding globally.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 26, 2019
After 21/2 years working to place their Lake Erie Bill of Rights on the ballot, Toledo, Ohio, residents celebrate victory for the Great Lake.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 26, 2019
An historic vote by the people of Toledo, Ohio, marks the first time in the U.S. that the rights of an entire ecosystem are secured in law.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success StoryFeb 25, 2019
After decades of failed regulations to “protect” Lake Erie and several years of record-breaking algae blooms, Toledo, Ohio, residents prepare to vote on the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 21, 2019
Government representatives, acting on behalf of industry, have failed to protect Lake Erie. Toledo, Ohio, residents advance a Lake Erie Bill of Rights ballot measure to protect the Lake, their water, and their community. They vote next Tuesday.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success StoryFeb 19, 2019
While elected officials do nothing substantive to protect Lake Erie, Toledo residents follow in the footsteps of indigenous and other communities, voting next week on a groundbreaking citizen initiative to recognize the rights of the Great Lake.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots, Success Story