The Green = Agenda

"Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a = profound=20 reorientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever=20 experienced a major shift in the priorities of both governments and = individuals=20 and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources. This = shift=20 will demand that a concern for the environmental consequences of every = human=20 action be integrated into individual and collective decision-making at = every=20 level."
-=20 excerpt, UN Agenda 21

Agenda 21 =96=20 The UN Blueprint for the 21st Century

As described in = my previous=20 article on Sustainable Development, Agenda 21 was the main outcome of the United Nation's Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro = in 1992.=20 Agenda 21 outlines, in detail, the UN's vision for a = centrally=20 managed global society. This contract binds governments around the world = to the=20 United Nation's plan for controlling the way we live, eat, learn, move = and=20 communicate - all under the noble banner of saving the earth. If fully=20 implemented, Agenda 21 would have the government involved in every = aspect of=20 life of every human on earth.

Agenda 21 = spreads=20 it tentacles from Governments, to federal and local authorities, and = right down=20 to community groups. Chapter 28 of Agenda 21 specifically calls for each = community to formulate its own Local Agenda 21: =94Each local=20 authority should enter into a dialogue with its citizens, local = organizations,=20 and private enterprises to formulate 'a Local Agenda 21.' Through = consultation=20 and consensus-building, local authorities would learn from citizens and = from=20 local, civic, community, business and industrial organizations and = acquire the=20 information needed for formulating the best strategies.=94 - = Agenda 21,=20 Chapter 28, sec 1.3

Interestingly, in = April 1991,=20 fourteen months before Earth Summit, Prince Charles held a private=20 two day international conference = aboard the royal yacht Britannia, moored off = the coast=20 of Brazil. His goal was to bring together key international figures in = an=20 attempt to achieve a degree of harmony between the various countries = that would=20 gather at the Summit. Al Gore was present, along with senior officials = from the=20 United Nations and the World Bank.

At the summit 179 nations officially = signed=20 Agenda 21 and many more have followed since. Nearly 12,000 local and = federal=20 authorities have legally committed themselves to the Agenda. In practice = this=20 means that all their plans and policies must begin with an assessment of = how the=20 plan or policy meets the requirements of Agenda 21, and no plans or = policies are=20 allowed to contradict any part of the Agenda. Local authorities are = audited by=20 UN inspectors and the results of the audits are placed on the UN = website. You=20 can see how many local authorities in your country were bound by Agenda = 21 in=20 2001 here. The number has increased = significantly=20 since then.

The official opening ceremony was conducted by the = Dalai Lama=20 and centered around a Viking long-ship that was constructed to celebrate = the=20 summit and sailed to Rio from Norway. The ship was appropriately = named Gaia. A huge mural of a beauiful woman holding = the earth=20 within her hands adorned the entrance to the summit. Al Gore lead the US = delegation where he was joined by 110 Heads of State, and = representatives of=20 more than 800 NGO=92s.

Maurice Strong, Club = of Rome=20 member, devout Bahai, founder and first Secretary General of UNEP, has = been the=20 driving force behind the birth and imposition of Agenda 21. While he = chaired the=20 Earth Summit, outside his wife Hanne and 300 followers called the=20 Wisdom-Keepers, continuously beat drums, chanted prayers to = Gaia, and=20 trended scared flames in order to =93establish = and hold the=20 energy field=94 for the duration of the summit. You can view = actual=20 footage of these ceremonies on YouTube. = During the opening speech Maurice Strong made = the=20 following statements:

"The concept of = national=20 sovereignty has been an immutable, indeed sacred, principle of = international=20 relations. It is a principle which will yield only slowly and = reluctantly to=20 the new imperatives of global environmental cooperation. It is = simply not=20 feasible for sovereignty to be exercised unilaterally by individual = nation=20 states, however powerful. The global community must be assured of = environmental=20 security." - Link

"It=20 is the responsibility of each human being today to choose between the = force of=20 darkness and the force of light. We must therefore transform our = attitudes, and=20 adopt a renewed respect for the superior laws of Divine=20 Nature." - Link

"Current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the = affluent middle=20 class - involving high meat intake, use of fossil fuels, appliances,=20 air-conditioning, and suburban housing - are not sustainable. A shift is = necessary which will require a vast strengthening of the multilateral = system,=20 including the United Nations." - Link

Among other things, the agenda called = for a=20 Global Biodiversity = Assessment of the State of the Earth. Prepared by the = UN=20 Environmental Programme (UNEP), this 1140 page document armed UN leaders = with=20 the "ecological basis, and moral = authority"=20 they needed to validate their global management system. The GBA = concludes on=20 page 863 that "the root causes of the loss of=20 biodiversity are embedded in the way societies use resources. = This world view is characteristic of large scale = societies,=20 heavily dependent on resources brought from considerable distances. It = is a=20 world view that is characterized by the denial of sacred attributes = in=20 nature, a characteristic that became firmly established about = 2000=20 years ago with the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religious traditions. = Eastern=20 cultures with religious traditions such as Buddhism, Jainism and = Hinduism did=20 not depart as drastically from the perspective of humans as members of a = community of beings including other living and non-living elements." = In other words Christians and Moslems are to blame for the sorry = state of=20 the world because their religions do not involve worshipping =93sacred nature.=94

Following the Earth = Summit=20 Maurice Strong was named Assistant Secretary General of the United = Nations, and=20 was appointed to the position of Chief Policy Advisor by Kofi = Annan. He was also a member of the UN's Commission on Global = Governance, and the key architect of the Kyoto = Protocol. Strong=20 and his wife have also established the Manitou Foundation, providing land in the Colorado to an = eclectic mix of=20 religious groups, including the Crestone Mountain Zen Center, the = Spiritual Life=20 Institute (a Catholic Carmelite monastery), the Haidakhandi Universal = Ashram,=20 the Sri Aurobindo Learning Center, Mangala Shri Bhuti (Tibetan = Buddhists), and=20 Karma Thegsum Tashi Gomang (Indian mystics). The Strongs have located = their=20 spiritual centre in the Colorado mountains because:"The=20 Strongs learned that since antiquity indigenous peoples had revered this = pristine wilderness as a place for conducting their vision quests and = receiving=20 shamanic trainings. It is prophesied that the world's religious = traditions would=20 gather here and help move theworld toward globally conscious = co-existence and=20 co-creation."

