~ Idea 1501 ~ 20 August 1998
If I should die in a country away from Costa Rica and possessing militaries and armaments, I request that my remains be transferred to demilitarized Costa Rica and interred on Mount Rasur from which the indigenous God of children, Rasur, prophecized that a civilization of peace will extend to the entire world.

~ Idea 1502 ~ 21 August 1998
Parliamentarians, the elected representatives of the people, must absolutely be brought closer if not right in the middle of the world agencies. The fate of the Earth and of humanity cannot be left one hundred percent in the hands of national executives. This cannot continue. Given the importance of global problems, parliamentarians must be well informed and actively contribute to the work of these agencies. Rather than wait for the creation of a United Nations Consultative Parliament, the Inter-Parliamentary Union could be made immediately the Parliamentary Assembly of the United Nations and its family of 32 specialized agencies and world programs. Let us aim at that for adoption and entry into force during the year 2000.

~ Idea 1503 ~ 22 August 1998
I highly recommend that all world religions submit to the United Nations for the year 2000 their concrete proposals and ideas for a better world in the next century and millennium. This could be a remarkable, most useful, enlightening documentation.
Please religions, do not fail to do it, I beg you.

~ Idea 1504 ~ 23 August 1998
Humanity has been able to progress and surmount the most incredible obstacles in evolution: the horrendous climates in cold and in hot areas, early death, wild animals, epidemics, wars after wars, conquerors, empires, colonialism, slavery, racial hatred, etc.
Our conscious will for survival and progress, our learning have constantly increased, but we have also encountered new obstacles and problems to resolve in recent years.
Today there is one major difference with all our past. The French historian Michelet said in the 19th century that despite Hannibal, the Romans and Napoleon crossing the Alps, the Mont Blanc had not changed a bit. Well, today this is no longer true: there is a tunnel crossing the Mont Blanc, its slopes have suffered damage as a result of climatic changes and the Winter Olympics. For the first time in human history, humans are changing substantially the Earth, its ozonosphere, atmosphere, its waters, its biosphere, its soils, its vegetal cover, its climate, its ocean currents, and are responsible for the extinction every five hours of a species which it took millions of years to form.
This situation requires an entirely new thinking, new values, new objectives, new preventions new behaviors, new healings and new institutions. It also requires for the first time a sense of urgency. I urge the creation of a World Ecological Emergency Committee. The Earth Council created by the Rio de Janeiro Conference could become it.

~ Idea 1505 ~ 24 August 1998
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December this year, we absolutely must begin to speak of fundamental human rights to a clean air, to pure water, to unpolluted cities, to a non-violent society, to a disarmed, denuclearized and demilitarized planet, to a well preserved Earth, to a rational use and conservation of nature and its resources. It is not too early, it is most urgent to proclaim these rights.
Beyond human rights, duties and responsibilities, I recommend that the UN should open up an entirely new chapter of work and international conferences on imperatives of the 21st century and millennium. If I were Secretary General I would create a new UN Department of Earth Imperatives and Urgencies.

~ Idea 1506 ~ 25 August 1998
The non-saving of the astronomic sums spent by 170 of 185 nations on militaries and armaments must be considered one of the main evolutionary aberrations in human history. These sums must urgently be transferred to the salvation of the Earth and the continuance of our evolution.
All national security systems must be replaced by a world security system the plans of which have existed since World War II but were not implemented because of the cold war. That obstacle is now removed. It must become the priority one item on the UN's agenda.

~ Idea 1507 ~ 26 August 1998
Readers might exclaim when reading these 2000 ideas: "Why so many of them? Are they really necessary? I am getting tired of them."
Well, just think for a moment of the tens of thousands of ideas which are being produced around the clock and the world every day by government officials to promote their government, to levy more taxes, to start new projects, to spread their national influence in the world; and how many are produced by businessmen, builders, architects, engineers, marketing experts, advertisers, etc. to promote their professions and businesses. This is what national schools, business schools and Universities teach and prepare their students for. Think of the thousands of humans flocking every morning into the skyscrapers of big cities to do only that!
And who asks and prepares people to come up with ideas for a better world and a happier, more fulfilled humanity? Almost noone. My 2000 ideas are a mere drop of water into what must become a world wave of proposals.
Please, dear reader, begin to write down your ideas for peace, cooperation, a better world, a happier humanity, and to prevent the destruction of our beautiful home, planet Earth. Apply these goals to your profession and you will see wonders happen, as I did with my innumerable, incessant ideas during my forty years in the United Nations and now as Chancellor of the first World Peace University in demilitarized Costa Rica.

~ Idea 1508 ~ 27 August 1998
Darwin's theory of competition for survival of the fittest was right in the past. Today it must be changed to cooperation for the survival of the Earth and humanity and for the continuation of evolution.

~ Idea 1509 ~ 28 August 1998
In Idea 20 I proposed that the demilitarized countries should create a world association and a group of demilitarized countries at the United Nations. I would like to amend that proposal and change its name to: world association and group of demilitarized, demilitarizing and countries interested in demilitarization. The latter would learn from the former, be encouraged to go ahead, and would see the benefits of demilitarization and also how certain obstacles and adverse situations can be overcome and satisfactorily resolved.

~ Idea 1510 ~ 29 August 1998
We must deeply rethink our world's and humanity's future. It would be good to remember the fathers of the US Constitution who believed that the function of good government was "to effect the greatest happiness of the greatest number of citizens and to effect harmony between the public and private interests." Today they would add harmony with the Earth and a world-wide dimension to the attaining of happiness.
I recommend that the thinkers and leaders of this world return to that down-to-Earth, common sense but correct philosophy of the founders of the United States. It has always been my philosophy too and earned me the nickname of "philosopher of the United Nations" which I must continue to merit.

~ Idea 1511 ~ 30 August 1998
Sometimes when I do something with my hands, I say: "It is not going to work, it will fall, it will break." And indeed it does. I then exclaim: "Well, I knew it, I was right."
But in the back of my mind lingers the thought: "If I had held it better and been more careful and optimistic, it would not have fallen and broken." And I conclude that it was to a large extent my own fault.
Well, the same applies to social relations and to humanity. We all too often say: "It will not work." When writing these 2000 ideas I changed my attitude and said: "It will work. I and other people will make it work." As a result I never give up and the spirits of the universe visit me in the night and show me the ways.
As Immanuel Kant said:
"It will be proved, I know not when or where, that the human soul stands even in this life in indissoluble connection with all immaterial natures in the spirit world, that it reciprocally acts upon these and receives impressions and help from them."

~ Idea 1512 ~ 31 August 1998
Speaking of demilitarized countries, here is a typical example of what they could do in conformity with their philosophy and status in the world: when earlier this year, there was a menace of an all-out attack by United States military forces against Iraq, the US sent to Costa Rica their permanent representative to the UN, Ambassador Elliot Richardson to convince the Costa Rican government to support their position at the UN. Costa Rica, mindful of their demilitarized status, refused to go along and answered that they wanted the Secretary General to be the mediator and go to Iraq. This position prevailed and won the approval of the UN member-states, and as an American neighbor said to me: "We thank the United Nations for having prevented us from bombing again women and children." I told him that his thanks should go to Costa Rica.

~ Idea 1513 ~ 1 September 1998
The new President of Costa Rica, has announced that he will seek the demilitarization of all of Central America and make it the first demilitarized zone on this planet. The University for Peace established by the UN in Costa Rica will show how many children can be educated with the funds released by demilitarization in other Central American countries. He will seek the establishment of a demilitarization fund for the region, to which the rich countries would be welcome to contribute.

~ Idea 1514 ~ 2 September 1998
Since I will have completed my 2000 ideas and dreams well before the first of January 2000, I have decided to continue writing ideas when they are finished. The title will be "My Third Thousand Dreams and Ideas for a Better World."

~ Idea 1515 ~ 3 September 1998
The countries going fastest will be the first to be confronted with the abyss. Wisest will be those taking it easy. The time will come when people from the first countries will emigrate to the second.

~ Idea 1516 ~ 4 September 1998
To assist the rebirth of spirituality in the world, I propose that World Associations of Spiritual Leaders be created in all walks of life: scientists, business people, builders, educators, the media, diplomats, heads of corporations, heads of states, etc. Not a single profession or walk of life should be omitted. It would be a great help to a better, well-preserved Earth and happier humanity.

~ Idea 1517 ~ 5 September 1998
Please, dear women of the world, remember the old saying: "Behind each great man there is a great woman." I would rather say: "Behind each happy, fulfilled man there is a great woman." It has been my case. My life could have never been what it was without Margarita, my first life companion, alas deceased in 1993, and now Barbara, another heaven sent companion. With Barbara we recommend a thorough study of the couple as a major cosmic phenomenon as the ancient Mayans believed. The role of the wife is capital, evolutionary in that relation.

~ Idea 1518 ~ 6 September 1998
Humanity has many recognitions of valuable merits and contributions to a better world: for example the Man of the Year award, the Nobel and other prestigious prizes. This is good for human progress and should be fostered, well studied and even become a field applicable to all segments of human life, a science of rewards or meritology, a new major human discipline. It could be taught in Universities.
On the other hand there should also be a science or discipline of dishonors, disapprovals, demerits and condemnations. These could be proclaimed both for individuals and for institutions. Philanthropists could finance centers around the world which would make proposals for honors and dishonors.

~ Idea 1519 ~ 7 September 1998
We badly need a science, a strategy and methodology of love, because love is the highest concentration and right direction of cosmic, evolutionary energies.

~ Idea 1520 ~ 8 September 1998
As part of a much needed World Spiritual Renaissance I recommend that governments at all levels should not hesitate to help religions financially, for example for the maintenance of religious buildings and sacred sites. I would recommend that a part of the reduction in military expenditures should go to spiritual expenditures. God and the saints in heaven would rejoice.

~ Idea 1521 ~ 9 September 1998
Dear reader, if you know any person or institution which might be interested in one or several of these 2000 ideas, please do me a favor and to humanity, bring it to their attention.

~ Idea 1522 ~ 10 September 1998
To go to luxury hotels should definitely be included in the list of unnecessary Earth-destructive western types of overconsumption. Environmentalists and Earth-concerned people should never go to luxury hotels.

~ Idea 1523 ~ 11 September 1998
Reading again Idea 820 in which I speak of friendship between the families of heads of states, especially their children, I recommend the creation of a World Association of children of heads of states. These children would formulate their dreams and ideas for a better world and submit them to their fathers or mothers in office.

~ Idea 1524 ~ 12 September 1998
Similarly a World Association of spouses of current and former heads of states should be created to formulate their views, ideas, dreams and proposals for a better world and submit them to the same. I am glad that the wives of all Latin American heads of states will meet in Costa Rica at the University for Peace during the Millennium Celebration in January 2000.

~ Idea 1525 ~ 13 September 1998
I suggest that the Union of International Associations which published an encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential at my suggestion, should also publish for the year 2000 an encyclopedia of ideas for a better world collected from its 28,000 international member associations.
(The index to my 2000 ideas could be made available to them to guide their work. Excerpts and lists of ideas could be sent to world conferences, to world agencies, to heads of states, to the media and institutions dealing with specific subjects.)

~ Idea 1526 ~ 14 September 1998
(All international and world associations, not only those accredited with the Union of International Associations, should formulate their dreams and ideas for a better world, publish and distribute them widely for the preparation and celebration of the year 2000, especially the Millennium Peoples' Assembly.)

~ Idea 1527 ~ 15 September 1998
Seeing the magnificent sculpture on forgiveness at the Casa de Maria Conference Center in Santa Barbara, I dream that more sculptures should be planned and inaugurated in the year 2000 on all the great philosophical concepts which have helped humanity to progress on its mysterious journey in the universe, concepts such as love, faith, hope, peace, friendship, compassion, prayer, meditation, gratitude and others. I could see a major sculpture inaugurated in 2000 on Peace in San Francisco, the city where the United Nations was born and a major sculpture on Love in Kansas City which considers itself to be the heart of America and possesses already a Heart Forest near the airport, etc. What beautiful, elevating, encouraging contributions such sculptures would be to the celebration of our entry into a new century and millennium!
I was glad that we were visited by a famous sculptress, Edwina Sanders, the granddaughter of Winston Churchill who offered us to build a magnificent monument to the Bimillennium on the wonderful, sacred, world grounds of the UN University for Peace in demilitarized Costa Rica.

~ Idea 1528 ~ 16 September 1998
If we could only have at least as many social, esthetic and loving ideas as we have business, marketing and advertising ideas on this planet!

~ Idea 1529 ~ 17 September 1998
We must absolutely add overconstruction and overurbanization to the destructive trends of our present society against the Earth, namely overpopulation, overconsumption, overtransportation, overactivity, etc.
Yes, how many new buildings, hotels and houses are being constructed often at sizes which are not necessary, require huge energy consumption, water consumption, maintenance, and lead progressively to the destruction of the Earth? For example the annual rate of new housing in the US alone was 1,613,000 in 1998. In 100 years this would mean 161,300,000 and by the year 3000 1 billion 613 million new houses. Can the Earth bear this?
More generally how many new activities and products are invented every day by the western society making people confused and doubtful about the real, deepest, spiritual meaning of life?

~ Idea 1530 ~ 18 September 1998
I am glad that three good things are happening regarding democracy:
1. the holding of a first international conference on direct democracy in the Czech Republic in August of this year;
2. the establishment by UNESCO of a Panel of personalities on democracy, headed by former UN Secretary General Boutros B. Ghali;
3. the holding of a Peoples' Assembly 2000, accompanying the UN General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states level.

~ Idea 1531 ~ 19 September 1998
The purposes of the International Conference on Direct Democracy in the Czech Republic are well taken:
- to reach a consensus on the general principles of direct citizen participation in decision-making processes on which future political systems are likely to be based.
- to present and discuss reports on procedures of Direct Democracy (citizen initiatives, referenda, citizen control and politicians' accountability, direct personal elections, electronic voting) which are already practiced in certain regions of the world.

~ Idea 1532 ~ 20 September 1998
Two major conditions for the achievement of a new, proper world democracy are:
- an objective education of humans. National education programs them into the nation's interests and not humanity's and the world's interests. Like everything else democracy has to be global if we want to take good care of our human brethren and sisters in other parts of the world and of the well-being and preservation of our Earth. The World Core Curriculum which I derived from the wonderful global education I received from the United Nations should be considered as a correct basis for education in all schools of the world conducive to proper democracy. (see table in first volume of 500 ideas)
- an objective information of all humans by governments at all levels, from local to global, by the media, advertisement and business. This is an absolutely fundamental condition to proper democracy and world survival. (see table on Media in first volume)
The above conditions are so serious that I recommend the holding of a world conference on democracy by the United Nations or the establishment of a World Commission of Eminent Personalities on Democracy.

~ Idea 1533 ~ 21 September 1998
A Jewish American friend who expressed to me his happiness that the United Nations was able to prevent the bombing of children and mothers in Iraq by military intervention of the US said to me: "Thirty years ago, when I said that the United Nations was not treating Israel fairly, you said to me: 'the conflict in your region involves several parties and politics plays a role in this. But remember that thanks to the United Nations Israel was created, is guaranteed unobstructed international postal services and telecommunications, and other international freedoms guaranteed by the UN.' I never forgot your comment."

~ Idea 1534 ~ 22 September 1998
During the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year, the UN should place on its agenda the creation of a World Court of Human Rights. There exists now a great international precedent: the European Court of Human Rights which protects the rights of all citizens of the 16 countries of the European Union. A similar court is needed for all countries of the world if human rights are to become universal in their application and enforcement.
If the UN does not take that decision, the European Union should establish an informal international study group of countries willing to work on the draft of such a World Court.

~ Idea 1535 ~ 23 September 1998
During the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a Draft Declaration of Human Responsibilities will be taken up, written by 24 former heads of states under the leadership of former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of Germany. Among these duties should figure prominently the responsibility of each nation to teach peace, tolerance and non-violence.

~ Idea 1536 ~ 24 September 1998
I recommend the creation of a World Commission of Eminent Personalities on Human Unity and Diversity. Such a Commission would study, propose and promote a large variety of means, policies, instruments and legislations to foster humanity's progress towards unity while preserving its rich, valuable diversity.

~ Idea 1537 ~ 25 September 1998
Armed aggression is an international crime, the biggest of all. To kill another human being as a soldier is a crime. To train soldiers to kill other humans is a crime.

~ Idea 1538 ~ 26 September 1998
The creation of the European Union is the greatest political achievement and breakthrough of the second half of the 20th century, a real blessing on the eve of the 21st century and 3rd millennium. It must absolutely be used as a model for a World Union.
What I suggest the European Union should do for the creation of a World Court of Human Rights should be extended to a whole series of other issues relating to proper Earth government. For example the European Parliament should open a permanent consultation between any interested governments of the planet on the ways of creating a World Parliament, first of a consultative nature, later with certain legislative powers as is now the case of the European Parliament. This would help world democracy and have the peoples' representatives share in the shaping and governing of the Earth, not leaving it to the exclusive prerogative and authority of national executives.

~ Idea 1539 ~ 27 September 1998
When an individual becomes conscious that he is sick he turns immediately to the ways of healing himself, either through personal measures, or through remedies or to seeing a doctor.
Now that humanity has become fully conscious of its sicknesses, it must also turn to measures of self-healing, to remedies and to the first world doctors, namely the United Nations, its 32 specialized agencies and the thousands of global healers and healing institutions that have sprung up everywhere in the world. A new profession of world healers should be recognized and trained.

~ Idea 1540 ~ 28 September 1998
Humanity writes its biography in three manuscripts
the book of its deeds,
the book of its words
and the book of its art,
Not one of these can be understood unless we read the two others,
but of the three the most truthful is the last
(For, as Plato said, beauty is the splendor of truth.) added by Robert Muller
John Ruskin

~ Idea 1541 ~ 29 September 1998
In the 21st century United Nations the UN Regional Economic Commissions should be transformed and conceived as the Continental Commissions of the United Nations dealing not only with economic questions, but political issues and all other vital segments of the human condition listed in ideas 527 to 547. They should be headed by Continental Deputies Secretaries General.

~ Idea 1542 ~ 30 September 1998
Mrs. Gabriella Christopher Roncoroni, the founder of the Robert Muller School in Buenos Aires, holds the view that education would deserve an entire separate world agency devoted to it, and not to mix it with science and art, as is the case in UNESCO. Perhaps indeed UNESCO should be subdivided into a UNESCO I for education, a UNESCO II for science, and a UNESCO III for art and culture.

~ Idea 1543 ~ 1 October 1998
I would be thrilled if all countries having a Ministry of National Education would drop the adjective national and call it Ministry of Education, so that it can include also the vitally crucial global education needed to save the Earth and give it peace.

~ Idea 1544 ~ 2 October 1998
Every city in the world should have a Mayor of Happiness, the happiest person in town to be elected to keep the happiness of that town.
Barbara Gaughen Muller
This is an excellent idea which complements my idea that each government should have a Ministry of Happiness, since the pursuit of happiness should be the aim of government as stated so rightly in the US Constitution. As for the United Nations, it should have a Department of Philosophy, Ethics and Happiness.

~ Idea 1545 ~ 3 October 1998
I strongly recommend the creation of a World Association of Dreamers on the eve of a new century and millennium. The world badly needs audacious dreamers to be healed and saved from obsolete thinking and outdated institutions. The association should deal specifically with seemingly "impossible dreams".

~ Idea 1546 ~ 4 October 1998
I am infinitely grateful to Barbara, my wife, not only for having suggested to me to write these 2000 ideas but for another splendid idea: to have an index prepared and to excerpt from the computer entire sets of ideas on any conceivable world subject, for example on education, on children, on youth, on demilitarization, on democracy, on human rights, on the natural law party, on ethics, etc. I can send these excerpts to heads of states, UN delegations, institutions, people actively engaged in these fields, conferences, the media, universities, schools, etc. As a result, quite a number of these ideas, blessed by God's help, have a chance of being implemented. The two ideas of Barbara show what one person can do on this planet. Please, dear reader, come up with ideas. Thought creates energy. Ideas are cosmic energy which makes us co-workers with the designs of the universe and God. The same is true of dreams, visions, prayers, ideals, hopes and all other great philosophical and spiritual concepts which have helped humanity to survive and progress in the infinite universe and eternal stream of time.

~ Idea 1547 ~ 5 October 1998
One great advantage of demilitarization is that a demilitarized country acquires a special, higher level of morality and becomes a natural, inspiring, peace-advocating country in the world. This is what has made one of the earliest demilitarized countries, Costa Rica, a peace model in the world and one of the best members of the United Nations. It was recompensed for it by being selected as the seat of the first University for Peace on the planet and of the Earth Council created by the Rio de Janeiro conference on the environment. President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica also received the Nobel Peace Prize for his successful peacemaking in Central America, followed now by his efforts to demilitarize more countries. Dear leaders of nations, follow the example of Costa Rica if you want to be remembered by humanity's new global history and be recompensed with major world prizes.

~ Idea 1548 ~ 6 October 1998
It was wonderful to attend today in Costa Rica a yearly event organized by a Unity Church to honor 45 men and women, leaders of local charitable and volunteer service organizations, media, musicians and artists, with "peace constructors awards". It was a remarkable opportunity for these people to meet, celebrate, inspire and network with each other for good human and Earth causes. Speakers were heard on peace efforts in the world, demilitarization of Central America, non-violence inside nations and in families.
I recommend that similar encounters of peace, charitable and volunteer organizations be held in every city or local community in the world. Such meetings should be attended, sponsored and supported by the local representative of the United Nations if there exists one.
In the 21st century, local representatives or offices of the United Nations should exist in every city of the world.

~ Idea 1549 ~ 7 October 1998
I dream that in the year 2000, proclaimed by the United Nations International Year of Thanksgiving, the US Thanksgiving Foundation in Dallas, Texas, will donate to the United Nations a primeval tropical forest in peaceful Costa Rica to become the United Nations World Thanksgiving Park.

~ Idea 1550 ~ 8 October 1998
The Nazis invented gas chambers to take the lives of Jews. Today industrialists and capitalists are making of our whole atmosphere a gas chamber which might finish the human species and others. National governments do not stop them, because they have become the servants of industrialists and capitalists.
How long will people accept this to continue? There is an urgent need for a peoples' revolution against the present economic system if they want to save themselves and their descendants.

~ Idea 1551 ~ 9 October 1998
I have been called a Leonardo da Vinci who observes every aspect of the Earth and of human life. Alas, I am a very imperfect one. I would need to know infinitely more on all life forms living on this planet, their interrelations and their changes. I hope that someday a World University of Total Earth Science and a World University of all Life Forms will be created next to the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica.

~ Idea 1552 ~ 10 October 1998
A few decades ago there was a very brilliant President of Costa Rica, Daniel Uruez, who wanted to obtain more agricultural products for the country and avoid the depopulation of the rural areas in favor of the capital San Jose where there was insufficient employment. He came up with this idea: he promised each peasant a free gift of a number of bags of beans, corn or rice to sow in the fields. If they had a good crop they were asked to give in turn free bags of those seeds to other poor peasants. As a result a real agricultural revolution took place which made Costa Rica self-sufficient in these products.

~ Idea 1553 ~ 11 October 1998
Since the Millennium Peoples' Assembly in the year 2000 will have the same objectives as the United Nations General Assembly 2000 I hope that it will come up with very concrete proposals for an upgraded second generation United Nations or for a novel, proper world democratic Earth government.
It is becoming more and more urgent for governments to use the UN General Assembly of Heads of State in the year 2000 to create a proper system of Earth government.

~ Idea 1554 ~ 12 October 1998
Some day, the servants of an infinitely stronger United Nations or of a true Earth Government or World Union will read with astonishment and disbelief the journals of UN officials of today like me. They will ask: how could they achieve so much faced as they were by the most incredible opposition and obstacles of political retardedness?
Well, dear UN officials and all peacemakers of today, please keep a journal. Historians will look for them in a hundred years. As someone said to me: in a hundred years people will exclaim: why didn't we listen to Robert Muller when he spoke up a century ago?

~ Idea 1555 ~ 13 October 1998
I am happy that military service is no longer compulsory in Italy and that thousands of young people are taking advantage of this new legislation.
The United Nations should publish a yearly report, statistics and legislation concerning military service, alternative service and freedom from military service in member countries. Italy should propose this subject as a new item on this subject on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly.

~ Idea 1556 ~ 14 October 1998
I recommend that the Millennium Peoples' Assembly to accompany the UN General Assembly 2000 should create a permanent World Peoples' and International Associations Agency. The agency could be located in the prestigious Peace Palace built in the Hague at the beginning of this century for that purpose by Andrew Carnegie. The 1999 Centennial Peoples' Peace Conference in the Hague could also take that decision.

~ Idea 1557 ~ 15 October 1998
Speaking of identities we should accept happily that we have a poli-identity
Our specific individual identity
A family identity
A local identity
A provincial identity
A national identity
A continental identity
A world identity
A cosmic identity
An eternal identity
The future Earth and human government of this planet should take all these diverse identities into account.

~ Idea 1558 ~ 16 October 1998
We are fast moving toward a global, planetary consciousness. We must next move to cosmic, evolutionary consciousness. This will be an incredible new phase of life fulfillment on this planet in the universe.

~ Idea 1559 ~ 17 October 1998
I recommend that UNESCO and/or the United Nations convene a world conference on love and happiness, love being the key to peace, justice and good world government (see the Einstein and Freud exchange of views in idea 1020) and happiness is the result. We should never forget that the ultimate, highest objective of government should be the pursuit of happiness as was so well understood by the drafters of the United States Constitution.

~ Idea 1560 ~ 18 October 1998
I wonder how much waste is included in the so called gross national product. In reality it is included twice, once in the production of goods and services wasted then again as waste "services" such as waste collection, transportation, disposal or recycling. Economics really requires a very thorough revamping.

~ Idea 1561 ~ 19 October 1998
Some cities, communities, states and neighborhoods should have a sign at their entrance, "Developers go home."

~ Idea 1562 ~ 20 October 1998
More and more communities in the world should decide that they will stop to develop having reached the state of proper harmony with nature. The concept of non-growth and harmonious stability with nature should become normal in more and more places.

~ Idea 1563 ~ 21 October 1998
Governments should begin to offer tax incentives to deconcentrate some of their monstrous cities, to have people leave them and live in smaller communities including rural areas which have been abandoned during this century. A return of people to nature would be a great blessing for humanity, for our future and for the Earth.

~ Idea 1564 ~ 22 October 1998
As part of the people's trend to consume less in the rich countries in order to save the Earth I recommend that they should no longer buy magazines which contain advertisements.
One reason is that magazines are highly paid for advertisement and will therefore not publish articles critical of products or of business malpractices.
The price paid by the reader for the magazine should cover the costs of its production plus a profit to the publisher. To get revenue from business and advertisement is immoral and should be illegal. The whole matter of advertisement which has become a major new, all pervading phenomenon in modern society should be subject to very close government scrutiny. It is closely linked with the question of democracy and truth.

~ Idea 1565 ~ 23 October 1998
I recommend that well to do retired people should buy a farm in their own country or in a poor country and let the farmer or a hired young man till the land, share its products and receive a salary that will help him raise a family thus avoiding that he abandons the land to seek employment in a city.
We have done it in Costa Rica to the happiness and satisfaction of all concerned. I could not have done better in my life.

~ Idea 1566 ~ 24 October 1998
United Nations Day
Today on this UN Day I give my special thanks to God for the creation of the United Nations after World War II during which I saw so many horrors and lost all my school friends of the year 1939, in Alsace-Lorraine, killed in German or French uniforms. I also thank my friends of Thanksgiving Center in Dallas for having fulfilled my dream to see the Year 2000 declared International Year of Thanksgiving by the United Nations, and to start that celebration with a World Assembly "Spirit of a Thousand Years" from 12 to 16 March 1999 at the Center for World Thanksgiving.

~ Idea 1567 ~ 25 October 1998
Books and publications with concrete proposals and ideas for a better world and humanity should become the new literature of the 21st century. There are all too many books in the world with endless pages and very few concrete ideas. A book of ideas will be read by heads of states and people of action. The others will not. I'm reminded of the comment once made to me by Secretary General Javier Pérez de Cuellar, "I like your books Robert because I can open them at any page and I find an idea which stimulates my mind into thinking. I cannot stand any more books where I have to read hundreds of pages to find out what the outcome is. There is only one other author who is able to do to me what you do, namely Charles Proust whose works I can open at any page and he sets my mind and feelings on the sense of beauty."

~ Idea 1568~ 26 October 1998
After the great, global historic page of human rights opened fifty years ago in the United Nations with the adoption of the fundamental Declaration of Universal Human Rights on 10 December 1948, another great, new historical period has been opened with the drafting of an Earth Charter and the Rights of Nature, accompanied by a Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities. Henceforth, humankind will never be the same. The question of our life, survival and harmony with the Earth, its elements and nature is now fully raise. Questions such as the following are now ominous:
Is it normal that we let a species die every five hours on this planet when it took evolution millions of years to form that species?
What is the human race doing to safeguard further evolution of life on this planet, save its elements, its vegetation and all other species living on it including the human species itself?
The last surviving drafter and signer of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Ambassador Feyroudin Hoveyda wrote to me recently that the declaration was considered at the time to be a mere piece of paper to be thrown into a wastepaper basket. And yet no head of state, no government today wants to be accused for violation of human rights. The same will happen with the new texts on the rights of nature and of the Earth.

~ Idea 1569 to 1572 ~ 27 - 30 October 1998
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights I recommend the following:
Idea 1569 a review of all human rights texts adopted by the United Nations since its creation in the light of the current state of the world and our long-term evolution.
Idea 1570 a list of the gaps still to be filled for human groups not yet covered by human rights declarations, namely the family, mothers, the poor, the homeless, the handicapped, the newborns, youth, the elderly and the dying.
Idea 1571 an examination of a new expanding group of rights to be considered for the Earth, the commons, nature, vital elements and the survival of species.
Idea 1572 to open an extremely important new, historic evolutionary chapter namely, the chapter of responsibilities of all individuals, human groups and human institutions.

~ Idea 1573 ~ 31 October 1998
When visiting Rome and its antique and art treasures the thought crossed my mind that the preservation, presentation and development of the world's art and antiquities would benefit enormously from a proper Earth government. Military expenditures should be eliminated in favor of art and antiquities expenditures.

~ Idea 1574 ~ 1 November 1998
The phenomenon of globalization has such diverse, challenging and controversial aspects varying from group of countries to other groups, from country to country, from profession to profession, etc. that it should be placed on the agenda of the UN General Assembly for full debate and consideration. It is of immense importance for the social and political future of humanity.

~ Idea 1575 ~ 2 November 1998
Since the Earth and nature have become a major preoccupation of humanity, it is imperative to reconsider notions such as liberty which was correct in an earlier period but no longer is. For example, the concept of free enterprise and full business freedom can now lead to substantial destructions of the Earth, of its natural resources and elements on which we live. This should become a major subject for debate in the United Nations. What was a justified moral concept yesterday may be today unethical and immoral. Many other philosophical concepts must similarly be reviewed.

~ Idea 1576 ~ 3 November 1998
The problem of overproduction and overconsumption in the western countries is at least as preoccupying if not more than the problem of overpopulation in the poor countries. Why? Because western consumption habits are being ferociously marketed and advertised also in the poor countries by giant western corporations. If the consumption levels of the poor countries should ever reach those of the rich countries their total number of 4.7 billion people today, from the point of view of the Earth would have to be multiplied by thirty meaning 141 billion people on this planet! Multiply their future numbers of 6 to 7 billion by thirty and you will have a staggering figure! Multiply also their number by the average waste produced by an American during his lifetime (4,000 times his weight) and you will see that the world would be confronted with an unimaginable disaster.

~ Idea 1577 ~ 4 November 1998
We have accepted the concept of sustainable development. We must now also adopt the concept of sustainable consumption. This is very urgent.

~ Idea 1578 ~ 5 November 1998
When I look at stores in the western countries and see the incredible variety of goods produced and displayed by a multiplicity of firms I'm sure that they cannot all be sold and will be returned or thrown away.
This might be a phenomenon of such colossal magnitude unknown to the public that things must be very basically wrong with the so called western "economic" system. All this is at the expense of the Earth's resources and nature. If it continues unchecked it might mean sooner or later an economic catastrophe.

~ Idea 1579 ~ 6 November 1998
The United Nations must absolutely publish as many statistics on consumption as are now published on population and production. For example the total value of cosmetics consumed on this planet is equivalent to the total world expenditures on education. There is something wrong with that. Also, the teaching of international affairs in universities costs more than the total budgets of the UN and of its 32 specialized agencies. This is not normal either. Consumption, waste and uneconomics must become major new subjects of information, study and correction on this planet.

~ Idea 1580 ~ 7 November 1998
I think the time has come to replace the term ecology (oikos logos, the science of our home) by Earthology (the science of the Earth) of which we are an integral living part. To distinguish ourselves, to separate ourselves from the Earth is a grave error which can cost us our future evolution and possibly lead to our extinction.

~ Idea 1581 ~ 8 November 1998
Having spoken at the Casa de Maria in Santa Barbara at the foot of the famous monument on forgiveness I was asked by the sculptress, Francis Jansen how I became interested in the concept of forgiveness.
I stretched my mind to remember it and discovered something that was far back but deep in my memory: in the French underground during World War II one day we had to take twelve French citizens who had collaborated with the Nazis to the woods to be executed. Only one of them, a woman, took it calmly. She did not resist or throw herself on the ground as others did. She walked erect praying, her eyes directed to the heavens. On the way I heard her murmur, "I forgive them." She prayed the Hail Mary when the shots were fired. The shots cut her prayer in half and she fell into the grave dug by them the day before. Her words remained with me when I joined the United Nations. I decided to network forgiveness with my poem Decide to Forgive. The last words of Jesus and Gandhi were of forgiveness.

~ Idea 1582 ~ 9 November 1998
I would like to see the United Nations and all its 32 specialized agencies and world programs publish information on existing, planned and possible world projects. For example, regional and world engineering projects, international water pipelines, common world hydro-electrical projects in the Andes and the Himalayas, regional electrical grids and a world global energy grid (GENI) to take advantage of the night and day time difference on this planet, etc.
Insufficient attention has been given to world cooperative projects which could improve the overall efficiency of the world economy tremendously. Thinking stops at the nation. Attention is given almost exclusively to national projects when the whole outlook of humanity and the fate of this planet have become overwhelmingly global. I cannot understand it.

~ Idea 1583 ~ 10 November 1998
There is an absolute urgent need to convene a world conference on consumption, to create Ministries of Consumption in all countries and a United Nations specialized agency on consumption. It has become as important as the world population problem.

~ Idea 1584 ~ 11 November 1998
If I were the Secretary General of the UN I would ask my legal affairs department and other colleagues to collect all proposals made over the years to reform and strengthen the United Nations as well as all proposals for a new, better world organization and draft constitutions for a true democratic world order and government.
I would submit that documentation to the General Assembly 2000 with my personal views and recommendations regarding a proper, urgent government and administrative system for the Earth and humanity as we enter the 21st century and the new millennium. I would place national governments squarely in front of their grave responsibilities toward the future fate, evolution and survival of the Earth and of humanity.

~ Idea 1585 ~ 12 November 1998
Earlier this year I was asked to give advice to a 35 year old new prime minister, the youngest prime minister ever in the history of his country. This was my advice:
never accept to deliver a speech which does not contain a concrete idea.
address yourself every morning to the entire population in a Good Morning television program.
remain in very close touch with the people by having televised fireside chats with them on Saturday or Sunday evenings.
create a Vice-presidency for Global Affairs and the Future following the example of the United States which has created a Vice-presidency for Global Affairs.
consider the United Nations to be your own affairs and not belong to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latter should deal only with bilateral relations with other countries but the United Nations should be your direct responsibility.
keep an open telephone line with all other heads of states, day and night.
write down every idea that comes to you in any field possible. Come up with 2000 ideas and try to implement them.
keep a Journal of your philosophical thoughts, similar to Dag Hammerskjöld's Markings.
follow the example of President Kennedy and decide to open yourself every thousandth letter sent to you in order to remain in touch with the people.
in your public appearances, Good Morning show and fireside chats encourage the people to send you concrete ideas and complaints about injustices or things which should be corrected. Give every month a prize to the best idea or suggestion sent to you.
I learned that the young man had become the prime minister because during three years he traveled all over the country speaking directly with the people and acquainting himself with their problems, dreams and ideas.

~ Idea 1586 ~ 13 November 1998
Examples of the byproducts of these 2000 ideas: I gave to the UN official in charge of youth matters an excerpt of ideas for youth from the first 1000 ideas to use and distribute to the first international conference of youth ministers in Portugal this year. I sent to Mrs. Mary Robinson, the former Prime Minister of Ireland, now the new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights an excerpt with my ideas of new human rights which should be considered and proclaimed on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December. Even if only a few of these ideas are considered and implemented it will mean some progress.

~ Idea 1587 ~ 14 November 1998
Ideas should have a main place in governmental affairs from local communities to the top of the world. All public leaders in the world should solicit and collect ideas from their officials and from the public. This could become a new progressive people's democracy and "ideology" for the 21st century. If industry, science and business do it with an incredible intensity, there should be all the more reason for public service to do it too for the social benefit of all peoples. Let us open the 21st century with an era of social and public visions, inventions, dreams and ideas.

~ Idea 1588 ~ 15 November 1998
I am anxiously waiting for the time when I will have finished all 2000 ideas to see them indexed and submitted to the forthcoming Millennium Peoples' Assembly 2000 which will accompany the General Assembly 2000 of heads of states. Who knows, perhaps they will have an unexpected, welcome, even exciting impact on the year 2000 celebrations and on our entry into a new century and millennium.
This is so promising that I have decided to finish the 2000 ideas by 31 December of this year. This will enable me to devote the entire year 1999 to their dissemination and implementation.

~ Idea 1589 ~ 16 November 1998
I have been invited to speak at a major conference on the famous French anthropologist and philosopher Teilhard de Chardin in France. The subject proposed to me is Hope for Peace, a subject close to the heart of that man. I am expected to lift the spirits and hopes of the audience and participants with an optimistic visionary opening speech of the conference. I wrote back that I would be happy to do so and that perhaps the subject could be extended to Hope for Peace and for an Better World. This would allow me to offer a design for a peaceful, happy, fulfilled human family on our miraculous, well-endowed, beautiful planet Earth.

~ Idea 1590 ~ 17 November 1998
The subtle, invisible flows of cosmic energy in and among all humans and between the entire Earth, nature, matter, all species including humans are of incredible importance and power. If you open yourself to them you will be magnified and merged with the universe and eternity. You will feel ecstatic. And why should it not be so if this entire planet, all its species and life form only one living entity, one living cosmic body of which we are all parts. And that the same way as all parts of our body are linked, cooperate and vitalize each other so does the entire planet, its vegetation, all its living species including the human species and perhaps the entire cosmos.

~ Idea 1591 ~ 18 November 1998
We must never cease to see possibilities in all impossibilities, probabilities in all improbabilities, the visible in all the invisible, the openings in all that seems closed. As we try we will be astonished by the result.

~ Idea 1592 ~ 19 November 1998
There are optical fibers, there are mental fibers, there a sentimental fibers, moral fibers and spiritual fibers in the whole human being. Use them all to the fullest and you will feel aggrandized to an incredible degree. People around you will consider you a genius or a saint.

~ Idea 1593 ~ 20 November 1998
Tansnational is better than international. Global is better than transnational. Cosmic is better than global.
Someday soon everything on this planet will be at long last understood in its cosmic, evolutionary nature. Then an entirely new page of human civilization, a non-destructive, exalted, fulfilled and glorious one will arise.

~ Idea 1594 ~ 21 November 1998
We speak of the Earth as our planetary home.
We could also speak of it as our planetary garden, the garden of Eden.
We could even better speak of it as the miraculous temple of God.

~ Idea 1595 ~ 22 November 1998
We must make of this Earth a new Athens, a unique, miraculous paradise in the vast, mysterious universe.

~ Idea 1596 ~ 23 November 1998
The year 1999 will be the 50th anniversary of the demilitarization of Costa Rica. The President of the country should call for a world conference on demilitarization or at least hold a conference in Costa Rica of all demilitarized countries to show the way to the rest of the world for the 21st century. (see Idea 1390)

~ Idea 1597 ~ 24 November 1998
I whole-heartedly support the idea suggested in the European Union that the United Nations General Assembly should establish a new community of the twenty to twenty-five regional communities in formation around the world. It would be a substantial progress toward the creation of a world community or world union.

~ Idea 1598 ~ 25 November 1998
Since industries and business have provided immense benefits to humans but often at the detriment of the Earth which was taken for granted and unlimited, I recommend that industrialists, businessmen and corporations who have become immensely rich engage into a vast world movement of philanthropy (love for humanity) and gaiaphily (love for Gaia, our Earth) to redress the inequities in the human society and to insure the good preservation and restoration of the Earth.

~ Idea 1599 ~ 26 November 1998
I learned that a recent groundbreaking "Living Planet Report": from the World Wide Fund for Nature and other groups, documents that human beings have destroyed more than 30 percent of the natural world since 1970, and this destruction is accelerating.
This would mean that with an average yearly population increase of 50 million people and a continued worldwide increase of production, construction, consumption, air, sea and soil traffic, the whole nature of this PLANET MIGHT BE IN JEOPARDY IN SIXTY YEARS FROM NOW. This is obviously not acceptable and would lead to economic and ecological disaster. We must therefore declare a world emergency to prevent it by all means.
I would recommend to the Secretary General of the UN to establish a World Committee on Environmental Emergencies.

~ Idea 1600 ~ 27 November 1998
Evolution biologists tell us that most evolution proceeds as a result of crises. The world economic and ecological crises looming ahead will therefore force humans to adopt new values and institutions to permit further evolution. But the more changes we can initiate now, the less severe and less miseries-creating these crises will be. I pray God that some of the changes I recommend in these 2000 ideas on the basis of my fifty years of world experience will be seriously considered and put into effect.

~ Idea 1601 ~ 28 November 1998
I beg UNESCO to convene before the year 2000 or during the year 2000 a conference on cosmologies, ancient and modern scientific ones. They have much in common and will be able to offer humanity on the eve of the 21st century and 3rd millennium a common, united cosmology the same way as religions are in the process of defining the spirituality they all have in common. A United Cosmologies Initiative should be taken similar to the United Religions Initiative, to create a United Cosmologies Organization.

