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DOWN WITH THE UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF AGENDA 21..HAIL MARY...!

Agenda 21 has never been debated or adopted by the Congress of the United
States. Nevertheless, it is being vigorously implemented by the administrative
agencies of the federal government, and by other nations around the world. More
than 150 nations, including the United States of America, are participants in
the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD). America's
participation is not the result of an international treaty, ratified by
Congress. America's participation is the result of George Bush signing Agenda 21
at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio, and
the current administration's desire to implement its objectives.
Participating nations voluntarily submit an annual report to the CSD. In April,
1996, another massive gathering in Rio, evaluated the progress toward the
implementation of Agenda 21, five years after it was adopted. Staggering
progress has been made world wide, and particularly in the United States. The
following chart indicates progress made toward 32 specific Agenda 21 objectives.
The solid lines indicate the percentage of participating nations that have
programs in place to achieve each of the objectives, or activities, listed on
the left. The striped lines indicate the percentage of participating nations
that are currently developing such programs. Look carefully at the program
activities, and the percentage of nations that already have active programs in
place for each activity; Global implementation of Agenda 21 is much very close
to reality. In the United States, programs are already in place to achieve each
of the objectives. The United Nations rates as "very good" the progress of the
United States in each of these categories.
The UN's analysis of each nation's report is available on the UN web site. A
closer examination of what the UN has to say about the United State's
implementation of Agenda 21 is most revealing. One of the 32 specific objectives
of Agenda 21 is to create a "National Coordinating Body" in each nation. Of the
more than 150 participating nations, 73% already have such a body, and an
additional 9% are in the process of creating a National Coordinating Body. In
the United States, the National Coordinating Body is the President's Council on
Sustainable Development (PCSD). The United Nations report says:
"In the United States, the PCSD was conceived to formulate recommendations for
the implementation of Agenda 21"
The UN report was prepared from information supplied by the U.S. State
Department. The report says further:
"The fundamental objective of the Council was to forge a consensus among the
various stakeholders (government, business and industry, private citizens,
non-profits, labor, etc.) and create a viable sustainable development strategy
that articulated the interests and concerns of all groups."
In America, the Constitution requires that consensus on public policy be
hammered out in public by elected officials, not by 28 appointed individuals,
carefully selected because of their known support of the principles expressed in
Agenda 21. This UN description of the PCSD is found in a section of the report
entitled "Integrated Decision-making," also known as the "consensus" process.
All federal agencies have now adopted this "consensus" process to by-pass
Congress and other elected bodies, to build consensus on Agenda 21 activities at
the local, state, and national levels. The UN report describes America's
progress in each of the activity areas in glowing terms. The report boasts that:
"The government has included representatives of NGOs in the National delegation
to every session of the Commission on Sustainable Development as well as at
other major international meetings."
NGOs play a vital role in the consensus process. Through the new "partnering"
programs of all federal agencies, selected NGOs are funded to generate support
for specific objectives, then provided a seat on the official U.S. delegation to
UN meetings to demonstrate "civil society" support for UN and Agenda 21
programs.
"Most family planning interventions are conducted by NGOs such as Planned
Parenthood. In preparation for the International Conference on Population and
Development, public meetings were held throughout the U.S. to facilitate the
participation of NGOs and individuals."
According to the report, the U.S. spent $25 million "on the development of new
contraceptive methods." The U.S. Department of Human Services is credited with
changing America's attitude about contraceptives:
"In other words, policy has shifted from discouraging contraception on the basis
of age and marital status to promoting it to all who do not have access to
service."
"Sustainable Development in School Curriculum" is one of the 32 specific
objectives of Agenda 21. This objective has been achieved in 63% of the
participating nations, and in process in another 17%. In America:
"The national strategy on education is prepared by the Department of Education
and includes such programmes as Goals 2000 and School to Work. The Biodiversity
and Ecosystem Network (BENI) was launched in October 1994 to utilize electronic
communication networks to foster collaboration among partners in ecosystem
management. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment
(GLOBE) was initiated to enable elementary and secondary school students to
collect environmental data...through the Internet." (Emphasis in original.)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a major conduit through which
Agenda 21 programs and policies flow into the United States, without the benefit
of Congressional debate or decision. Many of the initiatives are introduced by
NGOs, funded by the EPA through their "Sustainable Development Challenge Grant
Program." In 1996, the EPA reported the following Challenge Grants.
Source: State Department report to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
Recipient Amount Program Title
Wilson College 48,000 Community Supported Agriculture in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Olympic Peninsula Foundation 100,000 Washington Wood Smart Certification Program
University of North Carolina Arboretum 50,000 Sustainable Craft Industry in
Appalachia
New Orleans Building Materials Exchange 72,070 Building Materials Exchange in
New Orleans
New Hampshire Forest Sustainable Standards Work Team 26,000 Sustaining Forestry
in New Hampshire
Friends of the Rappahannock 20,000 Marketing the Economic Benefits of
Sustainable Development in the Rappahannock River Watershed
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission 20,000 Preserving Sustainability
in Central Virginia Region
Nebraska State Recycling Association 75,000 EcoPark Development in Omaha
Colleton County Research Development Board 42,000 Implementing a Strategic Plan
for Sustainable Development in South Carolina
Arizona State University 70,866 Sustainable Neighborhood Design for the Desert
Southwest
In 1997, the EPA reported 42 "Challenge Grants," but chose not to report the
name of the organization that received the money or how much money was awarded.
A description of the funded projects is available on the EPA web site at the
following address:

