Browse Cases

Showing 1-25 of 165 results

British Ramblers campaign for greater access to right of ways and the right to roam (1985-2000)

Country
United Kingdom
Time period
Fall, 1985 to 30 November, 2000
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zach Lytle, 16/05/19

The enclosure system involved fencing off plots of arable land. The land would then be deeded to an individual or group of owners who could use it as they saw fit. Despite slowly losing access to the commons, commoners preserved their access to rights of ways (the right to pass through someone else’s or public property on a specific path), even those now enclosed on private land, through the countryside. Foot paths, roads, carriageways, and trails were considered highways to which all individuals had the right of way.

Pennsylvanians Block Natural Gas Facility, 2014-2015

Country
United States
Time period
March 21, 2014 to February 6, 2015
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
6 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
AV Lee-A-Yong, 29/05/2019

South Heidelberg is a rural Pennsylvania community in Berks County with natural gas reserves. On 3 March  2014, the South Heidelberg planning commission gave preliminary approval to a Canadian corporation, EmberClear,to construct a gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility in the town. The facility would primarily harvest natural gas resources from the town.

Canadians demonstrate against Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines, 2010-2014

Country
Canada
Time period
2 December, 2010 to 20 June, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Sacha Lin, 27/05/2019

Proposed in the mid-2000s, the Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipelines was a project to build a 731.4-mile-long twin pipeline from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. While its eastbound line would have carried 193,000 barrels of natural gas condensate per day, its westbound line would have moved 525,000 barrels of crude oil per day to a marine terminal, where it would be picked up by oil tankers destined for Asia. The initial budget for the project was $5.5 billion.

Newark residents and students campaign to stop the building of 279 MW power plant (2013-2014)

Country
United States
Time period
June, 2013 to July, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Zach Lytle, 10/5/2019

The Science, Technology and Advanced Research (STAR) campus, a satellite campus of the University of Delaware (UD) is located just half a mile from the primary campus in Newark, Delaware. During the efforts to fully develop the STAR campus, UD offered to lease 43 acres of the campus to The Data Center (TDC) to build a 900,000 square foot data center with an attached 279 megawatt natural gas power plant, an amount five times the energy demand of the city of Newark.

Black residents of Diamond win fight with Shell Chemical for relocation 1989-2002

Country
United States
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Shayla Smith 29/03/2017

In the early 1950s, Royal Dutch/Shell purchased land in the community of Diamond, Louisiana and built a chemical plant. Margie Richard, a Black resident of Diamond, founded Concerned Citizens of Norco (CCN) in 1989 after two large-scale accidents at the Shell/Motiva Chemical plant. A pipeline explosion in 1973 killed two Diamond residents, while another event in 1988 killed seven workers.

Emelle residents protest Chemical Waste Management hazardous waste landfill 1978-1995

Country
United States
Time period
1978 to 1988
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Shayla Smith 22/03/2017

In 1978, Chemical Waste Management Inc. (CWM), a subsidiary of Waste Management Inc. (WMX), bought 300-acres of land near Emelle, Alabama for a hazardous waste landfill. Residents did not have the opportunity to protest the landfill prior to its construction because CWM was not legally obligated to disclose information about land use.

Massachusetts residents block construction of Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct pipeline 2014-2016

Country
United States
Time period
27 February, 2014 to 3 May, 2016
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Shayla Smith 15/02/2017

In September 2014, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (TGP), a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P., proposed a 346-mile pipeline to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The proposal included two paths: a 220-mile “supply path” and a 126-mile “market path”. The Kinder Morgan Northeast Energy Direct pipeline (NED) would supply natural gas from fracking fields in Pennsylvania to energy companies in New England. TGP was a well-known gas supplier, having operated in the New England region for over 60 years.

Environmentalist groups stop construction of oil export terminal in Philadelphia, 2016

Country
United States
Time period
9 March, 2016 to 22 November, 2016
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
8 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Yin Xiao, 09/02/2017

Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES) is a private oil and gas manufacturer that owns the largest oil unloading and refining facility on the East Coast of the United States. Labelled by the Environmental Protection Agency as a high priority violator since April 2012, the PES has long been criticized by environmentalist groups for releasing air and water pollutants and failing to  comply with the Clean Air Act.

PETA pressures Avon to stop animal testing, United States, 1989

Country
United States
Time period
February, 1989 to June, 1989
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rebecca Griest 03/12/2016

The animal rights movement of the 1980’s moved into the mainstream media as it was joined by professionals and academics. The new public attention increased demand from concerned consumers for products developed without animal testing, and companies began more widely using alternatives such as in vitro cell cultures and computer catalogs of known substances.

