Agenda 21 Sections Relevant to the Catskills and the Hudson Valley

UN Agenda 21 sections relevant to the Catskills and Hudson Valley (certain sections my emphasis is added)

4.3. Poverty and environmental degradation are closely interrelated. While poverty results in certain kinds of environmental stress, the major cause of the continued deterioration of the global environment is the unsustainable pattern of consumption and production, particularly in industrialized countries, which is a matter of grave concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances.

4.4. Measures to be undertaken at the international level for the protection and enhancement of the environment must take fully into account the current imbalances in the global patterns of consumption and production.

4.5. Special attention should be paid to the demand for natural resources generated by unsustainable consumption and to the efficient use of those resources consistent with the goal of minimizing depletion and reducing pollution. Although consumption patterns are very high in certain parts of the world, the basic consumer needs of a large section of humanity are not being met. This results in excessive demands and unsustainable lifestyles among the richer segments, which place immense stress on the environment. The poorer segments, meanwhile, are unable to meet food, health care, shelter and educational needs. Changing consumption patterns will require a multipronged strategy focusing on demand, meeting the basic needs of the poor, and reducing wastage and the use of finite resources in the production process.

4.8. In principle, countries should be guided by the following basic objectives in their efforts to address consumption and lifestyles in the context of environment and development:

    (a)  All countries should strive to promote sustainable consumption patterns;

    (b)  Developed countries should take the lead in achieving sustainable consumption patterns;

Developing countries should seek to achieve sustainable consumption patterns in their development process, guaranteeing the provision of basic needs for the poor, while avoiding those unsustainable patterns, particularly in industrialized countries, generally recognized as unduly hazardous to the environment, inefficient and wasteful, in their development processes. This requires enhanced technological and other assistance from industrialized countries.

7.5. Activities that will contribute to the integrated promotion of sustainable livelihoods and environmental protection cover a variety of sectoral interventions involving a range of actors, from local to global, and are essential at every level, especially the community and local levels. Enabling actions will be necessary at the national and international levels, taking full account of regional and subregional conditions to support a locally driven and country-specific approach. In general design, the programmes should:

    (a)  Focus on the empowerment of local and community groups through the principle of delegating authority, accountability and resources to the most appropriate level to ensure that the programme will be geographically and ecologically specific;

    (b)  Contain immediate measures to enable those groups to alleviate poverty and to develop sustainability;

    (c)  Contain a long-term strategy aimed at establishing the best possible conditions for sustainable local, regional and national development that would eliminate poverty and reduce the inequalities between various population groups. It should assist the most disadvantaged groups - in particular, women, children and youth within those groups - and refugees. The groups will include poor smallholders, pastoralists, artisans, fishing communities, landless people, indigenous communities, migrants and the urban informal sector.

7.16 (e) Promote the formulation of environmentally sound and culturally sensitive tourism programmes as a strategy for sustainable development of urban and rural settlements and as a way of decentralizing urban development and reducing discrepancies among regions;
7.30 Subsequently, all countries should consider developing national land-resource management plans to guide land-resource development and utilization and, to that end, should:

    (a) Establish, as appropriate, national legislation to guide the implementation of public policies for environmentally sound urban development, land utilization, housing and for the improved management of urban expansion;
(d) Encourage partnerships among the public, private and community sectors in managing land resources for human settlements development;

(e) Strengthen community-based land-resource protection practices in existing urban and rural settlements;

i) Promote understanding among policy makers of the adverse consequences of unplanned settlements in environmentally vulnerable areas and of the appropriate national and local land-use and settlements policies required for this purpose.

8.4 B To support a more integrated approach to decision-making, the data systems and analytical methods used to support such decision-making processes may need to be improved. Governments, in collaboration, where appropriate, with national and international organizations, should review the status of the planning and management system and, where necessary, modify and strengthen procedures so as to facilitate the integrated consideration of social, economic and environmental issues. Countries will develop their own priorities in accordance with their national plans, policies and programmes for the following activities:

8.1 B (c) Adopting flexible and integrative planning approaches that allow the consideration of multiple goals and enable adjustment of changing needs; integrative area approaches at the ecosystem or watershed level can assist in this approach;

f) Using policy instruments (legal/regulatory and economic) as a tool for planning and management, seeking incorporation of efficiency criteria in decisions; instruments should be regularly reviewed and adapted to ensure that they continue to be effective;

9.1 b 9.11. The basic and ultimate objective of this programme area is to reduce adverse effects on the atmosphere from the energy sector by promoting policies or programmes, as appropriate, to increase the contribution of environmentally sound and cost-effective energy systems, particularly new and renewable ones, through less polluting and more efficient energy production, transmission, distribution and use. This objective should reflect the need for equity, adequate energy supplies and increasing energy consumption in developing countries, and should take into consideration the situations of countries that are highly dependent on income generated from the production, processing and export, and/or consumption of fossil fuels and associated energy-intensive products and/or the use of fossil fuels for which countries have serious difficulties in switching to alternatives, and the situations of countries highly vulnerable to adverse effects of climate change.