~ Idea 1602 ~ 28 November 1998
What a day it will be when all national militaries and armaments will disappear from this planet thanks to the adoption by all nations of a world and regional security system!
What a delight it will be to reallocate the savings from three quarters of a trillion dollars of military expenditures to major causes of poverty, environment, climatic protection, literacy and the general embellishment of our planet!
May we soon see the day break and the sun shine upon an Earth when this will happen. Let us devote all our efforts towards it.

~ Idea 1603 ~ 29 November 1998
I recommend that universities should create entirely new Departments of Earth Health in which students become Earth doctors who will deal with the health of the Earth, with sicknesses created by humans and develop a planetary medicine. They would absorb and expand the faculties of the environment created in the second part of this century.

~ Idea 1604 ~ 30 November 1998
In idea 843 I speak of the need to have Earth designers or Earthscape experts the same as we have interior designers and landscape experts. The new profession would have the Earth, our beautiful and lovable home, as their objective. I hope that universities will create entirely new Departments of Earth design and Earthscape.

~ Idea 1605 ~ 1 December 1998
One of the outcomes of the Millennium Peoples' Assembly parallel to the United Nations General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states level should be either the creation of a permanent Peoples' Assembly in the United Nations or the transformation of the Union of International Associations in Brussels into a World Peoples' Agency.

~ Idea 1606 ~ 2 December 1998
All airlines on Earth which have already taken the decision not to allow smoking in airplanes should also take the decision not to serve and allow alcoholic drinks on flights. The reason is that in case of an accident people having taken alcohol would not be in full possession of their faculties, might have less chance to save their lives and might be a hindrance to other passengers.

~ Idea 1607 ~ 3 December 1998
In any reform of the United Nations or creation of a proper Earth government a major institutional error in the current UN system must be corrected: the existence of an International Atomic Energy Agency while there is no world energy agency which would deal with all forms of energy including the atomic one. The reason for creating the IAEA was to make sure that atomic energy plants would be built with the maximum security. But the world deserves to have the entire energy situation constantly reviewed by a world energy agency.

~ Idea 1608 ~ 4 December 1998
I wish that someone would establish a comprehensive list of all the great people who have recommended world or Earth government. I have cited several of them in these 2000 ideas. A systematic search would be very important since it would show humanity how the greatest humans have thought about this and it might make current heads of state aware of their smallness and lack of vision by not taking initiatives for proper Earth government.

~ Idea 1609 ~ 5 December 1998
A lady taxi driver who took me to a New York airport blessed me for my recommendation that all tolls on planet Earth should be abolished because they are responsible for a large degree of pollution since millions of cars are stopped and have to be put again into motion at a cost of a lot of gasoline and pollution She said, "If you obtain this you would become the patron saint of the taxi drivers because you cannot imagine how we hate those tolls. I just do not see any reason why I should stop at them four to six times a day and sometimes more."
Well, taxi drivers of the world, associate in an international association of taxi drivers and address petitions to all heads of states, Ministers of Transport and national parliaments to obtain the suppression of all tolls. And if you get no results, go on strike.

~ Idea 1610 ~ 6 December 1998
If the UN General Assembly 2000 does not decide to hold a world conference to redraft a charter written more than fifty-five years ago I recommend that the 134 members which did not participate in the drafting of the charter in 1944 sit down and write a new one more appropriate for the pressing needs of today's and of tomorrow's world government.

~ Idea 1611 ~ 7 December 1998
I remember the excitement provoked by the initiative of the government of Malta in the 1960's to prevent a fierce battle for the mineral exploitation of the seas and the oceans and hold a Law of the Seas Conference to make these seventy percent of the planet a world commons under a common world law. Well, it took many years until the Law of the Sea Treaty was drafted and ratified on 11 March 1988 by the required number of governments. The treaty had been considerably watered down to meet the objections of the United States but at the last moment the US decided not to ratify.
I recommend that in view of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Maritime Organization, a world conference be held to review the entire situation of the fate and management of the seas and oceans, including a reform and upgrading of that organization's role.

~ Idea 1612 ~ 8 December 1998
The fate of the Law of the Sea Treaty and of the proposed International Criminal Court shows that it will not be possible to create a world order with the participation of the Untied States in such efforts. The treaty of Outer Space, making it also a commons of all humanity, has been violated by the United States by the launching of the Cassini space capsule containing seventy pounds of plutonium which upon reentry into the Earth to accelerate its speed might cost the lives of millions of people in case of an accident. The treaty of the Moon might be next to be violated by the United States, the President of the United States being under strong pressure to renege it and to let business establish itself on the Moon. On top of all this the United States doesn't even pay its contribution to the United Nations!

~ Idea 1613 ~ 9 December 1998
When I received an invitation to be a member of an international advisory board of a new Foundation for the Future which intends to look to the year 3000 I was very excited. I wrote to them: "From today on the world will no longer be the same." I said the same words when in 1970 the UN adopted the resolution to convene the first world environment conference in Stockholm in 1972. I wanted to quote this here to be on record and have the future generations judge whether I was right or wrong.

~ Idea 1614 ~ 10 December 1998
The objective of the Foundation for the Future is to hold in 2000 a major conference of the best scientists, visionaries and futurologists of this planet to give the world an idea of where we will be and could be in the year 3000 if proper action is taken. The first advisory board meeting I attended was extremely interesting and well taken. It will convene four times a year until the conference takes place. Their preparatory work is a magnificent example of how humanity can proceed in the light of the enormous complexity of our knowledge, diversity of views, opinions and images of what the world and humanity should be. It was one of the most fascinating meetings I have ever attended.

~ Idea 1615 ~ 11 December 1998
One revelation of the work in which I participated was that the mere target of what the world could be in a thousand years forces one to think in the most global, holistic, daring, imaginative way possible. One can no longer be lost in details or in a particular profession, nation, ideology, philosophy or religion. It has mind-boggling, radical effects on one's outlook.

~ Idea 1616 ~ 12 December 1998
Among the many detailed proposals I just cite one namely to conduct a world-wide poll of images of the future in 3000. This could be the first world poll of the psychology of the human species. Does it have confidence in the future, in the present structure of the world, in what is being done internationally, globally by the United Nations, or is it convinced that there is no hope? What a survey this will be! I had proposed it to the Gallup Organization a few years ago. The President of Gallup agreed but the idea was not implemented. A world democracy implies numerous world polls on many issues. The Millennium's Peoples Assembly will be such a world-wide public opinion survey.

~ Idea 1617 ~ 13 December 1998
The United States, in its efforts to reduce the United Nations to the minimum role in the world, has obtained from the General Assembly that the UN would hold no longer any world conferences. This means that the UN no longer has the major drum it had to warn nations and humanity of deep social injustices and of things that might go wrong globally such as the population explosion, the environment, the depletion of the ozonosphere, world water shortages, climatic changes, etc. This reduces the United Nations to impotence. It might be as well to transform and expand the much better European Union into tomorrow's World Union.

~ Idea 1618 to 1619 ~ 14 to 15 December 1998
In 1970 US Congressman Gallager from New Jersey requested the creation of a group of US Parliamentarians and American citizens to evaluate the United Nations after twenty-five years of existence and the role which the United Nations should play in the future. I recommend that this idea should be repeated for the year 2000:
1618 each government member of the United Nations should establish a group of parliamentarians and citizens to evaluate the United Nations after fifty-five years, the role of that government in them and their expectations for the future
1619 the Secretary General should undertake a similar reflection and submit a report to the General Assembly in the year 2000.

~ Idea 1620 ~ 16 December 1998
The main commissions of the General Assembly have remained the same since 1945 and the Trusteeship Committee has accomplished its task. History and humanity would merit that these commissions be reviewed and that proposals should be made to create new ones. I have made several proposals to that effect in these 2000 ideas like replacing the Trusteeship Council by a Council of the Future, creating main commissions on the environment and on the climate etc. (see index)

~ Idea 1621 ~ 17 December 1998
After the one billion dollars donation by Ted Turner to the United Nations and the adequate machinery established to that effect both on his side and by the United Nations regarding the use of the funds, I recommend again that the subject of world philanthropy should be inscribed on the agenda of the United Nations. It is a social element of such importance that the United Nations should publish a yearly report on the magnitude of world philanthropy, its structure, its destination and its effectiveness to respond to the major needs of humanity and of the Earth.

~ Idea 1622 ~ 18 December 1998
On the occasion of the year 2000, after fifty-five years of United Nations existence I recommend that the overall structure of the entire United Nations system be reviewed and re-evaluated. There are several major ideas to that effect in these 2000 ideas. For example, that the United Nations should have a major agency on energy, that the work on population should be done by a full specialized agency and that given the fact that overconsumption, needless, wasteful consumption and the protection of consumers have reached vast proportions, it is indispensable to create a UN specialized agency on Consumption.

~ Idea 1623 ~ 19 December 1998
We have two major explosions on this planet:
- the explosion of the number of humans, especially in the poor countries;
- the explosion of produced goods, activities, consumption, accumulation and movements of humans, especially in the rich countries.
Together these two explosions mean a substantial destruction of nature and of the normal functioning of the Earth. They are likely to lead to the end of evolution on this planet, including of human life. The first explosion is well understood. The second is negated by predominant economic and business forces. The population explosion continues, but at a slower rate each year. The goods, activities and movements explosion continues to increase world-wide at an accelerating rate. A new education, a new media, a new political system, a new economic system, a new philosophy of values, etc. (see the 21 segments in idea 527 to 547) are too slow to be agreed to. Although thousands of meetings are taking place around the world to look into this matter, they will not have the necessary impact in time.
I therefore recommend the urgent creation of a UN World Emergency Committee on the subject: How to Save Planet Earth. Are humans putting an end to evolution?

~ Idea 1624 ~ 20 December 1998
We call everything sold human "goods" and "services". Well, more and more of these "goods" have become "evils" or "disgoods" for the Earth and nature, and more and more "services" have become "harms" or "disservices" to them. There is an absolute, urgent need to change our language and to redefine what is good and bad in the new colossal, global conditions of our planetary evolution.

~ Idea 1625 ~ 21 December 1998
Global consciousness is not enough. Once one knows that one is sick, one must seek healing. We urgently need global healing, a planetary medicine, world healers and world surgeons.

~ Idea 1626 ~ 22 December 1998
Of the population explosion and the products explosion, the second is worse than the first. I have said before ( idea 505) that in the eyes of the Earth, the rich population of 1.2 billion today in reality represents thirty times more, since the rich consume 30 times more than the poor. Well, suppose the 10 billion people we will be in the future have the "ideal" consumption levels of the rich today, advocated, idealized, marketed and advertised world-wide by big business, in the eyes of the Earth this would represent 300 billion humans consuming her skin and flesh!

~ Idea 1627 ~ 23 December 1998
It is high time no longer to admire the rich peoples, their villas, their luxury cars, their yachts, their airplanes, their lavish Earth-destroying lives. In the new circumstances of today and tomorrow the people with simple, frugal lives and the least possessions are the truest, most loving and caring children of the Earth.

~ Idea 1628 ~ 24 December 1998
Yes, but all this will lead to unemployment, will you say. The answers are easy to find. For example get the unemployed or artificially employed militaries and armaments manufacturers for which the people have to pay taxes of 3/4 of a trillion dollars a year, to be re-employed in planting trees and saving nature. Let us devise an entirely new employment policy for the people on this planet, including the saving and good care of the Earth.

~ Idea 1629 ~ 25 December 1998
On this Christmas Day I learned of the experience of a young American who had graduated from one of the most prestigious universities in the United States and intended to join the United Nations but decided to join instead the New York police. After a couple of years he went to visit several American universities and convinced 135 graduates to join him in the police corps of New York City. He said to them, "If you like to work for a good cause and know of the sufferings of the people, you do not have to go to the poor countries. You will find them right here in the streets of big US cities.
Well, this is why I proposed to transform all polices of the world into peace and well-being agents.

~ Idea 1630 ~ 26 December 1998
Everywhere in the United Nations system economic development is the first and foremost subject. Would it not be good also to deal with the subject of compassion, taking care of the miseries of the people in the world by all kinds of means: by religions, by charities, by non-governmental organizations, by philanthropists and so on and not have everything rest on economic development and foreign aid whose name should be changed into foreign love or compassion or a similar word, excluding from it all military "aid" (see Annex to ideas 1501 to 1600 "Is It a Compassionate Society? a text which should be on the desk of every UN servant).

~ Idea 1631 ~ 27 December 1998
One of the most prominent, admirable former United Nations officials, Mr. Jean d'Arcy from France, told me when he left the United Nations about his impressions and proposals for reforms of the world organization. He said that the most fundamental problem of the United Nations was governments and the fact that they are represented at the United Nations by officials of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs. The Charter of the United Nations starts with the words "We the Peoples" and not "We the Governments". It was a folly to believe that the fate of the world could rest in the hands of governments who have no interest in constructing a different world order. He gave the example of Aldous Huxley who was a wonderful man when he was a member of the executive board of UNESCO but when he was appointed Ambassador of the United Kingdom to UNESCO that was the end of it.

~ Idea 1632 ~ 28 December 1998
Stanley Kubrik the producer of the film 2001 once said that in fifty year the world will wake up and become aware that the United Nations and its institutions have been, are and will be the Earth government.

~ Idea 1633 ~ 29 December 1998
The word politics should be abolished and be replaced by something much deeper: I like planetics, the management of our planet. But it is even deeper than that. What is happening on our Earth is a whole series of fundamental biological, evolutionary changes. We need to consider the biology and evolution of the Earth in its entirety. This should be the only concern of government. The collective preoccupations of humanity should be for the state of the planet, and the conditions and future of all life on it. The word politics must be abandoned. Politicians should become Earth biologists and all Faculties of Political Science Faculties of Earth Biology and Evolution.

~ Idea 1634 ~ 30 December 1998
Human history proves that there are always very great barriers, obstacles to a peaceful, just and harmonious world. In the past it was feudality, then the kingdoms and the empires. Today it is nationalism and tomorrow it will be the big, multinational companies. It is a mistake to hope that these barriers will disappear by themselves. All human history proves that they have to be dismantled in order to be replaced by something else. We have reached that point of modern history when both nationalisms and big, multinational corporations must be dismantled and replaced by something else. It has to come from an outside force, a people's revolution or a revolution of the scientists, thinkers, visionaries, prophets, globalists, futurologists and synthesizers of this planet.

~ Idea 1635 ~ 31 December 1998
I replace here an idea by a joke to finish this year on a cheerful note. Apparently the father of Nehru, who was the president of India's Congress Party which led to India's independence, liked to smoke English cigarettes. One day someone reproached it to him and said that this was contrary to the law which he got adopted prohibiting all imports of English merchandise to India. Nehru's father answered, "Yes, but you have not read the law carefully because there is a paragraph that says, 'and if you find British products in India, burn them'".

~ NOTE ~
The remaining ideas to the year 2000 will appear without a date.

~ Idea 1636 ~
I wonder if humanity would not be entitled to obtain through the United Nations a world survey and assessment of all the sites of nuclear missiles, atomic bombs, other nuclear hardware and nuclear plants located in places likely to suffer from earthquakes. Humanity is entitled to know these risks.
Here is the anecdote of a lady who, when she learned that a nuclear plant was to be built in the neighborhood of Santa Barbara started a public campaign against it since Santa Barbara is prone to have earthquakes. The official answer was that she cannot prove this. So she asked all the indigenous people from the region to assemble at the place where the nuclear plant was to be built and to pray for an earthquake. They did so for two days after which a small earthquake took place and the atomic plant was not built.

~ Idea 1637 ~
The Millennium Peoples' Assembly which will accompany the General Assembly of Heads of State 2000 will have the opportunity to make a whole series of proposals to ensure a people's representation at the United Nations. One is that governments would not be represented by ambassadors of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but by representatives elected by the people during regular national elections. The European Union has a European Parliament elected by the people. We must give credence to the Charter's words "We the peoples of the United Nations".

~ Idea 1638 ~
I can try to rethink the present world situation in favorable terms but it does not work. In a nutshell, governments no longer govern. They are governed by big business. They support, promote and love big business. They have become the servants of big business which was born to exploit the resources of the Earth for the benefit of the people. And it has done so for a long time with great success. But now it has become to a large extent the destroyer of the Earth.
One way out: proper Earth government. This would avoid the need for atomic weapons, atomic tests, huge armaments and military expenditures which could be used for economic justice, the well-being of humans and good care of the planet.

~ Idea 1639 ~
If Plato and the Greek philosophers would came back to Earth, see how we govern or misgovern ourselves and have a look at the structure of national governments they would exclaim: you mean to say that you do not have a Ministry of Philosophy? Philosophy embodies the highest aims of humanity. Phil (love) and sophia (wisdom) is what you need more than anything else on your human journey in the universe. You got wild with development, production, scientific inventions whose consequences can be disastrous for the world. So, we recommend to you the creation of a Ministry of Philosophy in each government and a Main Commission on Philosophy of the General Assembly of the United Nations. The United Nations itself must become the central philosophical body of planet Earth.
I would answer: you are absolutely right. I had only thought of a Ministry of Happiness but happiness is included in philosophy. Your idea is much better. It includes compassion, faith, hope, prayer, meditation, forgiveness, love and all the great philosophical concepts which have allowed humanity to survive and to progress on this incredible planet in the fathomless universe and mysterious steam of time.

~ Idea 1640 ~
Margaret Mead was right when she said that the world goes so fast that parents can no longer be guides for their children. The children have to find their own ways. There is another fundamental problem. It is that the scientific, industrial, materialistic civilization has produced the model of a human who has become a prime danger to the equilibrium of life on this planet and to our continued survival and evolution. Therefore only a new education, an education for a new generation of humans can save us. This is why the Montessori Schools, the Steiner Schools, the Robert Muller Schools, the Gandhi Schools should be taken as the new education for this planet, transcending the national educations we have now all around this Earth. An Ambassador to the UN suggested that a comparative survey and study should be made of a US public school and a Robert Muller school to see why in the latter there is no violence.

~ Idea 1641 ~
In a second generation United Nations or in a proper Earth government there should be an entire ministry or agency devoted to children. In the current United Nations I would recommend the transformation of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, (UNICEF) into a full United Nations agency for children. They have so much at stake in the future that they deserve an entire agency devoted to them. So does youth which has no voice in world affairs.

~ Idea 1642 ~
How can we expect the world not to be destroyed when every morning millions of Americans and western people rush to their newspapers to see if their shares in companies which are supposed to constantly grow and to give higher dividends, even if it is at the expense of the Earth, have increased or not? And when tens of thousands of highly educated humans rush every day to skyscrapers or offices of big companies to sell more, invent more, diversify more, render old products obsolete and increase markets and sales through endless increasing, sophisticated advertisements even at the price of exaggeration, falsehoods and lies.

~ Idea 1643 ~
Since it is mainly with the United States Congress that the United Nations has difficulties may I recommend to do something which was done at my time when I was assistant to Secretary General U Thant, namely to have frequent visits to the UN of US Congressmen and Senators. Sometimes we received groups of up to a hundred of them. I loved to speak to them and instill in them belief and enthusiasm for the United Nations basically created by their country.

~ Idea 1644 ~
I wish, that the United Nations would publish one of the most remarkable world's series of simple pocketbooks giving the people the essentials of the world situation. For example, pocketbooks on the peace, world population, the seas and oceans, outer space, the climate, poverty, over-consumption, armaments, the military, etc., etc.

~ Idea 1645 ~
We need a "cosmopause" in the evolution of this planet. Humans are going too fast. We need a pause in the growth of population. We need a pause in economic growth. We need a pause in the growth of cities. We need a pause in the growth of consumption of the rich. We need a pause in the destruction of nature. The human race is on a wrong path. It is too growth crazy. If we remain hyperactive like that the whole humanity will get heart attacks and strokes. There are global diseases as there are individual ones.

~ Idea 1646 ~
At the end of this century and millennium we should make a world-wide inventory of our progress, successes, achievements, mistakes, wars, misdoings, destructions and other major facts in our evolution. The survey might not be perfect, but the mere fact of looking through a glass window and of having electricity are such wonders that if people from the middle ages would live today they would not believe it. This is why I have obtained from the UN General Assembly the decision to declare the year 2000 International Year of Thanksgiving as expressed in my Dream 2000. Yes, I think that humans have every reason to give thanks to God for our miraculous home and for having allowed us to do so much progress. We should also promise to do infinitely better in the next century and millennium and fulfill finally His dreams and wishes to see a divine human family live happily in His divine Creation. Our objectives can be nothing less.

~ Idea 1647 ~
I regret that in 1970 when the Club of Rome raised the question of the limits of growth my suggestion to create a Committee of the Future in the UN Economic and Social Council was not accepted. Today, twenty-eight years later, I recommend that a Committee of the Future be created as one of the main commission of the General Assembly. It could replace the Trusteeship Council which has accomplished its mission.

~ Idea 1648 ~
The yearly reports to the General Assembly are concentrating mainly on what is on its agenda, i.e. on what the United Nations was supposed to do. If I were Secretary General I would conceive something much more appealing. I would publish a yearly World Progress Report covering all fields in which the United Nations and its specialized agencies are engaged, propose their ideas and solicit ideas from all governments and peoples to achieve further progress. Such a report should be disseminated world-wide and become a major discussion among the peoples of the world.
The current world reports published by the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other sources are not comprehensive enough. They should cover all segments of the world core curriculum derived from my experience in the United Nations and summarized in the table on global knowledge published in Volume I.

