Volume 4, Number 4 -- August 5, 1999
John Locke coined the phrase: "life, liberty and property." Thomas Jefferson realized that life was the first and foremost aspect of property, he therefore, changed the wording to: "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Both Mr. Locke and Mr. Jefferson would acknowledge that the right to own private property is one aspect of Christianity. Some two hundred years later the EPA has decided that the term private property shall take on a new meaning. In 1998 the EPA created The Emerging Strategies Division (ESD).
http://www.epa.gov/emergingstrategies/
The Division is establishing sustainable indicators for business and industry. The purpose is to "provide a standard against which other firms....may evaluate their own policies and reports."
http://www.epa.gov/emergingstrategies/benchmark.html
A link from this page (set of criteria) will change the web address to:
http://www.epa.gov/emergingstrategies/criteria.html
and you may read for yourself all the Corporate Benchmarks (sustainable indicators) that will establish a new set of standards for American business and industry. Indicator number 20 when adopted as a standard will change the status of private property but not the legal labeling thereof.
In NAZI Germany, under the National Socialist Workers Party an individual or company would remain the property owner but the state would control how it could be used. The owner would continued to pay the taxes. The state at that time was known as the "The Third Reich." Bill Clinton's new way is known as the "Third Way." As Solomon wisely said, "There's nothing new under the sun."
We will examine benchmark/indicator number 20 to illustrate our point:
"Reconsider business strategy in light of the carrying capacity of human and natural systems, and the challenge of resource productivity."
http://www.epa.gov/emergingstrategies/criteria.html
One of the sources from which this indicator was drawn is the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). This organization is listed on page: http://www.epa.gov/emergingstrategies/source20.html states: The reason for the reconsideration of business strategies is that "The presence of unused, unexploited, non-renewable, natural resources within a particular area is recognized as an asset of the community of that area." (NOT an asset to the owner of the property!)
The EPA nor the ICCR could care less who holds title. In fact, except for taxation the title is meaningless. The new owners have just identified themselves.
The EPA and ICCR further state "To minimize environmental degradation and health impacts, the 'precautionary principle,' is the overriding principle guiding action, shifting the burden of proof from one of proving environmental harm to one of proving environmental safety."
The 'precautionary principle' most often is associated with principle 15. The United Nations established a total of 27 principles in the 1992 Earth Summit Conference.
Principle 15, Rio Declaration, 1992
Think about what this says. No longer is proof necessary for government to take action. The government now accepts accusation and innuendo rather than requiring truth. If this is acceptable in environmental cases, how long before the same standards are applied to other issues? Will even our right to face our accuser be thrown in the trash heap as well?
Benchmark/Indicator number 13 states:
Does the "standard" require the firm to "involve workers?" Who are the "non-industrial stakeholders?" Is the "firm's sustainable development decision making" optional?
One question that CAN be answered is: From what source of wisdom did the EPA draw the indicator?
A complete list of sources (EPA's well of wisdom) can be found on their website. http://www.epa.gov/emergingstrategies/source13.html
You probably have never heard of The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). They are included as a source of reference for corporate benchmarking/sustainable indicators. The WBCSD defines itself as "a coalition of 125 international companies united by a shared commitment to the environment and to the principles of economic growth and sustainable development. ...." The WBCSD was formed in January 1995 through a merger between the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) in Geneva and the World Industry Council for the Environment (WICE), an initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), in Paris.
Those two parent bodies had been at the forefront of business's response to the
challenges arising from the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Today, the
WBCSD is carrying forward that initiative and has become the pre-eminent
business voice on sustainable development.
http://www.wbcsd.ch/whatis.htm
The north American members of the Council are:
| 3M Company | Cargill Incorporated | AT&T | CH2M Hill | Arthur D. Little | Dow Chemical | Avenor Inc. | DuPont | Eastman Kodak | Interface Inc. | General Motors | Johnson &Johnson | Grupo IMSA, S.A. de C.V. | Johnson & Son, Inc. | Grupo Vitro | Monsanto Company | Noranda Inc. | Suncor Energy Inc. | Ontario Power Corp. | Time Warner | Petro-Canada | TransAlta Corporation | Procter & Gamble Company | TXI | Unocal | Weyerhaeuser Company | Westvaco Corporation | Xerox Corporation |
http://www.wbcsd.ch/memlist2.htm#na
This country was founded by men who held strong to their beliefs. Those beliefs were predominately Christian and they strongly influenced the structure of government our founders bequeathed to us. Today our society is being bombarded by a new set of standards that do not have that solid foundation. Time and commitment will tell which direction we choose to take. It is a choice and it is ours, yours and mine... "as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:15).