9.13 The transport sector has an essential and positive role to play in economic and social development, and transportation needs will undoubtedly increase. However, since the transport sector is also a source of atmospheric emissions, there is need for a review of existing transport systems and for more effective design and management of traffic and transport systems.

9.15  Governments at the appropriate level, with the cooperation of the relevant United Nations bodies and, as appropriate, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, should:

    (a) Develop and promote, as appropriate, cost-effective, more efficient, less polluting and safer transport systems, particularly integrated rural and urban mass transit, as well as environmentally sound road networks, taking into account the needs for sustainable social, economic and development priorities, particularly in developing countries;
10.5. The broad objective is to facilitate allocation of land to the uses that provide the greatest sustainable benefits and to promote the transition to a sustainable and integrated management of land resources. In doing so, environmental, social and economic issues should be taken into consideration. Protected areas, private property rights, the rights of indigenous people and their communities and other local communities and the economic role of women in agriculture and rural development, among other issues, should be taken into account.  (Note: It does not say that property rights are to be honored, merely taken into account.)

10.6. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional and international organizations, should ensure that policies and policy instruments support the best possible land use and sustainable management of land resources. Particular attention should be given to the role of agricultural land. To do this, they should:

10.7 (c) Establish a general framework for land-use and physical planning within which specialized and more detailed sectoral plans (e.g., for protected areas, agriculture, forests, human settlements, rural development) can be developed; establish intersectoral consultative bodies to streamline project planning and implementation;

    (a) Develop integrated goal-setting and policy formulation at the national, regional and local levels that takes into account environmental, social, demographic and economic issues;

    (b) Develop policies that encourage sustainable land use and management of land resources and take the land resource base, demographic issues and the interests of the local population into account;

    (c) Review the regulatory framework, including laws, regulations and enforcement procedures, in order to identify improvements needed to support sustainable land use and management of land resources and restricts the transfer of productive arable land to other uses;

    (d) Apply economic instruments and develop institutional mechanisms and incentives to encourage the best possible land use and sustainable management of land resources;

    (e) Encourage the principle of delegating policy-making to the lowest level of public authority consistent with effective action and a locally driven approach.

 10.12. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of regional and international organizations, should strengthen regional cooperation and exchange of information on
land resources. To do this, they should:

    (a) Study and design regional policies to support programmes for land-use and physical planning;

    (b) Promote the development of land-use and physical plans in the countries of the region;

Integrated water resources management is based on the perception of water as an integral part of the ecosystem, a natural resource and a social and economic good, whose quantity and quality determine the nature of its utilization. To this end, water resources have to be protected, taking into account the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and the perenniality of the resource, in order to satisfy and reconcile needs for water in human activities. In developing and using water resources, priority has to be given to the satisfaction of basic needs and the safeguarding of ecosystems. Beyond these requirements, however, water users should be charged appropriately.

18.9. Integrated water resources management, including the integration of land- and water-related aspects, should be carried out at the level of the catchment basin or sub-basin. Four principal objectives should be pursued, as follows:

    (a) To promote a dynamic, interactive, iterative and multisectoral approach to water resources management, including the identification and protection of potential sources of freshwater supply, that integrates technological, socio-economic, environmental and human health considerations;

    (b) To plan for the sustainable and rational utilization, protection, conservation and management of water resources based on community needs and priorities within the framework of national economic development policy;
    (c) To design, implement and evaluate projects and programmes that are both economically efficient and socially appropriate within clearly defined strategies, based on an approach of full public participation, including that of women, youth, indigenous people and local communities in water management policy-making and decision-making;

23.2. One of the fundamental prerequisites for the achievement of sustainable development is broad public participation in decision-making. Furthermore, in the more specific context of environment and development, the need for new forms of participation has emerged. This includes the need of individuals, groups and organizations to participate in environmental impact assessment procedures and to know about and participate in decisions, particularly those which potentially affect the communities in which they live and work. Individuals, groups and organizations should have access to information relevant to environment and development held by national authorities, including information on products and activities that have or are likely to have a significant impact on the environment, and information on environmental protection measures.

