Title: Sustainable Development, the New International Scientific Order, and UN Reform
1Sustainable Development, the New International
Scientific Order, and UN Reform
- Roger Dittmann
- President, U.S. Federation of Scholars and
Scientists - U.S. Affiliate of the World Federation of
Scientific Workers - UN Representative of the WFSW
- Professor of Physics Emeritus
- California State University
- Fullerton, CA 92834-6866
- RDittmann_at_Fullerton.edu
2Sustainable Development
- The Law locks up the man who steals the goose
from the commons, but leaves the greater villian
loose who steals the commons from the goose.
3The Road to Rio10 WSSD
- The History
- Developing Countries Ministerial Conference
- Beijing June 1991
- ICUNP Victoria British Columbia, February 1992
- The Road to Brazil
92 - UN Conference on Environment and Development
- UNCED Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992
- UN Conference on Population and Development
- ICPD Cairo, Egypt , 5-13 September 1994
- UN World Summit on Sustainable Development
- WSSD Rio 10 Johannesburg 26 August - 4
September 2002
4Sustainable Development
- Problem 1 Population Control
- No matter what your cause, its a lost cause
without population control.Elaine Stansfield - The rich get richthe poor get childrenPop
song from the 30s
5Sustainable Development
- Prognosis
- Rising global temperature and greenhouse gases.
- Shrinking amount of cropland per person.
- Decline in amount of wheat and rice/person.
- Shrinking area of tropical moist forests.
- Decreasing oceanic fish harvest per person.
- Increasing number of people dying of AIDS.
- Declining human sperm count.
- Growing gap between rich and poor
- Reduced biodiversity
- Ehrich and Schneider
6Sustainable Development
- Prognosis
- Slowing, but continuing population growth,
already far beyond what is estimated to be the
earths maximum carrying capacity. - Continuing unsustainable economic growth, e.g,
fossil fuel agriculture.
7Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development
- Maximum Carrying Capacity vs. Optimum Population
- The greater the population the greater the
restrictions necessary to achieve sustainability.
8Sustainable Development
- The Perfect Correlation
- All industrialized countries have less than
replacement birth rates.
9Sustainable Development
- Economic Development Low Birth Rates
- coupled with womens liberation, social
security, and child labor laws - Spain.
- 99 Roman Catholic
- gt44 Reduction/Generation (.55 female
children/woman) - Italy
- Home of the Vatican
- gt42 Reduction/Generation (.427 female
children/woman)
10Sustainable Development
- The Dilemma
- The habitat cannot sustain the environmental
impact of traditional development for the
exploding population. - Direct birth control meets opposition.
11Sustainable Development
- The Remedy
- Sustainable Development
12The Three official Components of Sustainable
Development
- Components
- Economic development
- Social development
- Environmental protection
13Definitions of Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development
- Official
- Development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs." - World Commission on Environment and Development
(the Brundtland Commission), 1987 emphasis
added.
14Definitions of Sustainable Development
- My Definition
- Economic and other development that leads to
reduction in population toward an optimum level
for maximization of the quality of life, i.e.
environmentally benign development that - reduces the birth rate.
15Elements of Sustainable Development
- Environmental
- The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change - Population
- .. consistent with ...The United Nations
International Conference on Population and
Development population policies and
programmes to support the objectives and actions
agreed upon in Agenda 21 Rio 1992 - The United Nations International Conference on
Population and Development (ICPD) 5-13 September
1994, Cairo, Egypt.
16One Path
- Reminders
- If one stays the course one will end up where
one is headed Ecocatastrophe - Things that cant last forever, wont.
- There is always a remedy Nature Bats Last
- The Big Die Off has already begun.
17New International Scientific Order
- Elements
- Science and space exploration as common
adventures and common heritages of the family of
humanity to which all are allowed to contribute. - Realize the fullness of human rational potential
in all countries. - Divert science from the dispatch of death and
destruction to humanistic goals, including
sustainable development.
18New International Scientific Order
- The Strategy
- Since this is a global effort, it requires global
organization, both governmental and popular. - Corollary Not only do people require
organization about their (multiple) identities
(including professional, scholarly, and
scientific), they need international, even
supranational affiliation, facing a common
adversary.
19New International Scientific Order
- Organization
- World Federation of Scientific Workers
- U.S. Federation of Scholars and Scientists
- formerly American Association of Scientific
Workers, formed in 1938 of anti-fascist
scientists - Southern California Federation of Scientists
- formerly LA Chapter of the FAS, formed after
WWII to oppose nuclear war
20New International Scientific Order
- Relevant UN GA Agencies
- UNEP
- UNDP
- UNCTAD
- UNIFEM
- Population Fund
21New International Scientific Order
- UN GA Agencies Relevant to Sustainable
Development - UNEP
- UNDP
- UNCTAD
- UNIFEM
- Population Fund
22New International Scientific Order
- ECOSOC Commissions
- Social Development
- Human Rights
- ST for Development
- Sustainable Development
- Status of Women
- Population and Development
23New International Scientific Order
- ECOSOC Specialized Agencies
- ILO
- UNESCO
- WIPO
- FAO
- UNIDO
24New International Scientific Order
- Proposed UN GA Agencies
- Space Agency Direct Revenue Source
- Remote sensing-environmental monitoring
- Science Foundation
- NRC Not the IAEA Safeguards Program
- Food and Drug Administration
25UN Reform
- Structural
- Blocked by Article 108, unless
- Philadelphia II can be implemented, or
- Substantial regime change can be achieved in
support of world rule of law.
26UN Reform
- Functional
- Strengthen, reform, and add UN GA agencies.
- Organize NGOs, reform them into SVDOs.
- Found a UN Peoples Assembly.
- Model Reformed UNs.
27What Can Everyone Do?
- Vote with your consumer dollar.
- Dont buy from countries with rogue
governments. - Study and stay informed.
- Join organizations, especially global ones.
- Be active in them. Contribute your expertise and
talents. - Insist that they develop international
affiliations.