2024 Year-end Newsletter: Living in Nature
We hope you enjoy the articles, factoids, features, and spotlights of the…
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Newsletters, Resources
News From the Community Rights Movement
Nov 10, 2020
Observing Revolution: New Hampshire
Building statewide momentum across New Hampshire. A 2020 organizing update featured in our fall newsletter.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsNov 10, 2020
CELDF REPORT: What Wasn’t Voted On (2020)
A new Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund report details the repression of ballot initiatives in 2020.
Read More | Blogs, News, Publications, Resource Links, ResourcesNov 6, 2020
Remembering a Rights of Nature Warrior
Reekumani Greendeer was a fierce advocate for Nature. We will honor his memory through continued efforts for the Rights of Nature.
Read More | Community WiresNov 4, 2020
CELDF Statement on Orange County, FL ‘Rights of Nature’ Law
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
Defunding the Police
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
Observing Revolution: Oregon
Communities across Oregon are taking a stand against corporate claimed rights.
Read More | Chemical Trespass, Community Rights, News, Press Releases & BlogsOct 28, 2020
Times of System Change
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 21, 2020
WATERFRONT FRONTLINE
Lisa Burroughs for Ashtabula County Water Watch interviews CELDF’s Tish O’Dell on the Rights of Nature Movement in an October 2020 edition of North Coast Voice Magazine.
Read More | Community Rights, Community Wires, Issues, News from the Grassroots, Rights of Nature
Oct 15, 2020
Observing Revolution: Ohio
A 2020 organizing update from Ohio featured in our fall newsletter.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsOct 9, 2020
Defending ‘Peaceful Change’: Friend of the Court Briefs Representing Over 500,000 Supporters Filed in Ohio Civil Rights Lawsuit Appeal
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
CENSORING THE BALLOT: Civil Rights Appeal Filed to Defend Rights of Nature and Local Democracy in Ohio
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 6, 2020
Reuters: ‘Dramatic’ global rise in laws defending rights of nature
From Bolivia to New Zealand, rivers and ecosystems in at least 14 countries have won the legal right to exist and flourish, as a new way of safeguarding nature gains steam. This new legal route to protect the planet – overriding the long-held human right to harm – bring fresh arguments to court, rally communities and shift local politics.
Read More | Issues, News from the Grassroots, Rights of NatureOct 5, 2020
Oregon Community Rights Organizer Featured in New Documentary ‘THE PEOPLE vs. AGENT ORANGE’
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
BREAKING: Court Breathes New Life into Lake Erie Bill of Rights Legal Fight
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
Blog: Change History
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
Press Release: Grant Township Moves to Dismiss PA DEP Lawsuit
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
Virtual Democracy School in Colorado
Register today for this virtual Democracy School in the Colorado area!
Read More | UncategorizedSep 17, 2020
Module 3: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State
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 6, 2020
Earth Defenders Warn Against Democrats Undermining ‘Rights of Nature’ Movement With Watered-Down Approach
Rights of Nature advocates caution against handing over Rights of Nature oversight to the Democratic Party.
Read More | Community Rights, Corporate 'Rights', Corporate Agriculture, Democratic Rights, Issues, News from the GrassrootsSep 4, 2020
Democratic Party Must Not Water Down Rights of Nature
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
Financial Reprisal for Enacting Lake Erie Bill of Rights? Corporate Law Firm Charging Toledoans $207,500
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
Module 2: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State
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: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State
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
COMING SOON: World Premiere of ‘Invisible Hand’
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
New Hampshire Supreme Court Gives Group Chance to Defend Right to a Healthy Climate Law from Corporate Lawsuit
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
100 Years Later: Reflections on the 19th Amendment
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
Rights of Nature with United Church of Christ Pastor
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
Press Release: Toledo Residents Experiment With Civilian Rights of Nature Enforcement
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
Defending the Rights of Lake Erie
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 WiresAug 9, 2020
WANTED: Local Officials Willing to Fight the Corporate State to Protect People and the Environment During a Pandemic
The system is constructed to disempower communities, to the detriment of people and the planet. That is why we need to fight back and why we need local elected officials with courage to fight with us… not against us! A guest blog by Ohio organizer Tish O’Dell.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsAug 1, 2020
Guest Blog: The Prison-Industrial Complex & Immigration Detention
The United State’s system of racist mass incarceration serves to control the political wishes of the American people. The immigration detention and deportation pipeline denies political rights to people who live in the country, and expels them from the collective political community.
Read More | Press Releases & BlogsJul 20, 2020
THESIS: Anticapitalism and Environmentalism in the American Rights of Nature Movement
Canadian honors student, Camylle Lanteigne, unpacks the connection between anticapitalism and ecocentrism in the Rights of Nature Movement. Her research focuses on CELDF’s philosophy as a framework for her arguments.
Read More | Community Wires, Corporate 'Rights', Democratic Rights, Rights of NatureJul 14, 2020
Virginia Network Launched to Challenge Corporatism and Dillon’s Rule, Advance Rights of Nature
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 & BlogsJul 8, 2020
Staying Home with Josh Fox: Preemption and Property Rights
Ben Price discusses Rights of Nature and how the concepts of preemption, claimed corporate rights, and property rights challenge local democracy and ecosystem rights.
Read More | Community Rights, Corporate 'Rights', Rights of NatureJul 7, 2020
Common Dreams: Corporations Are Suing Cities Across the USA
A new Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund report details a standard operating procedure of how corporate interests, and the politicians who serve them, retain power.
Read More | Corporate 'Rights', Resource LinksJun 29, 2020
Thom Hartmann Program: State Law Benefits Corporations Against You – You Lose
Chad Nicholson joins Thom Hartmann to discuss how the 1% are effectively, suing the 99% for their own benefit, citing the findings of our June 2020 Report.
Read More | Corporate 'Rights', News from the GrassrootsJun 23, 2020
A Guide to Protesting and How to Support the Black Lives Matter Movement
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
Lawsuit: Columbus, OH Must Take Action to Preserve Direct Democracy During the Pandemic
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 Releases
Jun 11, 2020
Corporate Actors Challenged in Lincoln County, OR: Ecosystem, Petitioners Defend Ordinance
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 Releases
Jun 9, 2020
New Hampshire Supreme Court: Allow People to Defend Against Corporate Lawsuits
Nottingham, New Hampshire residents appeal Supreme Court to defend their Freedom from Chemical Trespass Ordinance. Adopted in 2019, this ordinance secures the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human societies, bans all corporate activities that infringe that right, and grants residents the right to defend the law in court.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesJun 9, 2020
CELDF REPORT: Corporations Are Suing Cities Across the USA
A new Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund report details a standard operating procedure of how corporate interests, and the politicians who serve them, retain power.
Read More | Blogs, News, Publications, ResourcesJun 2, 2020
Stand With George Floyd: Life > Property
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
Press Release: Columbus Protecting Democracy During a Pandemic
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 ReleasesMay 22, 2020
Apr 22, 2020
Common Dreams: Abolish Earth Day
For 50 years, environmentalists have celebrated the illusion that the law is on their side. Earth Day’s laws have systematically failed to guard against mass species die-offs, the climate crisis, deadly air pollution, the corporatization of freshwater, and the largest loss of biodiversity in human history.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots