SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT:
A GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
by Milton H. Baxley II
 
 

     Since the Convention on Global Biological Diversity (Earth Summit II) was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the United Nations, the President's Council on Sustainable Development, the State of Florida and a number of other local governments have been busy implementing the provisions of the United Nation's Agenda 21: Programme of Action for Sustainable Development . The implementation of Agenda 21 is being done under Presidential Executive Order No. 12852, without Congressional approval or ratification of the Global Biological Diversity Treaty. Likewise, Florida's Governor Lawton Childs has begun implementing Agenda 21 by signing Executive Order 94-54, establishing the Governor's Commission for a Sustainable South Florida. 

     The sustainability promoters contend that it is absolutely essential for sustainable development be implemented on a global basis in order to restore our ecosystems, to prevent global warming, and to repair the so-called "hole" in the ozone layer. The United Nations and the President's Council on Sustainable Development have defined the term Sustainable Development "as conserving resources to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." 

     There is no doubt that government is the largest business and has the greatest number of employees of any other entity in the country. It is clear that governmental agencies use and waste more resources than any other business enterprise. So, if we are to have any tangible evidence that sustainable development truly works, before disrupting the lives of every person in this nation and destroying our economy, we must insist that all federal, state and local governments undertake to act and to serve as sustainable development demonstration projects. If such a demonstration project works as well as we have been led to believe, then there may be some factual basis on which to extend the sustainable development concept to the business and private sectors of the country. 

     Therefore, I propose that the citizens of each township, municipality, county and state immediately draft binding resolutions, ordinances, or statutes, as may be appropriate, which mandate that various governmental agencies comply with the following sustainable requirements: 

    (1) Move all non-emergency government agencies into a high-rise, high-density facility or facilities, located within a designated governmental containment boundary to be prescribed by a Citizens Committee On Governmental oversight; 
    (2) Each governmental agency shall reduce the number of employees to a level of 15% below the number of employees on January 1, 1990; 
    (3) Reduce and maintain the number of government owned or leased motor vehicles to a level of 50% of the governmental vehicles in existence on January 1, 1997; 
    (4) Convert all remaining motor vehicles to non-fossil fuel burning engines and eliminate automobile air conditioners; 
    (5) No government owned or leased vehicle shall be driven by off-duty employees, or for non-governmental business purposes; 
    (6) All essential travel shall be by the most economicalmode of transportation available; 
    (7) All non-essential governmental travel shall be prohibited; 
    (8) Governmental agencies shall be prohibited from engaging in services which can be provided by private business enterprise; 
    (9) No individual governmental officer or employee shall be allowed to occupy office space which exceeds 144 square feet, regardless of configuration; 
    (10) All essential goods and services, if available, shall be contracted for and purchased from individuals, associations, partnerships, corporations, or other entities located within the territorial boundaries of the specific township, municipality, county and state where such goods and services shall be utilized or, if not available locally, then from the next nearest geographical location; 
    (11) Air conditioning shall be prohibited in all governmental buildings and facilities, unless generated by solar energy and without the use of CFC's, or other alleged environmentally harmful substances; 
    (12) All elected and appointed governmental officials and employees shall be required to either utilize government owned mass transportation or private non-fossil fuel powered methods of transportation when traveling to and from work; 
    (13) No governmental entity shall fund, donate, loan or contribute governmental funds or assets to non-governmental entities, except in payment for goods and services provided for essential governmental functions; 
    (14) All governmental agencies shall be required to obtain a permit from t he the Citizens Committee On Governmental Oversight for proposed expenditures in the amount of $50,000.00 or more . shall require a permit from ; the Citizens Committee On Governmental Oversight 
    (15) A Citizens Committee On Governmental Oversight shall be created in each county within the state, which shall have the authority and power to investigate any township, municipality, county, state, or federal governmental agency, which is either located in, or carries on any business within the city or county . The Citizens Committees so created shall have the power to conduct investigations, hearings, issue witness subpoenas, impose and enforce fines and other sanctions against any governmental employee found to be in violation of one or more of the sustainable development demonstration project rules; and 
    (16) Each Citizens Committee shall have the power to draft and implement additional sustainable government demonstration project rules and requirements, from time to time, as the need arises. 
     
      By implementing such a Sustainable Deveopment Government Demonstration Project, the several Citizens Committees On Governmental Oversight can study the effects, if any, on the global environment, the ozone layer, the economy, and on conserving human and natural resources for use by the present generation, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. 
 
 

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 Revised  January 26, 1998