HAPPY EARTH DAY 2013!
"A global campaign calling forth the universal acceptance of rights of nature … Its time has come!"
From World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth,
Cochabamba, Bolivia, 22 April – Earth Day 2010.
We, the peoples and nations of Earth:
considering that we are all part of Mother Earth, an indivisible, living community of interrelated and interdependent beings with a common destiny;
gratefully acknowledging that Mother Earth is the source of life, nourishment and learning and provides everything we need to live well;
recognizing that the capitalist system and all forms of depredation, exploitation, abuse and contamination have caused great destruction, degradation and disruption of Mother Earth, putting life as we know it today at risk through phenomena such as climate change;
convinced that in an interdependent living community it is not possible to recognize the rights of only human beings without causing an imbalance within Mother Earth;
affirming that to guarantee human rights it is necessary to recognize and defend the rights of Mother Earth and all beings in her and that there are existing cultures, practices and laws that do so;
conscious of the urgency of taking decisive, collective action to transform structures and systems that cause climate change and other threats to Mother Earth;
proclaim this Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, and call on the General Assembly of the United Nation to adopt it, as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations of the world, and to the end that every individual and institution takes responsibility for promoting through teaching, education, and consciousness raising, respect for the rights recognized in this Declaration and ensure through prompt and progressive measures and mechanisms, national and international, their universal and effective recognition and observance among all peoples and States in the world.
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"Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center."
"Inspired by the student anti-war movement, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson realized that if he could infuse that energy with the emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda."
"Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media. On 22nd April, in massive coast-to-coast rallies, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment."
"Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values."
"Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders."
"The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. "It was a gamble," Senator Gaylord recalled, "but it worked."
CREATOR, WE ASK YOU TO BLESS AND PROTECT OUR EARTH MOTHER,
THIS BEAUTIFUL LAND WE ONCE KNEW AS TURTLE ISLAND
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=445435495542279&set=a.181724598580038.47614.100002274971094&type=1&theater
"We are all from the earth. And when earth, water and the atmosphere is corrupted, then it will create its own reaction. Mother is reacting. In the Hopi prophecy they say the storms and floods will become greater."
-- Floyd Red Crow Westerman
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NOTE: ( REPRINT OF EARTH DAY PIECE THAT I WROTE LAST YEAR FOR THE TRIBAL INDEPENDENT WHICH IS NO LONGER ONLINE)
22 Apr 2012
By Deborah LaVallie
Tribal Independent
Our Earth Mother has sustained humanity for many eons, nurturing us, and, providing the sustenance we have needed to continue to live throughout the generations of mankind, here on Earth in harmony and balance with the ‘Natural’, the Four-leggeds, the Winged Ones, the Fishers, our Tree relatives and all that is living.
Rooted in a nation-wide grassroots movement, the first Earth Day America took place on April 22, 1970, inspired by Senator Gaylord Nelson, a Senator and environmental activist from Wisconsin. College campuses and schools throughout the country took part in the education/environmental activism program, resulting in the eventual establishment of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the passage of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and wilderness protection laws. Twenty million Americans took to the streets across the land demonstrating their concerns for the deterioration and destruction of the environment. That was 42 years ago.
Most people aren’t aware, though, that there were two annual Earth Day observances that were founded a month apart in 1970. Though Earth Day is now celebrated by most people on April 22, the first Earth Day actually took place on March 21, 1970, the vernal (Spring) Equinox at that time. Newspaper publisher and community activist John McConnell proposed a global holiday called Earth Day at a UNESCO conference on the environment in 1969. He wanted to remind people throughout the world of their shared responsibility as caretakers of the Earth and chose the vernal Equinox (the first day of Spring) because it’s traditionally known throughout many cultures of the world as a day of ‘Renewal.’ His dream was for all peoples of the world to put aside their differences and work towards the common goal of preserving the Earth’s resources for future generations.
