AGENDA 21 IN

TEXARKANA
Are The Citizens of Texarkana Paying
For The Destruction of Freedom in
America?
 Is Agenda 21 in Texarkana?
 According to the web site of the
International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI)
Texarkana, Texas has a been a
member since 2010.
 What is ICLEI?
 ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability is a membership
association of local governments committed to advancing
climate protection and sustainable development.  Since its
inception in 1990, ICLEI has grown to include 1,227 cities,
towns and counties in 70 countries worldwide, (as of August
2010), including more than 600 in the United States. ICLEI USA
is a 501(c)3 nonprofit with an Executive Office based in
Washington, D.C., and six regional offices around the country.
 At ICLEI USA our mission is to build, serve, and drive a
movement of local governments to advance deep reductions in
greenhouse gas emissions and achieve tangible improvements
in local sustainability.
ICLEI and The Mayors Agreement
  ICLEI is a membership association of local
governments advancing greenhouse gas reductions
and sustainability. ICLEI provides the framework
and technical assistance for local governments to
create comprehensive climate protection policies.
The MCPA is a program of the US Conference of
Mayors. By signing the MCPA, a mayor sets a
target for his/her city’s climate protection efforts.
ICLEI works closely with the Conference of Mayors
to help cities who have signed the agreement work
towards meeting the goals of the Agreement
 The Mayors Agreement
 Under the Agreement, participating cities commit to take
following three actions:
-  Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own
communities, through actions ranging from anti-sprawl land-use
policies to urban forest restoration projects to public information
campaigns;
- Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to
enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas
emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the
Kyoto Protocol -- 7% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012; and
- Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas
reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission
trading system
 ICLEI and Agenda 21
 International Goals
Our programs, and projects promote participatory, long-term, strategic
planning process that address local sustainability while protecting global
common goods. This approach links local action to internationally agreed-
upon goals and targets such as:

Agenda 21,
 the Rio Conventions:
 The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change,
 The UN Convention on Biological Diversity,
 The UN Convention to Combat Desertification
 the Habitat Agenda,
 the Millennium Development Goals,
 the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
 What is Agenda 21?
 According to Michael Shaw
 “Agenda 21 is a document that reveals a
program designed to eliminate national and
individual sovereignty, reduce population and
control all human activity in the name of the
environment through Sustainable
Development.”
 Agenda 21
 Maurice Strong, Secretary-general of the 1992
United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro said, "...
[C]urrent lifestyles and consumption patterns of the
affluent middle class - involving high meat
consumption and large amounts of frozen and
convenience foods, use of fossil fuels, appliances,
home and workplace air-conditioning, and suburban
housing are not sustainable. A shift is necessary
which will require a vast strengthening of the
multilateral system, including the United Nations.
 Who Funds ICLEI?
 Boone Family Foundation
 ESRI
 Houston Endowment
 Meadows Foundation
 Oak Hill Fund
 Rauch Foundation
 Seattle Foundation
 Siemens
 The Cadmus Group Incorporated-Arlington
 The Energy Foundation
 The Kaiser Foundation
 The Kendeda Fund
 The Kresge Foundation
 The Overbrook Foundation
 The San Diego Foundation
 The Summit Foundation
 The Surdna Foundation
 The Turner Foundation
 The University of Michigan, School of Public Health (Ann Arbor)
 U.S. Department of State
 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
 U.S. Green Building Council
 Waste Management
 The Connection
 The movement from Local Agenda 21 to Local
Action 21 ushers local governments from general
sustainable development planning to working with
local stakeholders address inter-related challenges to
poverty and sustainability. ICLEI seeks to build
Sustainable Communities and Cities by enabling
local governments achieve justice, security,
resilience, viable economies, and healthy
environments. The four initiatives are: (a) Resilient
Communities and Cities, (b) Just and Peaceful
Communities, (c) Viable Local Economies, and (d)
Eco-efficient Cities
 The Connection cont.
 The task of mobilizing and technically supporting
Local Agenda 21 planning in these communities has
been led by the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and national
associations of local government. Now, with the
further support of the International Development
Research Centre and the United Nations Environment
Programme, ICLEI is able to present the first
worldwide documentation of Local Agenda 21
planning approaches, methods, and tools in this Local
Agenda 21 Planning Guide.
 From “The Local Agenda 21 Planning Guide”
 Texarkana, Tx and Sustainability
 The City of Texarkana, Texas recently received
a grant for $173,456 from the Department of
Energy to be used for energy efficiency and
conservation measures in municipal buildings.
The City plans to use the funds for
development of a comprehensive sustainability
strategy, lighting retrofits at City Hall and the
Southwest Center, and to set up a revolving
loan fund for future projects.
Texarkana, Texas and Sustainability cont.
 “The City recently completed an initial audit of the top
five energy intensive municipal buildings and we will
use the results of the audit to determine which projects
will commence first,” explained David Orr, the City’s
Sustainability and Quality Assurance Coordinator.

“This grant will add to initiatives the City already has

in place to reduce our energy consumption and
promote conservation of natural resources,” Orr said
“We are actively involved in reducing our energy costs
at the City level, and thus becoming better stewards of
taxpayer funds.”
 Earth Day
 Keep Texarkana Beautiful teamed up with Super One
Foods and the Texarkana, Texas Albertson’s stores to
provide a fun and creative learning experience for
local elementary students regarding Earth Day. Super
One and Albertson’s donated 5,000+ paper grocery
bags for the children to decorate with an “earth
friendly” theme of their choice
 The Earth Festival will be an interactive event with
booths and demonstrations to celebrate the initiatives
involved with environmental conservation and
sustainability. There will be music, free give-aways,
and activities for the entire family.
 Earth Day cont.
 One of the organizers of the event said:
 "We're going to be focusing an enormous amount of public
interest on a whole, wide range of environmental events,
hopefully in such a manner that it's going to be drawing the
interrelationships between them and, getting people to look at
the whole thing as one consistent kind of picture, a picture of a
society that's rapidly going in the wrong direction that has to be
stopped and turned around.
 "It's going to be an enormous affair, I think. We have groups
operating now in about 12,000 high schools, 2,000 colleges and
universities and a couple of thousand other community groups.
It's safe to say I think that the number of people who will be
participating in one way or another is going to be ranging in the
millions
 Earth Day and Agenda 21
 The Earth Charter – Companion to Agenda 21
 Earth Charter Preamble
 … 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…. 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.
Possible Issues with ICLEI and Agenda 21
 High-density housing scams
 Traffic congestion
 Open space where access is not allowed
 Government “partnering” with favored private businesses
and non-profit agencies, using your tax money
 Undermining Constitutional administration of government
 Managed control over your life
 Mismanagement of public utilities
 Prohibitions on natural resource management leading to
increased fire hazards, lack of water, and private property
restrictions,
 Increased taxes, fees, regulations and restrictions
 Action Points
 Understand Sustainable Development
 In summary, Sustainable Development seeks:
 • The step by step abolition of private
property, primarily through the
 implementation of the Wildlands Project and
Smart Growth.
 • Education of youth to prepare them for
global citizenship.
 • Control and ultimate reduction of human
population.
 Action Points cont.
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