FIGU Open Letter 003

A Letter to Al Gore...

Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Global Climate Change Activist, On Behalf of Like-Minded People Seeking an Age of Reason, Global Peace and Human Equality

Dear Mr. Gore,

I am writing to you on behalf of a FIGU-study-group in Munich, Germany. We recently had the pleasure of watching your film, «An Inconvenient Truth», on German television, which we found to be very informative with regard to the cause and effects of global warming and how we as a global community can help stop it by supporting the development of sustainable energy like solar, wind, water and other forms of abundant natural energy. Revealing the truth in this day and age is an uphill battle, but you are not alone in the struggle to resolve this problem. We too are interested in finding effective solutions to the critical problems we face as a global humanity such as global warming, dwindling resources, overpopulation, human inequality, poverty and war. There are also many other people and organizations working towards this end (see the Earth Charter Initiative at www.earthcharter.org). Green Cross International, for example, which was founded in 1992 by Mikhail Gorbachev, is also dedicated to finding effective solutions to environmental problems and is actively involved in the development of sustainable energy worldwide. In fact, its U.S. affiliate, Global Green USA, is currently building affordable, energy-efficient and eco-friendly homes for the victims of Hurricane Katrina (see greencrossinternational.net and globalgreen.org). Attached to this mail is a copy of «The Earth Charter» and an interesting interview with Brad Pitt on the above-mentioned project in New Orleans along with a short report on the benefits of sustainable development there for both the residents and the environment. I must say that your film and this project were a genuine inspiration to me and the other members of the study group. We realize it’s only a beginning, but these exemplary efforts prove that it’s possible to win the battle against global warming and to build a just, sustainable and peaceful global society, if we all join forces and start working together as a global family. Last but not least, we fully agree with a very important point you made in your film with regard to our rapidly growing global population and the effect it has on global warming.

It is only common sense that a growing population consumes more energy, which in turn increases the CO2 emission and intensifies the green-house effect. Needless to say, a growing ‹overpopulation› accelerates this process. Needless to say, a growing <overpopulation> accelerates this process. So in order to win the struggle against global warming, we must stop our global population growth through an effective program of global birth control and bring our planetary population count back into balance with nature, which for a planet the size of Earth is about 0.5 billion or more precisely 529 million (see ‹Stirbt unser blauer Planet?› by Heinz Haber and ‹Social Issues› at us.figu.org). So in order to win the struggle against global warming, we must stop our global population growth through an effective program of global birth control and bring our planetary population count back into balance with nature, which for a planet the size of Earth is about 0.5 billion or more precisely 529 million (see <Stirbt our blue Planet?> by Heinz Haber and <Social Issues> at us.figu.org). Such a measure, by the way, would also reduce all other problems we currently face – whether social, economic or environmental – to a size that we could deal with far more effectively. Such a measure, by the way, would also reduce all other problems we currently face - Whether social, economic or environmental - to a size that we could deal with far more effectively. To accomplish this, however, it is necessary to raise public awareness – via lectures and other forms of public communication – with respect to the cause of this problem, the effects it has on our planet and humanity and how we can resolve it. To accomplish this, however, it is necessary to raise public awareness - through lectures and other forms of public communication - with respect to the cause of this problem, the effects it has on our planet and humanity and how we can resolve it. Education and insight, combined with the appropriate measures and legislation, are undoubtedly the best means of resolving this and other problems we face as a global humanity. Education and insight, combined with the appropriate measures and legislation, are undoubtedly the best means of resolving this and other problems we face as a global humanity. For this reason, it would be desirable, if courses dealing with environmental and other human-related problems were made a standard part of every school curriculum. For this reason, it would be desirable, if courses dealing with environmental and other human-related problems were made a standard part of every school curriculum. Moreover, schools in general should be opened to the public for lifelong learning, so that people of all ages and from all walks of life can learn to effectively deal with the problems they face in life. Moreover, schools in general should be opened to the public for lifelong learning so that people of all ages and from all walks of life can learn to effectively deal with the problems they face in life. Putting their knowledge into practice however, especially on a global basis, would require an appropriate system of government to carry out the will of the people, such as a worldwide system of direct democracy, through which all people from all nations of the world could vote directly on issues that affect them and the rest of humanity in global referendums. Putting their knowledge into practice however, especially on a global basis, would require at appropriate system of government to carry out the wishes of the people, such as a worldwide system of direct democracy, through which all people from all nations of the world could vote directly on issues that affect them and the rest of humanity in a global referendums. An effective system of global democracy in turn would require yet another form of human progress, namely lasting world peace, which contrary to common belief could indeed be achieved, if universal values that unite humanity and promote world peace were taught in our schools and demonstrated in our social behavior, and also with the help of a multinational peace-fighting corps composed of several million peace-fighters from all nations of the world, whose task it would be to secure and safeguard world peace. An effective system of global democracy in turn would require yet another form of human progress, namely lasting world peace, which was contrary to common could indeed be achieved, if universal values that unite humanity and promote world peace were taught in our schools and demonstrated in our social behavior, and also with the help of a multinational peace-fighting corps composed of several million peace-fighters from all nations of the world, whose task it would be to secure and safeguard world peace.