~ Idea 1649 ~
All human views of civilization, cosmologies, religions, ideologies, philosophies including the most ancient ones considered the pursuit of riches to be contrary to the true meaning of life. The Bible says that it will be more difficult for a rich person to enter into heaven than for a camel to go through a needle's eye.
In recent times the American Dream set the pursuit of profit, unlimited wealth, acquisitions and consumption as the ultimate goal of human life. That ideology was also adopted by many western and Asian countries.
Where will it ultimately lead to? That is the fundamental question we must ask ourselves at the end of this century.

~ Idea 1650 ~
I do not know why humanity speaks only or predominantly of developed and underdeveloped countries? Could we not also speak of warm, beautiful, paradise-like countries and cold, inhospitable, nature destroying countries? Or of spiritual, God and life-loving countries and materialistic, atheistic and power-loving countries? Or of disarmed and demilitarized countries and hypermilitarized and superarmed countries? Or of high nuclear risks and non-nuclear risks countries?
Who decided to have only the first distinction, in favor of the rich, spoken of in the world and politics? An interesting question, isn't it?

~ Idea 1651 ~
The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be a great event because that declaration was an immense step forward in the concept and practice of justice in the human family. But it will also reveal that more work has to be done to other and new concepts of human rights which have become evident during the last fifty years. The subject is of such importance that I recommend the convening of a world conference on human rights including new ones, by the United Nations.

~ Idea 1652 ~
Since from experience the poor countries of the world have little if anything to gain from the so called help from the rich countries and on the contrary are being invaded by their capital ideology, private firms, technology and see their cultures progressively destroyed, it would be good if these countries would begin to think of creating their own world government without participation of the western countries. It is worth looking into it to see what effects it would have. I feel compelled to launch this idea after a half century of experience with a very imperfect, often hypocritical, self-interest cooperation from north to south.

~ Idea 1653 ~
My Dutch friend Jan Tinbergen, a wonderful consultant to the United Nations who received the first Nobel Prize in Economics, told me once that he would create a good number of world-wide public service institutions, not only of multinational corporations and businesses. Unfortunately this has never been done by governments. They have not paid much attention to that need. I hope that the great thinkers, visionaries, globalists and futurists of this planet will come up with a good number of world public service institutions and joint governmental projects which would deserve to be created.

~ Idea 1654 ~
The ideal of the lawnmowers manufacturers is to cover the world with lawnmowers, big and small.
The ideal of the lawnmower gardening firms is to get lawnmowing contracts wherever possible.
Result for the Earth: not a chance for grass to grow and to give oxygen; production of polluting CO2 from the gasoline of the lawnmowers and a lot of unnecessary noise.
Reaction from the people: nil. They are made to believe through advertisement, that it is progress.
And the same story is happening in innumerable other fields all around the world.

~ Idea 1655 ~
I was invited to participate and submit papers to a world congress on water in Australia in 1999. I wrote to them that I convened the first world water conference of the United Nations in 1967 and that they should get its reports. The predictions were that between that time and the year 2000 the world water consumption would increase fourfold. The report contained many recommendations regarding ways of reducing water consumption in industrial and private processes. I recommended to them to have the government of Australia approach the United Nations and offer that the world congress be a second world water conference under the auspices of the United Nations.

~ Idea 1656 ~
The Nobel Peace Prizes Foundation should create somewhere on planet Earth a World Hall of Honors for Peacemakers, notably of all the Nobel Peace Prize winners since the creation of the prize. Great peacemakers who did not receive the Nobel Prize but made a significant contribution to peace on this planet should also be honored. I'm thinking for example of the Peace Pilgrim and of Jill Jackson Miller who wrote May There Be Peace On Earth and Let It Begin With Me . Such a hall could be ereated on the magnificent natural grounds of the University for Peace in demilitarized, peaceful Costa Rica.

~ Idea 1657 ~
1999 marks the twentieth anniversary of the first world conference on the climate which I got the United Nations to convene in 1979 on this new, emerging global problem.
It predicted the climatic changes which we begin to see today. But why did it take governments and the media twenty years to listen to the warnings of that conference? Still today some major governments, the United States in particular, say that there is no sufficient scientific evidence. The second UN world climate conference was held in 1987. The reports of both conferences should not be left in libraries but should be on the desks of each head of state, head of the media, business leaders and parliamentarians. Don't they want to keep the Earth they are so eager to run? A third world conference on the climate should be convened urgently.

~ Idea 1658 ~
One of the climatologists at the first world climate conference predicted that early in the 21st century the ocean currents of the planet will begin to change course and that it would take thousands of years for them to return to their original direction. Well, the newspapers are filled with the phenomenon of El Niño but I have not seen a single report that this is linked with a climate change.

~ Idea 1659 ~
Science is considered with a great awe and respect as a kind of sacred affair in human evolution. Scientists who disagree with certain findings are usually a minority and not given a sufficient voice. I recommend that there should be a new discipline challenging scientific findings and their application to humankind when they can have negative effects. For example, the scientific reasons which led to the launching of the Cassini spacecraft which upon its return might kill millions of people should be challenged not by a few individual scientists but by a whole discipline whose major task would be to challenge such science applications. Governments should finance and universities should create departments for scientists whose main role would be to evaluate the consequences of scientific findings and tell the world whether they should be applied or not. This would simply follow the good wisdom of the Iroquois Indians whose leaders were always asked to think of the effects of any changes on the lives of the seventh generation.

~ Idea 1660 ~
I recommend a huge world Marshall Plan of the rich countries giving aid to poor countries which do not destroy their forests and nature. The developing countries still have large amounts of forests providing a good part of the planet's oxygen. The same way as we pay for water and other resources, the time has come when we should pay for the oxygen we receive from the poor countries.

~ Idea 1661 ~
Further to adversary scientific research I recommend adverse advertisement research, adverse business research, adverse news and information research and adverse institutions research. Units or Departments to that effect should be created in governments and universities. It is absolutely necessary that the negative effects of all glorified discoveries and activities should receive challenging judgments. This should become a major new means of government and proper education. Nothing on this planet should ever be allowed to become fundamentalist to the point of preventing and neglecting opposing, challenging views.

~ Idea 1662~
I am delighted to reproduce this statement of a great spiritual leader in favor of a united world. I was glad to write the foreword to the new edition of the Autobiography of a Yogi..
Prayer for a United World
by Paramahansa Yogananda.
"May the heads of all countries and races be guided to understand that men of all nations are physically and spiritually one: physically one, because we are the descendants of common parents the symbolic Adam and Eve; and spiritually one, because we are the immortal children of our Father, bound by eternal links of brotherhood.
Let us pray in our hearts for a League of Souls and a United World. Though we may seem divided by race, creed, color, class, and political prejudices, still, as children of the one God we are able in our souls to feel brotherhood and world unity. May we work for the creation of a United World in which every nation will be a useful part, guided by God through human enlightened conscience.
In our hearts we can all learn to be free from hate and selfishness. Let us pray for harmony among the nations, that they march hand in hand through the gate of a fair new civilization."
I have advocated relentlessly a World Union or Untied World and I like very much the idea of a World Spiritual League or League of Souls. The United Religions Organization can become that.

~ Idea 1663 ~
The world does not only need an Earth Council, it basically needs an Earth Government. Perhaps the Earth Council created in Costa Rica by the UN Rio de Janeiro Conference on the Environment will be the stepping stone to it. I will work on it.

~ Idea 1664 ~
Our present period of history is fundamentally different from all preceding periods because of the massive increase of human population and our ways of living and doings which change the basic elements and structure of the planet. This requires a fundamental rethinking of all segments of human life on this planet from politics to economics to philosophy, to our individual lives. It requires changes in our institutions, beliefs and ways of living and world laws to prevent major catastrophes in the decades to come.

~ Idea 1665 ~
Humanity has the means, the intelligence, the knowledge and the capacity to make the fundamental changes required to save the Earth and humanity and to make this a well-managed planet in the universe. It requires an audacity from leaders which has never been seen before in history. I beg you, o leaders of nations, have that audacity and be the savers and builders of a new Earth era and humanity in the 21st century and new millennium.

~ Idea 1666 ~
It took ten years for the Constitutional Assembly in Philadelphia to draft the US Constitution 200 years ago.
It took forty years to get the European Union created in this century.
How many years will it take to get a World Constitution and World Union created? Governments do not even dream of doing it.
The most likely result will be the end of the human species and of all life forms on this planet.
When will this obsolete political 20th century system finally wake up and accept its defeat?

~ Idea 1667 ~
Arnold Toynbee said: "The deeper, slower movements not apparent in passing headlines, have been the ones to change human history over the long span of time."
Alas, this is no longer true today when everything changes so fast. By the time the ecological movements will have won, the Earth will be finished by insane economic growth and business. Let us remember that every 5 hours a species becomes extinct on this planet. See in ideas 506 to 519 the minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day damages inflicted upon this jewel of an Earth.

~ Idea 1668 ~
Perhaps it would be good to re-establish the position of court jester which existed in ancient times. In cabinet meetings of heads of states, in parliaments, in United Nations meetings and in offices of the heads of multinational corporations there should be court jesters who would challenge the seriousness and righteousness claimed in such meetings and remind the participants of the need for common sense and consideration for the people and for the Earth.

~ Idea 1669 ~
I am so glad that in the year 2000 we will proclaim the first political saint of modern times, St. Robert Schuman, my compatriot from Alsace-Lorraine, the founder of the borderless European Union. We need many more political saints. The United Nations could, from time to time, proclaim a United Nations Saint. But needed above all would be business saints who demonstrated through their life that their main purpose was not to make profit and enrich themselves but to provide the best goods and services to the people, especially the poor. Who will be the first business saint on this planet?

~ Idea 1670 ~
A new fundamental human right is coming progressively to the fore: the right of children to be given the right information about their home the Earth and humanity their family. In other words, global education before national education. How many times when I speak to children and young people visiting the UN do I hear them say, "If this is so, why didn't anyone tell us? We have a right to know." I think that as we move into the 21st century this should be a fundamental right of children and fundamental duty of educators.

~ Idea 1671 ~
When my wife Barbara and I attended the graduation from elementary school of one of our grandchildren, Roberto, I noticed that the first item on the agenda was the Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag. I commented to Barbara and another grandchild sitting by me, Adrian, that such ceremony should start with a Pledge of Allegiance to the Earth. Someone should draft one. They did it immediately. Here is the Pledge to Planet Earth by Adrian O'Barr, eight years old, and Barbara Gaughen Muller:
I pledge allegiance to planet Earth
One planet under God
Whose nature I protect
Whose people I serve
Whose environment I care for
And whose seas and oceans I cherish
Our planet where all humans
and creatures are protected
Planet Earth is my home
To be respected and loved by all
22 June 1998
Cold Spring, New York

~ Ideas 1672 to 1674 ~
As the graduation ceremonies proceeded I also had the following ideas:
Idea 1672 After the pledge to the flag came the song America the Beautiful. This should be preceded by a song Planet Earth the Beautiful. Someone should compose one.
Idea 1673 There were a number of awards for physical education, sports, music, art, technology and achievements. Since the United States complains so much about violence in schools I expected also awards for peace and non-violence but there were none. I am sure that the children would also love to sing the song Let There Be Peace on Earth and Let It Begin With Me.
Idea 1674 UNESCO should make a world survey of graduation ceremonies and recommend changes in them beneficial to all humanity and to the Earth.

~ Idea 1675 ~
Schools that practice a United Nations model and are located in the New York area should hold their graduation ceremonies in the UN General Assembly Hall. During the beginning of the summer period that hall is practically empty and could serve that purpose. The children would never forget it.

~ Idea 1676 ~
I further propose that UNESCO and the United Nations should give awards during such graduations to teachers who have taught the children about the United Nations, world affairs and peace or have organized United Nations model programs.

~ Idea 1677 ~
I consider that the creation of a world association of scientists and thinkers concerned with long-range evolution is one of the most important things to do at the end of this century. Such a world-wide association would serve as a guidelight to governments and to all segments of society regarding their actions, policies and long-term plans and make sure that they do not contradict the needs of further human and Earth evolution. This is vitally important. There is no single world association that would be more important at this stage of our history. I hope that as an outcome of the Conference organized by the Club of Budapest in 1999 in Sardinia for such scientists and thinkers, this association will be created. The preparatory work has been done by Erika Erdmann and Professor Jean-Claude Léonide as reported in ideas 526, 1278 and in the Introduction to ideas 1401 to 1500.

~ Idea 1678 ~
The findings, forecasts and recommendations of such an association would be a major input into the Ministries of the Future which I recommend to be created in every government and the Commissions of the Future to be created in the United Nations and in each of its specialized agencies and world programs.

~ Idea 1679 ~
We have become a throw-away, Earth-wasting species. We risk putting an end to evolution and to all life on this planet, including our own and preparing an unprecedented disaster for our descendants. When will we wake up to that sad reality? Recycling is only postponing the disaster. Non-consumption of unnecessary, non-natural, harmful and overpackaged products is the answer.

~ Idea 1680 ~
The industrial revolution which was perceived as a great blessing in human history might soon turn out to be a great catastrophe leading to the end of evolution on this planet. When will we wake up to it?

~ Idea 1681 ~
Outer-space being:
Why don't you rename your planet Planet of Garbage? It seems that one of your main activities is to produce more garbage, dispose of more garbage, recycle more garbage and throw more garbage away on the Earth. We see ever more garbage disposal equipment and advertisements, including this surprising one: recycling a second time makes it even better. And you call the whole thing industry and production and include every stage of it into your so-called "national product" which you would better re-name "natural waste".

~ Idea 1682 ~
Willy nilly we must recognize that an outright war is being waged against the Earth. It is not the fault of anyone except the wrong belief that the exploitation of Earth resources would be unlimited. Suddenly we discover that this is not the case. To put an end to this war we need a science, a strategy and a methodology.
The science of peace with nature exists already since the 1970's and is pretty well advanced. Its name is ecology. Regarding a strategy, this is also beginning. Ecologists must sit down and develop a strategy from outer space to genetics and the atom passing through all segments of the planet and of human life. As regards a methodology, we do not have a systematic one but there are innumerable methods which are being applied, developed and advocated by many people to respect nature and to restore it.

~ Idea 1683 ~
It is henceforth essential to broaden the objectives of all peace movements on this planet to include also peace with nature, the biggest war ever on this planet. Peace movements should make it their priority issue.

~ Idea 1684 ~
If we had a UN World Transport Agency I would recommend that it adopt a basic rule that along all the roads of this planet it would be prohibited to place advertisements, the reason being that the attention of the drivers might be drawn to the advertisement and might cause an accident. In addition, it often destroys beautiful sights of nature.

~ Idea 1685 ~
Yes, we must absolutely create a UN World Transport Authority. We have an International Civil Aviation Organization and an International Maritime Organization but we do not cover all transports. This is absolutely necessary for a better coordination of all world transports and to deal with this increasingly important human activity on this planet. In a World Cabinet for the Earth there is no doubt that there would be a World Ministry for Transport.

~ Idea 1686 ~
Thirty years ago I delivered a speech to the Caterpillar company in which I begged them to slow down their production in order not to unduly destroy the Earth. After my speech, some members of their Board commented that I had made a point which should be given serious consideration. Today, when I see the innumerable caterpillars in action all over the world I cannot help remembering that speech and regret that I was not heard. The proportion of unnecessary caterpilling on this planet must be staggering.

~ Idea 1687 ~
If I were the UN Secretary General I would request the United Nations Statistical Office to collect and publish statistics on voluntary services in the world. I learned in Italy that there are five million Italians who give voluntary services without payment. The number for the world would be staggering and probably continues to grow. Statistics should also be published on private charities and donations inside countries and international. International private aid might be more substantial than foreign "aid" by governments paid from taxpayers' money and often including armaments. This situation should be reviewed.

~ Idea 1688 ~
Humans often forget that we are just one life form perhaps the most advanced and intelligent but that we are now involved in destroying nature and the Earth of which we are the product. We must wake up urgently to our true nature in the living kingdom, be respectful for nature and redefine what we call "intelligence".

~ Idea 1689 ~
If I were the UN Secretary General I would open a new page in my ways of operating namely, to have a series of direct communications called Personal Letters to Heads of States. One of the first would be to ask them to submit to each General Assembly specific ideas and dreams they would like to see fulfilled. At the internal governmental level this would mean that the head of state would want to collect ideas and dreams. Like Franklin Roosevelt, each head of state would surround himself with idea men and women or at each cabinet meeting ask every Minister to come up with concrete ideas for a better world. What a change in the United Nations this would make!

~ Idea 1690 ~
Each member government's report on ideas and dreams could be preceded by a report on ideas and dreams that were fulfilled locally and on all positive contributions made by that country to a more peaceful, better world situation.

~ Idea 1691 ~
In view of the numerous extensive forest fires which took place on the planet, especially in poor countries during 1998 I recommend that the United Nations create a rapid, effective, coordinated international fire-extinction system to save vast areas of forests in unequipped or insufficiently equipped poor countries. The United States as a neighbor of Mexico is already giving substantial aid in this respect but it would be good if this could be done internationally since some countries are afraid that foreign help could mean in reality a military occupations.

~ Idea 1692 ~
If I were the people of the United States I would request my government not to have any bilateral aid programs anymore to other countries. Why should a taxpayer pay for that? Aid to other countries should be international. All governments should cooperate and put the immense resources and goodwill of this planet together. Then we could produce miracles at the cheapest price, avoiding the duplications we have nowadays between 185 nations. World security should be the first item on such an agenda. There is no need to have 170 armies on this planet and 34,000 atomic missiles. An inspection team from outer space would give us grade F in planetary management.

~ Idea 1693 ~
I recommend the creation of a United Nations International Mother's Agency (UNIMA) which would foster cooperation between all mothers on Earth, in particular (a) to allow mothers in rich countries to help mothers in poor countries, (b) to have the work of mothers at home be considered as a productive, valuable economic activity instead of scandalously leaving it out of national income and (c) to get a world alliance of mothers against the drafting of their sons into military service and wars that kill the sons of other mothers, (d) to allow mothers to have a major voice in world affairs. In the Iroquois culture, it was the mothers who decided upon war.

~ Idea 1694 ~
I have always been impressed that violence in labor relations has been practically eliminated since the beginning of this century thanks to the work of the ILO and that the worse laborers can do is to go on strike if they are dissatisfied. This miracle should be repeated for nations. There should be no violence between nations, no armies to resolve them. All disagreements between them should be resolved by peaceful means. Humanity should be against violence in all realms of life. Violence between nations is the first and most important one to eliminate. No human being on this planet should be forced to become a murderer in the name of a nation.

~ Idea 1695 ~
If you want to save nature, our gracious mother Earth and allow for more descendants to live on this beautiful planet please want less, consume less and waste less. I have recommended for years that it is time to create a World Association of People who Want Less, Consume Less and Waste Less. I stress this recommendation most urgently.

~ Idea 1696 ~
I am so happy that the government of Costa Rica has decided that all families which use less than 400 kilowatts of electricity per pay period will not have to pay for it at all. This applies to about 40 percent of the population. This could be done by legislation, because electricity in Costa Rica is produced and sold by a state enterprise. Which private enterprise would ever take such a decision in the world? It has also the good effect that an effort will be made by many households to reduce electrical consumption. The same should apply to water consumption.

~ Idea 1697 ~
The new government of Costa Rica should raise in the United Nations the question: how could this Earth be best administered, managed, governed? Costa Rica has an entitlement to do that since it has demilitarized itself, has done enormously for its environment, for the salvation of its forests and nature and has taken so many great initiatives in the United Nations. Furthermore, it is the seat of the first World University for Peace, first International Radio for Peace and of the Earth Council created by the UN Rio de Janeiro Conference on the environment. Costa Rica is admired all over the United States. Many Americans want to come, visit and often live in this model country, a "place of refuge" or an "island of sanity" as they call it. Since we have a Club of Rome, a Club of Budapest, we could also have a Club of Costa Rica which would deal with the question of how the Earth should best be managed.

~ Idea 1698 ~
I will recommend that in the Universal Declaration of Human Duties which will be taken up during the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the following duty should be included: the duty of humans to consume less, to avoid unnecessary consumption, to want less and waste less in order to save nature and our beautiful mother Earth. This has to become one of the primary duties of humanity which is now destroying the Earth and nature by overpopulation and overconsumption.
During the war governments asked people to consume less in order to help the war effort. Since we have now a war against nature, governments of the overconsuming countries should recommend the same to their people. The UN should be asked to prepare and publish a survey of consumption reduction measures taken during World War II in various countries.

~ Idea 1699 ~
A World Consumers Agency should be urgently created to protect consumers who are helpless against the pricing and advertising practices of producers.

~ Idea 1700 ~
The cooperation between Ted Daley and Harold Stassen on a new Charter of the United Nations reminds me of one of the fundamental proposals of Stassen: that the United Nations should convene each year a conference of religious leaders and also a conference of philosophy. The religious conferences would help reduce inter-religious conflicts and fundamentalism. This reminds me of an omission on page 65 of the first 500 ideas where I give a timetable of events to the year 2045. In 1999 I forgot to mention an important event, namely the Third World Parliament of Religions in South Africa. This was a direct response of Nobel Prize Winner Bishop Desmond Tutu to my appeal in my keynote address to the World Parliament in Chicago in 1993 that they should not wait another hundred years to convene a Third Religious Parliament but should have one before 2000 to prepare the next century. Secretary General Kofi Annan plans to convene a meeting of the world's major religious leaders at the UN in the year 2000.
May all heads of state and religious leaders meeting in 2000 elevate their hearts, minds and souls to the rapid making of a peaceful, happy, just, prosperous human family on a marvelous, well-preserved, divine planetary home. So help us God and our own nature.

