Steven Rockefeller of all people extolled the virtues of “The Earth Charter” in a recent publication of the American Teilhard Association.

“The Earth Charter is a declaration of fundamental principles for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century. Created by the largest global consultation process ever associated with an international declaration, endorsed by thousands of organizations representing millions of individuals, the Earth Charter seeks to inspire in all peoples a sense of global interdependence and shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family and the larger living world.”

http://www.earthcharter.org/

So in my community I’m trying to do things on a small scale (think global, act local), but networks and software slowly stitch together disparate efforts (nobody likes to feel they’re fighting a losing battle alone), and make possible ways to monitor progress that don’t require wading through mounds of data.

“The Earth Charter Community Action Tool is your guide to developing and implementing a community sustainability plan. Using EarthCAT, you will be able to learn from the experiences of other communities as you set goals and targets, develop strategies to achieve them, and select indicators for monitoring your progress towards a more sustainable future.”

http://www.earthcat.org/cgi/earthcat/index.html

“The [Santa Monica] Plan includes eight Goal Areas which, taken together, present a vision for sustainability in the community.”

http://santa-monica.org/epd/scp/goals_indicators.htm