Community Rights

First International Congress Of Communes, Social Movements And Popular Power

October 27, 2019 Orinoco Tribune. Create! Community Rights, Democracy, New Economy, Venezuela

Venezuela - “The communal councils serve more than 6 million 407 thousand 651 families representing more than 80% of the families of Venezuela that participate in urban, rural or indigenous communal council.” This was stated by the head of state and government, Nicolás Maduro, during the closing ceremony of the First International Congress of Communes, Social Movements and Popular Power. The Venezuelan President said that to date 3,173 Communes have been formed, organized and registered in Venezuela, “Commander Hugo Chavez left in 2012, in the Plan of the Homeland 2013-2019, to reach 3,000 Communes, but the goal is that in a moment all of Venezuela — for the development of the evolution of the last years, has 6 thousand, 8 thousand, 10 thousand Communes and the great majority live in Communes”.

Toledo Passed A “Lake Erie Bill of Rights” To Protect Its Water

August 18, 2019 Mari Margil and Ryan Dickinson, In These Times. Create! Clean Water, Community Rights, Food and Agriculture, Lake Erie

For three days in 2014, the people of Toledo, Ohio, couldn’t drink the water. A massive blue-green algae bloom producing a toxin known as microcystin was poisoning Lake Erie, the city's primary source of drinking water. Algae blooms are increasingly common in Lake Erie, caused in large part by runoff from industrial factory farms and warming waters. Things have become so bad that there are now algae “forecasts” predicting how large the algae bloom will be each year. Large-scale toxic blooms are once again afflicting the lake, in summer 2019. In the face of this growing crisis, and seeing little help coming from their state or federal representatives, residents of Toledo determined that they needed to take steps themselves.

U.S. Court Of Appeals Says Local Governments Can Prohibit GE Crops

November 20, 2016 Staff, www.centerforfoodsafety.org Create! Community Rights, Food and Agriculture, GMOs

By Staff for Center for Food Safety. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decisions on whether federal and Hawai‘i state laws preempt Hawai‘i counties’ authority to regulate genetically engineered (GE) crops and pesticide use. Of significance to state and local communities throughout the United States, the Ninth Circuit ruled that federal law—specifically, the Plant Protection Act—does not prohibit states and counties from passing local laws to regulate and ban commercially-grown GE crops. “Today’s decision to allow states and counties to ban or regulate GE crops is an important victory for GE-free seed sanctuaries and small communities and farmers around the country,” said George Kimbrell, senior attorney for the Center for Food Safety. In granting its decision the Court recognized potential harm to farmers and environment from the widespread planting of GE crops, asserting, “the cultivation and testing of GE plants raise several well-documented concerns.” Notably, the Court affirmed, “transgenic contamination has previously caused significant economic impacts on farmers of conventional, non-GE crops.”

Colorado Initiative Makes It Nearly Impossible To Ban Fracking

November 6, 2016 John Light, www.billmoyers.com Resist! Colorado, Community Rights, Fracking

By John Light for Bill Moyers Journal. The Colorado oil and gas industry is poised to strike a devastating blow against anti-fracking activists Tuesday. Enactment of Amendment 71, a statewide ballot initiative campaign that’s backed by the industry, will make it, in the words of the Denver Post’s editorial board, “nearly impossible” for Colorado voters to amend their state constitution to allow for local fracking bans — or, for that matter, anything else. It’s a story worth telling in some detail, because it vividly illustrates the many obstacles well-connected and well-funded special interests can put in the way of citizens trying to oppose them. The latest battle in a multi-year campaign by a network of pro-fossil fuel groups to defend the fracking industry against local opponents, Amendment 71 would require 2 percent of registered voters in each of Colorado’s 35 state Senate districts to sign petitions for any future initiative before it could be put on the ballot.

Fracking Fight Heats Up In Ohio

August 23, 2015 Tish O'Dell, www.alternet.org Resist! Climate Change, Community Rights, Democracy, Fracking

By Tish O'Dell in Alternet. Columbus, OH - With the oil and gas industry already reveling in a recent Ohio Supreme Court decision stripping local control on fracking and other extraction activities away from communities, the Secretary of State has now handed the industry another victory, opening the door for fracking infrastructure projects to spread even faster across Ohio. In a decision issued August 13, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted blocked citizens from voting on Home Rule Charter initiatives which include provisions on fracking infrastructure development.

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