So what exactly does Agenda 21 contain? = It=20 consists of 115 different and very specific programs designed to = facilitate, or=20 to force, the transition to Sustainable Development. The objective, = clearly=20 enunciated by the leaders of the Earth Summit, is to bring about a = change in the=20 present system of independent nations. The agenda is broken up into 8 = =91programme=20 areas for action=92:

>>=20 Agriculture
>> Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management
>> Education
>> Energy and Housing
>> Population
>> Public Health
>> Resources and recycling
>> Transportation, Sustainable Economic = Development

As=20 you can see Agenda 21 addresses nearly every aspect of modern life. If = you have=20 a spare few days the entire document can be read here. I encourage the reader to at = least read=20 the Table of Contents in order to understand the true scope of this = =91blueprint=20 for the 21st century.=92 I won=92t torture the reader by going into the = document in=20 too much depth but I will provide the first six paragraphs so that you = can=20 understand the true intent of Agenda = 21:

1.1. Humanity stands=20 at a defining moment in history. We are confronted with a = perpetuation of=20 disparities between and within nations, a worsening of poverty, hunger, = ill=20 health and illiteracy, and the continuing deterioration of the = ecosystems on=20 which we depend for our well-being. However, integration of environment = and=20 development concerns and greater attention to them will lead to the = fulfilment=20 of basic needs, improved living standards for all, better protected and = managed=20 ecosystems and a safer, more prosperous future. No nation can achieve = this on=20 its own; but together we can - in a global = partnership for=20 sustainable development.

1.2. This=20 global partnership must build on the = premises of=20 General Assembly resolution 44/228 of 22 December 1989, which was = adopted when=20 the nations of the world called for the United Nations Conference on = Environment=20 and Development, and on the acceptance of the need to take a balanced = and=20 integrated approach to environment and development=20 questions.

1.3. Agenda 21 = addresses the=20 pressing problems of today and also aims at preparing the=20 world for the challenges of the next century. It reflects a global consensus and political commitment at the highest = level=20 on development and environment cooperation. Its successful = implementation=20 is first and foremost the responsibility of Governments. National = strategies,=20 plans, policies and processes are crucial in achieving this. = International=20 cooperation should support and supplement such national efforts. In this = context, the United Nations system has a key role = to=20 play. Other international, regional and subregional organizations = are=20 also called upon to contribute to this effort. The broadest=20 public participation and the active involvement of the non-governmental=20 organizations and other groups should also be=20 encouraged.

1.4. The = developmental and=20 environmental objectives of Agenda 21 will require a substantial flow of new and additional financial = resources=20 to developing countries, in order to cover the incremental costs for the = actions=20 they have to undertake to deal with global environmental problems and to = accelerate sustainable development. Financial resources are also = required for=20 strengthening the capacity of international institutions for the = implementation=20 of Agenda 21.

1.5. In the = implementation=20 of the relevant programme areas identified in Agenda 21, special = attention=20 should be given to the particular circumstances facing the economies in=20 transition. It must also be recognized that these countries are facing=20 unprecedented challenges in transforming their economies, in some cases = in the=20 midst of considerable social and political = tension.

1.6.=20 The programme areas that constitute Agenda 21 are = described in=20 terms of the basis for action, objectives, activities and means of=20 implementation. Agenda 21 is a dynamic programme. = It will be=20 carried out by the various actors according to the different situations, = capacities and priorities of countries and regions in full respect of = all the=20 principles contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and=20 Development. It could evolve over time in the light of changing = needs and=20 circumstances. This process marks the beginning of = a new=20 global partnership for sustainable development.

Like many = =91green=20 movement initiatives=92 Agenda 21 is a =91wolf in sheep's clothing=92. = As explained in=20 my brief biography I have been actively involved in preparing = Agenda 21=20 action plans and monitoring compliance with environmental permits.=20 All the policies and = plans we=20 developed were required to begin with a description of how they met the=20 objectives of Agenda 21 and various other UN agreements, and were = audited too=20 determine how they complied with UN requirements. It = was these=20 experiences that lead to my research into what was 'behind it all' and = the=20 subsequent publication of this website.

Agenda 21 is not an = environmental=20 management policy, but an attempt to impose a global centrally planned=20 quasi-government administered by the United Nations. Under Agenda 21 all = central=20 government and local authority signatories are required to conform = strictly to a=20 common prescribed standard and hence this is just communism resurrected = in a new=20 guise. Now that Agenda 21 has gained a stranglehold on global regulatory = and=20 planning processes Maurice Strong and his Club of Rome colleagues have = moved on=20 to the next phase of the Global Green Agenda.

In association = with fellow=20 CoR member Mikhail Gorbachev, Strong co-chaired the committee = responsible for=20 drafting the Earth Charter. Compared to the 2500 pages that make up = Agenda 21=20 and the BGA it is a tiny document =96 only 4 pages long. But it is of = far more=20 significance to the Global Green Agenda. The Earth Charter is a = =93declaration of fundamental principles for building a = just,=20 sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st = century=94. It is=20 the constitution for a New Green Order. You can read about it=20 here.

HOME

The Agenda

Green Governance

Green Religion

Global Warming

Links

The Watchman's Post

Contact=20 Us