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Sep 12, 2022
You wouldn’t think, in a rational society, that anyone would have to be told this, but reality doesn’t care what anybody believes is true; it just is. And what isn’t, isn’t.
Read More | Blogs, Issues, News, News from the Grassroots, Rights of NatureJul 6, 2022
CELDF’s Ben Price wrote this article, featured in Truthout, about a mining corporation’s scam plan, pushed as an environmentally friendly investment opportunity.
Read More | News, News from the Grassroots, Rights of NatureMar 16, 2022
CELDF’s Tish O’Dell is speaking on Panel #4, “Contamination of Water.” This Panel will take place on Friday, March 25 from 11:40 AM – 12:45 PM.
Terry Lodge, activist attorney with CELDF, is speaking on Panel #2, “Contamination of Land.” This panel will take place on Thursday, March 24 from 11:50 AM – 12:55 PM
American University Washington College of Law’s Program on Environmental and Energy Law and Sustainable Development Law & Policy Brief, in association with the Animal Law Society, Energy Law & Policy Society, Environmental Law Society, and Native American Law Students Association are excited to host this year’s annual Symposium, “Lucrative Losses & Poisonous Profits: An Overview of the Domestic and Global Exploitation of Nature and the Way Forward” over Zoom from 10 AM – 1 PM on March 24 and 25, 2022. Over the course of four panels—activists, professors, legal and policy experts, climate scientists, and professors will discuss the international and domestic contamination and overuse of water and land from modern environmental law, indigenous, and rights of nature perspectives. The panelists will explore the devastating impacts of some of nature’s biggest threats, including pollution, deforestation, and industrial fishing.
Read More | Chemical Trespass, Corporate 'Rights', Events, Extraction & Pollution, News, Rights of Nature, Water PrivitizationMar 2, 2022
The bill paves the way for litigation against polluters on behalf of the ecosystem Press ReleaseThursday, February 24th, 2022 NYS Assemblymember Patrick B. Burke Office Contact: Brendan Keany, Communications Director716-608-6099 | keanyb@nyassembly.gov CELDF Contacts: Tish O’Dell, Organizer440-552-6774 tish@celdf.org Ben Price, Organizer717-254-3233 benprice@celdf.org Buffalo, NY – New York State Assemblyman Patrick Burke has introduced legislation… Read more »
Read More | Press ReleasesFeb 14, 2022
“The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) is helping build a decolonial movement for Community Rights and the Rights of Nature to advance democratic, economic, social, and environmental rights – building upward from the grassroots to the state, federal, and international levels.”
Read More | Press ReleasesAug 24, 2021
The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has become the first mainline Protestant body to publicly proclaim that nature has rights.
Read More | Community Wires, News, News from the Grassroots, Rights of Nature, Success StoryJul 15, 2021
The Court of Appeals of the State of Oregon issued a one-page decision in late June upholding a trial court decision overriding the will of voters and siding with corporate timber. The court has allowed for the continued use of aerially sprayed pesticides.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesJul 8, 2021
Petitioners in Reading, Pennsylvania have officially kicked off a campaign to amend the Reading City Charter to outlaw “toxic trespass,” the poisoning of people and the environment within the city. The ballot initiative is in response to unaddressed toxic waste and environmental racism in the post-industrial city.
Read More | Chemical Trespass, News, Press ReleasesJun 3, 2021
Toledo residents in a lawsuit to enforce the Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) filed a memorandum of opposition to the State of Ohio’s motion for summary judgment in their case. Last August, after the trial court granted the State of Ohio’s motion to dismiss, the plaintiffs presented oral arguments in the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals to enforce LEBOR.