~ Idea 1701 ~
We are accustomed on this planet to the notion of limits. We have speed limits on many roads of the planet. Well, that is wise. Why should it be so impossible to conceive also limits to economic activities and to their speed? We could have a speed limit to pollution, a speed limit to the growth of garbage, a speed limit to construction, a speed limit to the growth of cities, a speed limit to the growth of population, a speed limit to economic growth, to enrichment, to endlessly increasing consumption, a prohibition to build skyscrapers etc.
At least the notion of sustainable development has been accepted; a development that can be sustained by the Earth. The Earth has its limits, the atmosphere has its limits, the soil has its limits, the water supply has its limits, etc. But I would prefer the words harmonious relations or development.

~ Idea 1702 ~
I am dreaming that Costa Rica will become the new Athens of the world, and bring humanity a philosophy that we have lost. Philosophy means the love of wisdom. I would like to have Costa Rica give the world a prestigious, magnificent, all encompassing new philosophy:
of peace
of demilitarization
of nature
of love
of beauty
of spirituality
of hope
of faith
of forgiveness
of health
of happiness
of cheerfulness
and of common sense
For each of these values a science, a strategy and a methodology should be developed as we do it for peace at the University for Peace.

~ Idea 1703 ~
How can anyone on this Earth dream of becoming a millionaire or a billionaire when you can dream of a life contributing to a peaceful, better, happier, healthier humanity and a well-preserved, more beautiful Earth, an entire planet?
The modern society and leaders should get their dreams straight.

~ Idea 1704 ~
Looking at the map of the world I am wondering why great places like Athens, Rome, Paris, London, etc., which were high points of philosophy and intelligent leadership have been unable to recover that role? In reality there is not a single place on Earth that provides today such leadership. All is economic, financial, business, materialistic, scientific, far from philosophical, spiritual dealing with the depth and breadth of the miracle of life and creation.
The new place could be Costa Rica, well located between North and South, between Atlantic and Pacific. It is already a world model of nature preservation and of demilitarization. Let us make it the country of wisdom, of philosophy. We have the building blocks for it on Mt. Rasur with its philosophical benches, meditation places, and prophecies. Perhaps this is what God wants us to do: start a world natural philosophical and spiritual Renaissance from Costa Rica, the seat of the first University for Peace, the first International Radio for Peace and of the Earth Council on this planet. They might be the first steps to the proper Earth government for which I plead in these 2000 ideas.

~ Idea 1705 ~
Arnold Toynbee, the British historian has shown that no empire of the past has survived, for always the same reasons: non-adaptation to new evolutionary requirements and the belief that power has the power to remain in power whatever may happen.
Today the human species is the biggest power of change on Earth. If it does not adapt to the laws of nature and the requirements of further evolution it will die as did the dinosaurs. We are already a good distance on that road.

~ Idea 1706 ~
A great thing rich persons can do is to purchase beautiful, natural land and donate it during their lifetime or as an inheritance to a local community, a city, a state, a province, a nation or to the United Nations to be preserved forever in its natural state. A wonderful example was given by a Costa Rican land owner who donated to the United Nations thousands of acres of primeval land on which the United Nations University for Peace was created and all forests are to be preserved forever in their primeval state.

~ Idea 1707 ~
I hope that some of my Decide to poems, e.g. Decide to be Happy, Decide to be Peaceful, Decide to be Spiritual, etc. will become popular songs.

~ Idea 1708 ~
Regarding globalization, one could take my World Core Curriculum (see Vol. I) and envisage the globalization and futurization of every segment of it. An individual can globalize himself. Families can globalize themselves. States, provinces, departments, i.e. local levels of government could globalize themselves by creating world associations for local communities, states, provinces, etc. It would be of benefit to them to learn how other subdivisions like theirs are governed, legislated and administered elsewhere in the world. It would be an incredibly rich, reciprocal experience.

~ Idea 1709 ~
Henceforth there will be more advantages for small and medium-size cities not to continue to grow, to remain livable, to increase their nature and beauty following the example of famous Santa Barbara in California. Such cities increasingly attract people who love nature and want to live away from noise, overcrowding and the pollution of big cities. The value of their land and dwellings constantly increases. Here is a typical case where non-development and the reaching of harmony with nature is becoming one of the greatest values on this planet.

~ Idea 1710 ~
In Barbara Gaughen Muller's plan for an Earth government called United Nature, the sovereignty of nations would be replaced by the sovereignty of nature for the benefit of the health, happiness and survival of the human species. What a wise, most timely change in values!

~ Idea 1711 ~
In addition to voluntary services dealt with in these 2000 ideas I would like to propose a World Volunteer Service for elderly persons in which retired people like doctors could offer their voluntary services to poor countries or poor areas in their own country. As a 75 year old volunteer one-dollar-a-year chancellor of the University for Peace I never get sick and I do not feel old. I have no time for that and I am rewarded with good health and a lot of happiness. Perhaps this is one of the secret laws of the universe.
The United Nations should create a World Peace Service for elderly persons. Nations should create national ones.

~ Idea 1712 ~
The United Nations should publish a yearly world report on all prizes, awards, honors and distinctions given by the United Nations and its agencies.
Philanthropists should be encouraged to endow many more world prizes. They would have a greater effect in inspiring and elevating larger numbers of people world-wide if they were announced and given in the United Nations.
The Secretary General should create or a small Secretariat unit to deal with the subject of world prizes and distinctions.

~ Idea 1713 ~
Since World War II we have solved many great human problems as noted in these 2000 ideas. Until recently there were no Earth problems. Now they are mushrooming and becoming priority number one. We must similarly solve henceforth and sometimes with even greater urgency and speed, Earth problems. This is an entirely new chapter in this Earth's history.

~ Idea 1714 ~
The United Nations Environment Program or the United Nations Development Program should follow the example of the work of the UN in the field of population and collect laws, regulations and policies limiting economic growth and reducing production and consumption around the world. This has not been done so far but is now becoming essential for further human survival and progress.

~ Idea 1715 ~
All national constitutions and international charters like the United Nations Charter must be redrafted in view of the fact that they did not take the Earth into account at the time when they were drafted whereas today the Earth has become our priority number one.
These constitutions should also take into account the overriding preoccupation and obligation for peace. Only one constitution, namely the Japanese Constitution adopted after World War II outlaws war as a way of solving international problems. This provision should be adopted by all constitutions on Earth.
Furthermore there should be included in national constitutions the concept of global duties and global responsibilities. Most of them were drafted and adopted at a time when there was no concern about the global world in its totality and responsibilities toward the Earth and the whole of humanity. Another chapter should deal with non-rights or prohibitions, e.g. no nuclear arms and tests, no projects endangering other countries or the world commons (atmosphere, seas and oceans, outer-space).

~ Idea 1716 ~
There exist already two Declarations of Interdependence one written by Henry Steele Commager, proclaimed in Independence Hall, Philadelphia on 24 October 1976, United Nations Day, in presence of the Secretary General and all heads of UN Agencies. The other is by Charlotte Newsburg of the American Association of Retired Persons. These texts (and there might be others) should be examined by a United Nations Committee and a text submitted to the General Assembly of heads of states in the year 2000 for adoption and universal proclamation.

~ Idea 1717 ~
We should have Declarations of Interdependence in a whole series of fields: a Declaration of Interdependence in the educational field, in the political field, in the medical field, etc. There should not be a single field and segment of human concern without a Declaration of Interdependence and a Code of Ethics. This would definitely enhance human progress and world-wide cooperation.
We should also have a whole series of World Declarations of Cooperation and Friendship. I could imagine a first great Declaration of Cooperation between the rich and the poor countries in all fields of life from development to the environment, from peace to non-violence, the avoidance of terrorism, etc.

~ Idea 1718 ~
The United States should get its democracy straight. It is not normal that 70 percent of US citizens consider that the United Nations do a good job and a minority of Congresspeople wage a campaign against the UN and obtain that the US does not pay its legal dues to the UN!
May I repeat here the plea I addressed in 1996 to the American people in the first Volume of these 2000 ideas, after quoting President Franklin Roosevelt:
May I reinforce this prayer that the US Congress pursue the American dream to be the cradle and foundation of a new world order, and consider a bold, visionary strengthening of US-born United Nations, instead of letting their minds be poisoned by the thought of letting the UN die by withholding US financial contributions. The non-joining by the US of the League of Nations was an invitation to Hitler and Mussolini to become dictators and provoked World War II. May America not repeat that mistake, I beg you. See what Europe has achieved by creating the seeds of World Union. Do even better since you are the land of dreams. Love and concern of the American people for the world and humanity find their highest expression in the United Nations. I pray God to enlighten all Americans to that basic truth. Please listen to the prayer of one who has suffered greatly during World War II and was miraculously blessed with survival. I would be happy to address the US Congress and all Parliaments in the world to plead for a bold, visionary strengthening of the United Nations and for a peaceful, better world.

~ Idea 1719 ~
I think the time has come to create a United Nations Save the Earth Emergencies Fund.

~ Idea 1720 ~
Short-sightedness, not non-intelligence is the main default of the world's leaders. Rare are those indeed who look into the future. And it is in the future that most of our main problems lie. That short-sightedness characterizes most of humanity. We rarely think of our death and afterdeath, neither individually nor collectively. For every thousand of historians there is barely one futurologist.

~ Idea 1721 ~
We must make every human being, every tree, all nature, the entire Earth a temple of God, a temple to the miracle of life, to the greatness of Creation.
We must do that for every couple, every family, every home, every place on Earth. Even a prison can be made a temple of God (see my story, Happy Even in Prison in What War Taught Me About Peace).

~ Idea 1722 ~
An outer space team returning from our Earth and reporting to the Council of Wise Elders of the Universe was asked this question: "Why did life disappear on planet Earth?"
Answer: "Humans invented money, which helped them to develop tremendously. But then it went to their heads and they took money not as a means but as the purpose of life, and that was their end."

~ Idea 1723 ~
People who pollute the atmosphere should pay those who provide oxygen to them. When President Clinton visited Costa Rica he proposed that the United States might give subsidies of 5000 colones (twenty dollars) per hectare (two and a half acres) of forests which the owners would pledge not to destroy.
Later the new Minister of Natural Resources of Costa Rica informed the University for Peace that there will be a small additional tax on gasoline and that the money levied will serve to give a subsidy of 25,000 colones (100 dollars) per hectare to owners of forests who will not exploit them. As a result the University will receive each year 24,000 dollars for 240 hectares of protected primeval forests.
Well, this is a marvelous new field for ecologists and economists to cooperate: subsidies for non-development, and non-destruction of natural resources for the benefit of human life and survival. A new science or discipline of ecolonomies might finally see the birth. They could deal with several other recommendations in these 2000 ideas, for instance: no longer any road tolls on this planet. Build your bridges and roads with money coming from the government budget or from what people pay for their gasoline.
Which University on Earth will be the first to have a Faculty or Department of Ecolonomies or Ecolonomics?

~ Idea 1724 ~
I'm very glad that the Earth Council created in Costa Rica by the 1992 UN Rio de Janeiro Conference will be located on the sacred paradisiac grounds of the University for Peace. As a result, dealing with peace and with the entire Earth we can become an important center of the world, a new Athens.

~ Idea 1725 ~
It would be important to revise the basic charters and constitutions of all institutions on Earth: world and international institutions, regional institutions, national constitutions, universities, basic charters of corporations, of transport agencies, etc. The Earth changes so quickly these days that one cannot continue to operate on basic texts which are twenty, thirty, fifty or a hundred years old. A new science or discipline should be developed for the updating and revisions of the basic charters, constitutions and founding texts of all institutions on Earth. One could consider a new university department to deal with this subject on a cross-discipline basis to make sure that up-revisions would take place in all human disciplines.

~ Idea 1726 ~
I recommend that more and more world conferences should be held because there are more and more world subjects that need to be considered. At each General Assembly the Secretary General should make proposals on world conferences he considers essential including repeat world conferences ten or twenty years after the first conference in order to see where we stand. From the list of these conferences circulated to all governments, some of them would take the initiative of holding such a conference on their soil under the auspices of the United Nations. The results would be submitted to the General Assembly of all nations.

~ Idea 1727 ~
I will propose to the UN Secretary General to send an appeal to all member governments reminding them of the early resolutions of the United Nations on the return of works of art to the countries of origin, hoping that there will be a large number of such restitutions during the year 2000 in order to celebrate the advent of a new age of humanity on this planet.

~ Idea 1728 ~
I recommend that the countries which benefited from the US Marshall Plan should announce in 2000 the creation of a new World Marshall Plan on a reimbursable basis into which they would put the equivalent or more of the aid they received after the second World War. That that aid should go to needy countries in the world who, when they will be prosperous would in turn repay the money received to be reused for the needs of other peoples in the world. This would be the realization of the early idea we had in the United Nations to have a permanent World Aid Revolving Fund but which was unfortunately turned down by the western countries.

~ Idea 1729 ~
On the occasion of this years 50th anniversary of the International Maritime Organization, governments should ask the UN Secretary General to produce a comprehensive report on what is being done for the seas and oceans by various United Nations agencies, in particular the International Maritime Organization, the Law of the Sea Treaty, the Sea Tribunal, etc. It would be good after so many years to have a comprehensive review of the progress made and see if there are any major gaps missing in the proper management of our seas and oceans which represent 71 percent of the surface of the Earth.

~ Idea 1730 ~
I got a soft drink advertisement sign removed from the entrance of the guardhouse of the University for Peace and decreed that there would be no commercial advertisements on the land of the University. It is undignified. So called soft drinks are a catastrophe for the poor countries where they eliminate natural, local fruit juices. I recommend that in all natural parks of the planet there should be: no newspapers for sale, no advertisements, no fast food or western soft drinks, only natural foods, only natural lawns, no lawns with grass cut constantly with lawnmowers, many fruit trees from which people and children can pick the fruits directly when they are still fully alive.

~ Idea 1731 ~
It is time that other member nations consider the non-payment of the contributions of the United States to the United Nations budget as an additional veto. By not paying as a condition for certain reforms the United States now is directing by and large the United Nations and there is no guarantee that they will change this policy because it seems to succeed. Twice already the Secretary General has introduced reforms requested by the United States and the result each time was that the US still did not pay. There might be behind that more than a dissatisfaction with the procedures and structures of the United Nations but a total dissatisfaction with the United Nations which is an obstacle to the US policy of wanting to rule the world. I think that it is the duty of the rest of the membership of the UN to look very seriously into this situation to protect their interests and the interests of humanity and of the Earth. The persistent non-payment of the US contribution should be placed as an item on the agenda of the General Assembly for full debate.

~ Idea 1732 ~
Regarding means to slow down the population explosion, it would be worthwhile to consider the concept of non-children's allowances and subsidies for small numbers of children in certain countries. So far we have lived with the principle of giving children's allowances because we wanted to have more children on this planet which was sparsely populated except China and a few Asian countries. This has changed very dramatically. In developing countries with a high rate of population growth the Untied Nations, the rich countries and the local countries should give "small number of children's allowances" which would be stopped after a given small number of children. The parents would be incited to look for or be given means of controlling the result of their lovemaking. The UN should also consider population policies according to countries and regions that would be based on bio-regional considerations, namely, what can each country or region take in numbers of population? A proper Earth government would certainly have to raise such questions.

~ Idea 1733 ~
When talking with a colleague about non-children's allowances to stop the population explosion he even came up with the idea of a Non-birth World Fund, a United Nations Fund that would give allowances for not having children or having only a small number of them.

~ Idea 1734 ~
This opens a new field. So far all subsidies, plans and efforts are toward growing, more of everything, more sophisticated goods, greater number of goods, greater purchasing powers, bigger national products, greater fortunes etc., etc. Perhaps we have entered a new age of humanity when, in order to save the Earth, we must devise a whole series of funding, subsidies and incentives for non-activities. Why not create a World Fund for Slow or Non-development? A first example is given by the Costa Rican legislation which gives subsidies for the non-cutting and non-exploitation of forests. There is need for many similar measures which will benefit and save the Earth and our descendants.

~ Idea 1735 ~
There could also be a World Fund for Non-consumption and measures to promote non-consumption. People could get a tax reduction if they submit their electricity bills and show that for a family of a given number of members their electricity bills didn't go beyond a certain limit, that they have done everything possible to reduce their electricity consumption. The same thing could be done for water. This may have been crazy in the past but now we are living in a completely new world where this is should be considered a new reality, an urgent reality if we want this planet not to go under.

~ Idea 1736 ~
At long last and after the pressing efforts of many non-governmental organizations at the United Nations the question of a direct people's representation in the United Nations is raised. There will be a Peoples' Assembly in the year 2000. May it open a new page in United Nations history and democracy. I will put my full weight behind it.

~ Idea 1737 ~
I agree with Filipino economist Sixto Rojas who says that it is not during the eighteen century that the market economy was invented. Market economy has existed for millennia. The radical innovation of the eighteenth and nineteenth century was not market economy but company economy; gradually the company, an institution organized for the production of salable products or services, imposes its vertical coherence thus provoking the disintegration of the past horizontal coherence of largely autonomous local markets. The word free market has become an illusion. On the contrary, corporations, money and wealth rule the world. The consumer is being programmed in innumerable ways by the big companies. Even governments are manipulated by them or have become their servants. The question should be placed on the agenda of the United Nations so that all countries, cultures and people's organizations can express their opinion about the existing economic field.

~ Idea 1738 ~
It is the same with democracy. There is no true world democracy. The people in the poor countries have no real voice in world affairs. The big countries with their vetoes are ruling the United Nations and other countries with their foreign aid. I am glad that UNESCO has appointed Mr. Boutros Ghali, the former Secretary General of the UN to look into the whole question of democracy world-wide and that a first conference is being held in Czechoslovakia on that subject.

~ Idea 1739 ~
It would be good on the occasion of the 1999 International Year of the Elderly to seek the opinions of elderly people on what values have unnecessarily been lost since their youth, to make proposals for a better and more peaceful world in the 21st century, and give advice to the younger generation which will take over. This could be their contribution to the celebration of the year 2000. The United Nations should organize such a consultation with the elderly associations around the world.

~ Idea 1740 ~
Once during a meeting between American visitors to the University for Peace and students at the University for Peace an American gentleman raised the question, how can you afford being demilitarized in Costa Rica when one of your presidents could be assassinated? A Costa Rican student answered him: Dear sir, we are demilitarized in Costa Rica and we never got one of our presidents killed and the United States has the biggest army on Earth and you've got three presidents assassinated.

~ Idea 1741 ~
I recommend that at the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the following major subjects be taken up:
1. the legal enforcement and protection of human rights through national, regional courts and a Universal Court of Human Rights. Precedent: the Court of Human Rights of the European Union;
2. a whole series of new basic human rights outlined in these 2000 ideas (consult Index);
3. work towards the adoption of a Universal Declaration of Human Duties and Responsibilities;
4. the rights of nature, of all other living species' and life manifestations on Earth, the adoption of the Charter of Nature;
5. taking up the subject of non-rights, e.g. the non-right of Governments to enlist young people into military service and force them to kill other human beings; the non-right to spike the Earth, the seas and oceans, the atmosphere and the heavens with nuclear arms; the non-right to launch space vessels like the Cassini vessel with plutonium on board; the non-rights of institutions, e.g. of giant multinational corporations and big business to act against the interests of humanity and of the Earth.

~ Idea 1742 ~
From a speech I made to educators at the Institute for Ethical Leadership in Vancouver, Canada: "Do not let the children despair about the world. Tell them it is through their participation, through their will and action that things will change. If you let them drift and say that the whole situation is hopeless because of governments, because of institutions you are not helping children. You have to tell them it is a matter they will have to take in their own hands, that it is going to be their world and the securing of peace is a great challenge. Tell them they will be the peacemakers and good managers of our global world, of tomorrow, the first generation ever in human history."

~ Idea 1743 ~
I call my wife the most perfect earthly manifestation of heavenly forces. Well, I think that all humans, all creatures on this planet are that. We are all miracles of the cosmic, heavenly forces of the universe. Our whole Earth is condensed cosmic energy. The energy of our food is solar energy which is cosmic energy. How wonderful if we would tell our children that they are perfect earthly manifestations of heavenly forces and show them the consequences of that for their lives, for the lives of all other humans and for the entire Earth.

~ Idea 1744 ~
Since the United Nations is no longer supposed to hold world conferences, a fact that diminishes its value and effectiveness, it would be advisable to create in the Carnegie Peace Palace in the Hague, Holland, a World Association of Peoples' Movements and Associations which would convene world conferences to warn humanity of new global problems and take necessary action.

~ Idea 1745 ~
On the occasion of the year 2000 governments and the diplomatic community should pay attention to the proposals for a better United Nations offered by Harold Stassen, one of the last living members who signed the Charter. He sees the UN change from a place where meetings on political, economic and social issues are held into a creative center where ideas on religion and philosophy are exchanged for a better future. Among his proposals are a central cabinet of administrators, a universal environmental institute, a United Nations Legion, an inspection corps, a world panel of mediators, a world board of arbitration, a world court of equity, a world-wide conference on religions and a research institute of people and government. His book should be read by every delegate to the UN, by every head of state before coming to the year 2000 General Assembly, and in all political science faculties of universities throughout the world. *
* It is available at the United Nations Bookshop, published by Learner Publications. The title, United Nations, a Working Paper for Restructuring by Harold Stassen.

