TEST TIDBITS: DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE PART TWO

The Declaration of Interdependence, written by David Suzuki and others from the Suzuki Foundation, was presented thirty years ago at the Climate Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Last week’s article focused on declaring that we know we are interdependent. We know that our planet’s resources and living species are finite and the damage we do to one affects all others. Part two focuses on our conclusions from what we know and our resolve to live into that knowledge.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Humans have become so numerous and our tools so powerful that we have driven fellow creatures to extinction, dammed great rivers, torn down forests, poisoned the earth, rain and wind, and ripped hoes in the sky. Our science has brought pain as well as joy; our comfort paid for by the suffering of millions. We are learning from our mistakes, we are mourning our vanished kin, and we now build a new policy of hope. We respect and uphold the absolute need for clean air, water, and soil. We see that economic activities that benefit the few while shrinking the inheritance of many are wrong. Since environmental degradation erodes biological capital forever, a full ecological & social cost must be a part of any development. We are but one brief generation in the long march of time; the future's not ours to erase. Therefore, where knowledge is limited, we will remember all those who will walk with us. And err on the side of caution. Therefore—WE RESOLVE that all we know & believe must now become the foundation of the way we live. At this turning point in our relationship with the earth, we turn from dominance to partnership; from fragmentation to connection; from insecurity to interdependence.

EARTH STEWARD ACTION: Let these words move you and remind you that they were written 30 years ago. Another 30 years of minimal progress is unacceptable.

RESOURCE: http://www.davidsuzuki.org . It should be noted that many of the pollutants causing a hole in the ozone layer were brought under control because of the Rio Summit. Hopefully COP26 will bring even more needed changes to address our planet’s health.