Environmental Initiatives Immiserate Town of Olive, Ulster County, USA

The Town of Olive and Ulster County are abuzz about new local environmental regulations that are being pushed by the Obama administration, local Democrats and Republicrats.  The environmental push is coordinated by environmental extremists who have been influencing policy prescriptions since 2008, using as a guide a 1993 book that resulted from a 1992 UN conference called Agenda 21.  The Agenda 21 conference proceedings are obtainable on disk in some university research libraries. The version of Agenda 21 currently on the UN website differs from the Agenda 21 conference proceedings and the original publications.  I have yet to do my homework on the details of the 1992 conference (which requires a trip to the City College of New York), so I am discussing this second and third hand.

Rumors on the Internet claim that Agenda 21 proposed to influence local government through building codes and difficult-to-understand standards that would be pushed through local governments.  The explicit aim is intensive control of society to preserve the natural environment in its current form,  including depopulation of rural areas and concentration of population in urban developments. The recent LEED presentation at the Birchez development is the kind of development that Agenda 21 proposes on a much larger scale, so the radical environmentalist agenda has already made initial inroads.  There is no reason to think that the radical environmentalists who advocate these steps, including Congressman Maurice Hinchey, intend to move all at once. Rather, the implementation of codes and increasing control and elimination of population can proceed over decades.

Both local Republicans and Democrats were present at the Birchez presentation, and we can expect that neither party has your personal or property rights in mind.  The Birchez presentation was disrupted by two protestors, including myself, whereupon four armed police officers outside their jurisdiction escorted us to our car and took down my friend's license plate. We had done nothing wrong and when  a plain clothes police officer (Town of Ulster Supervisor Jim Quigley informs me that the officer was NOT from the Town of Ulster) pushed me I said to her, "Please do not touch me or I will call the police."  She responded "I am the police." "Are you the police, or are you one of Hinchey's paid racketeers?" I asked.  Thereupon, an attorney and four police officers followed my associate and me to the car, taking down the license plate.  All the while the attorney peppered us with personal questions, trying to determine who we were. So much for freedom of speech in green-shirted Ulster County. One question: why do the Town of Ulster Police serve as Congressman private interests' muscle men and women?

This week, the Town of Olive announced a meeting on August 8 concerning a bogus strategic plan that claims to have relied on the input of citizens from the August 8 meeting but which I received on July 30. If you read it in the link below you will notice reference to input from the August 8 meeting even though August 8 is a week away. So much for the integrity of the people presenting the plan. I assure you that they did not get any input from anyone who disagrees with radical environmentalism or UN Agenda 21.
 
LEED, which sponsored the Birchez meeting from which I was evicted,  is currently being touted by the Ulster County Democrats, who have overseen a dismal, declining local economy for the past two decades.  Now, however, the county and localities have the opportunity to implement jobs-and-freedom-destroying regulations that are being proposed locally based on junk, pseudo-scientific environmental nostrums. County Executive Mike Hein was present at the Birchez meeting, but he blames Ulster County's dismal economy on state regulation like SEQRA. But why would anyone locate a plant to a county that buys into the kind of environmental extremism represented by LEED and by the Town of Olive's recent report?  Ulster County has voted an extremist crank like Maurice Hinchey into office for two decades. Why would any businessman in his right mind want to locate  plant here?

I received this e-mail from a concerned citizen:

I know you're up on this, so I thought I'd share some info with you. UN agenda 21 is coming to the Town of Olive in the form of the town's new comprehensive plan. The plan is not yet passed, and the town dems don't even want to vote on it until after the fall election. This plan was done by an outside firm using a $50,000 grant, (30 pieces of silver), from the CWC. So far, this process has been intentionally done under the radar as these wackos don't really want any input, let alone any opposition. We in Olive are planning quite a surprise for them.

The plan can be read here  http://www.town.olive.ny.us/govtadm/Olive_DraftCompPlan_DRAFT_PH_Version.pdf 

It was prepared by this group www.rudikoff.com

Scary reading. 

People from other towns need to be able to spot how and when this process may be taking place in their own towns. Some may want to attend out public meeting on Aug 8 and get a closer look.

I'll keep you posted.


Another local correspondent adds:
 

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) - which is working under UNAgenda21 which is spreading through local governments all across the U.S..  Here in Red Hook we are being offered a pilot program by Central Hudson to install devices in our house so they can moniitor our energy and control it.  They have sent us notices, did follow-up calls and are having an informtional meeting on Tuesday.  I really don't think people in the Town know what is happening but our freedoms are being taken little by little.

