EARTHDAY 2005

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All
is a miracle." Thich Nhat Hanh (Vietnamese monk, activist and writer. b.1926)

On Earth Day, concerns over capitalism's stewardship of Mother Earth or lack thereof take center stage for a day in ecological conscious circles, among left-leaning progressives and the working class. The well-being of our Mother Earth and the mere existence of our human race should lead all of us to seriously recognize what kind of "miracle," if any, we intend to bequeath to future generations if we don't organize locally, nationally and internationally to end capitalism's profit-driven exploitation of our natural environment and resources.

The hope of a future lies in an alternative form of stewardship that carefully plans its way of life and technology to be a harmonious part of our natural environment. A plan that takes place on regional, national, and international levels and covers the production of energy, the use of scarce resources, land-use planning, the prevention of pollution and the preservation of wildlife; and where the cleanup of the contaminated environment and the creation of a nuclear-free world are among its first tasks. This alternative form is a radical democracy, a democratic socialist society, where "all is a miracle."

Join the Socialist Party USA as we work towards the restoration of the integral bond between humanity and Mother Earth and recognize that the mechanisms in capitalism that oppress and alienate humans are the same mechanisms that destroy the environment. Here are ways that we could all build for, TODAY:

… TODAY we call for public ownership and democratic control of all our natural resources in order to conserve resources, preserve our wilderness areas, and restore environmental quality;
… TODAY we place financial responsibility on private companies for cleaning up their own toxic wastes;
… TODAY we require manufacturers to contribute to research and development of new technologies for cleaning up and preventing future toxic wastes;
… TODAY we take legal action against any U.S. corporation that violates any U.S. environmental laws in the operation of facilities overseas;
… TODAY we oppose any policies that encourage corporations to place local municipal landfills, toxic waste disposal sites, or incinerators in minority communities;
… TODAY we oppose nuclear power projects
… TODAY we call for the immediate decommissioning of all nuclear power plants, a ban on the export of nuclear technology, and any efforts to use nuclear technology in space.

Antonio Salas, Socialist Party USA, Co-Chair

http://sp-usa.org/statements/earthday2005.html