The members of such a peace-fighting corps must be highly trained specialists in defence, peace-making, peace-keeping and the protection of human life and must be deployed over the entire planet in order to nip all wars and violent uprisings as well as all criminal and terrorist activities in the bud within 72 hours. Such a corps, however, must be strictly and exclusively controlled by the world population under the guidance of wise, experienced and capable leaders (see «Multinational Peace-Fighting Troops and World Peace» by Barbara Harnisch and Billy in the attachment to this mail). The development of such a global defence force would therefore require a well-informed and socially responsible global population and a genuine government of the people in all countries of the world, which in turn must be accompanied by the development of easily accessible and absolutely safe systems of electronic voting worldwide to enable all citizens of Earth to actively participate in government decisions at local, state, national and global levels by voting directly on all issues affecting them and the rest of humanity. As you can see, dear Mr. Gore, we all have a lot of work ahead of us, but then again the time is ripe for change. I and all other members of the study group are therefore confident that we can achieve these goals together, as a united humanity, with the help of wise and far-sighted leaders from all nations of the world who are dedicated to finding effective solutions to all human problems and who will put them into practice, once they have been approved by the people of Earth in global referendums. Since all change starts in the hearts and minds of the people and can only lead to improvement, if it is guided by the truth, all we need to save our planet and humanity are effective solutions to our global problems based on the effective truth and supported by the world population. In other words, all we need is a worldwide grassroots movement in support of truly effective measures against overpopulation, the destruction of nature, human inequality, poverty, war and all other forms of destructive human behavior and in favor of universal education; the cultivation of positive human values that unite all people regardless of their differences; the acknowledgement of equal human rights and duties for all people; the worldwide development of sustainable energy; the protection of nature and all planetary life through the controlled, sustainable development of humanity and all of its needs; a global system of direct democracy to promote the development of a worldwide government of the people; the cultivation of peace among all peoples of Earth; the development of a multinational peacefighting corps to secure and safeguard world peace under the control of the world population, and many other forms of positive human development. These changes, however, can only be achieved on a global basis, once the people of Earth finally free themselves from all forms of tyranny and assume the power to govern themselves under the guidance of wise, experienced and capable leaders (see “Equality for All” by Rebecca Walkiw). Most of today’s powerful political, economic, religious and military leaders would undoubtedly oppose such a movement, because they are unwilling to share their power and resources with the rest of humanity. The common people of Earth, however, would embrace such a movement and would also support the efforts of wise and knowledgeable leaders who offer truly effective solutions to global problems and who are willing to work for the well-being of all humanity in harmony with nature. The people of Earth want leaders whose reason, judgement and actions are guided by the truth and who have the courage to defend the inconvenient truth in the face of powerful opposition. We are hopeful that ever more courageous leaders with genuine human qualities from all nations of the world will unite to form a global force of truly competent advisors who will help humanity achieve its goals! My husband and I are both members of a FIGU study group here in Munich. … We [members of FIGU] are dedicated to seeking and upholding the truth in all things; the cultivation of positive human values such as knowledge, wisdom, truth, love, logic and justice; the development of human awareness and the support of human progress; living in harmony with nature; acknowledging human equality and the natural rights and duties of all human beings; heeding the laws of nature and creation; respecting and protecting all life forms; cultivating peace in the hearts and minds of all people, practicing self-responsibility and self-determination as an individual and also as a collective whole, among many other things.

