Search Results for: rights of nature

May 8, 2019

Media Release: Judge Denies Toledoans and Lake Erie Access to Court

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 Releases

Apr 16, 2019

Media Statement: Crowdfunding to Defend Lake Erie

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 & Blogs

Apr 2, 2019

Media Release: Not an April Fools Joke in Grant Township

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 & Blogs

Mar 17, 2019

Media Release: 2nd Right to a Healthy Climate Law Adopted in New Hampshire

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 Story

Mar 13, 2019

Media Release: First Right to Climate Law Adopted in New Hampshire

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 Story

Oct 3, 2018

Press Release: “Right to Survive” Ballot Measure Petitions Submitted in Denver

Denver, CO, residents advance “Right to Survive” bill of rights for homeless people, turning in petitions for the May 2019 ballot.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 24, 2018

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 6, 2018

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 25, 2018

CELDF is Hiring! New Hamphire General Counsel

Join CELDF in this unique opportunity to advance the emerging Community Rights movement in the United States.

Read More | Community Wires, News from the Grassroots

Jul 10, 2018

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

Jun 20, 2018

Lafayette, CO, Residents Shut Down City Council Meeting

A right to a healthy climate is preserved in Lafayette, CO, as community members overtake a City Council meeting.

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

May 22, 2018

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

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 16, 2018

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 9, 2018

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

Apr 14, 2018

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

Mar 27, 2018

Dick McGinn – A Life of Service

CELDF, OHCRN, and Ohio communities grieve the loss of Dick McGinn, and celebrate his life and contributions. He was a passionate leader in growing Community Rights in Ohio.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Mar 19, 2018

Press Release: Mahoning Board of Elections Defies Supreme Court

The Mahoning County, OH, Board of Elections blocks a duly qualified Community Bill of Rights initiative from the ballot in Youngstown. CELDF assists residents to file a lawsuit with the Ohio Supreme Court.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Mar 14, 2018

Blog: The NRA, Gun Violence, and Ceiling Preemption

Communities can’t adopt the gun laws they believe would best protect their health, safety, and welfare. Here’s why – and what communities can do about it.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Feb 5, 2018

Blog: Think Globally, Enact Locally

“Local control” today means seizing our local governments and enacting laws to protect our communities and the future of the planet.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jan 29, 2018

Blog: One Final New Year’s Resolution for 2018

Let’s stop lying to each other and stop protesting. Let’s start truth-telling and begin building our communities based on rights. It’s time.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jan 21, 2018

Blog: When we fight, we win

Why are attacks from the corporate state escalating against communities who are advancing basic rights and protecting themselves from harm? And what’s next?

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jan 15, 2018

Blog: Having a Dream is Just the Beginning

Dr. Martin Luther King is remembered for his extraordinary leadership in advancing Civil Rights. Let us not forget, either, how the system he and his followers sought to change, punished them for doing so.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jan 5, 2018

Blog: Seceding from Ourselves

Abolitionists urged secession to end the slave state. Explore secession to end the corporate state.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Nov 13, 2017

Press Release: Coos Bay Estuary Speaks Out Against FERC

Coos Bay Estuary on the coast of Oregon files to intervene in FERC proceedings. Coos Bay is threatened by a massive LNG export terminal and a pipeline.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Nov 9, 2017

Blog: Capitalism: The Elephant in the Room

Through seizing municipal government, communities are building a bulwark of rights for human and natural communities, working to liberate our communities from capitalism.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Nov 7, 2017

Press Release: Youngstown Residents Circulating Petitions for Water Protection Law

Youngstown, OH, residents make their comeback, gathering signatures on election day for their Community Rights charter amendment protecting their water.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Oct 19, 2017

Press Release: Bowling Green Residents Tip OH Supreme Court in their Favor, Win Fight for Right to Vote

Bowling Green residents declare victory! Their right to vote affirmed in Ohio Supreme Court as the first-in-the-state Right to Climate initiative goes on the November ballot.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Oct 17, 2017

Blog: Pebble Mine: Risen from the Dead

Pebble Mine is moving forward in Alaska. We need a revolution if we have any hope to protect the ecosystems we depend upon.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Oct 10, 2017

Blog: Taking a Knee on the First Amendment

If we take a knee to protest racism in our capacity as employees, our rights under the first amendment are not protected.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Oct 6, 2017

Press Release: Split Decision in Ohio Supreme Court for Youngstown Ballot Initiatives

In a 4-3 decision, the Ohio Supreme Court denies Youngstown residents the right to vote. Residents vow they are not surrendering their rights.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Oct 2, 2017

Press Release: Judge Strikes Portions of Democratically-Enacted Charter Banning Frack Waste

Highland Township, PA, residents plan enforcement of their Home Rule Charter banning a frack wastewater injection well as judiciary sides with Seneca Resources Corporation.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Sep 21, 2017

Press Release: People’s Constitutional Right to Form Charter Government Stricken by Ohio Supreme Court

The Ohio Supreme Court places insurmountable requirements on county charter initiatives. For three years, counties have attempted to protect themselves from fracking through advancing rights-based charter initiatives.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Sep 7, 2017

Press Release: Bowling Green Residents Have More Right to Initiative than Youngstown Residents?

