Earth Charter

"Earth, our home, is alive with a unique community of life."

The forces around us make living a demanding and uncertain adventure, but Earth has given us the conditions we need in life's evolution. The sustainability of the community of life and the well-being of humanity depends on making sure we preserve a healthy biosphere with all of its ecological system like: plants, animals, fertile soils, waters, and air. The protection of Earth is a vital essential to our survival. Our demanding desires of production and consumption is causing serious environmental destruction, decrease of resources, and a huge extinction of species. Injustice, poverty, violent conflict, and ignorance are causing great suffering and a rise in human population has overburdened our ecological and social systems.

Photo Concept by: Joe Carter

"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 necessary in our institutions and way of living. We need to see that when it comes to basic needs, human development is about being more, not having more. We have the technology and knowledge to provide and reduce our impacts on the environment and the emergence of a global civil society is starting new opportunities that will build a democratic and humane world. We must make a decision to live in a sense of universal responsibility and everyone shares this for the present and future of the well-being of our living world. We need a shared vision of basic values that will provide us with a good foundation for the emerging world community and together we can start a sustainable way of life for us all. 

Photo Concept by: cleanuptheworld.org

"To fulfill this promise, we must commit ourselves to adopt and promote the values and objectives of the Charter." 

This is going to require a change of mind and heart, as well as, a new sense of global interdependence and universal responsibility. We have to develop a plan of a sustainable way of life locally, nationally, regionally, and globally. We have to come together and harmonize diversity with unity; every individual, family, organization, and community plays a vital role. In order to build a sustainable global community, the world must renew their commitment to the United Nations, and support the Earth Charter principles of international environment and development. 

Photo Concept by: Pat Bertram