Read More | Corporate Agriculture, Democratic Rights, News, Press Releases, Rights of NatureMay 5, 2021
By Barbara Peterson Nottingham, New Hampshire is fighting for a clean and healthy community Energy democracy works for local control of our energy sources. The global movement for energy democracy works with communities for local control of renewable sources of energy to help ensure equity, reliability, availability, and affordability. As stated by Denise Fairchild and… Read more »
Read More | Blogs, NewsFeb 21, 2021
CELDF officially endorsed a proposal for a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands, organized by lawyers and scientists with the Society of Wetland Scientists’ Rights of Wetlands and Climate Change and Wetlands initiatives. The group is planning to share the Declaration with the 171 signatory countries of the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), and inviting them to work with others to move toward a framework that ensures the rights of wetlands are understood, respected, and upheld.
Read More | Issues, Press Releases, Rights of NatureDec 26, 2020
Virginia joins the growing network of state Community Rights Networks.
Read More | Blogs, Community Rights, News, Rights of NatureDec 21, 2020
A group of authors organized through the Society of Wetland Scientists have developed a proposal for a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands. CELDF is excited to endorse the efforts as a step toward recognizing and enforcing the rights of wetlands.
Read More | News, Press Releases & Blogs, 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, EventsOct 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 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 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 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 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 8, 2020
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 NatureFeb 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 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 & BlogsJan 21, 2020
Oral arguments in the federal case brought by a corporation to overturn the Lake Erie Bill of Rights are coming up. The world stands with Toledoans.
Read More | Community Wires, News from the GrassrootsAug 19, 2019
Toledo residents file pro se lawsuit defending the people’s Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesJul 24, 2019
Are you interested in advancing Community Rights laws in your state? Community Rights includes Rights of Nature, such as the right of ecosystems to flourish and evolve; environmental rights, such as the right to clean air, pure water, and healthy soil; worker rights, such as the right to living wages and equal pay for equal work; and democratic… Read more »
Read More |Jul 11, 2019
While efforts mount to stop Rights of Nature in Ohio, community groups press on, insisting on their right to protect the ecosystems upon which they depend.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press ReleasesJul 1, 2019
Rights of Nature is hot in Ohio, where Toledoans take action to protect the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, another community advances an initiative to recognize the rights of a water ecosystem, legal cases continue, and more.
Read More | News, Press ReleasesJun 27, 2019
As the state of Ohio attempts to undermine the will of Toledo community members, residents file a pro se complaint to uphold the Lake Erie Bill of Rights.
Read More | Community Wires, News, Press Releases, Success StoryMar 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 & BlogsFeb 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 27, 2019
Lake Erie Bill of Rights is enacted by the people of Toledo, Ohio!
Read More | Community Wires, 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 8, 2019
The Rights of Nature is growing. Now, a Chippewa tribe recognizes, in law, what they have known and respected for generations: manoomin has the right to exist and flourish.
Read More | Success StoryFeb 4, 2019
Communities from across Ohio file a federal lawsuit against local Boards of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State for multiple rights violations – including the right to vote.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success StoryJan 27, 2019
Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) is on the February special elections ballot. Check out news coverage and the growing support for Toledo residents’ pioneering efforts to recognize the Lake’s rights.
Read More | Community Wires, Success StoryJan 4, 2019
New Hampshire legislators consider the NH Community Rights state constitutional amendment, with bi-partisan support from ten co-sponsors.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success StoryDec 6, 2018
Toledo, Ohio, City Council advances the CELDF-drafted Lake Erie Bill of Rights to the February 2019 ballot.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & Blogs, Success StorySep 24, 2018
While Ohio Supreme Court justices ignore democratic and environmental rights, Toledo residents continue to fight for them, and for the rights of Lake Erie.
Read More | Community Wires, Press Releases & BlogsAug 28, 2018
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 ReleasesAug 27, 2018
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 StoryAug 23, 2018
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 GrassrootsAug 17, 2018
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 ReleasesAug 16, 2018
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 StoryJul 6, 2018
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 StoryJun 29, 2018
This July 4th, let’s take a second look at what the Revolutionaries aspired to, and what we live under today.
Read More | Uncategorized