From Your Representative: Agenda 21

Is Agenda 21 fact, fiction, conspiracy theory, or smart resource use? Is it an effort to take away the personal liberties and freedoms guaranteed by our United States and Montana Constitutions?

If you’ve not heard of it allow me to introduce Agenda 21 [A21]. A21 refers to an agreement made by 178 (out of about 191 total) governments back in June of 1992. It was adopted during the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro. Back then it seemed to concern itself with a global effort to protect the environment. A noble task.

In October of 1992, U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi urged congress to support A21 – to the tune of millions upon millions of dollars – by having US taxpayers shoulder the burden of funding things like keeping trees in place in other countries, or like providing shelter to people, literally, everywhere on the globe. Again, it all sounds very noble at this point and we as a country have helped many nations with all sorts of aid.

President George H. W. Bush signed for the U.S. as a soft-law policy. That means it did not need ratification by our congress. By executive order President Bill Clinton established the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, the PCSD, to implement Agenda 21. Again, not ratified by congress.

In 1997, the United Nations held a special session to appraise five years of progress on Agenda 21. The UN Assembly recognized progress as “uneven” and identified key trends including increasing globalization, widening inequalities in income and a continued deterioration of the global environment.

Some say that Agenda 21 is the front for a New World Order, complete with one small UN government overseeing the activities of all humans on the planet. But there are efforts to halt the impact of A21. New Hampshire, Tennessee and Georgia have stopped Agenda 21 bills and many other states have similar plans. Even some counties are getting into the act.

The Republican National Committee unanimously passed a resolution exposing the dangers of Agenda 21 on Jan. 13, 2012. But this is not a Republican vs. Democrat concern. In fact, there is even a website www.democratsagainstunagenda21.com indicating disapproval from Democrats.

The claim being made now is that A21 backers will make “sustainability” (their word for environmentalism) a reality by overwhelming our economic system and slowly eroding our freedoms, to the point where things like private property ownership, golf courses, ski hills, irrigation ditches, and fossil fuel usage (to name just a few) will become things of the past, all in the interest of global environmentalism. Opponents claim A21 includes a “dumbing down” of our citizens and an increased reliance upon government and UN or UN-sanctioned entity funding.

Why would the U.S. continue to fund sustainable development around the world? Montana needs to join the other states that have passed bills and resolutions against Agenda 21 to tell those in Washington not to waste our tax dollars and, more importantly, not to give away our freedom.

If you have time, do some research. I’d like to know your opinions. Email jannataylor@montana.com or call me at 849-6096. I never forget that I work for you.