Ho-Chunk Nation and others move to protect the Earth This article by Mary Sussman appeared in the Shepherd Express on April 13th, 2019. Imagine a world where nature has rights. A lake or waterway would have the right to remain clean and could assert that right against industrial polluters. Wetlands could stand up for themselves [...]
This blog post by Mari Margil appeared on the Earth Day Network on April 13th, 2019. When Dr. Seuss’s Lorax sees the Truffula trees being destroyed, he declares: “I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues.” No tongues, indeed. But today, trees are gaining a voice, and [...]
This article by Alex Mester and Mark Zaborney appeared in The Toledo Blade on April 3rd, 2019. The Lake Erie Bill of Rights charter initiative in Toledo is reaching the international stage. Two local organizers of the effort have been invited to the United Nations General Assembly in New York later this month to speak about their [...]
This article by Sean Butler and Will Falk was published in Voices for Biodiversity on April 3rd, 2019. On December 18, 2018, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wild Fish Conservancy threatened the Trump administration with a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for allowing salmon fisheries to take too many salmon, which the critically [...]
As several countries rally around the idea of legal rights for natural resources, can a similar status be granted to the Ganga? This article by Shrishtree Bajpai and Ashish Kothari appeared in The Wire on March 19th, 2019. A casual search on the internet yields a plethora of promises, allegations and symbolism linking the Ganga to [...]
This blog post by Peggy Kirk Hall was published on the Ohio State University Extension Farm Office website on March 28th, 2019. The media storm that surrounded the controversial Lake Erie Bill of Rights (LEBOR) has quieted, but the federal lawsuit over LEBOR has heated up. Just a month ago, Toledo residents voted to approve LEBOR. The [...]
This article by Alan Guebert was published in the Beatrice Daily Sun on March 21st, 2019. If the ballot box is the ultimate source of power in the United States, then voters in Toledo, Ohio, used that power Feb. 26 to create what’s now being called a “Bill of Rights” for their wide, blue neighbor, [...]
This article by Eric Heisig was published on Cleveland.com on March 19th, 2019. CLEVELAND, Ohio – Lake Erie is going to court. The Great Lake, known to Ohio residents as the body of water where they can boat, fish and swim, asked a federal judge on Monday to jump into a lawsuit over a law Toledoans [...]
An Ohio city that shares Lake Erie with Southwestern Ontario has thrown down the gauntlet, declaring the lake has rights just like a human being. This article by Jennifer Bieman and Ellwood Shreve appeared in The London Free Press on, March 10th, 2019. Sure, Toledo’s bold step endorsing a bill of rights for the lake [...]
Thom Hartmann recently interviewed Ohio Community Rights organizer Tish O'Dell about the landmark Lake Erie Bill of Rights vote in Toledo, Ohio. You can watch the 11 minute video HERE. A description of the interview posted on the Thom Hartmann show's YouTube channel on March 9th, 2019 is below. Toledo, Ohio, voters made history, adopting a [...]
