ICLEI, under UN, promotes radical changes to consumption patterns, encourages reduction of population in rural areas

Editorial by Kaj Ahlburg

Posted 7/2/2011

Clallam County, WA - Clallam County three years ago, largely at the urging of Commissioner Doherty, joined the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, or ICLEI. 

ICLEI promotes an “Earth Charter” with 16 principles that its members are asked to endorse, including “adopt[ing] patterns of production, consumption and reproduction that safeguard Earth’s regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being.” 1

ICLEI states that to pursue these goals “We must … pursue more radical solutions” and states that it “will request that our members commit to … radical action”. 2

ICLEI also promotes the UN’s “Agenda 21” and “Habitat Agenda”. 3

Agenda 21 is the UN’s blueprint for so-called sustainable development.  Its goals include “changing consumption patterns.” The stated cost of implementing Agenda 21 is $600 billion per year. 4

Agenda 21 also favors “communally and collectively owned and managed land” and “national land-resource management plans.”  5

The Habitat Agenda’s goal is to encourage moving people out of rural areas into cities, to decrease their environmental footprint. 6

You may wonder why a rural County like ours funds with your tax dollars an advocacy organization that wants to change your patterns of consumption, production and reproduction, eliminate local control over land use decisions, and move people out of rural areas into cities.

Let the Commissioners know whether you think our membership in ICLEI should be renewed or canceled.  You can write or e-mail the Commissioners, or speak to them every Monday or Tuesday morning at their public meetings.

________________________________________________________
Footnotes

1 http://www.iclei-europe.org/fileadmin/templates/iclei-europe/files/content/ICLEI_IS/Policy_and_Advocacy/ICLEI_Strategy_2010-2015.pdf , Section 1.7 (7).

2 http://www.iclei-europe.org/fileadmin/templates/iclei-europe/files/content/ICLEI_IS/Policy_and_Advocacy/ICLEI_Strategy_2010-2015.pdf
Section II.

3 http://www.iclei.org/documents/Global/initiatives/pdf/ICLEI-Initiatives37-Web.pdf ,
p. 7.

4 http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/ , Table of Contents, item 4; Section 33.18.

5 http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/ , Sections 7.28 and 7.30.

6 http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/1176_6455_The_Habitat_Agenda.pdf , Sections 7 and 111.