Rio+20 to Seek a Sustainable, Global Future
Twenty years ago, a 12-year-old girl stood before government officials from most of the world’s countries and pleaded for her future. Worried about pollution and overuse of natural resources on her finite planet, she begged: “If you don’t know how to fix it, please don’t break it!” The occasion was the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, which ended with the world’s countries committing – at least on paper – to make environmental concerns a priority and eliminate unsustainable forms of production and consumption. Above all, delegates agreed that development must not jeopardize the welfare of future generations. Another go at sustainability: Canadian Severn Cullis-Suzuki, who pleaded on behalf of her generation in 1992, returned to Rio in late June for the Rio+20 Summit.