See the article from the Blaze http://www.theblaze.com/stories/is-the-soros-sponsored-agenda-21-a-hidden-plan-for-world-government-yes-only-it-is-not-hidden/  and listen to the video of  the woman Rosa Koire speaking to a Tea Party about Agenda 21.  She explains it very well.

Also see the one page description at http://americanpolicy.org/sustainable-development/agenda-21-in-one-easy-lesson.html/

A third correspondent informs me that 

Public Hearing is 7 PM on August 8 - if you are not heard, you have no one to blame but yourself...

That is, I assume in the Olive Town Hall in Shokan.  That is true. If you do not protest you have no one to blame but yourself.

Agenda 21: If You Haven't Read It, then You Are Part of the Problem

UN Agenda 21 was signed by the Bush administration in the early 1990s. It is a plan to turn a large share of the earth's surface into parkland.  Few people believe that the US has associated itself with a treaty that would forcibly evacuate a large share of the nation's population. I have purchased a copy at:

https://unp.un.org/Browse.aspx?subject=29

Sustainable Development Is Code for Authoritarianism

Watch the Conservative Caucus/Conservative Roundtable interview of Tom DeWeese below (h/t patriot 246). Sustainable development is a movement that aims to eliminate property rights and representative government. UN Agenda 21 is a policy that expresses the environmental movement's authoritarian aims. Sustainable development has little to do with conservation in its traditional meaning. Solution: (1) Close UNESCO and end all United Nations involvement with environmental issues. (2) Illegalize UN presence on American soil for any reason other than diplomacy. (3) Boycott firms that advocate sustainability.

Key to Sustainability: Kick the UN out of the US and Get the US out of the UN

Glenda R. McGee sent me a Daily Caller blog about the UN's crackpot Agenda 21, which has caught on in a wide range of US governmental bodies ranging from county environmental departments to the Obama administration. Daily Caller's Jim Simpson points out that the terminology that the radical left and the UN have adopted, such as "sustainability", are code for radical social reorganization along Spartan lines (the Spartans had the kind of collectivist, highly controlled society that today's left advocates, with the Obama-Emanuel youth training movement very much in the Spartan communistic tradition).  Daily Caller does a good job of dissecting the code, much of which amounts to fear and loathing of freedom, human happiness and economic progress.  Given the environmental movement's staunch opposition to progress and technology, claiming that it is "progressive" is perhaps a worse abuse of language than calling authoritarian left-wingers "liberals."

The notion of "sustainability" is vacuous.  A way of life is sustainable if the participants conceive of a way of sustaining it.  Technology has proven remarkably inventive not in sustaining but in expanding standards of living. Such expansion has been stalled by the kinds of policies the environmentalists advocate.The chief enemies to sustainability are regulation, government, the Federal Reserve Bank, the United Nations, and authoritarian environmentalism.

As Simpson's article makes clear, UN Agenda 21's land control theme is a form of totalitarian communism that is more radical than Stalin's and Mao's. Environmentalism is a violent totalitarian movement very much in these extremist traditions.  Which is not to say that the environment is not an important concern.  The rule of law and private property are much better at maintaining the environment optimally than regulation and social reorganization.

It is frightening that the United Nations, which was founded on the premise that it would contribute to world peace, has become an organization that advocates human resettlement and mass murder.  It is time for the United States to rethink its involvement in the United Nations.  There is a place for a multilateral peace organization, but not for initiatives like UN Agenda 21 and the reactionary environmental movement.  The UN should be kicked out of the US, and the US needs to resign from the UN.

UN Agenda 21

Sharad Karkhanis just sent me this video about UN Agenda 21. Not only do we need to worry about half witted legislators and politicians in New York, sucking our resources dry; not only do we need to worry about ignorant morons like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama at the federal level; but, as well, the United Nations is engaged in an ongoing attack on human civilization.

The video mentions that dumbing down of students is an intentional goal of UN Agenda 21. The UN argues that educated people consume more resources, so it is better that students be innumerate and illiterate so that they will consume less.

It is time for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations. An international league of states is useful to forestall war, but the bureaucracy of the United Nations has little to do with the avoidance of war. Rather, the United Nations is a agency that fosters totalitarianism.

UN Agenda 21 -- Sustainable Development

Glenda McGee just sent me the above video. It seems to me that the step-by-step trend toward increasing government control is leading to communism. This could well be accomplished in the name of environmentalism. The video is right that the illiteracy and innumeracy generated by the public schools facilitates social control and facilitates the march toward extremism. Glenda just forwarded me an article about Maurice Hinchey's plan to make the Hudson River a park. Do we see a pattern?