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Sep 12, 2018

Toledo City Paper: Water Rights: Protecting Lake Erie and our Drinking Water

Toledo City Paper: Water Rights: Protecting Lake Erie and our Drinking Water

Toledoans for Safe Water are determined to protect Lake Erie through their citizen initiative recognizing the rights of the Lake to exist and flourish.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Sep 8, 2018

Columbus Community Bill of Rights: Corporate Lobbyists Attack the People’s Right to Vote on the Columbus Community Bill of Rights Initiative

Columbus Community Bill of Rights: Corporate Lobbyists Attack the People’s Right to Vote on the Columbus Community Bill of Rights Initiative

Corporate lobbyist groups come out in force to argue against the people’s right to initiative in the Ohio Supreme Court. Columbus residents are unwavering in their stand to protect their community.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 31, 2018

The Toledo Blade: Elections board sued in Ohio Supreme Court over Lake Erie Bill of Rights ballot initiative

The Toledo Blade: Elections board sued in Ohio Supreme Court over Lake Erie Bill of Rights ballot initiative

CELDF assists Toledo, OH, residents appeal the Lucas County Board of Elections decision to block their Lake Erie Bill of Rights from the ballot.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 31, 2018

The Columbus Dispatch: Letter: Citizen initiative would be important protection

The Columbus Dispatch: Letter: Citizen initiative would be important protection

In a LTE, a Columbus, OH, resident points out blockage of the people’s Community Bill of Rights citizen initiative banning fracking waste was led by an oil and gas ally on the Board of Elections.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 29, 2018

The Toledo Blade: Board of Elections rejects downtown jail, Lake Erie bill of rights petitions

The Toledo Blade: Board of Elections rejects downtown jail, Lake Erie bill of rights petitions

Toledo, OH, residents vow legal action as the Lucas County Board of Elections votes to block a Lake Erie Bill of Rights from the ballot. CELDF is representing residents denied their right to vote.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 28, 2018

Press Release: Lake Erie Bill of Rights Blocked from November Ballot

Press Release: Lake Erie Bill of Rights Blocked from November Ballot

Growing efforts to stifle voting rights continue in Ohio as local government blocks Toledo residents’ Lake Erie Bill of Rights from the November ballot.

Read More | Community Wires, News, Press Releases

Aug 27, 2018

ABC Drive (North Queensland): Interview on the rights of the Great Barrier Reef

ABC Drive (North Queensland): Interview on the rights of the Great Barrier Reef

Listen to Dr. Michelle Maloney, founder of the Australian Centre for the Rights of Nature, on laws recognizing rights of the Great Barrier Reef to exist and flourish.

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

Aug 26, 2018

InDepthNH.org: Opinion: Northern Pass Appeal Ignores Wishes of NH People

InDepthNH.org: Opinion: Northern Pass Appeal Ignores Wishes of NH People

If you think regulatory agencies like New Hampshire’s Site Evaluation Committee (SEC) have your community’s interests at heart, think again. They exist to approve permits that meet legal requirements, regardless of communities’ wishes.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

Aug 24, 2018

Press Release: Franklin County Board of Elections Denies Residents the Right to Vote

Press Release: Franklin County Board of Elections Denies Residents the Right to Vote

The Franklin County, OH, Board of Elections strips 560,000 Columbus citizens of their right to vote on a rights-based ballot measure to protect the community from fracking waste.

Read More | Community Wires, News, Press Releases

Aug 24, 2018

WOSU Public Media: Franklin County Board Of Elections Rejects Fracking Ban Proposal

WOSU Public Media: Franklin County Board Of Elections Rejects Fracking Ban Proposal

Despite Columbus, OH, residents qualifying their Community Rights citizen initiative banning frack waste, the Franklin County Board of Election blocks it from the November ballot.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 23, 2018

CCBOR PRESS RELEASE: COLUMBUS, OH, FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS WILL VOTE ON CITIZEN INITIATED COMMUNITY BILL OF RIGHTS ORDINANCE HEADED FOR BALLOT

CCBOR PRESS RELEASE: COLUMBUS, OH, FRANKLIN COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS WILL VOTE ON CITIZEN INITIATED COMMUNITY BILL OF RIGHTS ORDINANCE HEADED FOR BALLOT

An oil and gas industry ally submits a protest to block a Community Bill of Rights initiative banning fracking waste from the ballot in Columbus, OH. CELDF attorney Terry Lodge presents arguments to defend the people’s right to vote on Friday, 8/24.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Aug 22, 2018

Lagniappe Weekly: Bay lives matter

Lagniappe Weekly: Bay lives matter

Mobile Bay is a heavily polluted watershed in Alabama. Let’s follow the lead of communities across the country who are adopting “ecosystem rights” laws to protect air, soil, and water, such that Mobile Bay’s right to exist and thrive is recognized and enforced.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

Aug 17, 2018

Court of Appeals Decides to Avoid Voting Rights Issue, Denies Athens Residents an Appeal

Court of Appeals Decides to Avoid Voting Rights Issue, Denies Athens Residents an Appeal

Athens County, OH, residents advancing Community Rights to protect themselves from fracking through citizen initiative are denied their appeal.