The Board of Elections denies Youngstown, OH, residents their inalienable right to vote on their own citizen initiatives. Residents are challenging the stripping of their rights.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 22, 2017

Press Release: Ohio Residents Take Fight for Right to Vote to Ohio Supreme Court

Boards of Elections use new found authority to block citizen initiatives off the ballot in Athens and Medina Counties in Ohio. CELDF is assisting residents to fight back, taking it to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Aug 7, 2017

Press Release: Citizen Initiative Removes Corporations from Election Campaigns, Caps Campaign Contributions

Youngstown, OH, residents submit petitions to place a fair elections initiative on the November ballot. The measure includes removing corporations from campaigns.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jul 15, 2017

Press Release: Court Dismisses Climate Lawsuit on Procedural Grounds; Constitutional Right to a Healthy Climate Ignored

A federal judge uses “standing” to dismiss Spokane residents’ lawsuit asserting a right to a healthy climate, ignoring the urgency of climate change and the people’s rights.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

Jul 11, 2017

Press Release: Athens and Medina Boards of Elections Spark Uproar, Refuse the People’s Initiatives

Ohio county Boards of Elections block Home Rule charter citizen initiatives from the ballot, raising frustration in Athens and Medina County residents. The rights-based measures banned fracking activities as a violation of rights.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Jul 6, 2017

Press Release: People’s Right to a Healthy Climate Takes Center Stage in Federal Court

Spokane, WA, residents set to make their argument for a right to climate in federal court next week. CELDF filed a lawsuit on behalf of residents against the U.S. government in January.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

May 31, 2017

Press Release: Lincoln County, OR, Adopts First-in-Nation Ban of Aerial Pesticide Spray

Lincoln County, OR, residents, facing decades of pesticide use by the timber industry, adopt the first ban of the practice as a violation of environmental and democratic rights.

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

May 17, 2017

Press Release: Lincoln Co., OR: On Verge of First in Nation Citizen Initiative to Ban Aerial Spray Pesticides

A Community Bill of Rights by the people of Lincoln Co, OR, is just ahead at the polls. Residents are fighting for their democratic and environmental rights to protect themselves from toxic aerial spraying of pesticides.

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

May 4, 2017

Blog: Whose Town is It?

Members of the New Hampshire legislature took advantage of a spring blizzard, attempting to undermine direct democracy.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

May 3, 2017

Blog: The US Constitution Is So 1789. It’s Time for a Serious Overhaul.

The 1% drive for a constitutional convention, advancing their own corporate interests. But we don’t need a convention. We need a whole new constitution.

Read More | Press Releases & Blogs

May 1, 2017

Press Release: Ohio Communities Assert Right to Propose Laws Protecting Themselves from Fracking

Ohio counties exercise their right to protect themselves from fracking activities using community rights. Residents begin gathering signatures for county charter initiatives, aiming for the November ballot.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Apr 30, 2017

Press Release: “Free and Fair Elections” Initiative Would Ban Corporate Dollars in Local Elections

Youngstown, OH, residents launch a free and fair election bill of rights initiative for the November ballot. The measure would allow only city residents to make campaign contributions, and caps the contribution amount.

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Apr 25, 2017

Press Release: Oregon’s Right of Local Self-Government Vindicated

Oregon court protects the people’s right to initiative, rejecting the Secretary of State’s effort to block the people’s rights-based state constitutional amendment from the ballot.

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

Apr 5, 2017

PR: First Right to Climate Law Passes in Colorado

Lafayette, CO, is the first community in the state to adopt a right to climate ordinance, recognizing the right of residents to a healthy climate.

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

Apr 3, 2017

PR: India Court Declares “Personhood” of Glaciers and Ecosystems

The High Court of Uttarakhand at Naintal in northern India issues a ruling declaring that glaciers and ecosystems have the rights of persons.

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

Apr 3, 2017

Blog: Colorado Fracking “Win:” Redefining Victory

Colorado youth gained a win with the recent Court of Appeals decision regarding the COGCC and fracking permits. But how far does that win go?

Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs

Apr 2, 2017

Who Needs Sanctuary? We All Do

People can’t be illegal, but policies that strip them of fundamental rights can be. What can we do? Govern ourselves in the places we live, establishing human rights to safety, dignity, and sanctuary.

Read More | News from the Grassroots, Press Releases & Blogs