We meet once a month here in Munich, study FIGU literature together and discuss topics of common human interest. We also organize information booths about FIGU and its wide range of literature on numerous aspects of human development and we hold lectures on topics of general human interest. An issue of foremost importance to us is the fight against global overpopulation and its devastating consequences for all life on Earth. With a current global population of more than 7.5 billion people (unofficial count: see www.ueberbevoelkerung.at), our earth already has nearly 15 times as many people as a planet of its size can sustain for an optimal development of humanity and a harmonious coexistence with nature. Moreover, our global population continues to grow at an exponential rate, causing the already prevalent wastefulness, destructive exploitation of all resources and the on-going destruction of nature to assume ever more drastic forms, such as the growing frequency of devastating natural catastrophes throughout the world and the growing number of global conflicts over our diminishing resources. Overpopulation is by far the greatest problem we face as a global humanity. It is impossible to divide our dwindling global resources among a rapidly growing family of over 7.5 billion members, so that everyone has enough to live on. And due to the fact that 20 percent of the population in developed nations consume 86 percent of the world’s resources, nearly half of our global family now lives in poverty. If we add to this the hundreds of millions of people who will be displaced in the near and distant future as a result of the growing number of natural catastrophes caused by the on-going destruction of nature – including of course the numerous climate catastrophes resulting from global warming and the destruction of our atmosphere – the human misery will reach dimensions beyond description. For this reason, our study group plans to hold lectures on overpopulation in the near future, so that ever more people will become aware of this problem and start to consider what they can do to help bring our global population count back into balance with nature. Of course the best way to achieve a balanced global population would be to work out an effective program of global birth control, which of course must first be approved by the people of Earth, before it is put into practice.

One example of such a program is a global birth-rate check explained in an article by Christian Frehner at us.figu.org/portal/SocialIssues/BirthRateCheck/tabid/104/Default.aspx

Since your film, «An Inconvenient Truth», provides valuable information that clearly shows the connections between global population growth, energy consumption, global warming and climate catastrophes, our study group would very much like to use material from your film in our lectures … to illustrate the relation between global overpopulation and climate catastrophes. … If you are interested, you can find more information about FIGU at the following websites:

htttp://www.figu.org (German-language website) and us.figu.org (English language website). Several articles about overpopulation in the English language can also be found on the English-language website under ‹Social Issues›. On behalf of the members of our study group, I am sending you friendly greetings and best wishes for continued success in your efforts to raise human awareness on issues of major importance to humanity and all life on Earth.

Sincerely yours,

Rebecca Walkiw

Attachments:

The Earth Charter; Interview with Brad Pitt [Global Green Activist]; Benefits of Sustainable Energy; World Peace [Multinational Peace-Fighting Troops and World Peace] See these attachments on the following pages.

[From Wikipedia: The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental values and principles for building a just, sustainable and peaceful global society in the 21st century. Its inclusive ethical vision proposes that environmental protection, human rights, equitable human development and peace are interdependent and indivisible. The charter itself was created through an open and participatory worldwide consultation process. The drafting of the text was overseen by the independent Earth Charter Commission, which was convened by Maurice Strong, founder of the Earth Council, and Mikhail Gorbachev, founder of Green Cross International, with the purpose of developing a global consensus on values and principles for a sustainable future. Many thousands of people and hundreds of organizations contributed to the drafting process.]

The Earth Charter

From earthcharter.org

PREAMBLE

We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future. As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise. To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace. Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.

Earth, Our Home

Humanity is part of a vast evolving universe. Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life. The forces of nature make existence a demanding and uncertain adventure, but Earth has provided the conditions essential to life's evolution. The resilience of the community of life and the well-being of humanity depend upon preserving a healthy biosphere with all its ecological systems, a rich variety of plants and animals, fertile soils, pure waters, and clean air. The global environment with its finite resources is a common concern of all peoples. The protection of Earth's vitality, diversity, and beauty is a sacred trust.

The Global Situation

The dominant patterns of production and consumption are causing environmental devastation, the depletion of resources, and a massive extinction of species. Communities are being undermined. The benefits of development are not shared equitably and the gap between rich and poor is widening. Injustice, poverty, ignorance, and violent conflicts are widespread and the cause of great suffering. An unprecedented rise in human population has overburdened ecological and social systems. The foundations of global security are threatened. These trends are perilous – but not inevitable.

The Challenges Ahead

The choice is ours: form a global partnership to care for Earth and one another or risk the destruction of ourselves and the diversity of life. Fundamental changes are needed in our values, institutions, and ways of living. We must realize that when basic needs have been met, human development is primarily about being more, not having more. We have the knowledge and technology to provide for all and to reduce our impacts on the environment. The emergence of a global civil society is creating new opportunities to build a democratic and humane world. Our environmental, economic, political, social, and spiritual challenges are interconnected, and together we can forge inclusive solutions.

Universal Responsibility

To realize these aspirations, we must decide to live with a sense of universal responsibility, identifying ourselves with the whole Earth community as well as our local communities. We are at once citizens of different nations and of one world in which the local and global are linked. Everyone shares responsibility for the present and future well-being of the human family and the larger living world. The spirit of human solidarity and kinship with all life is strengthened when we live with reverence for the mystery of being, gratitude for the gift of life, and humility regarding the human place in nature. We urgently need a shared vision of basic values to provide an ethical foundation for the emerging world community. Therefore, together in hope we affirm the following interdependent principles for a sustainable way of life as a common standard by which the conduct of all individuals, organizations, businesses, governments, and transnational institutions is to be guided and assessed.