http://134.67.55.16:7777/DC/OSECWeb.nsf...bbd9a46d3f852565f7004d3f1...

Honest! (This file is not easily accessible, but you can try.) Some of the
program titles are: Fish for the Future (Oregon); Kansas City Area Sustainable
Land Use Initiative; Coastal Georgia Greenway; Building a Sustainable Community
from the Ground Up (Kentucky): San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG);
Community Bicycle Shop (Washington).
Social Aspects of Sustainable Development
As early as 1976, the UN adopted a policy relating to land use and population
distribution:
"All countries should establish as a matter of urgency a national policy on
human settlements, embodying the distribution of population...over national
territory. Such a policy should be devised to facilitate population
redistribution to accord with the availability of resources." (Recommendation
A.1, HABITAT I, Vancouver).
The Commission on Sustainable Development's report laments "The U.S. does not
have an official population policy.... The U.S. also has no specific policies to
modify the spatial distribution of the population." The report applauds,
however, the U.S.'s expenditure of $25 million "on the development of new
contraceptive methods," and the $144 million spent on "all aspects of population
research."
The UN report says that in America, the Department of Health & Human Services
operates an Office of Population Affairs (OPA) which serves nearly 5 million
people through a network of 4,800 clinics to provide "contraceptive services and
supplies." Moreover, USAID works through the United Nations Population Fund to
provide population control assistance in 60 countries. The report says that in
America, "policy has shifted from discouraging contraception on the basis of age
and marital status to promoting it to all who do not have access to services."

