5.8 Making Connections

THE EARTH CHARTER: A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Background: The Earth Charter Initiative is an international effort whose stated mission is “to promote the transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework that includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace.” The Earth Charter document (download it at www.earthcharterinaction.org) that is the basis of this initiative is promoted as a global consensus statement on what sustainability should mean and the principles by which sustainable development should be achieved at all levels of society.

Case: You have been invited to participate in the Earth Charter Initiative—that is, you are being asked to encourage people in your school, community, or workplace to endorse the Earth Charter and to apply its principles as part of their daily operations so they can join in the effort toward developing a sustainable society.

Write a letter to the people in your school, community, or workplace to describe the Earth Charter and explain why they should become part of this initiative.

1. In your letter include the following:
   1. An assessment of the importance of sustainability and the challenges to achieving it.
   2. An analysis of the Earth Charter as a framework for reaching sustainability—that is, how can the Earth Charter be used to make choices that take all the costs (economic, social, and environmental) of a given action into account and allow a school, community, or workplace to strike a balance between the current and future well-being of humans and the environment?
2. Propose some specific sustainability initiatives that your school, community, or workplace could engage in that reflect the Earth Charter principles.
3. Identify the potential challenges to implementing the Earth Charter and discuss how these challenges could be addressed.