PRINCIPLES

I. RESPECT AND CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY OF LIFE

1. Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.

a. Recognize that all beings are interdependent and every form of life has value regardless of its worth to human beings.
b. Affirm faith in the inherent dignity of all human beings and in the intellectual, artistic, ethical, and spiritual potential of humanity.

2. Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and love.

a. Accept that with the right to own, manage, and use natural resources comes the duty to prevent environmental harm and to protect the rights of people.
b. Affirm that with increased freedom, knowledge, and power comes increased responsibility to promote the common good.

3. Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable, and peaceful.

a. Ensure that communities at all levels guarantee human rights and fundamental freedoms and provide everyone an opportunity to realize his or her full potential.
b. Promote social and economic justice, enabling all to achieve a secure and meaningful livelihood that is ecologically responsible.

4. Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

a. Recognize that the freedom of action of each generation is qualified by the needs of future generations.
b. Transmit to future generations values, traditions, and institutions that support the long-term flourishing of Earth's human and ecological communities. In order to fulfill these four broad commitments, it is necessary to:

II. ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY

5. Protect and restore the integrity of Earth's ecological systems, with special concern for biological diversity and the natural processes that sustain life.

a. Adopt at all levels sustainable development plans and regulations that make environmental conservation and rehabilitation integral to all development initiatives.
b. Establish and safeguard viable nature and biosphere reserves, including wild lands and marine areas, to protect Earth's life support systems, maintain biodiversity, and preserve our natural heritage.
c. Promote the recovery of endangered species and ecosystems. d. Control and eradicate non-native or genetically modified organisms harmful to native species and the environment, and prevent introduction of such harmful organisms.
e. Manage the use of renewable resources such as water, soil, forest products, and marine life in ways that do not exceed rates of regeneration and that protect the health of ecosystems.
f. Manage the extraction and use of non-renewable resources such as minerals and fossil fuels in ways that minimize depletion and cause no serious environmental damage.

6. Prevent harm as the best method of environmental protection and, when knowledge is limited, apply a precautionary approach.

a. Take action to avoid the possibility of serious or irreversible environmental harm even when scientific knowledge is incomplete or inconclusive.
b. Place the burden of proof on those who argue that a proposed activity will not cause significant harm, and make the responsible parties liable for environmental harm.
c. Ensure that decision making addresses the cumulative, long-term, indirect, long distance, and global consequences of human activities.
d. Prevent pollution of any part of the environment and allow no build-up of radioactive, toxic, or other hazardous substances.
e. Avoid military activities damaging to the environment.

7. Adopt patterns of production, consumption, and reproduction that safeguard Earth's regenerative capacities, human rights, and community well-being.

a. Reduce, reuse, and recycle the materials used in production and consumption systems, and ensure that residual waste can be assimilated by ecological systems.
b. Act with restraint and efficiency when using energy, and rely increasingly on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
c. Promote the development, adoption, and equitable transfer of environmentally sound technologies.
d. Internalize the full environmental and social costs of goods and services in the selling price, and enable consumers to identify products that meet the highest social and environmental standards.
e. Ensure universal access to health care that fosters reproductive health and responsible reproduction.
f. Adopt lifestyles that emphasize the quality of life and material sufficiency in a finite world.

8. Advance the study of ecological sustainability and promote the open exchange and wide application of the knowledge acquired.

a. Support international scientific and technical cooperation on sustainability, with special attention to the needs of developing nations.
b. Recognize and preserve the traditional knowledge and spiritual wisdom in all cultures that contribute to environmental protection and human well-being.
c. Ensure that information of vital importance to human health and environmental protection, including genetic information, remains available in the public domain.

III. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC JUSTICE

9. Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social, and environmental imperative.

a. Guarantee the right to potable water, clean air, food security, uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation, allocating the national and international resources required.
b. Empower every human being with the education and resources to secure a sustainable livelihood, and provide social security and safety nets for those who are unable to support themselves.
c. Recognize the ignored, protect the vulnerable, serve those who suffer, and enable them to develop their capacities and to pursue their aspirations.

10. Ensure that economic activities and institutions at all levels promote human development in an equitable and sustainable manner.

a. Promote the equitable distribution of wealth within nations and among nations.
b. Enhance the intellectual, financial, technical, and social resources of developing nations, and relieve them of onerous international debt.
c. Ensure that all trade supports sustainable resource use, environmental protection, and progressive labor standards.
d.Require multinational corporations and international financial organizations to act transparently in the public good, and hold them accountable for the consequences of their activities.

