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.
Occupy Wall Street’s Moral Ground
By Kathleen Moore in Yes! Magazine, November 1, 2011] Much of the Occupy movement’s power comes from a simple moral message: It’s wrong to wreck the world. It’s wrong to wreck the health and hopes of others. The Occupy Wall … more
Wilkinsburg PA Adopts Community Rights Ordinance That Bans Gas Drilling
Tuesday, July 20, 2011 – By a unanimous vote, the Borough Council of Wilkinsburg, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, adopted ordinance number 28-70 that enacts an enforceable Local Bill of Rights, along with a prohibition on natural gas extraction to protect those … more
Chambersburg Declaration & Community Rights Networking
Alliance Resolution in Support of the Chambersburg Declaration and the Community Rights Work of CELDF The Steering Committee of the Alliance for Sustainable Communities-Lehigh Valley endorses the Chambersburg Declaration of February 20, 2010 and the community rights work of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund … more
Rights of Nature
As the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) points out in discussing its “Rights of Nature” work, environmental laws “regulating how much pollution or destruction of nature can occur under law”, are actually permitting the environmental harms to occur. CELDF’s approach takes … more
Earth Charter
The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental ethical principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. It seeks to inspire in all people a new sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for … more
Testing Mother Nature’s Limits at Our Expense
by Martin Boksenbaum — Is it just me or does it seem to you too that those in control—of industry, food production, energy systems, land development, planet and animal genetic patents, and us too—are testing Mother Nature’s limits? What can … more
Global Transition Movement
by Joris Rosse — In the absence of common sense and ability to act appropriately in high places, “Think Globally and Act Locally”. Enter Transition towns, cities, valleys, forest regions, and yes whole countries. The following is a very brief summary of … more
Precautionary Principle for Marcellus Shale
Health and Environmental Experts: Follow the Precautionary Principle on Natural Gas from the Marcellus Shale Since 2007, Pennsylvania has witnessed a dramatic increase in unconventional development of natural gas from the Marcellus shale formation using high-volume hydraulic fracturing, also called … more
Signers: Precautionary Principle for Marcellus Shale
Experts working in environmental or health field Patricia T. Bradt, PhD Environmental Science, Muhlenberg College John A. Cigliano, PhD Biology; Cedar Crest College Joseph C. Colosi, PhD Natural Science & Plant Ecology Chrysan Cronin, PhD Biology & Public Health; Muhlenberg … more