~ Idea 1746 ~
The United Nations should keep an honor role of great world philanthropists and founders of world voluntary people's services. One of the first on the list should be Henry Dunant, a Swiss businessman who was so horrified by the unattended wounded at the Solferino battle that he created the International Red Cross which has rendered immense services to humanity since then.
Also to be honored should be Madame Bouchardeau, the lady who created the League of Nations Women's Guild which, after World War II led to the creation of UNICEF and continues to render services around the world as the United Nations Women's Guild formerly headed by Margarita Gallo Muller and now headed by Mrs. Kofi Annan, the wife of the Secretary General .

~ Idea 1747 ~
All great scientists and visionaries of this planet should sit down and outline their visions, blueprints, ideas and dreams for a better 21st century and millennium, a happy, fulfilled human society on a well-preserved, most beautiful, stabilized, harmonious planet. Their proposals should be communicated to the Secretary General and to all heads of states meeting at the Year 2000 UN General Assembly.

~ Idea 1748 ~
Since cosmic evolution has made humanity the most knowledgeable species on this planet, I am sure that the cosmos will not let our species go under. It will, on the contrary create a wave of new consciousness in many people around the world as well as eye-opening crises. That will be the next phase of evolution, namely the ability of our species to perfectly manage our planetary home, to continue evolution in its diverse, manifold forms and to achieve the fulfillment and happiness of all its members and other living species. That is the new page which is opening. All those who hold contrary beliefs, who think that wealth and power are the objectives of life, will disappear, the same way as slavery, as wars, as racial discrimination, as sex discrimination and all other errors in evolution have disappeared. It is just not conceivable that the cosmos or God have taken such a pain to create humans only to let a wealth discrimination and a small minority of humans destroy the result of millions of years of evolution. It is not possible.

~ Idea 1749 ~
As I shared this view with Barbara and told her that there is one woman on Earth, an evolutionary scientist, Elizabet Sathouris who is closest to that truth she exclaimed, "But you know, a miracle has happened. Her new book Walk in Time has been accepted by a major publisher in San Francisco."
I remembered how excited I was when she sent me from Greece many years ago the draft manuscript of her book on the Gaia hypothesis, how I blessed her for this book. It is she who is at the origin of the Gaia hypothesis, the name of the nebula Goddess that whirled in the universe and became the Earth.

~ Idea 1750 ~
A glimpse into the newspaper garbage: one day at a railroad station on the Hudson Line, Croton Harmon, where I had to change trains, I had the curiosity of counting the newspapers at the end of the day which would no longer be bought. There were 23 copies of the New York Times each with 50 pages (a total of 1150 pages), 22 copies of the Wall Street Journal with 74 pages (a total of 1630 pages), 10 Daily News with 83 pages (total 830 pages) and the New York Post 20 copies of 71 pages (a total of 1420 pages). So in this little station alone there were at the end of the day 5030 pages of newspapers that would have to be recycled. Can you imagine what this means in the New York area alone? And I'm not speaking about the Sunday edition where the New York Times has hundreds of pages with sections that many people do not even look at. And all this goes into the gross national product when it is produced, recycled and reused in other forms. And it is beginning to be imitated by newspapers in other countries. It just cannot go on that way. We speak of stopping deforestation. Better stop buying newspapers.

~ Idea 1751 ~
A good news is that in many train stations there are now on the platforms bins for recycling with this appeal: dear people, when you throw away papers, packages and other discarded materials into us, please ask yourself the question, could I have avoided buying this in the first place or bought something less packaged or less damageable to the environment and natural resources to this planet?

~ Idea 1752 ~
I hope that in advance of the UN General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states levels, all 185 chiefs of government will submit their visions, blueprints, ideas and dreams for a better world, a happy, fulfilled human society on a well-preserved, most beautiful planet. The Secretary General of the United Nations should send them each a personal letter inviting them to do that.

~ Idea 1753 ~
When I visit a US or western supermarket I just cannot believe the incredible multiplicity, sophistication and calculated attractiveness of the endless and often so needless merchandise they offer. To the concept of sex-appeal we should add that of consummation-appeal. The exclamation of Socrates when he visited the Athens market comes to my mind: "Why so many goods? Who needs them?"
If he were alive today I would tell him that in the United States today there are more supermarkets than schools. He would be horrified and swiftly return to his tomb not to see the rest of the world.

~ Idea 1754 ~
At the entrance of a US supermarket I saw this sign: "Enjoy instant savings." Look out for our savings notices. In my mind I replaced it by the announcement: Please enjoy instant non-buying. Look out for things you do not need to buy.

~ Idea 1755 ~
If I were the government of Costa Rica I would have all official stationary bear these words:
Costa Rica, seat of the UN University for Peace,
of the International Radio for Peace and of the Earth Council.
If I were the President of the United States I would have all official stationary bear these words:
United States of America, seat of the United Nations.
If Franklin Roosevelt were alive, he would do it.

~ Idea 1756 ~
The same should be done by every country which has the honor of being the seat of one of the United Nations specialized agencies or world programs. For example, Italy the seat of Food Agriculture Organization, France, the seat of UNESCO, etc.

~ Idea 1757 ~
The preceding could induce countries which do not have a seat of a United Nations agency to express the wish of being selected for one. Whenever a new office or agency is created preference should be given to a country that has no such seat. A list of them should be established by the Secretary General and circulated to all member governments before a decision is taken.
With time we could have a world government by the world itself, in all its diversity.

~ Idea 1758 ~
Every country that has the benefit and honor of being the seat of a United Nations office or agency should make every effort to be worthy of that honor. This should become part of the national policy at the highest level. Each year the president of the country should receive a report on what was done during the year to honor that agency and inform the peoples of his country, especially the schools and the media of its work. This alone would be a contribution to a better world and give more hope and belief in world cooperation. If I were the Secretary General of the Untied Nations I would like to receive a yearly report on what was done by each country having the seat of a United Nations agency. The report would be communicated to all governments to enhance greater world cooperation.

~ Idea 1759 ~
Consideration should even be given to the complaint by Premier Chou En Lai to Secretary General Waldheim when we visited Beijing that most agencies of the United Nations are located in the western world and none of them in the vast continent of Asia. There are places like Geneva which are overcrowded with United Nations agencies. Consideration should be given to transferring the seats of some of them to Asia.

~ Idea 1760 ~
Premier Chou En Lai also complained that UN conferences and meetings, in particular of the Security Council, were all held in the western countries and that it would be normal that the Security Council would meet once in a while away from headquarters, in Asia in particular. I would add that the Security Council should meet at the very places of conflicts or nearby.

~ Idea 1761 ~
An enormous progress should be made to show United Nations meetings directly to the world public through television. This would give the public a better idea of what world problems we have, how difficult they are to resolve, what the different opinions of member nations are and how they can be resolved. This is a very important civic education. I have, in these 2000 ideas, recommended that the two meeting a year between the Secretary General and all the heads of the 32 specialized agencies under the name of Administrative Committee of Coordination, which are in reality world cabinet meetings, should be televised world-wide. World public opinion polls could be conducted after them.

~ Idea 1762 ~
I recommend that henceforth there should be yearly national, continental and world reports showing the surface of non-destroyed nature and destroyed areas of this planet so that we know where we go. We have world building and construction statistics. We need also world nature destruction and conservation statistics.

~ Idea 1763 ~
I learned from a meeting of experts at the University for Peace on buffer zones around national parks that the number of national parks was not increasing in the world. Perhaps new UN statistics should be published including world, continental, provincial, state, municipal and private parks. This would give us a better picture whether natural parks are increasing or not. My belief is that they are increasing even if national parks do not.

~ Idea 1764 ~
Special legislation should be adopted regarding private, family natural parks. Under present French legislation, I could not declare that I do not want the inheritance of my land to be sold for construction but should be maintained forever in a natural state. Any heir could sell it at will. The Costa Rican legislation is better: an inheritance cannot be sold as long as all heirs have not agreed to sell. So my land here has a better chance to survive in a natural state than in France. Also in Costa Rica one can make a will in which a land one owns can never be sold but any descendant will have the right to live on it. It is a subject worth to be looked into world-wide. It could even be a new, fundamental human right to decide that a land one owns cannot be sold after one's death and that its nature should be preserved by the heirs.

~ Idea 1765 ~
Yes, there should be a new concept, protection and legislation of family parks in addition to municipal, state and national parks. It would be interesting to develop also the concept of international and world parks. There exists already a Costa Rican - Panama International Park. Also the law adopted by the Costa Rican Parliament regarding the legal status of the land of the UN University for Peace as a world park is something that should be studied and considered by other countries.

~ Idea 1766 ~
I believe that since World War II the concept of neutrality has lost enormous ground on this planet. It is not conceivable anymore that in such an interdependent world, any country should have as a permanent policy to be neutral and to keep out of all involvements. I think therefore that a country like Switzerland, should revise its policy of strict neutrality. It would be a great contribution to the year 2000 if Switzerland would decide to give up its principle of permanent neutrality and become a full member of the United Nations.

~ Idea 1767 ~
There is also the question of income and expenses to be considered regarding the seats of the United Nations offices. The city of Geneva in Switzerland is the seat of the European Office of the United Nations and of several of its specialized agencies. This represents a substantial income for Switzerland which is not even a member of the UN and hence does not have to pay a contribution. The expenses of the United Nations and of the permanent missions of the 185 member nations to the UN in New York would probably show that the US has a surplus of income over its contributions since 1945 and especially during the last few years when it did not even pay its dues. Such information should be assembled and made public every year to keep the public, parliamentarians and all member nations well informed.

~ Idea 1768 ~
If I were Secretary General of the United Nations I would publish a study of what New York City would lose as income if the Untied Nations would leave the United States. It would create an uproar in New York City.

~ Idea 1769 ~
I will suggest to the Nobel Prizes Committee in Oslow to create a Hall of Fame of all Nobel Peace Prize winners at the United Nations and at the UN University for Peace.

~ Idea 1770 ~
I like the project which began in Canada, Our Planet in Every Classroom. Thirty thousand posters have been distributed to classrooms in Canada in the past years showing simply the photograph of planet Earth. This idea has been also adopted by twenty other countries including Russia and the United States. The idea is simple, namely that a photograph of the Earth in the classrooms of the world helps prepare the next generation of all countries to live together on a small, endangered planet. The quotation which they use is by Fred Hoyle the British astronomer in 1948, "Once a photograph of Earth taken from the outside is available an idea as powerful as any in history will let lose." I suggested to the people who started this movement to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that statement in 1998. The photograph is displayed in all the Robert Muller Schools together with the inscription: "Our planetary home, our human family, our place in time and the miracle of individual life." Indeed it would be good to have a picture of planet Earth displayed in every classroom on Earth.

~ Idea 1771 ~
A great hope for humanity is the fact that more and more heads of states want to be remembered as peacemakers.
As a direct aide to three UN Secretaries General I have met many heads of states at dinners or official functions and I continue to meet some of them visiting the University for Peace. I always manage to ask them this question, "Do you think that you could become famous by conquering another country or winning a war?" And they look at me as if I was an idiot to ask such a question.
Then I put my second question, "Would you like to be remembered as a peacemaker and receive the Nobel Peace Prize?"
And they smile, their face gets illuminated. Well, this is the best proof that the times of Alexander the Great, of Atilla, of Julius Caesar, of Napoleon, of Stalin, of Hitler and Mussolini are gone.
Thanks be to God.

~ Idea 1772 ~
Perhaps a similar question could be asked to billionaires, "Do you think that you will remain famous and be admired in human history for having become a billionaire?" They might not give an answer or look a little puzzled. Then you ask them the second question, "Do you think you would be remembered in human history if with your huge money you would do something very good for humanity like Henry Dunant who after the Solferino battle decided to create the International Red Cross to help wounded soldiers in wars and now also accidented people all over the world?" And they would probably smile and put it on their mind to do something similar.

~ Idea 1773 ~
Since my youth I always had a very useful, popular multi-purpose, red pocket knife which I still have today in my briefcase and which is called a Swiss Army Knife. Well, I propose that it should change its name and be called henceforth a Swiss Peacemakers Knife, as I do.

~ Idea 1774 ~
At a US airport I saw a man wearing a T-shirt with this inscription, "My son is a US Marine."
I hope that a T-shirt will be produced in Costa Rica and in all other sixteen demilitarized countries with the inscription, "I will never be a soldier. I am a citizen of demilitarized Costa Rica".
More generally, people should wear T-shirts with uplifting, moral, spiritual exhortations such as Decide to be peaceful, Decide to be happy, I am a global citizen, I love peace, I trust in God, etc. Every person could state his/her belief or dream. People should refuse free headgears and T-shirts giving free advertisement to businesses like Coca Cola, or request at least 100 dollars to wear them.

~ Idea 1775 ~
I recommend that the International Labour Organization (ILO) should offer the world a new, unprecedented world employment policy based on the fundamental changes and new needs and ideals required by our rapidly evolving society. Thus, military expenses, arms production and the number of military must be soonest suppressed as being totally in contradiction with our new needs. These resources must be shifted to environmental occupations and tasks of which there are innumerable and very urgent ones world-wide if we want to save this Earth and its vital elements. The ILO should also exploit the wonderful employment opportunities offered by voluntary international and global youth services, as illustrated in Ideas 701, 702 and 703 of Volume II.

~ Idea 1776 ~
Since the destruction of the Earth' nature and of its life-providing elements is continuing at a dangerous rate I recommend the following:
1. The immediate creation and World Association of Long-term Evolutionary Scientists which would give the world their evaluation on where we stand in terms of putting an end to evolution on planet Earth and what should be done to avert this course.
2. The creation by the United Nations of a World Emergency Council to Save Life on Earth which would propose emergency measures.
3. The creation of a World Commission of Eminent Persons to propose a system of proper Earth government.

~ Idea 1777 ~
Someone said, "Do not have little dreams. They have no magic."
I say, "Have little dreams and big dreams, have local dreams and global dreams. Together they are artisans of a better world."

~ Idea 1778 ~
The lack of proper global government of this planet is so dangerous, so preoccupying that it might help if the name of the United Nations were changed into United Governments. It would increase the consciousness of governments of their global responsibility.

~ Idea 1779 ~
Writers can have a great influence on the coining of new words. Here is an illustration.
Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill met in Washington in December 1941 to begin to think of what kind of World Organization should be created after the war. Franklin Roosevelt proposed to create an Associated Powers. Churchill quoted to him a passage of Byron's Child's Harold Pilgrimage where United Nations drew the sword to defeat Napoleon in Waterloo. He proposed and Roosevelt accepted it for the planned organization.
As a writer and elder of world affairs, I propose that we must now create an Earth Government as we enter the next century and millennium I hope that one or several heads of state like Churchill and Roosevelt will plan a new world organization for the Earth and humanity in the 21st century and new millennium.

~ Idea 1780 ~
Why not create a World Association of Idea and Dream People for a Better World and Better Humanity?

~ Idea 1781 ~
As a remedy to the problem of unemployment on this planet why not consider setting a limit to work. For example, once a person has made so much money or has reached a sufficient retirement income that person should leave and enjoy life and leave his or her place to another human being. What is wrong with doing nothing and enjoy simply life and nature and be of voluntary service to other people? This could be the best part of one's life when one has no longer to work. Let us give further thought to this and make it a new virtue of the modern society as distinct from earlier times.

~ Idea 1782 ~
The word retirement should be abolished and be replaced by a new word like fulfillment age. I have retired from an active profession, from making a living and have entered the age when I can fulfill my dreams, do what I always wanted to do: tell stories, write, come up with ideas and dreams, travel and visit the world, take good care of nature or just do nothing with increasing enthusiasm.

~ Idea 1783 ~
Whether big power groups on this planet love it or not, whether they are opposed to it or want to prevent its growing influence and role in the world, the United Nation is the first institution in the whole human history which is in charge of protecting and speaking for the 6 billion people of this planet and for the Earth itself. This is of incredible importance. The people should remember it and support it because it is their best guarantee to be heard world-wide. It is the greatest chance the Earth and humanity ever had. Not even the United States with all its powers will ever reach the level of vocation of the United Nations. There should now be a people's representation at the UN Support the UN by every possible means. Never neglect to do it despite all the adverse publicity, propaganda and campaigns financed by the powerful and the rich against it.

~ Idea 1784 ~
I highly recommend that the principal overriding objective of the Peoples' Assembly 2000 should be to begin the drafting of a new Charter for humanity and for the Earth.

~ Idea 1785 ~
After the three Declarations of Human Duties and Responsibilities reproduced or mentioned in Ideas 301, 418 and 1214*, I received also a fourth one from the second United Peoples' Assembly of San Francisco in June 1998.
I am glad that the subject is spreading. I pray that there will be soon Codes of Ethics, professional oaths and Declarations of Duties and Responsibilities for all professions, human groups, entities and institutions on planet Earth. Together they would represent an important new progress in our evolution.
The fact that a second United Peoples' Assembly was held in San Francisco to take up the subject of human responsibilities could be a model for a new world democracy. United Peoples' Assemblies could be held everywhere in the world and would submit their views, wishes and recommendations to the Peoples' General Assembly 2000 at the UN and later to a World United Peoples' Organization to be created. I have proposed earlier in these 2000 ideas that the Union of International Associations in Brussels should be transformed into such an organization and be transferred to the largely empty Carnegie Peoples' Peace Palace in The Hague. The organization could be made a specialized agency of the UN.
*There is also a very valuable Declaration of Responsibilities of the present generation towards future generations by UNESCO.

~ Idea 1786 ~
I suggest that the organizers of the Peoples' Assembly 2000 should collect and publish all the draft world constitutions of the World Federalists and of other world movements as a background document for the creation of a new world organization better than the weak, powerless United Nations.

~ Idea 1787 ~
Can you imagine what North America would be today if instead of creating the United States they had kept to the Articles of Confederation? It would be a great mess on Earth. Each state would have its army, New York state and California would have nuclear weapons, etc. It would be unthinkable. Well, this is what we have in the world with 185 sovereign nations. Who are the leaders, who are the great personalities who will have the courage to stand up as a new George Washington and create a United States of the World? That is a fundamental question in all these 2000 ideas.

~ Idea 1788 ~
In view of the recent primacy of the Earth over human affairs on this planet I recommend that in the Secretary General's Office of the UN and in each specialized agency an indigenous elder should be appointed as a wise man to always remind us that we are a part of the Earth, how important she is to us and how damageable we can be to her. These people have still an intimacy with the Earth which we have lost. They have also an enormous common sense and follow the rule that for each decision that is made one has to think of the effects on the seventh generation to come. Almost noone does that in the western world!

~ Idea 1789 ~
I am inclined to recommend that the next Secretary General of the United Nations should be an indigenous person, man or woman. The world needs to regain common sense and am sure that a Secretary General of indigenous background would be able to give the world a guidance, a light and a common sense which most of us western people have lost.

~ Idea 1790 ~
Every world conference convened on this planet should include indigenous people and receive the input of indigenous peoples. Parallel Indigenous Peoples' Conferences could also be held next to each world conference.

~ Idea 1791 ~
I would love it if the indigenous people could take an interest in my World Core Curriculum derived by a long experience in the United Nations and in the Robert Muller Schools. It would allow them to acquire the vast western knowledge without losing their cosmology, quite the contrary, indeed confirming it as was the case already with the Panajachell Robert Muller School and the Mayan Cosmology. Yes, they might see their cosmologies confirmed by the cosmology emerging from the United Nations.

~ Idea 1792 ~
Reading my first volume of 500 ideas I came across idea 158 in which I say that international and bilateral aid should be made inversely proportional to the expenditures of the receiving countries on armaments and the military. Premium aid should be given to those who reduce their armaments and demilitarize themselves. Well, I would go a step further and recommend that this principle be applied by the United Nations and all its agencies and world programs. There is no doubt that demilitarized and disarming countries should receive premium United Nations aid.

~ Idea 1793 ~
The United Nations Charter is, very much behind the modern times. If the present leaders of nations do not revise the Charter future generations will not forgive them. The year 2000 cannot pass without a decision to revise the Charter or to write a new one more commensurate with the current needs of the Earth and of humanity. I warn you leaders of nations: if you do not do this you will go down in history with a lot of blemish as dwarfs instead of great men and women of the year 2000. Young people especially will not forgive you. They will not understand that their elders did not have the vision and courage to prepare for them a better world, century and millennium.

~ Idea 1794 ~
I just received from Barbara the news that a strong campaign for a new United Nations Charter has been started in California by a man called Tod Daley as a project of Community Partners in Los Angeles.
The campaign works
- to build support for global citizenship, planetary patriotism;
- to redesign the United Nations to meet global challenges such as environmental regeneration, human rights enforcement and the governance of transnational corporations;
- to democratize the United Nations to provide a voice in the affairs of the world beyond the five victors of World War II, including both developing and non-state actors;
- to empower the United Nations to protect not just "national interests" of individual states but the long-term interests of our common human community.
I asked Barbara to attend a meeting held on that subject in Los Angeles and to promise these people my full support.

~ Idea 1795 ~
Barbara attended the meeting and told me that Harold Stassen, the last living signer of the United Nations Charter has also become a supporter of this movement and has communicated to them his own redraft of the UN Charter published in 1996. Mr. Daley, in his speech proposed among others the creation of a volunteer United Nations Peacekeeping Force. This is a wonderful idea because one of the objections of national parliaments to get involved in the solution of foreign conflicts is that they do not want to be criticized by their citizens for sending young people of their country into wars in which they might be killed for foreign causes. A United Nations Volunteer Peacekeeping Force would escape such criticism.