11. Affirm gender equality and equity as prerequisites to sustainable development and ensure universal access to education, health care, and economic opportunity.

a. Secure the human rights of women and girls and end all violence against them.
b. Promote the active participation of women in all aspects of economic, political, civil, social, and cultural life as full and equal partners, decision makers, leaders, and beneficiaries.
c. Strengthen families and ensure the safety and loving nurture of all family members.

12. Uphold the right of all, without discrimination, to a natural and social environment supportive of human dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being, with special attention to the rights of indigenous peoples and minorities.

a. Eliminate discrimination in all its forms, such as that based on race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, language, and national, ethnic or social origin.
b. Affirm the right of indigenous peoples to their spirituality, knowledge, lands and resources and to their related practice of sustainable livelihoods.
c. Honor and support the young people of our communities, enabling them to fulfill their essential role in creating sustainable societies.
d. Protect and restore outstanding places of cultural and spiritual significance.

IV. DEMOCRACY, NONVIOLENCE, AND PEACE

13. Strengthen democratic institutions at all levels, and provide transparency and accountability in governance, inclusive participation in decision making, and access to justice.

a. Uphold the right of everyone to receive clear and timely information on environmental matters and all development plans and activities which are likely to affect them or in which they have an interest.
b. Support local, regional and global civil society, and promote the meaningful participation of all interested individuals and organizations in decision making.
c. Protect the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, association, and dissent.
d. Institute effective and efficient access to administrative and independent judicial procedures, including remedies and redress for environmental harm and the threat of such harm.
e. Eliminate corruption in all public and private institutions. f. Strengthen local communities, enabling them to care for their environments, and assign environmental responsibilities to the levels of government where they can be carried out most effectively.

14. Integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge, values, and skills needed for a sustainable way of life.

a. Provide all, especially children and youth, with educational opportunities that empower them to contribute actively to sustainable development.
b. Promote the contribution of the arts and humanities as well as the sciences in sustainability education.
c. Enhance the role of the mass media in raising awareness of ecological and social challenges.
d. Recognize the importance of moral and spiritual education for sustainable living.

15. Treat all living beings with respect and consideration.

a. Prevent cruelty to animals kept in human societies and protect them from suffering.
b. Protect wild animals from methods of hunting, trapping, and fishing that cause extreme, prolonged, or avoidable suffering.
c. Avoid or eliminate to the full extent possible the taking or destruction of non-targeted species.

16. Promote a culture of tolerance, nonviolence, and peace.

a. Encourage and support mutual understanding, solidarity, and cooperation among all peoples and within and among nations.
b. Implement comprehensive strategies to prevent violent conflict and use collaborative problem solving to manage and resolve environmental conflicts and other disputes.
c. Demilitarize national security systems to the level of a non-provocative defense posture, and convert military resources to peaceful purposes, including ecological restoration.
d. Eliminate nuclear, biological, and toxic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
e. Ensure that the use of orbital and outer space supports environmental protection and peace.
f. Recognize that peace is the wholeness created by right relationships with oneself, other persons, other cultures, other life, Earth, and the larger whole of which all are a part.

Life often involves tensions between important values. This can mean difficult choices. However, we must find ways to harmonize diversity with unity, the exercise of freedom with the common good, short-term objectives with long-term goals. Every individual, family, organization, and community has a vital role to play. The arts, sciences, religions, educational institutions, media, businesses, nongovernmental organizations, and governments are all called to offer creative leadership. The partnership of government, civil society, and business is essential for effective governance. In order to build a sustainable global community, the nations of the world must renew their commitment to the United Nations, fulfill their obligations under existing international agreements, and support the implementation of Earth Charter principles with an international legally binding instrument on environment and development. Let ours be a time remembered for the awakening of a new reverence for life, the firm resolve to achieve sustainability, the quickening of the struggle for justice and peace, and the joyful celebration of life.

THE WAY FORWARD

As never before in history, common destiny beckons us to seek a new beginning. Such renewal is the promise of these Earth Charter principles. To fulfill this promise, we must commit ourselves to adopt and promote the values and objectives of the Charter. This requires a change of mind and heart. It requires a new sense of global interdependence and universal responsibility. We must imaginatively develop and apply the vision of a sustainable way of life locally, nationally, regionally, and globally. Our cultural diversity is a precious heritage and different cultures will find their own distinctive ways to realize the vision. We must deepen and expand the global dialogue that generated the Earth Charter, for we have much to learn from the ongoing collaborative search for truth and wisdom.