river cities reader - issue #772 - february 17th 2011

B u s i n e s s • P o l i t i c s • A r t s • C u l t u r e • N o w Y o u K n o w • R i v e r C i t i e s R e a d e r . c o m R i v e r C i t i e s ’ R e a d e r • V o l . 1 8 N o . 7 7 2 • F e b r u a r y 1 7 - M a r c h 2 , 2 0 1 1 Continued On Page 22 Rubber-Stamp ing Agenda 21 Starts in Scott County by Kathleen McCarthy [email protected] H ow’ s this or a conspiracy theory? A global agenda, unveiled in 1992 during the United Nations Conerence on Environment & Development (UNCED, also known as the Rio Earth Summit), that is b eing progressively implemented in every level o government in America through a United Nations (UN) initiative called Sustainable Development Age nda 21. Agenda 21, as it is reerred to in the UN’s own documentation (UN. org/esa/sustdev/docum ents/agenda21), is “a comprehensive plan o action to be taken globally, nationally, and locally by organizations o the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts [sic] on the environment.” Its purpose: to centrally own and control the planet’s resources under the guise o “smart planning” and “sustainable development.” In act, or most UN-accredited non-governmen tal organizations (NGOs), Agenda 21 is synonymous with sustainable development. Te two primary goals o Agenda 21 are to (1) decrease the world population to “sustainable ” levels as a means to eectively control labor, the planet’s number-one resourc e, and (2) eradicate individual property rights via comprehensive land-use planning that dictates land use according to a global master plan that includes control o everything rom ood to health to energy to security, and the list goes on. Locally, in Scott County, the slow incremental steps o this globalist agenda are wide open or all to see. On February 3, the Scott County Board o Supervisors voted 5-0 to adopt the state o Iowa’s “Smart Planning Principles” as part o its Compreh ensive Plan. Te language o such principles sounds laudable on the surace: collaboration, eciency, diversity, revitalization. Who could not be or these principles? On January 20, the county sta explained that adopting these principles was a requiremen t to be eligible or uture state and ederal sustainability grants. Te ne print the county sta would preer you don’t read is that the resolution adopts Iowa Code 18B Land Use, which reads in part: “Governmental, communi ty, and i ndividual stakeholders, including those outside the jurisdiction of the entity, are encouraged to be involved and provide comment during deliberation o planning, zoning, development, and resource-manag ement decisions and during implementation o such decisions. Individuals, communities, regions, and governmental entities should share in the responsibility to promote the equitable distribution o development benets and costs.” Tis language reinorces what many critics o Agenda 21 are concerned with: Accepting state and ederal grants eventually leads to ceding local authority to more centralized regional councils o unelected governments – with the authority to levy more taxes (Does SECC911 ring any bells?) so they may urther their top-down goals. Supervisor Larry Minard addressed this concern prior to his vote, stating: “I such an organization does develop that relates to planning and other issues that might come beore it ... the state will decide that and they will decide whether it’s a taxable organization or it doesn’ t tax. Tey will decide what’ s going to happen; we won’t. But I can guarantee you that i we have that organization that Scott County will be a participant and play an active role. And we will do what ... allows our people to have that quality o lie that we think they should have.” Coming down the pipeline soon is the county’s “Sustainability Plan” (unded by a ederal grant), which i approved will be another brick in the wall o Agenda 21 implemented locally i n Scott County. Tis global-to-local strategy began with President George H. Bush as the signatory or the U.S., one o 178 nations that adopted Agenda 21 at UNCED. In 1993, Representative Nancy Pelosi (D- Caliornia) submitted House Joint Resolution 166 or the implementation o Agenda 21, but it ailed. So President Bill Clinton created the President’s Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) via an executive order to implement Agenda 21 that same year. It is important to note that Congress has had no say in the matter because Agenda 21 is considered to be a “sof-law policy recommendation ” requiring no ratication because it does not qualiy as a “treaty . ” Sof-law policies are not internationally binding but can nd easy application through local legislation. For most Americans, it is inconceivable that our own government would be party to any program or process, such as the United Nations’ Agenda 21, specically designed to reduce population and eliminate private-property-rights. Y et this is exactly what is taking place across our land, and around the globe. It is a long-range plan that is methodical and precise in its execution. Sadly, like most eective conspiracies, many participants are not even aware o its existence as they propel much o this nearious agenda orward through local, state, and ederal programming in our schools, land-use agencies, county and city services, health and emergency-manage ment processes, and, most critically, our courts. Te most widely used tool or implementing Agenda 21 locally is through stakeholder councils , which are charged with creating consensus on some project, typically the result o a perceived crisis in the community, such as a poor water-management system or high population density. (Supervisor Minard believes 350 humans per square mile is one such problem in terms o sustainability in Scotty County.) Once a project has been identied, NGOs, regional councils o governments, not-or-pro ts, etc. have a vast stock o sustainable-developme nt cookie-cutter solutions available through the International Council or Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Tat organization was launched in 1990 at the World Congre ss o Local Governments or a Sustainable Future and has its headquarters in o ronto, Canada, with branches worldwide, including in Berkeley, Caliornia. ICLEI’ s sole mission is to assist local governments, such as counties and cities, by providing policy recommendatio ns or implementing sustainability programming. ICLEI was instrumental in writing a portion o the Agenda 21 handbook, specically Chapter 28, and in the ormulation o Local Action 21 Strategies that ensure the “unwavering, systematic implementation o local action plans over the next decade,” as reported in ICLEI’s Motto, Mandate, Movement (2003). Agenda 21’s primary directive is or human wants, needs, and desires to conorm to the views

river cities reader - issue #772 - february 17th 2011

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