Education

Education is a key ingredient in the transformation to a sustainable society.
The UN Commission on Sustainable Development reports that in America, "the
national strategy on education is prepared by the Department of Education and
includes such programmes as Goals 2000 and School to Work" (emphasis added). The
National Environmental Education Advisory Council to the Department of Education
consists of eleven individuals appointed by the EPA Administrator and includes
representatives of women, NGOs, and local authorities (visioning councils). The
U.S. State Department reported to the UN that:
"At the primary school level, school curricula have already been reviewed and
revised, and at the secondary school level, the revision of school curricula is
being undertaken currently to address environment and development as a cross
cutting issue."
The State Department also told the UN:
"The U.S. has been involved in several awareness raising programmes and
activities aimmed at the population at large (Earth Day, industry supported
campaigns, Ad Council, Program KAB, Arbor Day, GLOBE Program, Discovery Channel,
National Geographic programmes, CNN, ZooQ, As it Happens, and water clean-up
programmes."
While land use and zoning regulations are still considered to be a matter of
local control,
"the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) operates a Land Use
Systems Technology Program, and a Sustainable Communities Development System"
(emphasis in original). The programs are aimed at "providing overall policy and
technical purview of technologies affecting all dimensions of the ecological,
land, natural resources, industrial, and development aspects of urbanization."
The report says that "The U.S. played an active role in HABITAT II. USAID's
urban programming approaches promote the principles of sustainable human
settlements." (See cologic, July/August, 1996 for comprehensive reports on
HABITAT II).
Agriculture
The transition from free-market agriculture to managed sustainable agriculture
is well advanced in America, according to the UN report. Sustainable agriculture
is defined in American law (Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of
1990 - 7 USE 3101) to be:
"an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a
site-specific application that will, over the long term, satisfy human food and
fiber needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon
which the agriculture economy depends; make the most efficient use of
nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate,
natural biological cycles and controls; sustain the economic viability of farm
operation; and enhance the quality of life for farmers and members of rural
communities, and society as a whole."
To achieve sustainable agriculture in America, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture works "in concert with the President's Council on Sustainable
Development" to implement several programs such as the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EPUIP), and the Farmland Protection Program, which was
created to purchase development rights on up to 137,600 ha of private property.
The Conservation Reserve Program has an additional 36 million acres of private
property out of production, at least temporarily.
Atmosphere
The USDA also funds the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) to provide
information and advocacy to NGOs and the public. Other USDA programs in place to
promote sustainable agriculture include the Integrated Farm Management Systems;
Integrated Pest Management; Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas; and
the Alternative Farming Systems Information Center. The Soil Conservation
Service has been transformed into the Natural Resource Conservation Service with
agents in virtually every county "to assist landowners with resource planning."
A revolving loan fund has been established to assist farmers in becoming
sustainable through the development through the development of "non-food,
non-feed, non-traditional agricultural products" such as the "manufacture of
paper from straw; manufacture of high-quality furniture from low-quality logs;
the use of kenaf as a mat for seeding lawn grass making newsprint and
fiberboard; and the use of milkweed as a filler for pillows and comforters."
America's efforts to achieve Agenda 21's objectives relating to the atmosphere
are rated as "good." The State Department report to the UN boasts that the EPA,
the Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration are "full-fledged" members of the President's Council on
Sustainable Development. "The President's Climate Change Plan includes nearly 50
initiatives..." according to the report. The U.S. supports the "conservation and
enhancement" of carbon sinks, which is biomass and forests (bioregions), whether
publicly or privately owned. The report boasts that the U.S. spent $31.9 billion
on air pollution abatement in 1993.
Biodiversity
Interestingly, the Convention on Biological Diversity is described as "signed in
1993, but not yet ratified." Nevertheless, the report says "Cooperative efforts
involving various levels of government and the private sector are underway to
implement the biosphere reserve concept in several regions." The Southern
Appalachian Man and the Biosphere Program (SAMAB), and the International Sonoran
Desert Alliance, "a cluster of biosphere reserves in northwestern Mexico and
Arizona," are identified as example of implementation of the objectives of
Agenda 21. The Nature Conservancy is particularly identified as having
"pioneered" biodiversity conservation.
To achieve the objectives of Agenda 21, and the Convention on Biological
Diversity, the report identifies several federal initiatives, including: the
National Biological Service; Interagency Committee on the Environment and
Natural Resources; Interagency Ecosystem Management Task Force, and the
Ecosystem Management Initiative.
"Ecosystem management strategies have been adopted by the Department of
Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, EPA, and NOAA. In some cases,
broad-scale organizational frameworks are being implemented. For example, the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in the Department of Interior has defined
approximately 50 ecosystem units across the country as a basis for future
planning related to sustainable management...."
The report says that USAID provides funding to the Biodiversity Conservation
Network, which coordinates NGOs and "private sector partners," as well as to the
Indonesia Biodiversity Foundation, the Mexican Conservation Fund, and a $3
million grant to Conservation International.

Forestry

"Forest legislation has recently been revised to help combat deforestation
envisaged under chapter 11 of Agenda 21 and includes The Forest Stewardship Act
of 1990; the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1990; America the Beautiful
(1990); an the National Indian Forest Resources an Management Act," according to
the State Department report to the UN. The President's Forest Plan adopted for
the Pacific Northwest region is described as "the best example of policy
following the UNCED [Agenda 21] forest principles."
The report says that the "American Forest an Paper Association, which represents
95% of the industrial forest land in the U.S., approved a set of Sustainable
Forestry Principles and Guidelines. With the help of NGOs which continue "to
draw attention to disparities between sustainable goals and current practices,"
and plans developed at the state level, "resource plans will ultimately bring
millions of hectares of nonindustrial private forest lands under stewardship
management."

Conclusion

While by no means complete, this summary of the United States' report to the UN
Commission on Sustainable Development should put to rest any doubt that the
Clinton/Gore Administration is, in fact, deliberately implementing Agenda 21 in
America. Where laws have been revised, Congress has not been told that the
purpose of the revision is to comply with the mandates of Agenda 21. Where
policies can be implemented administratively, Congress is not even consulted. At
the state and local level, elected officials are deliberately by-passed until
local support can be generated by a "stakeholders" council, led by NGO
professionals, funded by the federal government or by foundations in
"partnership" with the federal government.
Agenda 21 embraces virtually every aspect of human life; it is being implemented
aggressively in the United States. Congress has never examined the totality of
the Agenda. Instead, Congress is fed only bits and pieces in the context of
"protecting the environment." The ultimate objective of Agenda 21 is to
establish "international norms" of personal behavior that are dictated by a
handful of the world's enlightened elite who believe they know best how people
ought to live. The UN Commission on Sustainable Development is not the result of
a treaty ratified by the Senate. America participates in the UN organization by
Executive Decree. Through the Clinton/Gore Administration, America is actually
driving the agenda globally, and making it possible for the UN to dictate, not
only in America, but around the world, how all people must live.