It’s a comforting thought, to think the law is on your side. For 50 years, environmentalists in the United States have celebrated Earth Day tomarkthe anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement. They celebrate the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, the Clean Water, and the Endangered Species acts.

But, there is a catch. 

The laws celebrated during Earth Day have failed to guard against mass species die-offs, the climate crisis, deadly air pollution, the corporatization of freshwater, and the largest loss of biodiversity in human history. The planet is on the verge of ecological collapse.

These environmental laws may have won narrow battles. But they are decisively losing the war. 

“Environmental protection” is no more than an illusion that functions to permit and regulate harms to nature. It legalizes pollution.

April 22, Earth Day - 7:20 - 9:00 pm EST

To register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe-wIAlOMV5d1FHmeEqYkWa6nrB9h-uj260G94qKvTn3yLSzQ/viewform

(the public can submit questions in advance and during the live session)

Webinar Speakers:

Tish O’Dell, Ohio community organizer. O’Dell works in multiple states and was recently featured in national and international press for her work with Toledo, Ohio residents and their passage of the Lake Erie Bill of Rights. Over 40 laws and county charters have been proposed in Ohio. Of these, 12 have been put to vote and six passed. More information:https://celdf.org/in-plain-sight/

Chad Nicholson, Pennsylvania community organizer. In March 2020, for the first time in U.S. history, a community successfully pressured a state to enforce a local Rights of Nature law. Nicholson is working with that community (Grant Township), as well as a network of residents and elected officials to advance constitutional change in Pennsylvania. More information:https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rights-of-nature-beats-fracking-in-small-pennsylvania-town-976159/ 
Michelle Sanborn, New England community organizer. Recently, Sanborn has worked with multiple New Hampshire communities to pass enforceable laws to recognize rights of ecosystems and a right to a livable climate that is “capable of sustaining human societies.” More information:https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/13/new-hampshire-town-passes-game-changing-climate-ordinance

Kai Huschke, Northwest and Hawaii community organizer. Huschke has worked with communities to stop fossil fuel infrastructure, GMO’s and assisted Lincoln County, OR residents adopt the first-in-the nation countywide Freedom from Aerial Sprayed Pesticides ordinance. More information: https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.20/activism-in-oregon-the-fight-for-local-control-upends-western-norms-pesticides

Ben Price, national organizer. Price has engaged this work for decades. Last year, Price worked with Denver Homeless Out Loud on a first-in-the-nation ballot initiative to recognize an enforceable human “Right to Survive” for people experiencing homelessness. Corporate real estate interests and the oil and gas industry spent millionsin a sophisticated propaganda campaign against the law. More information:https://celdf.org/2019/05/media-statement-a-human-right-to-survive-is-born-in-denver/