I have no idea how meaningful this is in a practical sense, but it certainly has great symbolic value and is a step in the right direction! Could this be doneto defend the local upper Chesapeake watershed where the natural gas companies are drillingin Candor and Spencer? > Maine Town Passes Ordinance Asserting Local Self-Governance and Stripping > Corporate Personhood > Sun, 2009-03-01 18:08. > <http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/40335>http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/40335 > > Today the citizens of Shapleigh, Maine voted at a special town meeting to > pass a groundbreaking Rights-Based Ordinance, 114 for and 66 against. This > revolutionary ordinance give its citizens the right to local > self-governance and gives rights to ecosystems but denies the rights of > personhood to corporations. This ordinance allows the citizens to protect > their groundwater resources, putting it in a common trust to be used for > the benefit of its residents. > > Shapleigh is the first community in Maine to pass such an ordinance, which > extends rights to nature, however, the Ordinance Review Committee in Wells, > Maine is considering passing one in their town. These communities have been > under attack by Nestle Waters, N.A., a multi-national water miner that > sells bottled water under such labels as Poland Springs. > > Communities have opposed the expansion by Nestle Waters, but the > corporation will not take no for an answer. The town of Fryeburg, Maine has > been in litigation with Nestle for six years. Nestle wants to expand and > the town's people say no to the tanker trunk traffic which has disrupted > their quiet scenic beauty, so Nestle's tactic is to wear them down, and > break their bank. > > Nestle is the world's largest food and beverage company and has very deep > pockets. However, we won't back down, we are the stewards of this most > precious resource water, and we want to protect it for future generations. > > Activists in Maine are well aware that the Nestle Corporation is not just > interested in expanding for the purpose of filling their Poland Springs > bottles today, they are interested in the control of Maine's abundant water > resources for the future. They are expanding in many parts of this country > from McCloud, California to Maine. Nestle is positioning themselves to > capitalize on the emerging crisis of global water scarcity. > > The right to water is a social justice issue and we believe that it should > not be sold to those who can afford it, leaving the world's poorest > citizens thirsty. Citizens will do a much better job of protecting this > resource than a for-profit corporation. > > The concept of a rights-based ordinance was pioneered by environmental > attorney Thomas Linzey, founder of the Community Environmental Legal > Defense Fund of Gettysburg, PA. Linzey has assisted the town of Barnstead, > New Hampshire with their rights-based ordinance, which was passed in 2006 > and with another in Nottingham, New Hampshire, which passed in 2008. > > To date there have been no legal challenges to these ordinances. Linzey > also crafted Ecuador's new Constitution, which also gives the ecosystem > rights. Ecuador is the first country in the world to protect its natural > resources from corporate exploitation. > > Activists have learned the hard way that trying to protect their > communities and the environment by going the route of fighting a typical > regulatory ordinance, which is written by corporate lobbyists, will fail to > protect communities from harms done. > > The multi-national corporation's allegiance is never to the communities > where they do business, as that could conflict with their fiduciary > responsibility to make a profit for stockholders. > > People throughout the country are saying "enough is enough, large > corporations have too much power." Constitutional Rights were granted to > corporations from the bench in the 1800's and it is time to rectify a > wrong! People are saying let's dismantle the neo-colonial corporate power > by starting with their right to personhood. > > In Maine, we are tired of Nestle behaving as if they are a Colonial power > with a right to our water resources. We decided that we will behave as if > we have the power and ignore the naysayers who said that people will never > vote to take rights away from corporations or to give rights to nature. We > want to encourage other communities join us. The time is now! > > Copies of the The Shapleigh, Maine Town Warrant calling for a special town > meeting and The Shapleigh Water Rights and Local Self-Government Warrant > are available from the Contact Person, below. > > For more information on attorney Thomas Linzey and the Community > Environmental Defense Fund, please visit: <http://www.celdf.org/>http://www.celdf.org > <http://www.celdf.org/> > > For more information about the battle to protect ground water in > communities in Maine, please visit: <http://www.soh2o.org/>www.soh2o.org <http://www.soh2o.org/> . > Click on the > LEGISLATION tab and go to ORDINANCES to read the important new Shapleigh > ordinance. > > CONTACT PERSON: Jamilla El-Shafei Save Our Water steering committee member > and organizer steering committee member of the Maine Water Allies > (state-wide coalition) 603.969.8426 <mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
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