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Sep 28, 2022

Happy Anniversary Rights of Pachamama Ecuador!

We at CELDF want to recognize and celebrate the 14-year anniversary of this historic date when the country of Ecuador codified Rights of Pachamama into their national Constitution.

Read More | News, News from the Grassroots, Rights of Nature

Sep 12, 2022

Wouldn’t You Say? – Nature is What’s Real

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 Nature

Jul 6, 2022

Truthout: Nature Isn’t a “Vault” Full of Material Value. It Is a Treasure to Be Valued.

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 Nature

Mar 16, 2022

Lucrative Losses & Poisonous Profits Symposium: An Overview of the Domestic and Global Exploitation of Nature and the Way Forward

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.

Mar 2, 2022

NYS Assemblyman Patrick Burke Introduces Great Lakes Bill of Rights

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 »

CELDF’s Ongoing Commitment to Expanding Community Rights

“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.”

Guest Blog: Community Rights in Buffalo, NY

Systems change doesn’t hinge on electing the right candidate – it’s advanced most forcefully when organized communities engage in direct action.

Conversation: United Church of Christ Becomes First Mainline Church Body to Declare Earth has Rights

The General Synod of the United Church of Christ has become the first mainline Protestant body to publicly proclaim that nature has rights.

Jul 15, 2021

Oregon Community Rights Activists Undeterred by Court’s Validation of Timber’s Toxic Legacy

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.

BREAKING: Civil Rights Leaders in One of Nation’s Poorest Cities Launch Environmental Justice, Ecosystem Rights Ballot Initiative

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 Releases

Jun 3, 2021

Toledo Residents Give Judge Chance to Enforce Lake Erie Bill of Rights, Demand Immediate Protection for Lake Erie, Including Ban on Factory Farms

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.

May 5, 2021

Guest Blog: Energy Democracy: Community Rights in New Hampshire

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 »

Support Grows for Rights of Wetlands

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 Nature

Dec 26, 2020

Community Rights Network Established in Virginia

Virginia joins the growing network of state Community Rights Networks.

Read More | Blogs, Community Rights, News, Rights of Nature

Dec 21, 2020

CELDF Endorses Proposal for Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands

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 Nature

Dec 2, 2020

Oregon: How Corporate Constitutional Rights Came to Be and How They Control Our Communities

Save the Date! Join the Oregon Community Rights Network in this upcoming event on corporate constitutional rights.

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 & Blogs

Oct 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 & Blogs

Oct 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.

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 Wires

Sep 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.

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 Wires

Aug 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 Wires

Aug 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 Wires

Jul 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.

Feb 28, 2020

Press Release: Judge Refuses to Acknowledge Lake Erie’s Rights

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 Releases

Feb 3, 2020

Lake Erie Bill of Rights Court Update

Read the first-hand accounts from attendees at the historic Lake Erie Bill of Rights hearing that took place in Toledo, Ohio last week.

Jan 21, 2020

Lake Erie Bill of Rights Heads to Federal Court

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 Grassroots

Aug 19, 2019

TSW Media Release: Activists Defend Lawsuit Enforcing Lake Erie Bill of Rights, Rights of Toledoans

Toledo residents file pro se lawsuit defending the people’s Lake Erie Bill of Rights.

Read More | Community Wires, News, Press Releases

Jul 24, 2019

DIY Community Rights

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 »

Media Release: Rights of Michindoh Aquifer Encounter First Hurdle

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 Releases

Jul 1, 2019

Press Release: Major Developments for Lake Erie Bill of Rights

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.

Toledo Residents’ Media Release: Citizens Recognize the Lake Erie Bill of Rights as the Will of the People

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 Story

Mar 25, 2019

Media Release: New Hampshire Community Rights Amendment Hijacked by Party Politics

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 & Blogs

Mar 19, 2019

Media Release: Lake Erie and Local Residents File Court Motions to Defend Rights of Lake

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 & Blogs

Feb 28, 2019

The Telegraph: US lake wins its own ‘human rights’ in landmark ruling

Lake Erie joins growing numbers of ecosystems around the world where people and governments are recognizing their rights to exist, flourish, and evolve.

Feb 27, 2019

Rights of Lake Erie Recognized in Historic Vote

Lake Erie Bill of Rights is enacted by the people of Toledo, Ohio!

Read More | Community Wires, Success Story

Feb 26, 2019

Breaking News: Toledo Voters Enact Lake Erie Bill of Rights

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.

Feb 8, 2019

The Rights of Wild Rice

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.

