The Charter establishing the United Nations was signed on June 26, 1945, at a meeting of the world’s nations in San Francisco, California. President Truman signed on behalf of the United States and, just six weeks later, on August 8, 1945, he signed the legislation ratifying the U.S. commitment to the UN—the first country to do so.
Why is the creation of the United Nations listed in a calendar of significant events in conservation and environmental matters? Over its 70+ year history, the United Nations has grown to encompass a vast network of treaties, conventions and organizations focused on sustaining nature.
The UN is most familiar to us as a global political organization. It operates out of an iconic campus in New York City. There the General Assembly meets to make decisions in support of world peace. Many people disparage the UN’s ability to help—but we have not experienced a world war since its creation.
The UN Charter lists the purposes and rationale for the creation of this splendid international organization. The organizations was founded “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war…”—meaning, specifically, the scourge of the two world wars of the 20 Century. But it also was created “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.”
The later rationale is where UN work on the environment and nature come in. The main structure of the UN includes “programmes” (the UN uses English English spelling, not American!) and “funds” to address specific issues. For the environment, these include three primary groups:
Read MoreApril is Keep America Beautiful Month
Back in 1971, The Keep America Beautiful organization teamed up with the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to create Keep American Beautiful Day. It was expanded in 1982 to a week, and then to the entire month of April in 1984. As spring takes hold of the weather and the landscape awaken with the greening of trees and grasses, the blooming of wildflowers and the melodies of nesting songbirds, we, too, ought to take special notice of our beautiful environment—and do something to, as they say, keep it beautiful.
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