~ Idea 1796 ~
Barbara sent him immediately an excerpt from my first 1500 ideas of all ideas related to a United Nations Charter reform. This shows the usefulness of this goldmine of 2000 ideas and dreams.

~ Idea 1797 ~
I have suggested to Mr. Daley to have someone prepare a collection of all ideas for Charter reform which were proposed since the adoption of the Charter and also a survey of proposals which were rejected during the preparation and finalization of the draft UN Charter because in the meantime they might have become more appropriate and acceptable. I will also suggest to him to write to all living former Secretaries General namely Mr. Waldheim, Mr. Pérez Cuellar and Mr. Boutros Ghali and ask them what their major recommendations for a new Charter or Charter reform would be. Scholars could collect for him the ideas expressed by former Secretaries General Trygve Lie, Dag Hammarskjöld and U Thant in their memoirs.

~ Idea 1798 ~
The world received with joy the great news announced by Secretary General Kofi Annan in a speech in San Paulo that he invited all the leaders of nations to meet in a summit conference in the year 2000 to review the last 100 years, the successes, the failures including some barbaric events and thus make a general overview of the state of the world on the eve of a new century. I am delighted that he made this great proposal.

~ Idea 1799 ~
I will offer my volunteer services to the Secretary General to help him prepare the Summit Meeting 2000 and in particular to have for the meeting one of the greatest, most imaginative collections of ideas for a better world in the entire human history. My 2000 ideas are only a drop of water. There are thousands of people around the world who have great ideas and must be heard. It is an occasion to make this the first, world-wide democratic peoples' consultations on planet Earth.

~ Idea 1800 ~
Being a member with Barbara, of the preparation of the 1999 Centennial Peoples' World Conference in The Hague to commemorate the first Peoples' Conference on Peace in history in that city in 1899, I will propose there that ideas for a better world should be one of the main objectives of the conference and that a full report on such ideas should be submitted to the Secretary General for distribution to the Summit Meeting 2000. The first step will be a collection of ideas which were already formulated at the 1899 conference and later by some prominent people like Charles Otlet and La Fontaine who drafted the statutes of the League of Nations, of which a number of important provisions were not accepted by the signatory members at the time. These ideas, in particular relating to a people's representation in the League of Nations should be made known to the summit meeting. They might have a better chance to be accepted at the beginning of a new century and millennium.

~ Idea 1801 ~
I support a hundred percent the proposal of Harold Stassen that the United Nations should become the supreme philosophical organ of humanity, the place where philosophy, meaning the love of wisdom, the wisdom of life, will continue to be worked out through dialogues and all kinds of means as part of the evolution of the human species and of this planet. Yes, the United Nations is the meta-biological, holistic institution of all human phenomena, the central path of cosmic, terrestrial evolution of all life forms on miraculous planet Earth.

~ Idea 1802 ~
Barbara, when she communicated to me the announcement of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that he proposed a world summit of heads of states in the year 2000 to look at the past century and at the future said to me, "You must continue to write to him because I have the impression that he listens to you." Yes, I will write to him and offer to help him prepare this unique event in human history, a meeting which can and must be a breakthrough towards an infinitely better managed, well-preserved Earth and happy humanity.

~ Idea 1803 ~
When the Director General of the Spanish Red Cross visited Costa Rica to sign an agreement of cooperation with the University for Peace. I asked him how many young Spaniards served in the Spanish Red Cross instead of the army. He answered 8000 and that he was in the process of obtaining legislation that would allow him to send such young people abroad. I expressed the hope that the International Red Cross will publish yearly information on how many young people in the world can serve in the Red Cross instead of an army.

~ Idea 1804 ~
I hope that a philanthropist will send as a gift the four volumes of my 2000 ideas to all 185 heads of state who will participate in the summit conference 2000. They might find in them ideas that they would like to implement for a better world. The total cost would only be 14,800 dollars. This should not be too much for one of the 400 billionaires of this planet who would get the credit for doing it.

~ Idea 1805 ~
Consideration should be given to electing a Secretary General of the United Nations for only one term and not be re-eligible. I say this because it is a wonderful top position in the world and the man or woman who is elected might really dream to be re-elected and in order to achieve that might be careful not to hurt any of the five permanent members of the Security Council who will take the decision. We need a Secretary General who has the audacity to speak up even at the risk of displeasing one, several or all five permanent members of the Security Council. He is the Secretary General of the Charter of the United Nations which starts with the words, "We the Peoples". Therefore he is the Secretary General and servant of the people and not of the permanent members of the Security Council. Knowing that there is no chance for re-election, he or she will work for the progress of humanity and for the reputation and fame left behind in world history. In peace matters it is as in war matters: there is no chance of becoming famous if one lacks audacity.

~ Idea 1806 ~
Rather than moving towards catastrophes in the 21st century as is the predominant view these days, I am convinced that we are entering one of the most incredible periods of all evolution, a period of tremendous success and fulfillment of the human species as a major factor of evolution on this particular planet in the universe. It will rest on the change from a period of competition which had its great value, to an age of intensive, of working together: between individuals, between man and woman, cooperation in a family, in a community, between all human communities, all institutions, all religions and last but not least, cooperation with nature, with our Earth and beyond that with the universe, with the cosmos. An age of cooperation with the cosmic energies of the universe will be the miracle of the 21st century. We have every reason to believe we can make it the greatest century ever in the evolution of this planet. This is what the universe has in mind for us, we who are its most advanced, evolutionary species.

~ Idea 1807 ~
The preceding evokes in me three personal remembrances: the fact that Buckminster Fuller, the genius of engineering considered his body to be a perfect cosmic unit not allowing any malfunctioning through smoking or taking alcohol. Pablo Casals who considered life and each human being to be a miracle. And U Thant who often said to me, "Robert, I do not understand you western people who confine spirituality to an hour in church on Sunday. For me, all my life is spirituality from morning when I wake up to evening when I go to rest." Yes, here are three persons who knew how to cooperate with the universe and to contribute to a new, exalting period of evolution on this planet.

~ Idea 1808 ~
In its simplest form, the preceding means that humanity will now enter in an age when the most incredible fulfillment's of human life and harmonies with nature and creation can materialize. Our minds are not audacious enough to understand it yet. But we will see undreamt miracles on this planet. It will produce its own very special results as did all earlier periods of human history despite our mistakes and disbeliefs. We are now doing unnecessary harm to nature and to the Earth itself, but this will be overcome as were all our errors in the past.

~ Idea 1809 ~
The older I get and the more I have lived an entire adult life in the United Nations and in the first world peace university of this planet the more I become optimistic about the human fate. My optimism has become incredible. If I could hear me when I was age eighteen I would hear: this old man is crazy. You will not even be alive at the age of seventy-five. You will not live in a demilitarized country. You will never be the Chancellor of a University for Peace. You will not write fifteen books, and have any successes in your life. At the age of seventy-five you will not gain the love and cooperation of one of the most beautiful women on Earth, eighteen years younger than you. And yet, how did it all happen? It did, because I kept my dreams alive and dreams are the greatest force on Earth.

~ Idea 1810 ~
On the way to Boston to create and inaugurate a World Commission on Spirituality during the 20th World Congress of Philosophy, the idea came to me that we also need a World Commission on a New World Philosophy. The United Nations and UNESCO should convene a World Conference on a New Philosophy for the 21st Century. In the revised United Nations Charter prepared by Harold Stassen the United Nations would become the world's central organ of philosophy. How right he is. I share fully his view after my many years of work in the United Nations.

~ Idea 1811 ~
The Secretary General of the UN wants the Summit Meetings of Heads of State in 2000 to look into the last 100 years and what good and also barbaric things we did during that century. I feel that the future should be even more important. In Idea 356 I suggested that the UN should write an Inventory of Hopes for the 21st century and 3rd millennium and that all nations and social groups and entities should do the same. What an elevation of the human journey this would be! Yes, let us publish a United Nations and many other Inventories of Hope during the year 2000.

~ Idea 1812 ~
The Earth Council created by the Rio de Janeiro Conference in Costa Rica could implement idea 381 in which Carolyn Hawkins, a co-worker of these 2000 ideas suggested that a world children's contest for the design of stamps should be organized. The contest could be called Love the Earth Stamps. The best designs by children would be recompensed and issued during the year 2000 by the Untied Nations postal service.

~ Idea 1813 ~
The 21st century will be a century of spirituality, philosophy and ethics or there will be no 21st century.

~ Idea 1814 ~
In idea 399 I mentioned that there is a House of Freedom in the United States which surveys and ranks all nations according to the freedoms they uphold or deny. I would like to see more such houses created in the world for other great human ideals and concepts: a World House of Peace which would rank nations according to their peace, a World House of Justice, a World House of Cooperation, a World House of Understanding, a World House of Forgiveness, a World House of Beauty, a World House of Love, a World House of Faith, a World House of Optimism, and so forth to cover all the great philosophical concepts which have helped humanity to survive, to progress and to always look towards better times in our long journey on this particular planet in the vast universe.

~ Idea 1815 ~
During the entire year 2000 the facade of the UN building should be lit every night with the number 2000, leaving lights on in certain windows as was done for the fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries of the UN.

~ Idea 1816 ~
On 1 January, the world will celebrate One Day in Peace all around the planet. I was given the honor of being appointed the honorary Chairman of that campaign, in fulfillment of my dream 2000:
I dream...
That on 1 January 2000
The whole world will stand still
In prayer, awe and gratitude
For our beautiful, heavenly Earth
And for the miracle of human life...
I hope that there will be a world-wide CNN coverage of the celebration on 1 January 2000, without a single bad news of a war, conflict, violence, scandal, or accident, a CNN ONE DAY OF PEACE.

~ Idea 1817~
I suggest the creation of forest cemeteries, areas where people would be buried under a cover of trees which would be nourished by their remains. They would thus live again in another life form, in a tree receiving the cosmic energy from the sun. My wife Barbara suggested to the people of Kansas City, who created a Heartforest near the airport as a symbol of their being the heart of America that they should plant more rows of trees with that purpose. It would be a good feeling for the departed to be buried in a heart forest, to continue to be nourished by cosmic solar energy and to be reborn in other life forms.

~ Idea 1818 ~
I am surprised that US cigarette companies do not apply for the United Nations population prize. Why? Because through their intensive advertisements in the poor countries they provoke lung cancer which kill many people, especially young people who are highly reproductive. As a result they help alleviate the world population problem! I am astonished that no advertising firm has suggested it to them.

~ Idea 1819 ~
One of my secret dreams and wishes is that these 2000 Ideas for a Better World I will start a whole world-wide literature and movement of ideas and dreams for a better world. It would be marvelous if every human being would formulate and network his/her ideas. It can be done so easily now with Internet and other means of communications. Please read "Decide to Network" in Volume I.

~ Idea 1820 ~
All governments should follow the example of Sweden and impose "green taxes". Taxes on sulphur dioxide emissions resulted in a 20 percent reduction of acid rain in Sweden between 1989 and 1995. The tax on chemical fertilizers has led to an estimated 10 percent reduction in their use.

~ Idea 1821 ~
My insistence in these 2000 ideas that overconsumption is as much, if not a greater danger than the population explosion will be remembered when my following prophecy will come true: within ten years governments will enforce laws requiring people to consume less. It will finally be realized that what is happening on this planet is a global, world war against nature. Governments don't want to recognize it today because they continue to believe in the illusion of endless economic growth, enrichment and power. But they will remember that during the first and second world war, people were asked to reduce their consumption because of the war effort. It will be the same situation once they recognize that there is an all out , possibly terminal war against the Earth.

~ Idea 1822 ~
Extra-terrestrials would express many puzzlements at the way we do things on this planet. Here is one:
How come that you want a world-wide free movement of goods and merchandise with no obstacles whatsoever and you do not let people move and settle where they want? Are goods and merchandise more important than people? We didn't know that there existed an inhabited planet in the universe which was so wrong in its judgments.

~ Idea 1823 ~
I woke up one day with an idea which hit me very strongly: namely, why is there a law of constantly wanting to be bigger if you are big? Why do big cities have big projects? Because they are big, they have lots of financial resources or they have institutions that have been created for a big project and then do not bring in money anymore so that new big projects have to be invented to bring in money. Practically all governments on this planet are in big cities. The big fairs have to be in big cities. The municipalities of all cities ask themselves and their boards what new big projects they can undertake. Nowadays, big conferences, are the way of getting bigger. You cannot have a world conference in nature. You need transport facilities, airports, hotels, etc. The bigger you get the bigger your infra-structure and the bigger the new projects you have to invent. Well, many world conferences should be held in the middle of nature to be reminded of the laws of nature. There should be a world conference on "Why bigness?" It should deal with billionaires as well as with big powers and big, giant corporations. All this runs against the planet This Earth, from a governmental, political, economic point of view has become unrunnable. We have to re-think from scratch bigness and smallness, the proper size of things. This should be an important item on the world agenda.

~ Idea 1824 ~
Perhaps we need a World Peoples' Movement against Bigness, the bigness of governments, of corporations, of our houses, of our collections of goods which we really do not need, and go back to smallness and simple and frugal lives not to destroy this planet. Bigness is one of the major forms of destruction of this planet. It is not done on purpose. It is a wrong human law which developed over time and whose time is over. We cannot go on with values, beliefs and admiration for things which had their time and now destroy our planetary home. We should study them as historic curiosities. We should build museums for them but reject them as our ways of life.

~ Idea 1825 ~
There was a man called Schumacher who became famous by launching the idea that small is beautiful. There exists a Schumacher Institute in England. I would add to it the motto: simple and frugal life is also beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful.

~ Idea 1826 ~
I highly recommend the urgent creation of a World Commission on Simple and Frugal Living and the creation of a World Commission of a New Philosophy for Our Survival and Future Evolution in the 21st Century and Third Millennium.

~ Idea 1827 ~
The most important duty and responsibility of every human being, especially those of the rich countries, is towards the preservation and salvation of the Earth. We should think of that every day of our life.

~ Idea 1828 ~
Ideas might not have a chance of succeeding but they have the merit of raising fundamental questions regarding our current behaviors, institutions and philosophy. Once the question is raised and a discussion and examination takes place nobody really knows what the end result will be.
This is perhaps why new ideas are considered dangerous except if they are of benefit to those in power, to big corporations and institutions. We are possibly in a period of evolution when fundamental questions are not raised because existing powers and institutions do not want them to be raised. As a consequence we might perish. It is the role of visionaries, prophets, audacious personalities and dreamers to shake up this dangerous situation by raising fundamental questions and ideas.

~ Idea 1829 ~
The idea of a World Peoples' Assembly 2000 took a long time to germinate but it is now in the world limelight. Its mere proposal to be held has aroused a whole series of new, revolutionary ideas. For the first time also it challenges the non-democratic world in which we live and will provoke a discussion, review, re-defining and restructuring of democracy at all levels of human society from the top of the world down to the local communities. The people will come to realize that democracy does not function the way they would like it to function and to be organized. The Peoples' Assembly 2000 will open a big, long overdue world-wide popular debate.

~ Idea 1830 ~
Millions of ideas float among humans on this planet, most of them if not all, dealing with one particular segment of the human society or one of the five thousand religions or one of the thousands of corporations or one of the twenty-eight thousand international associations. Perhaps my 2000 ideas have one merit, namely they are all aimed at only two subjects: a better Earth and a better humanity. This is due to the fact that I worked all my life for the world and humanity.

~ Idea 1831 ~
The League of Nations statutes were drafted in New York by two Belgian's, Mr. Otlet and La Fontaine who had been brought over to the United States by Andrew Carnegie during the first World War to draft a world institution that could prevent war on the planet. They conceived the League of Nations to consist of governmental representatives of all nations, representatives of the people and several specialized agencies like the Universal Postal Union, the International Telecommunications Union which existed already in the 19th century and the International Labour Organization born in 1919 with tripartite representation of governments, employers and employees. A peoples' representation was turned down by governments. People received no representation. They were represented by their governments. Someone should bring forth the exact proposals of how the people were to be represented in the League of Nations. It would be a very important background document for the People's Assembly in the year 2000. So would be the debates on the question of people's representation when the United Nations Charter was born. A little compromise was made at that time for people's representation through non-governmental organizations accredited with the UN Economic and Social Council. They were permitted to follow the meetings and submit papers to that Council on economic and social matters but not on political affairs. The question of peoples' representation at the UN will be an important issue of the People's Assembly 2000.

~ Idea 1832 ~
Dear readers, if you wish to do something good for the Earth and humanity on a world-wide scale please write to the Union of International Association, 40 Rue Washington, Brussels, Belgium and ask them for a list of International Associations existing in your field of interest with their addresses. You can then write to those which attract you, become a member either of the international association or of one of the affiliated associations in your country or if there is none, take the initiative of creating one.

~ Idea 1833 ~
I recommend that the Union of International Associations in Brussels should publish a general subject index of the international associations registered with them (more than 28,000) and offer it for sale to the public.
The public can then order excerpts from the UIA's yearbook on those associations in which they are interested.

~ Idea 1834 ~
I recommend that the Interparliamentary Union publish excerpts from all national Constitutions dealing with the electoral procedures, conditions, and mandates of parliamentary elections. These rules should be made uniform for all nations. It would greatly help the political functioning of this planet.

~ Idea 1835 ~
The time is ripe to think of means of action in the year 2001 to keep the momentum of the year 2000 going. One of the first tasks of the UN would be to evaluate the results obtained in the year 2000 from all the activities, celebrations and conferences that took place. The UN should also begin to keep track and publish information on the activities scheduled in 2001.

~ Idea 1836 ~
I suggest that all governments and the United Nations should conduct public opinion polls and ask the people for their ideas on existing problems and the attainment of a better and happier world. A World Public Opinion UN Agency could organize this world-wide. What a tremendous new world democracy this would mean!

~ Idea 1837 ~
There is one fundamental problem to be solved on this planet: how should we humans govern properly this Earth for its preservation and for the continuation of human life on it. All the rest is secondary.
Please, dear readers, pray for the attainment of this next higher level of our human evolution.
Please pray for the elevation of national leaders to world leaders.
Please pray for the elevation of all religious leaders to global, spiritual leaders.
Please pray for the elevation of all educators to global educators.
Prayers can lead to miracles. Pray God and all the saints in heaven to help us.

~ Idea 1838 ~
On our farm in Costa Rica there is no garbage pickup available. We solve our problems as follows:
Everything that the Earth recycles herself like vegetable peelings, food wastes, etc. is put into a compost and yields after a time excellent black, highly fertile soil.
We listen to the news on the radio and do not buy any newspapers and magazines.
We refuse most packaging when we buy products.
Waste to be burned is burned in an outdoors stove and the ashes are used to fertilize flower bushes and vegetables.
Most metal cans are collected by school children. Other items which cannot be burned are thrown into an open ditch which is covered with earth when it is full.
We have an outhouse inherited from ancient times which has a most magnificent view of nature.
Result: garbage produced almost nil. Public garbage collection: nil.

~ Idea 1839 ~
When we are in our apartment in Dobbs Ferry in the Hudson Valley in the US my wife Barbara, during the winter puts into the flower boxes on the balcony all food waste or vegetable refuses and covers them with ground. In the spring she has a good black, fertile soil to plant flowers.

~ Idea 1840 ~
My recommendation that elders of wisdom and peasants with common sense be appointed in the councils of world affairs, national affairs and big businesses was born from this remark of Albert Einstein: "The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis by using the same thinking that created the situation."

~ Idea 1841 ~
The only thing necessary for this planet and humanity to go to economic, ecological, evolutionary catastrophe is for people, especially leaders, visionaries, thinkers and spiritual people to do nothing, to give up hope and consider that it is impossible.

~ Idea 1842 ~
The most colossal, gigantic problem humanity faces today on this planet is the incredible amount and complexity of the knowledge it has acquired. We are lost and bewildered in that knowledge. The main values that are offered to us are those which are spread by the tenants of power and wealth. The situation seems almost hopeless to emerge from. And yet it is possible, even wonderfully possible.
I have learned from my many years at the United Nations that the totality of this knowledge makes very good sense and can be presented in a very simple form:
1. Our knowledge of the universe from the infinitely large to the infinitely small with our total knowledge of our planetary home in the middle.
2. Our total knowledge of our human family, from the total human population and its natural classifications down to the family, and all humans groupings and institutions.
3. Our knowledge of the place in time of all the above
4. Our knowledge of the miracle of individual human life
physical
mental
affective moral
spiritual
This holistic knowledge acquired by humanity gives the individual the sense of being part of the entire universe and eternity, of feeling as a cosmic unit, a very important, active part in the evolution of the totality. If one looks at our problems classified according to this framework there is no longer confusion. Everything is at its place. Everything can be understood as a part of the totality and all of it appears miraculous, especially human life. If we educate the children of this planet on the basis of this curriculum they will find their right place in the universe and in time. They have the necessary diverse talents to make a valid contribution and be recompensed by happiness. This is the immense hope I have derived from my experience in the Untied Nations reflected in the following table.
See Framework for A World Core Curriculum found in the table of contents on the main page.