Read More | Community Wires, News, Press Releases

Aug 16, 2018

Press Release: Rights of the Great Barrier Reef, Campaign Launch

Press Release: Rights of the Great Barrier Reef, Campaign Launch

Human activity is devastating the Great Barrier Reef. The Australia Earth Laws Alliance works with CELDF to secure rights for the Reef, protecting it from climate change, pollution, and other threats.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Aug 13, 2018

Blog: Ceiling Preemption is UnAmerican

Blog: Ceiling Preemption is UnAmerican

Preemption is used by governments to stop communities from protecting their rights, health, safety, and welfare. It’s time to change that – and we can.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 7, 2018

The Toledo Blade: Toledo water group collects signatures for “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” inclusion on Nov. ballot

The Toledo Blade: Toledo water group collects signatures for “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” inclusion on Nov. ballot

Toledo, OH, community members submit petitions to place a Lake Erie Bill of Rights citizen initiative on the November ballot. The measure recognizes the right of Lake Erie to exist and flourish, protecting it from major pollutors.

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

Aug 6, 2018

Press Release: Columbus, OH, City Council Votes to Advance Fossil Fuel Extraction Ban to Ballot

Press Release: Columbus, OH, City Council Votes to Advance Fossil Fuel Extraction Ban to Ballot

Facing radioactive fracking waste, Columbus, OH, residents qualify a Community Bill of Rights initiative banning fracking activities from within the City. The measure protects rights to clean air, water, and soil.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Jul 10, 2018

The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus anti-fracking initiative makes fall ballot, might not hold up legally

The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus anti-fracking initiative makes fall ballot, might not hold up legally

Residents in Columbus, OH, successfully qualify a Community Bill of Rights initiative for the November ballot. The measure bans fracking extraction and waste from within city limits as a violation of democratic and environmental rights.

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

Jul 10, 2018

The Daily News: Residents rally to halt pig farm

The Daily News: Residents rally to halt pig farm

Todd Township, PA, supervisors fulfill on their commitment to protect the health, safety, and welfare of township community members, voting to adopt a Community Bill of Rights prohibiting industrial farming.

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

Jul 10, 2018

Press Release: Pennsylvania Township Bans Corporate Industrial Farming

Press Release: Pennsylvania Township Bans Corporate Industrial Farming

Todd Township, PA, adopts a Community Rights law prohibiting industrial factory farming to protect their community and preserve local farming operations.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Jul 6, 2018

Press Release: India Court Declares Legal Rights of “Entire Animal Kingdom”

Press Release: India Court Declares Legal Rights of “Entire Animal Kingdom”

Northern India Court issues ruling in growing Rights of Nature movement: “Every species has an inherent right to live and are required to be protected by law.”

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

Jun 29, 2018

July 4th: Take a 2nd Look at American Revolutionaries, Corporate Rights and State Preemption

July 4th: Take a 2nd Look at American Revolutionaries, Corporate Rights and State Preemption

This July 4th, let’s take a second look at what the Revolutionaries aspired to, and what we live under today.

Read More | Uncategorized

Jun 29, 2018

Blog: America Denies “Personhood” to the Poor

Blog: America Denies “Personhood” to the Poor

The more property you own, the more rights you are accorded. If you’re homeless, propertyless, imprisoned, or undocumented, your rights are almost nil. That’s not what our revolutionary ancestors intended. It’s time to do something about it.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jun 25, 2018

Tulane Environmental Law Journal: Representing Ecosystems in Court: An Introduction for Practitioners

Tulane Environmental Law Journal: Representing Ecosystems in Court: An Introduction for Practitioners

CELDF attorney Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin advocates that the fight for ecosystem rights will be most effective working side by side with the fights for decolonization and for democracy.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

Jun 21, 2018

Daily Camera: After protest derails meeting, Lafayette says it will still vote on new drilling regs next month

Daily Camera: After protest derails meeting, Lafayette says it will still vote on new drilling regs next month

Lafayette, CO, City Council attempts to move forward with legalizing fracking while residents plan next steps to protect the community.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Jun 20, 2018

Denver7: Anti-fracking protesters shut down LaFayette council meeting

Denver7: Anti-fracking protesters shut down LaFayette council meeting

As community members in Lafayette, CO, demand their City Council stand by the City’s Climate Bill of Rights, they force the council meeting to adjourn. Council members were attempting to legalize drilling.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Jun 20, 2018

Daily Camera: Anti-fracking protest forces Lafayette City Council to adjourn early, suspend vote on new drilling rules

Daily Camera: Anti-fracking protest forces Lafayette City Council to adjourn early, suspend vote on new drilling rules

Lafayette, CO, residents shut down City Council, protecting their Climate Bill of Rights as council members attempt to legalize fracking.

