Community Rights
Communities should have the right to democratic self-government, but state laws continue to deny local authority and pre-empt local ordinances or regulation that attempt to protect people from corporate polluters and human rights abusers. The community rights movement seeks to reverse this trend.
One of the leaders in this field is the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund [CELDF].
Also see the Lehigh Valley Community Rights Network in our directory.
Is Sustainable Urban Living a Viable Outcome of Our Current Political System?
“Without systemic change, sustainable communities are not possible.” This is the opening statement from a whitepaper by Ben Price, Projects Director for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF). He is speaking here of our political system and goes on … more
Sustainability and the Rights of Future Generations
Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms to which all individuals are entitled, often held to include the right to life, liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law. These rights are universally accepted, as is … more
PA Judge: Corporations Are Not “Persons”
A New Civil Rights Movement: Liberating Our Communities from Corporate Control Pennsylvania judge holds that corporations are not “persons” under the Pennsylvania Constitution By Thomas Alan Linzey, Esq., Executive Director, Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund March 28, 2013—To protect small … more
PA DEP cancels meeting re: water testing report deficiencies
From Karen Feridun, Berks Gas Truth, 2/4/13, re: DEP Secretary cancels meeting with environmental organizations Berks Gas Truth was one of 12 organizations scheduled to meet with water testing specialists at the invitation of Secretary Michael Krancer. The invitation came in … more
Community Bill of Rights Strategy
From CELDF, 11/8/12: Three communities banned shale gas drilling and fracking on Election Day, Nov 6, 2012, adopting Community Bill of Rights charter amendments. Mansfield and Broadview Heights, OH, and Ferguson Township, PA, asserted their rights to clean air and … more
Sustainability Questions for Students & Educators
To make good decisions about sustainability, people need to know the facts. Here are some questions that have arisen and might be suitable for class projects or independent study: What steps can local & county government take to produce immediate reductions in … more
Environmental Advisory Statement on DTE Incinerator
Allentown Environmental Advisory Council May 13, 2012 On March 29, 2012 Allentown signed a 35-year contract with a private NJ company, Delta Thermo Energy (DTE), to build an incinerator on Kline’s Island in Allentown for disposal of the city’s trash … more
Echoes from the 1960s
Billionaire George Soros recently warned that the world capitalist system faced the potential of massive street violence—if not collapse. Mainstream discourse has failed to give due credence to the most widely shared argument of Occupiers: our democracy is broken, corporations … more
Protecting the Interests of the People
When the residents of Lynn Township, Lehigh County discovered E.coli in their water wells, they approached their township supervisors, asking them to tell a local farmer to stop using fertilizer made from treated sewage sludge that goes by the green- … more
Don’t Harm the Messenger
I’m honored to have the opportunity to share with you a brief exploration of what life is like in SouthSide Bethlehem, where I live and call home. While there are many who are active voices in this community, few seem … more