Campaign Successfully Stops Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline and Export Terminal Oregon, 2005-2012

Country
United States
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Lewis Fitzgerald-Holland, 12/11/2015

On 8 August 2007, Columbia Riverkeeper, a group dedicated to the environmental restoration of the Columbia River, launched a protest against the proposed plant. Two hundred protesters picketed on the beach at the proposed site and sailed into the river in kayaks holding signs and banners.

Guatemalan protests against Monsanto Law (2014)

Country
Guatemala
Time period
Late July, 2014 to Early September, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
9 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rebecca Griest 02/10/2015

On 10 June 2014, the Guatemalan Congress approved Decree 19-2014, more commonly known as Plant Varieties Protection Bill or the Monsanto Law (because of Monsanto’s, a multinational company, promotion of the law) and it was planned to take effect on 26 September 2014.  The Monsanto Law outlawed the replanting, transportation, or selling of privatized seeds without permission, and made these actions punishable by one to four years in jail and a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 quetzals (130 to 1,300 US dollars).

Greek campaign to stop construction of coal plants 2008-2010

Country
Greece
Time period
January, 2008 to January, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Rebecca Griest 04/10/2015

In July 2007, the Ministry of the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Works published the “General Spatial Planning and Sustainable Development Framework” with  no plans for new coal plants in Greece. A month later, the Ministry of Development published the “1st report on the long-term energy planning of Greece, 2008-2020,” stating that 5.6 to 21 percent of Greece’s energy would come from coal in the years 2008 to 2020.

Romanian environmentalists protest plan to mine gold using cyanide in Rosia Montana heritage area, 2002-2013

Country
Romania
Time period
July, 2002 to 19 November, 2013
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Irina Bukharin 4/10/2015, Iris Fang, 7/10/2012

Rosia Montana is a small group of villages in Alba County, Romania rich in minerals, especially gold and silver. Various groups have mined Rosia Montana for centuries. The area has a vast network of pre-Roman Empire gold mines, which serve as historical and archeological resources and cultural heritage sites.

Canadians sit-down for nuclear disarmament of the United States Bomarc Missile in La Macaza, Quebec, 1964

Country
Canada
Time period
13 June, 1964 to 9 September, 1964
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Peace
Total points
3 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Meghan Kelly, 27/09/2015

In fall 1958, Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker agreed to house 56 American Bomarc missiles in North Bay, Ontario and La Macaza, Quebec, in keeping with the terms of the NORAD agreement. The American manufacturers designed the Bomarc missiles to be fitted with nuclear warheads, but when the missiles arrived in Canada, the nuclear warhead parts had not yet arrived.

Earth Quaker Action Team Campaigns Against PNC Bank for Financing Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining 2010-2015

Country
United States
Time period
March, 2010 to February, 2015
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Human Rights
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Celine Anderson 27/9/2015

The Earth Quaker Action Team’s first campaign, BLAM! (Bank Like Appalachia Matters!) began on 18 February 2010. Ingrid Lakey, Board Member of EQAT, sent a letter to PNC Vice President Jean Caulfield, which described the health and environmental dangers of mountaintop mining and requested a meeting. Shortly after Lakey wrote her letter, three EQAT members met with J. William Mills (the president of the Philadelphia Regional PNC banks) and relayed their expectations of PNC Bank to him. Less than a week later, PNC Bank sponsored a flower show on 9 March 2010.

Citizens stop development companies’ destruction of bay habitat in Manatee County, Florida, 2013

Country
United States
Time period
6 June, 2013 to 23 December, 2013
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Economic Justice
Environment
Total points
8.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Erica Janko 07/04/2015

On 6 June 2013, developers Carlos Beruff and Larry Lieberman asked
Florida’s Manatee County Commission for environmental exceptions and
zoning changes to Long Bar Pointe, a 523-acre area of land along
Sarasota Bay. In 2012, Lieberman, the land’s owner, as well as the
president and founder of Sarasota’s Barrington Group, partnered with
Beruff of Medallion Homes to complete the development project. Beruff
and Lieberman aimed to build a 300-room hotel, two retail centers, a
convention center, 1,086 single-family homes, 1,587 low-rise multi

Newark Delaware USA community activists stop power plant in their neighborhood - 2013-2014

Country
United States
Time period
06-JUN, 2013 to 10-JUL, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jamie Irwin, 05-APR-2015

In 2013, Newark, Delaware, USA, was a town of 30,000 and home to the University of Delaware. Local citizens felt  great concern about job creation to recover from the losses resulting from the worldwide financial crisis of 2007-2008, and they pressured their politicians to bring job creation opportunities to Delaware. In June of 2013, a representative of a company called The Data Centers, LLC, contacted local leaders of the Delaware Sierra Club asking for their support to build a data center to provide retail IT services on property owned by the University of Delaware.