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

May 24, 2018

Press Release: Ohio Attorney & Community Rights Advocate Receives the 2018 Johnsrud Unsung Heroes Award

Press Release: Ohio Attorney & Community Rights Advocate Receives the 2018 Johnsrud Unsung Heroes Award

Environmental and social justice attorney Terry Lodge receives the 2018 Johnsrud Unsung Heroes Award. Lodge partners with CELDF to advance and protect Community Rights for communities across Ohio.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success Story

May 23, 2018

The Guardian: Our laws make slaves of nature. It’s not just humans who need rights

The Guardian: Our laws make slaves of nature. It’s not just humans who need rights

As the recognition of Rights of Nature grows globally, we must move beyond thinking of nature as having legal personhood rights. We must recognize rights of ecosystems to existence, regeneration and restoration.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

May 22, 2018

Restructuring Ohio State Government

Restructuring Ohio State Government

Ohioans know firsthand that the very legal and governing structures we live under are preventing us from governing ourselves and protecting our communities.

Read More | Uncategorized

May 21, 2018

The Remarkable Advancement of the NH Community Rights State Constitutional Amendment

The Remarkable Advancement of the NH Community Rights State Constitutional Amendment

A landmark legislative session was held this winter in New Hampshire. It marked the first time a Community Rights state constitutional amendment was debated and voted on by a state House of Representatives.

Read More | Community Wires

May 21, 2018

Press Release: PGE Continues Efforts to Bankrupt Grant Township

Press Release: PGE Continues Efforts to Bankrupt Grant Township

PGE continues to harass Grant Township, a small community in rural Pennsylvania, by attempting to force the Township to pay attorney’s fees. Grant residents are protecting their water by fighting PGE’s proposed fracking wastewater injection well.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

May 18, 2018

CELDF at the May 2018 Permanent People’s Tribunal

CELDF at the May 2018 Permanent People’s Tribunal

On May 16, 2018, a CELDF representative presented at the PPT on fracking as a violation of the Rights of Nature and the human right to a healthy environment.

Read More | News from the Grassroots, Success Story

May 16, 2018

Blog: Dangerous to the 1% – An Informed Public

Blog: Dangerous to the 1% – An Informed Public

An uninformed, passive public is easy to for the 1% to lead. We must become knowledgeable – not just about what is happening, but how and why. We must take on difficult questions and challenge the status quo if we are going to create a new way of life.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

May 14, 2018

Center for Humans & Nature: Does Fracking Violate Human Rights?

Center for Humans & Nature: Does Fracking Violate Human Rights?

Check out the stories being submitted as evidence this week at the international Permanent People’s Tribunal, where the PPT is considering fracking, climate change, and the violation of the rights of people and nature.

Read More | News from the Grassroots

May 9, 2018

Press Release: The Right to Water Shut Off in Unjust Youngstown Election

Press Release: The Right to Water Shut Off in Unjust Youngstown Election

It was a questionable election at best for Youngstown, OH, where community members are fighting for their right to clean water in a city that is making it increasingly difficult to even vote on citizen initiatives.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

May 7, 2018

Fosters.com: A rights-based ordinance for the Great Bay

Fosters.com: A rights-based ordinance for the Great Bay

Newmarket, Durham, and Newington, NH, residents are a part of the growing Community Rights movement building across the state as they work to protect the Lamprey Watershed from a number of corporate projects.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

May 1, 2018

The Daily News: Pig farm fight continues

The Daily News: Pig farm fight continues

Todd Township, PA, residents urge township supervisors to adopt their Community Bill of Rights banning a pig factory farm that threatens their community.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Apr 30, 2018

5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine: Colorado Sits at the Center of the Rights of Nature Debate

5280 Denver’s Mile High Magazine: Colorado Sits at the Center of the Rights of Nature Debate

Rights of Nature builds momentum in Colorado – from efforts to advance rights for the Colorado River, to rights for Boulder County’s forests and grasslands.

Read More | Success Story

Apr 24, 2018

The Progressive: Across the U.S., Courts are Keeping Voter Initiatives Off Local Ballots

The Progressive: Across the U.S., Courts are Keeping Voter Initiatives Off Local Ballots

This is what it looks like when elected officials and courts block direct democracy – citizen initiative rights are stripped and communities’ health, safety, and welfare are disregarded.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Apr 19, 2018

Tell Me a Story: Michelle Holman, activist

Tell Me a Story: Michelle Holman, activist

Michelle Holman is a Community Rights activist in Lane County, OR, where she is fighting aerial-sprayed pesticides with residents and allies. Here, a short video story on her activism and why Community Rights.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Apr 14, 2018

Blog: The Gun Establishment’s Weapon of Choice

Blog: The Gun Establishment’s Weapon of Choice

Courageous local officials in ten Florida cities are fighting punishments enacted by the state legislature under an unjust gun law. But it’s the state’s claimed power of preemption that must be challenged.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Apr 10, 2018

Oxford Human Rights Hub: RightsUp #RightNow – When Human Rights Are Not Enough: Defending the Rights of Nature

Oxford Human Rights Hub: RightsUp #RightNow – When Human Rights Are Not Enough: Defending the Rights of Nature

Human rights to a healthy environment are gaining recognition – and today, the rights of nature are growing as well. Here, CELDF’s Mari Margil speaks to how recognizing ecosystem rights is central to tackling environmental degradation.

Read More | News from the Grassroots