Old King Coal is not a merry old soul in 2014.

Editorial

Ivan Potter
West Ky. Journal
Clinton, Ky. Feb. 11, 2014

Fact and fiction often occupy the same space and time. So it is with Senate Bill 31 introduced by Senators Robin Webb, Tom Buford and John Schickel. The bill prohibits enforcement of United Nations Agenda 21. The bill passed the Senate 32-5 today.

“AN ACT relating to the prohibition against implementing the United Nations Agenda 21.

Create a new section of Subchapter 1 of KRS Chapter 224 to prohibit a state agency or political subdivision of the state from implementing any part of the United Nations Agenda 21 that is contrary to the United States or Kentucky Constitution, or being a member of or expending any public funds on a group or organization that will implement any part of the United Nations Agenda 21.”
Source: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/14RS/SB31.htm

UN Agenda 21 is an attempt to address natural resource control and sustainability. (See Wikipedia history below.)

The planet is undergoing massive stress from the impact of man. Climate change and extreme weather are just the first large scale signs that our little world is rapidly evolving to another reality for the existence of its inhabitants.

The same people in Kentucky who believe there exists a vast international conspiracy to take away our rights as Americans in order to allow for the planet to be saved believe that the United Nations has a fleet of Black Helicopters ready to occupy our farms, river banks and forests in the name of “future regional sustainability.”

Why would three Kentucky state senators believe it necessary to file a bill in opposition to UN Agenda 21?

The story of SB 31 is about King Coal. Kentucky politics has been bought and sold around the concept that coal is Kentucky’s Ace in the Hole. For over a hundred years, coal has provided jobs and economic development to Eastern Kentucky.

Except now, early into the 21st Century, a new truth is rising up out of the mines. Coal is going the way of big tobacco. Markets will close. Mines will shut down. Families will be destroyed all in the hope of King Coal somehow coming home and protect them.

The coal market for Kentucky is imploding with some 6,000 workers lost to mine closings in 2013. Natural gas is rapidly replacing the market for Kentucky coal. Just like big tobacco, supporters of big coal are in a state of denial about the reality of the present and future of Kentucky, their coal mines and the lives of their workers.

That truth is the very rich coal companies are quickly abandoning the coal fields and selling out their miners. Pension funds will be the very last asset that coal companies will extract from the land as they ride away into the protection of corporate law.

Senate Bill 31 is a hoax. It is about wasting precious legislative time in chasing ghosts.

King Coal will die with both hands gripping the throat of East Kentucky in a forever downward spiral of job losses, closed markets, mountain tops ripped off, whole Appalachian communities going physically and culturally dark from ignorance and a profound loss placed in the religion of trust for King Coal.

The people of Eastern Kentucky are good people with a rich heritage of self reliance and cultural independence from the outside world.

They deserve better than Senate Bill 31.

*******
Wikipedia says of Agenda 21:

· Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development.[1] It is a product of the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels. The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the 21st Century. It has been affirmed and modified at subsequent
Agenda 21 is a 300-page document divided into 40 chapters that have been grouped into 4 sections:
· Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions is directed toward combatting poverty, especially in developing countries, changing consumption patterns, promoting health, achieving a more sustainable population, and sustainable settlement in decision making.
· Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development Includes atmospheric protection, combating deforestation, protecting fragile environments, conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity), control of pollution and the management of biotechnology, and radioactive wastes.
· Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups includes the roles of children and youth, women, NGOs, local authorities, business and industry, and workers; and strengthening the role of indigenous peoples, their communities, and farmers.
· Section IV: Means of Implementation: implementation includes science, technology transfer, education, international institutions and financial mechanisms.
Development and evolution
The full text of Agenda 21 was made public at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit), held in Rio de Janeiro on June 13, 1992, where 178 governments voted to adopt the program. The final text was the result of drafting, consultation, and negotiation, beginning in 1989 and culminating at the two-week conference.
Rio+5 (1997
In 1997, the UN General Assembly held a special session to appraise the status of Agenda 21 (Rio +5). The Assembly recognized progress as "uneven" and identified key trends, including increasing globalization, widening inequalities in income, and continued deterioration of the global environment. A new General Assembly Resolution (S-19/2) promised further action.
Rio+10 (2002)[
Main article: World Summit on Sustainable Development
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit 2002) affirmed UN commitment to "full implementation" of Agenda 21, alongside achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other international agreements.
Agenda 21 for culture (2002
Main article: Agenda 21 for culture
The first World Public Meeting on Culture, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2002, came up with the idea to establish guidelines for local cultural policies, something comparable to what Agenda 21 was for the environment.[2] They are to be included in various subsections of Agenda 21 and will be carried out through a wide range of sub-programs beginning with G8 countries.[citation needed]
Rio+20 (2012
Main article: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
In 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development the attending members reaffirmed their commitment to Agenda 21 in their outcome document called "The Future We Want". 180 leaders from nations participated.