In April of 2010, Bolivian president Evo Morales, an Aymara Indian and a ‘traditionalist’ and also an environmental activist, hosted ‘The World People’s Summit on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth,’ in Cochabamba. It was a three day summit where more than 30,000 people attended from all corners of the world and officially proposed that the United Nations adopt a declaration that recognizes the inherent rights of ‘Mother Earth.’ He believed that “Our Earth Mother is the source of life that provides for mankind.” He and his delegation from Bolivia took the lead in proposing the resolution to the UN General Assembly and in 2010, April 22 was officially declared to be ‘International Mother Earth Day.’ He stated at the time, “60 years after adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Mother Earth is now, finally having her rights recognized.” His dream began as a way to promote harmony with nature with the dream of our planet balancing nature with the economic, social, and environmental needs of the present and future generations of humanity. He declared, “We are strangling the planet – strangling ourselves,” in his appeal, stating that, “for too many years, the world has been held captive by the seductive notion of capitalism. “ However, it is clear now – that “we don’t own the planet, we belong to it," adding that the proclamation of the International day, would begin the process of ‘The Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth, though the concept of ‘Mother Earth’ is not universally accepted.
Morales, has said, “We don’t believe in the linear, cumulative conception of progress and of an unlimited development at the cost of other people and nature. To live well is to think not only in terms of per capita income but of cultural identity, community harmony among ourselves and with Mother Nature.” He has become known as a ‘world hero of Mother Earth’. In January 2011, Bolivia became the world’s first nation to grant the natural environment equal rights to humans. Bolivia’s ‘Law of Mother Earth’ is heavily influenced by the spiritual and traditional lifeways of the indigenous population of the Andes.
Indigenous peoples throughout the world believe that we are at a point of transformation and we must accept the responsibility of restoring the harmony and balance of our beloved Earth Mother. The ‘Mother Earth Accord’, developed and written at the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (SD) Emergency Summit, held during Sept. 15-16, 2011, by affected groups, tribal governments, traditional treaty councils, First Nations of Canada and impacted property owners, was written in response to the proposed Keystone XL tar Sands pipeline and the tar sands development in Canada.
The Accord, guided by the principle of traditional indigenous knowledge, spiritual values and respectful use of the land, affirmed our responsibility to protect and preserve for our descendants, the inherent sovereign rights of our Indigenous Nations, the rights of property owners, and all inherent human rights, also recognizing that our indigenous view is that the Earth is our true Mother, our Grandmother who gives birth to us, and maintains all life.
The Accord recognized that tar sands development in northern Alberta has devastating impacts to Mother Earth and her inhabitants and perpetuates the crippling addiction to oil in the U.S. and Canada, and, urged a halt to heavy haul shipments of tar sands equipment through the two countries, also urging both to reduce their reliance on oil, including tar sands, investing in the research and development of cleaner, safer forms of sustainable energy which include, smart growth, fuel efficiency, next-generation bio fuels and electric vehicles powered by solar and wind energy. The Accord declared that the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline was not in the national interest of either country and urged President Obama to reject the Keystone. The document was presented to Obama during the third annual White House Tribal Leaders Summit in December 2011, and demonstrate the unity of Tribes on both sides of the border.
What a wonderful dream it would be if the Tribal Nations of this country followed the courageous lead of Morales and the Bolivians, amending their tribal constitutions to give ‘Mother Earth’ equal rights within our tribal nations, establishing a ‘Mother Earth Law.' Tribes here in the U.S. and the First Nations of Canada are addressing huge environmental issues, such as the tar sands of Alberta, the Keystone XL pipeline, pollution of water supplies, toxic contamination from mining and fracking, toxic and seeping landfills and the list goes on. Tribes also need to form stronger coalitions with each other to advocate the passage of the Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth by the United Nations. What happened to that energy and commitment of the 20 million concerned American citizens that marched and demonstrated throughout the land 42 years ago? It saddens me to see how uncaring and unconcerned America’s citizens have become, apathetic and unworried about the state they will leave this beautiful land to future generations and it’s heartbreaking to see how our Tribal peoples have become so disconnected from the ‘natural law’ that was once the central focus of their lives and the essence of their very being.
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