The Earth Times Daily/Doing Well By Doing Good. By Theodore W. Kheel

Ten years ago I was privileged to join Pranay Gupte in starting The Earth Times to cover the UN conference known as the Rio Earth Summit. The summit's goal was to develop a real action plan for sustainable development--a vision of responsible global growth that builds economies and lifts individuals from poverty while preserving natural resources for future generations. The Earth Times continued in publication after Rio, promoting that vision. The world leaders gathered in Rio unanimously approved the declaration called Agenda 21, which contained more than 2,500 recommendations for action on poverty, pollution and sustainability. It's no wonder that many left that summit feeling hopeful and proud--the document produced there was the most comprehensive blueprint for the wise use of the Earth's resources ever developed.

iI had such a feeling and so did Pranay Gupte, who, as editor-in-chief of The Earth Times, tracked Rio's mission on sustainable development. Ten years later, I'm a little older, the Antarctica ice shelf is a little smaller, the gap between haves and have-nots has widened, hungry new mouths enter the world at the rate of 251 births per minute--and in many ways Agenda 21 is a promise that stills waits to be fulfilled.

It is a tribute to Pranay Gupte's commitment, energy and creativity that The Earth Times continues to pursue the goals the Earth Summit inspired. Serving as the preeminent newspaper on global issues, The Earth Times has also provided daily coverage of more than 50 international conferences. And it added a Web site at www.earthtimes.org. Beginning in January of this year, The Earth Times became a magazine covering global issues as well as international conferences. As such, it has attracted wide attention.

For the tenth anniversary of the Earth Summit The Earth Times is preparing a Commemorative Edition that will be hand-delivered to the estimated 75,000 who will be attending at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa, beginning on August 26 and continuing through September 4, 2002.

The attendees will include 5,000 delegates from the 189 member states of the United Nations and the heads of their states, more than 40,000 representatives of nongovernmental organizations that are for and not-for-profit, and more than 1,000 members of the media from all over the world.

Whether or not you attend the World Summit, you can play a part and make your views known by purchasing space in the Commemorative Issue by contacting Pranay at 212-297-0488 or by e-mailing him at pranaygupte@att.net

As someone who has made a career out of mediating highly charged disputes, I can say with some authority that the World Summit will provide us with the best chance we have to resolve some of the most pressing conflicts of our day.

The issues at stake are clear--and deadly serious. On one side of the negotiating table is widespread concern about over-development and mismanagement of the Earth's resources. A lack of access to pure water already kills more than two million people per year. Forest clearing and burning has displaced animal populations and caused previously unknown diseases to appear in human beings.

Indiscriminate fishing and farming has caused catastrophes across the globe, from the North Atlantic, where the cod industry has collapsed, to Australia, where over clearing of land has led to the loss of thousands of acres of rich farmland.

All of these circumstances will become more perilous as the global population climbs from six billion today to nine billion by the year 2060. On the other side of the table is the undeniable need for continued global economic growth. The calamities mentioned above can't be addressed without economic resources.

As a professional mediator, I can tell you that there is no use pretending that the conflict between economic growth and environmental protection isn't real--it is.

That conflict, in fact, underlies virtually every political disagreement and war our world experiences. The battle to control dwindling resources regularly disguises themselves as ethnic, religious or nationalistic battles, but in reality they are often wars over access to a reasonable share of the basics of life.

Mediators know that identification of areas of common interest can help resolve even the most serious disagreements. Everyone, from individuals to interest groups to big governments, has a common interest in avoiding the sort of conflagrations now rocking the Middle East, Africa and South America.

And this requires utilizing natural resources in an intelligent way that shares benefits wisely and builds security for the future. But individuals, businesses and nations must be assured that they will do well by doing good.

The poet Robert Burns told us to see ourselves as others see us. Conflict resolution also requires that we see others as they see themselves. Everyone has an interest in using the world's resources wisely and building a better world for our children. The search for common ground in this enterprise will determine whether we are successful at finally putting into action, across the globe, that wise plan developed in Rio 10 yeas ago. The Earth Times Magazine can enable you to participate in this most critical of world conferences.

Print Issue