Earth Charter USA Kicks Off Earth Day Celebrations

April 20, 2000 2:38 PM EDT

Singer David Crosby to Perform at the 2nd Annual Earth Charter USA National Conference in Live Webcast

ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Activists from across the country have gathered today to demonstrate their support for the Earth Charter, an unprecedented set of global ethical guidelines which provides a blueprint for a better world. Leaders of the Earth Charter initiative will discuss how to implement the Earth Charter guidelines and values in the U.S. and how to engage corporations, non-profit organizations, governments and educational institutions in the process of applying the Earth Charter principles and values to their operations. Among the participants will be: Chair of the Earth Charter International Drafting Committee, philanthropist and professor, Steven Rockefeller; Chairman, Earth Charter USA and Former President of The Humane Society of the United States John Hoyt, legendary musician, David Crosby, along with co-author David Bender, will conduct a reading and an acoustic performance which will be broadcast live over the Internet.

The Earth Charter reflects the deliberations and aspirations of thousands of people from all regions of the world, including global leaders in environment, business, politics, religion and education.

Proponents of the Earth Charter believe that problems of environmental degradation, depletion of resources, poverty, social injustice, and violent conflict are all interconnected. Thus policies to ensure a better future to all must be based on an integrated vision of a sustainable way of life and world community. The Charter contains 16 main principles and 60 supporting principles.

The first four principles of the Earth Charter provide a concise overview of the ethical vision of the Charter. These four general principles are:

    -- Respect Earth and life in all its diversity.
    -- Care for the community of life with understanding, compassion, and
       love.
    -- Build democratic societies that are just, participatory, sustainable,
       and peaceful.
    -- Secure Earth's bounty and beauty for present and future generations.

"The Earth Charter recognizes that caring for people and caring for the Earth are inextricably linked," said Steven Rockefeller, Chair of the Earth Charter International Drafting Committee. "The Charter has been shaped by experts and the grassroots. It is significant that these many diverse voices can be woven into a unified vision."

Attendees to the conference include youth leaders Levana Saxon of Youth for Environmental Sanity (YES) and April Ambrose of Hendrix College as well as Native American leader Victor YellowHawk White of the Spiritual Consultative Group and Peter Adriance, a leader of the Baha'is of the U.S.

Longtime environmental activist and renowned musical artist David Crosby has been one of rock and roll's most outspoken voices for social change. Now he is lending his voice to the efforts of Earth Charter USA. David will read from his latest book, Stand and Be Counted, and then perform an acoustic set of some of his music on Friday, April 21 at the conference.

Microsoft is a co-sponsor of the Crosby event and will feature a live webcast on April 21 from 7:30 to 9 p.m. ET at WindowsMedia.com, the MSN guide to audio and video on the Internet. The webcast will include a live Q & A session and the acoustical performance by David Crosby, as well as a live reading by Crosby and co-author David Bender from Stand And Be Counted. The Webcast will be available at http://WindowsMedia.com/preview/EarthDay/earthday.asp.

"The Earth Charter webcast shows how Windows Media, with its high-quality sound and video at any connection speed, can be used to both entertain people and inform them about Earth Charter's principles for sustainable development, " said Kevin Unangst, group product manager for the Digital Media Division at Microsoft Corp. "Microsoft is proud to be featuring this important event at WindowsMedia.com."

The conference will take place April 20-21 at the Holiday Inn Select in Arlington, VA. Individuals can also visit http://www.earthcharter.org/liveevent to get more information on the conference as well as on the Earth Charter USA Campaign.

About the Earth Charter
The Earth Charter campaign is a global initiative that involves a partnership of individuals and diverse organizations and communities working together to ensure a promising future for life on Earth. Its key sponsoring organizations include the Earth Council, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 1992 by Maurice Strong to promote and advance the implementation of the Rio Earth Summit agreements, and Green Cross International, founded by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1993 as a result of the Rio Earth Summit and Agenda 21 to help create a sustainable future by cultivating harmonious relationships between humans and the environment.