Panamanian Protests against Casco Viejo Development Projects, 2010-2014

Country
Panama
Time period
January 9th, 2010 to February 2nd, 2015
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
4.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jasmine Rashid 3/7/15

Casco Viejo, a historic district of Panama, was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site in 1997. The popular cultural destination had long sustained a modest infrastructure, until the Panamanian government proposed to extend a national revitalizing plan known as “Cinta Costera” to the district in 2010.

Environmentalists achieve a ban on fracking in New York, United States - 2012-2014

Country
United States
Time period
26-MAR, 2012 to 17-DEC, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jamie Irwin, 07/03/2015

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” injects a mixture of water, sand and
chemicals under high pressure into dense shale rock formations to crack
the rock and release oil and/or natural gas. Oil companies began using
the process around 1950, but only in the mid 2000’s did it become a
widespread environmental issue as energy companies began developing new
ways to find oil and gas as the cheaper, easier sources were depleting.
One geologic formation, called the Marcellus Shale, included about 1/3
of southern New York state, including the Catskill mountains and the New

New Zealanders prevent opening of national parks for mining, 2010

Country
New Zealand
Time period
14 March, 2010 to 20 July, 2010
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
9.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Dong Shin You 06/03/2015

Prime minister John Key and his National Party emerged victorious in the election of 2008 against the incumbent Labour Party on promises to revive the struggling economy. In August 2009, his Energy Minister Gerard Brownlee hinted at changes to the Crown Minerals Act, which protected conservation lands from mining. His speech also included possible plans to allow mineral exploration in lands overseen by the Department of Conservation. Public interest in these proposed changes were low.

South Portland Maine activists get ban on use of port for exporting tar sands – 2014

Country
United States
Time period
06-JUN, 2013 to 21-JUL, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jamie Irwin, 01/03/2015

The campaign began 6 June 2013, and ended 21 July 2014, with the South Portland City Council vote to ban the export of unrefined crude from its port.

Corpus Christi Residents Successfully Protest Las Brisas Refinery 2008-2013

Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
6.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Beatriz Grace Baker 01/03/2015

 In 2008, when plans were made public to open the Las Brisas Refinery in Corpus Christi, the city’s residents felt the pollution produced by a refinery using petroleum coke, an abundant byproduct of oil refining, was simply too much in addition to the pollution produced by the refineries already there. The proposed refinery would potentially provide 80-100 permanent jobs and 1,300 jobs during the construction phase, and produce 1,200 megawatts of lower cost electricity. Las Brisas’ parent company, Chase Power, stressed these positive results when introducing their building plans.

UK community stages protest camp to build opposition to fracking - 2013-14

Country
United Kingdom
Time period
27 November, 2013 to 12 April, 2014
Classification
Defense
Cluster
Environment
Total points
10 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Jamie Irwin, 26/02/2015

By 2013, pressure to use hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to release methane (natural gas) from shale rock formations in the UK began to grow. Prime Minister David Cameron endorsed pursuing this method of extracting natural gas. The government began issuing permits to companies to do test drilling across the UK, in spite of growing opposition from local communities. This campaign was one of the early campaigns to build community opposition with the long range goal of preventing fracking across the country.

Ecuadorian indigenous stage mass uprising against neo-liberal measures including privatizing water and taking communally held land, 1994

Country
Ecuador
Time period
January, 1994 to September, 1994
Classification
Change
Defense
Cluster
Democracy
Economic Justice
Environment
National/Ethnic Identity
Total points
5.5 out of 10 points
Name of researcher, and date dd/mm/yyyy
Erica Janko 22/02/2015

Starting with Ecuador’s founding as a republic in 1822, the country’s
economic policy  oppressed Indigenous citizens through measures that led
to the concentration and destruction of Indigenous lands.  In 1986,
Luis Macas founded the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of
Ecuador (CONAIE) to advocate for the underrepresented Indigenous
Ecuadorians. CONAIE focused particularly on protecting land and water
rights of Indigenous communities. CONAIE leaders of the 1990s emphasized
demands for a plurinational state, collective rights, and territorial