The New American | April 25 2012

Even as the United Nations prepares to massively expand its “sustainable development” agenda at the upcoming sustainability summit in Rio de Janeiro, lawmakers in Tennessee approved a joint resolution blasting the global body’s controversial Agenda 21 — adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit — as an “insidious” socialist plot. All across America, opposition to the UN schemes is building quickly.

The popular measure (HJR 587) in Tennessee was passed by a bipartisan 72-to-23 landslide in the state House of Representatives last month. And on Tuesday, it was overwhelmingly approved in the Senate with 19 in favor and 11 against.

A broad coalition of activists from across the political spectrum came together to support the resolution, urging lawmakers to stand firm in the face of attacks to protect the people of Tennessee. And the efforts paid off: Supporters celebrated its passage Wednesday as another small victory for liberty, private-property rights, and national sovereignty.

Despite being non-binding, analysts said legislators in Tennessee sent a powerful message by recognizing the “destructive and insidious nature” of the controversial UN scheme. The resolution, among other points, urges the public and policymakers to reject Agenda 21, which it describes as “a comprehensive plan of extreme environmentalism, social engineering, and global political control.”

Echoing a similar measure adopted earlier this year by the Republican National Committee (RNC), the resolution approved in Tennessee cites the UN’s own documents to expose the global plan. Agenda 21 policy describes “social justice,” for example, as “the right and opportunity of all people to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment,” lawmakers observed.

Such a “radical” vision would have to be accomplished by what the resolution describes as “socialist” and “communist” means — “redistribution of wealth” from U.S. taxpayers to governments around the world. Meanwhile, the legislation points out, Agenda 21 considers national sovereignty to be a “social injustice.”

In other words, if the UN has its way, Americans would be forced to submit to global authorities as opposed to governing themselves under the framework established by the Constitution. And everything would have to change — education, the economy, policies, taxes, consumption, production, and more.

“This United Nations Agenda 21 plan of radical so-called ‘sustainable development’ views the American way of life of private property ownership, single-family homes, private car ownership and individual travel choices, and privately owned farms all as destructive to the environment,” the resolution explains. “We hereby endorse rejection of its radical policies and rejection of any grant monies attached to it.”

While the 20-year-old global plan has never been formally adopted by the U.S. Senate — which must ratify all treaties — it is still being implemented across the nation by stealth. “The United Nations Agenda 21 is being covertly pushed into local communities throughout the United States of America,” the measure notes.

Aside from the federal executive branch, one of the main forces working to foist the scheme on Americans is a global organization named ICLEI (formerly known as the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives). And it uses a variety of innocent-sounding terms — “Smart Growth” and “Green,” for example — to advance the controversial agenda, the resolution states. As such, the legislature of Tennessee resolved to warn America about the “dangerous intent” of the plan.

Facing a tidal wave of anti-Agenda 21 activism, an assortment of extremist pro-UN groups and tax-funded propagandists have attempted to downplay the significance of the global agenda, portraying it as a harmless environmental initiative. But experts and lawmakers were not convinced, and opposition to the schemes continues to grow.

State Sen. Mike Bell, a Republican who sponsored the Senate resolution in Tennessee, held up the UN’s Agenda 21 in a thick folder for all to see. “There is over 300 pages, like I said, contained in this document,” he explained, noting that the state resolution would send a “message” to Congress. “I can best describe this as zoning rules on steroids.”

Some Democrats, however, did not see it that way. “It seems to me that planning and forethought and trying to preserve our Tennessee way of life is exactly what we should be doing,” State Sen. Andy Berke was quoted as saying. It was not immediately clear why he opposed the resolution because it merely condemns Agenda 21 and UN schemes — not planning, forethought, or the preservation of the state’s way of life.

Still, despite support from some pro-UN Democrats, opposition to the global organization and its “sustainable development” schemes largely transcends party lines. In the Tennessee House, for example, at least half-a-dozen Democratic lawmakers joined with the GOP majority to approve the anti-Agenda 21 resolution.

Activists who backed the measure come from both sides of the aisle, too. “Let’s be sure to thank those elected officials who have the courage to brave ridicule and disinformation in order to bring UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development out of the shadows and into the light,” noted the group Democrats Against U.N. Agenda 21 in a statement urging the Tennessee Senate to approve the resolution. “We can do it. We’re getting stronger every day, and it’s because you are speaking out.”

Of course, the growing alliance seeking to preserve individual liberty and private property in the face of UN plans also includes a wide range of conservative and libertarian organizations. Diverse groups such as the Tennessee Eagle Forum, local Tea Party chapters, The John Birch Society, the American Policy Center, and even the Republican National Committee all played a role in getting the joint resolution passed.

Meanwhile, another piece of legislation on the agenda in Tennessee would do more than simply condemn the UN plan using strong language — it would completely prohibit the adoption or implementation of any part of the global scheme within the state. If passed, the law would ensure that local governments and state agencies would not be able to financially support or work with the vast array of “shadow organizations” seeking to “surreptitiously implement ‘Agenda 21’ around the world.”

Beyond Tennessee, legislators and policymakers at the state and local level all across America are working hard to stop the agenda as well. Several states are already considering similar legislation. And scores of city governments are dropping their controversial membership in ICLEI — with the trend expected to accelerate faster than ever this year.

The UN, however, is moving full-speed ahead toward achieving its goals. Several official documents released in recent weeks revealed that the global body plans to use this June’s UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UN CSD) to amass wide-ranging new powers and literally re-shape civilization under the guise of environmentalism. Even people’s thoughts and lifestyles are in the crosshairs.

The upcoming global summit — known as Rio+20 because it marks the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit which adopted Agenda 21 — will seek to transform humanity toward what its leaders describe as a “green economy.” It will be chaired by UN CSD Secretary General Sha Zukang, who served as a senior diplomat for the Communist Chinese dictatorship before taking on his high-level “sustainability” post at the UN.