Published on April 3, 2017, in Public Herald. As an elected official, it is Stacy Long’s sworn duty to protect her constituents. As a resident, and now as a supervisor of Grant Township in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, she and her fellow citizens have taken bold steps to fight against government and industry who want to [...]
A Blog Posting by Ben Price of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from April 2, 2017. This blog was first published in Pathways Magazine., pages 37 to 39. The attack on so-called “undocumented” people, and the cult of fear evangelized so effectively by Donald Trump, have led people of conscience to propose and in some places to [...]
An editorial in The World - Coos County, Oregon's local newspaper - about their upcoming Community Rights ordinance on the county's ballot on May 16, that would ban the proposed LNG pipeline and terminal. Once again we in Coos County find ourselves facing a ballot issue that is more a political statement than legislative rule, [...]
This article was published on March 30, 2017 on Penn Live. Highland Township, Elk County, Pennsylvania - Marsha Buhl of Highland Township was placing Easter decorations at a local park on Wednesday when she first learned that the township she calls home -- population 500 -- was being sued by the state. The action, brought by [...]
Department of Environmental Protection Issues Permits to Polluting Corporations; Simultaneously Sues Communities to Overturn Bans on Frack Wastewater Dumping. A Press Release from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from March 22, 2017. Mercersburg, Pennsylvania: On Monday, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued permits to two polluting corporations. The permits signify the DEP’s [...]
This article by Simon Davis-Cohen was published in Truth-Out on March 19 2017. Simon is a remarkable up-and-coming young journalist whose writings now appear in many independent journals. He is the founder of ReadTheDirt.org. Right now, there are two bills filed in the Florida legislature that propose sweeping new restrictions on local governments. One (House [...]
Plaintiffs Advance Climate Rights and the Right of Self-Government. A Press Release from the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from January 31, 2017. Spokane, Washington: Today, Spokane activists, including several who were arrested for blocking fossil fuel trains in Spokane four months ago, filed suit against the federal government in the United States District Court [...]
A Blog Posting by Ben Price of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from January 15, 2017. Just who are the legislators protecting when they enact legislation that forbids local law making – law making that limits or bans corporate activities like fracking, GMOs, factory farms, retail proliferation of plastic bags or sewage sludge dumping? Just who [...]
A Blog Posting by Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, from November 12, 2016. In the United States, we put a lot of faith in the theory of “checks and balances” of government power. The theory goes that, since power corrupts, it is best to not give absolute power to any one [...]
Thomas Linzey and Mari Margil shared the stage at the annual Bioneers Conference in California in October 2016. As species collapse around the world while governments still authorize fossil fuel extraction and other destructive, unsustainable activities, communities across the U.S. are rising in resistance to "occupy the law". They're enacting "community bills of rights" that [...]