The Tool Kit I Wish I'd Had

May was spent writing, compiling, editing, and publishing a tool kit I wish I'd had when I first endorsed the Earth Charter.  Yesterday the 'Earth Charter Local Endorsement Kit & Activities Guidebook' was officially released to the Earth Charter Community Network members under 'Creative Commons' license.  The guidebook is a starting place that can be expanded, revised, and updated regularly.  It is my hope that the tools and suggestions can be easily utilized by present and future Earth Charter supporters/activists, sustainability advocates, and people in my generation.  

The founders and leaders of the Earth Charter Initiative worked hard to birth the Earth Charter and I feel it is my generation's responsibility to nurture and raise it in ways that make it accessible to a wider demographic and grow beyond the academia nursery it has flourished in so far.

I see the Earth Charter in 2020 being referenced and used as a standard backdrop to the systems, structures, and models that are currently just beginning to emerge within all sectors of society and culture.  I also see the Earth Charter in symbiotic relationship with local governments that by then may have evolved through necessity to be the ultimate authority and jurisdiction in civil society...the trends are definitely pointing in that direction.

Communities and Local Government 
The UK passed the Localization Act and is setting precedents that can be easily duplicated in all developed countries. 



Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age by Michael H. Shuman
Shuman, Michael H. 2000. Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age. New York, Routledge.
Localization: A Global Manifesto by Colin Hines
Hines, Colin. 2000. Localization: A Global Manifesto. London: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth by Jim Merkel
Merkel, Jim. 2003. Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth. Gabriola Island, B.C.: New Society Publishers.
The Essential Exponential: For the Future of Our Planet by Albert A. Bartlett
Bartlett, Albert A. 2004. The Essential Exponential: For the Future of Our Planet. Lincoln, NE: Center for Science, Mathematics & Computer Education, University of Nebraska.

You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.


- Buckminster Fuller