News Release: Ohio Community Members File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit

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.

Jan 27, 2019

Lake Erie Bill of Rights!

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 Story

Jan 4, 2019

Press Release: New Hampshire Legislators to Consider Community Rights State Constitutional Amendment

New Hampshire legislators consider the NH Community Rights state constitutional amendment, with bi-partisan support from ten co-sponsors.

Dec 6, 2018

Press Release – Rights of Lake Erie: One Step Closer to the Ballot, One Step Closer to Recognition

Toledo, Ohio, City Council advances the CELDF-drafted Lake Erie Bill of Rights to the February 2019 ballot.

Sep 24, 2018

Press Release: Ohio Supreme Court Ignores Rights, Blocks Citizen Initiative Protecting Lake Erie

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 & Blogs

Aug 28, 2018

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

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.

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

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 17, 2018

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

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

Jul 6, 2018

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.”

Book: ‘Death by Democracy’

CELDF's Proposed Rights of Nature Principles

2023 Year-end Newsletter: Living with Nature

Happy Anniversary Rights of Pachamama Ecuador!

Wouldn’t You Say? – Nature is What’s Real

Truthout: Nature Isn’t a “Vault” Full of Material Value. It Is a Treasure to Be Valued.

Lucrative Losses & Poisonous Profits Symposium: An Overview of the Domestic and Global Exploitation of Nature and the Way Forward

NYS Assemblyman Patrick Burke Introduces Great Lakes Bill of Rights

CELDF’s Ongoing Commitment to Expanding Community Rights

Guest Blog: Community Rights in Buffalo, NY

Conversation: United Church of Christ Becomes First Mainline Church Body to Declare Earth has Rights

Oregon Community Rights Activists Undeterred by Court’s Validation of Timber’s Toxic Legacy

BREAKING: Civil Rights Leaders in One of Nation’s Poorest Cities Launch Environmental Justice, Ecosystem Rights Ballot Initiative

Toledo Residents Give Judge Chance to Enforce Lake Erie Bill of Rights, Demand Immediate Protection for Lake Erie, Including Ban on Factory Farms

Guest Blog: Energy Democracy: Community Rights in New Hampshire

Support Grows for Rights of Wetlands

Community Rights Network Established in Virginia

CELDF Endorses Proposal for Universal Declaration of the Rights of Wetlands

Oregon: How Corporate Constitutional Rights Came to Be and How They Control Our Communities

Defending ‘Peaceful Change’: Friend of the Court Briefs Representing Over 500,000 Supporters Filed in Ohio Civil Rights Lawsuit Appeal

Oregon Community Rights Organizer Featured in New Documentary ‘THE PEOPLE vs. AGENT ORANGE’

BREAKING: Court Breathes New Life into Lake Erie Bill of Rights Legal Fight

Module 3: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State

Financial Reprisal for Enacting Lake Erie Bill of Rights? Corporate Law Firm Charging Toledoans $207,500

Module 2: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State

Webinar: Nature’s Rebellion Against the Corporate State

Defending the Rights of Lake Erie

Staying Home with Josh Fox: Preemption and Property Rights

Press Release: Judge Refuses to Acknowledge Lake Erie’s Rights

Lake Erie Bill of Rights Court Update

Lake Erie Bill of Rights Heads to Federal Court

TSW Media Release: Activists Defend Lawsuit Enforcing Lake Erie Bill of Rights, Rights of Toledoans

DIY Community Rights

Media Release: Rights of Michindoh Aquifer Encounter First Hurdle

Press Release: Major Developments for Lake Erie Bill of Rights

Toledo Residents’ Media Release: Citizens Recognize the Lake Erie Bill of Rights as the Will of the People

Media Release: New Hampshire Community Rights Amendment Hijacked by Party Politics

Media Release: Lake Erie and Local Residents File Court Motions to Defend Rights of Lake

The Telegraph: US lake wins its own ‘human rights’ in landmark ruling

Rights of Lake Erie Recognized in Historic Vote

Breaking News: Toledo Voters Enact Lake Erie Bill of Rights

The Rights of Wild Rice

News Release: Ohio Community Members File Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit

Lake Erie Bill of Rights!

Press Release: New Hampshire Legislators to Consider Community Rights State Constitutional Amendment

Press Release – Rights of Lake Erie: One Step Closer to the Ballot, One Step Closer to Recognition

Press Release: Ohio Supreme Court Ignores Rights, Blocks Citizen Initiative Protecting Lake Erie

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

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

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

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

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

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

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