Earth Charter undone

By Henry Lamb
web posted April 22, 2002

Sanibel, Florida was one of the first U.S. cities to endorse the <a
href="http://www.earthcharter.org/earthcharter/charter.htm">
Earth Charter</a>  nearly a year ago as a part of Earth Day
celebrations; it was also the first U.S. city to withdraw its
endorsement.

This controversial document, promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev
and <a href="http://sovereignty.freedom.org/p/sd/strong.html">
Maurice Strong</a> for a decade, is seen by many to be an
effort to create a new "Sixteen Commandments" to serve as the
foundation for a new global religion.

Sanibel citizens were not happy about the endorsement.  Forty-
two citizens and five former mayors signed an open letter,
published in a local newspaper, demanding that the endorsement
be rescinded.  Council chambers were packed, when three of
the five Council members voted to rescind the endorsement.
The three Council members who voted to rescind admitted they
had not read the document before voting to endorse it.

Francis Bailey, speaking against the Earth Charter, said "You've
got a smokescreen up here," referring to the charter's emphasis
on the environment.  "Everyone loves motherhood and apple pie,
but what you've got here is abortion and rotten apples."

In an effort to counter the influence of the Earth Charter, the <a
href=http://www.acton.org">Acton Institute</a> led in the
development of the <a href=http:
//www.stewards.net/CornwallDeclaration.htm"> Cornwall
Declaration on Environmental Stewardship</a> which sets forth
a different set of principles for protecting the environment, <a
href="http://www.stewards.net/Signers.htm"> endorsed </a> by
many scholars and religious leaders.

The Earth Charter campaign is led by the Earth Council, a non-
government organization in Costa Rica established by Maurice
Strong shortly after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
The Charter has been <a href="http:
//www.earthcharterusa.org/ecdraft.html"> endorsed</a> by both
extremist, and main-stream organizations.

The sixteen principles advanced by the charter begin with the
rejection of the historic belief that humans are created in the
image of God, and are assigned to be stewards over all other
creatures.
This first principle, after years of recrafting the language,
advances the biocentric view that all creatures have equal
intrinsic value; humans have no higher value than bugs or beetles
or the AIDS virus.

The language of the document is syrupy - almost goo.  A casual
reading would likely not discover the basis for the concern of
Sanibel's citizens.  A careful reading, however,  reveals the entire
agenda of global governance: wealth re-distribution; population
control; and managed societies to "protect" resources for future
generations.

For example, consider this principle: 

"Adopt at all levels sustainable development plans and
regulations that make environmental conservation and
rehabilitation integral to all development initiatives."

What's wrong with this rather bland statement?  Who defines
those plans and regulations that are to be adopted?  Who defines
"rehabilitation" and the extent to which it is required before
development?  Certainly not the people who are governed by
them.

Implied, but not expressed, throughout the document is the
existence of a central authority to draft the plans and regulations
that are to be "adopted."    The United Nations labyrinth of
treaties provides  both the plans and the regulations.

Nowhere in the document is there an appreciation for individual
freedom, and individual achievement.  Everywhere in the
document, freedom is limited by responsibilities, which others
define, to advance what they define to be the "common good."

The document calls for the elimination of "genetically modified"
organisms - a direct threat to the world's food supply.  "Adopt
patterns of production and consumption..." which are
sustainable.  Maurice Strong announced in Rio that "...use of
fossil fuels, appliances, home and
work-place air-conditioning, and suburban housing -- are not
sustainable."
  
The document says it is necessary to:

"Guarantee the right to potable water, clean air, food security,
uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation, allocating the
national and international resources required."

Who does the guaranteeing, and the allocating?  The United
Nations, of course.  Who pays for the water, food, shelter?  The
United Nations is a full-fledged subscriber to the socialist
philosophy "From each according to ability; to each according to
need."

With the power of the new International Criminal Court, and the
longed-for global taxing authority, the United Nations will be
able to take wealth from those who have produced it, and re-
distribute it to those who have not.

Those who have endorsed the Earth Charter have endorsed the
principles of global socialism, administered by the United
Nations.

Citizen members of those towns and organizations that have
endorsed this document might want to follow the example of the
citizens of Sanibel - and demand that the endorsements be
rescinded.

<a href=mailto:henry@freedom.org ">Henry Lamb</a> is the
executive vice president of the <a href ="http:
//www.eco.freedom.org/el/"> Environmental Conservation
Organization</a>  (ECO), and chairman of <a href="http:
//www.sovereignty.net"> Sovereignty International </a>.

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