~ Idea 1843 ~
There is a second rule of proceeding which we must follow, the one adopted by Napoleon, a general, who did not like long reports and big books and theories but who wanted a synopsis, a visual presentation of the objective. This is what we must do. We must visualize the future we want. I try to do this in these 2000 ideas, namely show almost visually how great and beautiful the results can be. Once on the basis of an analytical situation you make a synopsis you do not have to write innumerable pages. You put it into a dream, into an idea, into a vision, into a prophecy, as all religious leaders and indigenous people have done for time immemorial. This is why the year 2000 should five us the vision of a peaceful, better, well-preserved Earth and a happy, fulfilled humanity.

~ Idea 1844 ~
The same way as a man is attracted by a beautiful woman and a woman is attracted by a handsome man we are attracted by a beautiful world. The more beautiful and peaceful we make this planet, the more people will be attracted to it and will feel happiness by being in union with it, by contributing to its beauty, feeling the immense satisfaction of having done something that is right, that is of service to the Earth and to humanity.
Beauty and love are the two most important feelings of a right objective wanted by evolution and no longer, power, money and competition. When we recognize beauty we know that we do the right thing and we are recompensed by happiness. This is how evolution works. Without the beauty and love of male and female there would be no reproduction, without the love of mothers for their children we would not have children , without love for a beautiful Earth and a happy humanity there would be no progress.
The same is true of the great concepts of peace, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, gratitude, compassion, happiness. All these concepts form what the Greeks called philosophy, the love of wisdom. This is what the philosophy of the 21st century must be, not the continued drive and competition for wealth and power. We are entering a great new age of evolution, the age of peace, love, beauty, cooperation and philosophy.

~ Idea 1845 ~
In his last public statement in 1955 Albert Einstein said, "We appeal as human beings to human beings. Remember your humanity and forget the rest."
This is a very profound statement. In my last public statement I would say: "Remember this beautiful Earth is a paradise and each human being is a miracle." Love of humans for humaneness and for this beautiful Earth must be the agenda of the next stage of our evolution. Next will be to reach a total union with the universe and the eternal stream of time and do what is expected from us by God, by the Great Spirit, by evolution, by the universe, or whatever you wish to call it.

~ Idea 1846 ~
In Idea 1290 I recommend the creation of a World Court of Human Rights. In addition I recommend the creation of a World Court of Human Duties and Responsibilities and a real legal authority for the International Court of Justice to condemn non-permissible acts of nations, what I call non-rights, a third great new page to be opened in the field of human rights.

~ Idea 1847 ~
I hope that in all regional efforts to create regional unions of states, consideration will be given to the creation of Regional Courts of Human Rights. Since the United States is the great champion of human rights, it should call for creation of an All-American Court of Human Rights which would guarantee the human rights of all the peoples of the Americas from northern Alaska to Tierra del Fuego?

~ Idea 1848 ~
It is not conceivable that evolution which has created so many miracles on this planet including the human species would let us remain unable to manage in an orderly, harmonious and renewable fashion the nature and resources of this planet. We will receive the necessary signs, warnings and crises to do the right things and will be astonished by our future successes. The 21st century will be the greatest in human history.

~ Idea 1849 ~
There are already two groups of people in the United States who are gathering and publishing wonderful collections of statements for the 21st century:
Invocations for a New Millennium by Elias Amidon and Elizabeth Roberts in Boulder, Colorado:
Voices on the Threshold of Tomorrow by George Feierstein and Trisha Lamb Feierstein.
Both kindly published my Dream 2000 in their texts.
What is still very much needed is an institution, group or movement who would collect, solicit and publish very concrete ideas, proposals, plans, dreams and prophecies for a better 21st century and 3rd millennium.
I have done my best in these 2000 ideas but many more are needed from all around the world so that things will at long last really change for the better in a new, incredibly progressive quantum jumps of humanity into the 21st century and 3rd millennium.

~ Idea 1850 ~
Handgun Control, Inc. a Citizens Campaign Against Community Gun Trafficking 1225 Eye Street, NW, Room 1100, Washington DC 20005-3991, has this text in large letters on its mail envelopes:
In New York you'll find
517 McDonalds
3099 Licensed Gun Dealers
And you thought you were safe from
Handgun violence in New York?

~ Idea 1851 ~
There is a project to make of the Presidio in San Francisco a second world center for the United Nations on the US West Coast I suggested to the sponsors that they could also consider making it a center the Pacific Community. Earlier in these 2000 ideas I have expressed the view that we should go beyond what the military have done with NATO, with SEACOM and other regional military alliances. We should create peace and cooperative alliances of all the riparian countries of the seas and oceans of this planet: a PACOM, Pacific Community, a NACOM, North Atlantic Community, a SEACOM, South East Asia Community, a MEDCOM, Mediterranean Community. This could be the basis for a new world community tomorrow. The military themselves could consider transforming their military regional alliances into peace communities, because soon they will not have anything to do anymore in an increasingly peaceful world.

~ Idea 1852 ~
The special United Nations General Assembly held in 1998 five years after the Rio de Janeiro Conference to review what progress had been made on the environment noted a notorious failure in the implementation of the Rio decisions by governments. In view of this, I recommend that the proposal of the European Parliament to see an International Environmental Court created by the United Nations be placed on the agenda of the General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states level.

~ Idea 1853 ~
The recommendation of the European Parliament to see a World Environment Agency created by the UN of which the European Environment Agency would be a regional branch should also be considered by of the UN General Assembly. All other continents of the Earth should create their own Regional Environment Agencies which would similarly become regional branches of the World Environment Agency.

~ Idea 1854 ~
The fundamental wrongness, the dead alleys, the uneconomics, the disparities, the discrepancies, the crass injustices, the mismanagement, the monstrous wastes and duplications created by the current economic and national political systems of handling human and Earth affairs are such that I recommend the urgent establishment of a UN World Committee to Save the Earth and Humanity.
Its first task would be to establish the list of fundamental wrongnesses.
The second list would be the irreparable damages committed right under our eyes to the Earth and to normal, healthy human lives.
A third list would cover the even worse, crazier plans, ideas and projects on the mind of certain people and nations such as genetic engineering, the Cassini Project, the US Outer Space Nuclear Space Command for immediate retaliation on any place on Earth if something happens that is not to the liking to the United States, and there are many others.

~ Idea 1855 ~
Gary Davis, is a US pilot whom I saw camping at the Bridge of Kehl between France and Germany in Strasbourg in 1948 refusing to show a passport because he considered himself a world citizen, dismayed as he was for having bombed German cities in World War II. I proposed to his World Citizens Foundation to create a world-wide alliance of all organizations, associations, and citizen's movements which are in favor of world government. And since world government has been downgraded by a systematic campaign of extreme right parties claiming that it would lead to dictatorship, I recommend to use the words proper Earth government. I also proposed that there should be an honor roll of world personalities who throughout history have recommended world government and global citizenship. He sent me the following impressive list which should be widely known:
Advocates of World Government/World Citizenship
The following prominent individuals have advocated world government and/or world citizenship in their writings or speeches:
Jane Adams
Mortimer Adler
John Anderson
Percy Barbevik
Stringfellow Barr
Pierre Bergé
Lord Beveridge
Ernest Bevin
Sir Adrian Boult
Claude Bourdet
Chester Bowles
Lord Boyd-Orr
Heather Brandon
André Breton
Gro Harlan Bruntland
Albert Camus
Brock Chisholm
Grenville Clark
Sen. Joseph Clark
Norman Cousins
Alan Cranston
Walter Cronkite
Dante
Justice William Douglas
Katherine Dunham
Albert Einstein
Erasmus
Clifton Fadiman
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Thomas Finletter
Charles Frankel
Benjamin Franklin
John Kenneth Galbraith
Mahatma Gandhi
André Gide
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mike Gravel
Hugo Grotius
Oscar Hammerstein
Václav Havel
Edouard Herriot
Arthur Holcombe
Robert Hutchins
Immanuel Kant
Adm. Gene LaRoque
Georgia Lloyd
Lola Maverick Lloyd
Thomas Mann
Marcel Marceau
Lord Menuhin
Akio Morita
Edgar A. Mowrer
Lewis Mumford
Robert Muller
Jawaharlal Nehru
Paul Newman
Robert Oppenheimer
Tom Paine
Ronald Reagan
Walther Reuther
Emery Reves
Owen Roberts
Elliot Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt
Joseph Rotblat
Bertrand Russell
Andrei Sakharov
Kory Sanford
Jean-Paul Sartre
Robert Schuman
Rosita Schwimmer
Louis Sohn
Harold Stassen
John Steinbeck
Gloria Steinem
Patrick Stewart
Strobe Talbott
Lord Tennyson
Hans Thirring
Arnold Toynbee
Henry Usborne
Peter Ustinov
Carl Van Doren
Mark Van Doren
George Wald
H.G. Wells
E.B. White
Harris Wofford
Joanne Woodward
Richard Wright
Wendell Willkie

~ Idea 1856 ~
"Looking at nature from our terrace on sacred Mount Rasur in Costa Rica I see nature as the model for the world, a United Nature where all humans and other species live and strive like nature. We need a United Nature Government where all species are honored and respected." Barbara Gaughen Muller

~ Idea 1857 ~
It would be providential if the United Nations would convene early in the 21st century a World Conference on Proper Earth Government preceded by a World Public Opinion Poll on such government. The conference would be preceded by regional conferences to obtain on each continent the people's views and ideas. I pray that the UN General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states level will take that decision.

~ Idea 1858 ~
World alliances should be created and world conferences convened on the great philosophical concepts which helped humanity to survive, to have faith and to progress over the eons of time of our evolution on this particular planet in the universe, concepts such as hope, love, happiness, faith, optimism, gratitude, forgiveness, charity, compassion, philanthropy, gaiaphilly, repentance, cooperation, etc. I plead also for the creation of World Universities on all these concepts. The example of the University for Peace in demilitarized Costa Rica should be followed by the creation of universities of happiness, hope, faith, cooperation etc.

~ Idea 1859 ~
"The sense of wonder is our sixth sense and it is the natural." J. H. Lawrence
Yes, because nature, our Earth, our life and the whole universe are incredible wonders. Wonder has been a permanent part of my being during all my life. In my elderly years it has reached its maximum. This is why I offer so many ideas and dreams for a better world.
Please dear reader, have a sense of wonder for your magical, divine life and for all the miracles that surround you. Express your wildest dreams, ideas and visions for a still better world which is meant to be by evolution, and by God.

~ Idea 1860 ~
The time is long overdue for governments and the United Nations to look into the problem of advertisement. The rich companies of the rich countries are flooding the poor countries with their advertisements for which they pay little in these countries, while the poor countries cannot afford any advertisements in the rich countries. One can see western cigarette advertisements bigger than a house in cities and on highways of the poor countries. Advertisement of smoking should be prohibited world-wide. The UN should convene a world conference on advertisement and marketing. The World Health Organization should take up the subject of smoking and alcohol advertisement.

~ Idea 1861 ~
The UN Secretary General should inform each year member governments which world conferences he considers important for the fate and future of the Earth and humanity. He should ask which government would like to sponsor one or more of these conferences to be held under the auspices of the United Nations and with the cooperation of the United Nations specialized agencies and world programs.

~ Idea 1862 ~
I recommend that a United Nations Inter-agency Committee on World Conferences be established to which each UN main department, specialized agency and world program would submit recommendations on which world conferences they consider urgent and important for the fate of the Earth and humanity.

~ Idea 1863 ~
Become and Earth Trustee
The Actions That Can Do The Most For You And Your Planet
by John McConnell, founder of Earth Day
The first view of Earth from Space inspired the idea of Earth Day. "We set out to explore Space and discovered Earth." From this came the idea that we should all think and act as Trustees of Earth.
Presaging the future on March 20, 1998, outriders of Planet Earth celebrated Earth Day in Space. At the Mir Space Station there was a brief ceremony that included the special moment when the Peace Bell at the United Nations was rung as Spring began (2:55 p.m. in New York). Astronauts, Cosmonauts and people on Earth joined at that time in a brief dedication to be responsible trustees of Earth.
The Earth Trustee idea appeals to people of every creed and culture. It is very simple and powerful. All that is needed is for every individual and institution to think and act as a trustee of Earth, seeking in their own way to, "Make choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life and nurture people and planet."
We can now halt the awful record of history with its injustice, wars and violence. Napoleon once said, "Imagination rules the world." Internet opens new opportunities to capture the imagination of the world with solutions that can appeal to all. Projects and efforts that are achieving Earth Trustee goals can be posted and verified by experts on the web.
Let every person who receives this message decide to be an Earth Trustee. Follow this with Earth Trustee commitment and action personally and in any group you belong to. Forward this to a few friends and suggest they do the same. Let's circle the world now with positive Earth Trustee visions that can save and rejuvenate our planet.

~ Idea 1864 ~
It is now quite possible even probable that capitalism, the second economic political system born from the 19th century Industrial Revolution will soon collapse and give up the same way as did communism. Both were born at a time of a relatively small world population in the midst of quasi-unexploited world resources and in a hyper-nationalistic political system. Communism failed in its effort at globalization. Capitalism did wonders for a time. Both with their fundamentalism didn't pay attention to evolution and to the potential and actual destruction they were inflicting upon the Earth and social justice. Public service, public institutions, public enterprises, public entities and government from the local to the regional to the world level have been decried and put on the defensive while they should be the highest, most sacred Earth-conscious and peoples'-conscious services. If this is allowed to continue it will lead to great disaster on this planet.
This is why I recommend so stubbornly a complete re-assessment of the current political and economic systems, two of the twenty-one major segments of human aims, activities and institutions on this Earth needing total re-appraisal.
The Proper Management of our Earth must be the priority item on the agenda of the Summit UN General Assembly of Heads of States in the year 2000. May God and the people's of this world hear me.

~ Ideas 1865 to 1872 ~
The Summit UN General Assembly in the year 2000 should be the most incredible, unprecedented world meeting ever held in the entire human history. All heads of states should begin to prepare it right now. I propose therefore:
1865 each head of state should appoint a national preparatory committee to assess the world situation, the successes achieved and the dreams, ideals and plans still to be fulfilled for a better world.
1866 the UN Secretary General and all heads of the 32 specialized agencies and world programs of the UN should do the same.
1867 the heads of all regional organizations of this planet should do the same.
1868 the heads of all major business corporations should do the same.
1869 the leaders of all major world religions should do the same.
1870 the leaders of all major labor organizations should do the same.
1871 all prominent intellectuals, visionaries, scientists, philosophers, furturologists, evolutionary experts and sages should do the same.
1872 all people's movements and international associations should do the same for the World Peoples' Assembly 2000.
The tasks of this unprecedented, ominous world-wide assessment, thinking, planning and dreaming for the Earth' and humanity's future are so vast and mind-boggling that I recommend it to be an on-going instrument for quite some time perhaps even a permanent new millennium method of proper human and Earth government. Since the heads of state have to return to administer their nations, I recommend that they should all appoint a deputy head of state who would be permanently stationed in New York to continue the work of the Summit Assembly 2000 until it is accomplished.

~ Idea 1873 ~
Pope John Paul II should participate in the Summit Meeting 2000 and call for a world-wide spiritual Renaissance and a universal, spiritual civilization in the 21st century and 3rd millennium. He should announce at it the sainthood of Robert Schuman, the father of the European Union and should ask for nominations of more political saints.

~ Idea 1874 ~
I pray the UN Secretary General to make arrangements that my four volumes of 2000 Ideas for the Year 2000 and its index be communicated to all heads of state as a goldmine of ideas to bring about a better world and happy humanity. They should be published as United Nations documents and translated into the working languages of the UN. I would not request a single penny of author's rights. The volumes are the children of my fifty years of experience in the United Nations and a gift of gratitude for all I owe to that wonderful organization which made me a knowledgeable, passionate, global, citizen of the Earth and humanity.

~ Idea 1875 ~
I recommend that for the Summit Meeting of Heads of States in 2000 each member government prepare a list of ideas they have proposed in the UN since its foundation or since their membership in the organization. The ideas should be listed in four categories.
1. Ideas implemented
2. Ideas partly implemented
3. Ideas which did not obtain agreement
4. New ideas for the 21st century
The same should be done by member governments for all the UN specialized agencies, by past Presidents of the UN General Assembly, by past Secretary Generals, past heads of UN specialized agencies and present ones, by retired and active world servants of the UN and of its agencies and finally by all the non-governmental organizations accredited to the United Nations and to the specialized agencies.
What a maelstrom of ideas and dreams for a better world that would represent! It could change the fate of the Earth and assure our future evolution.

~ Idea 1876 ~
During the year 2000 there should also be a record of the betrayals by government of the great people who wrote the UN Charter and whose ideas were not implemented.
Highest on the list would be non-compliance by the five permanent members of the Security Council to establish a Military Staff Committee at the Chiefs of Army level to design a world security system and then proceed to the disarmament of the planet. This was never done, not even tried.
Instead of that we have today 34,000 nuclear missiles around the world, NATO and SEACOM and an Outer Space Strategic Command of the United States equipped with nuclear plutonium to intervene instantaneously on any spot of Earth if it is in the interest of the United States!

~ Idea 1877 ~
Every head of state should write philosophical thoughts which can be quoted in the world as coming from an eminent personality with great responsibilities. Today of the 185 heads of states I see only one quoted in many writings, magazines and non-governmental organizations, namely Václav Havel, the President of the Czech Republic. They are very profound. They are heart lifting. Here is a statesman who is also a philosopher and who will be remembered in history while others will not.
Among the Secretaries General of the UN, the one who has left the profoundest thoughts is Dag Hammarskjöld. His Markings will remain for ever a classic of world literature.
I recommend that every responsible person on Earth, of any institution, of every walk of life, especially fathers and mothers and grandparents should leave behind philosophical (wisdom) thoughts about the meaning of life and give advice to their descendants. As a result they will never be forgotten.

~ Idea 1878 ~
A popular radio station in Costa Rica, ECHO, plays at six o'clock in the morning the Ave Maria of Gounod and at six-thirty the Ode to Joy of Beethoven. This is a wonderful way of starting the day. It made me regret that I was unable to obtain that the Ode to Joy by Beethoven be adopted as the hymn of the United Nations. The latter was composed by Pablo Casals which never reached great popularity. I propose that the Ode to Joy, with the beautiful words of Schiller on human brotherhood translated into many languages, should become the Ode of the Third Millennium and that many radio stations should begin the day by playing it.

~ Idea 1879 ~
The best of my 2000 ideas was to marry Barbara Gaughen who was the person who suggested to me to write them. But there were many other very lovely reasons for falling in love, marrying her and being inspired by her.

~ Idea 1880 ~
I met a remarkable American lady, Mrs. Mary Morrissey who created an Association for Global New Thought in Chicago, Illinois. I told her that we needed not only new thoughts but also new visions, new dreams, new ideas, new loves, new values, new actions, new behaviors, new policies, new laws and new institutions. We will meet to discus these proposals.

~ Idea 1881 ~
The real capital of this Earth is not money, capital, shares, stock markets and banks. its real capital is the air, the water, the soils, the animals, the plants, the tree covers, the weather, the climate and the rays of the sun we receive. We better remember this as the Bible, Koran, Upanishads of the 21st century and 3rd millennium.

~ Idea 1882 ~
After the industrial revolution we are now entering the natural revolution. Capitalism should more appropriately be called kaputalism from the German word kaput, destroyed because it is on the way of destroying the Earth.

~ Idea 1883 ~
There are in my view only two persons on Earth who have a world-wide visibility and a deep faith in their destiny which is to change the course of this planet and avoid its destruction. They are from the two main ideologies born in the last century and the two biggest powers on Earth, the United States and Russia. I have in mind Mr. Gorbachev and Ted Turner. They should get together, offer the world their concrete ideas and become the new George Washington and Robert Schuman of the world by offering a bold new plan for the next century.
To both I have written and sent my paper on the Absolute Urgent Need for Proper Earth Government (see Introduction to Ideas 1501 to 2000). I am glad that Ted Turner is thinking of becoming a candidate for President of the United States.

~ Idea 1884 ~
The old generations never believed that peace was possible on this planet.
Youth believes it today and therefore peace will now be possible.
I hope that the first World Conference of Youth Ministers in Portugal will produce a comprehensive list of the beliefs of youth. These could be:
- there will never be any more world and international wars on this planet
- religious and ethnic wars will also vanish in the 21st century
- violence will be substantially reduced on this planet in the years to come
- we will see the birth of a proper Earth government in the 21st century
- a decent well-being will be assured to all humans on Earth
- the world population will soon be stabilized
- people will live more frugal, simple and happy lives, and our miraculous Earth will be respected, preserved and beautified to an incredible degree
- humanity will see a spiritual Renaissance and transcend itself into a spiritual union with the universe and time
- we will live in harmony and cooperation with the Earth, with each other, with the past and the future and with the heavens
- alcohol, drugs and smoking will disappear from this planet
- our planet will be demilitarized and denuclearized; its security will be assured by a proper world central security system.
- we will make it the most fabulous century of human history, the ultimate success of evolution, of the universe and God, the attainment of paradise to Earth

~ Idea 1885 ~
Numerous foundations are being created on this planet. I personally would create "Unfoundations" to review from scratch the foundations of all existing institutions and disciplines and reform them into new ones responsive to the needs of further human progress and evolution.
E.g. an Unfoundation to revise the current political system of the world and create at long last a world union.
E.g. an Unfoundation to reform the current educational systems and create a new global, world, cosmic, spiritual education.
E.g. an Unfoundation to revise from scratch the media of this planet and transform them into real global, Earth and one humanity media, etc. (do the same for all other 21 segments listed at the end of Ideas 1900).

~ Idea 1886 ~
A few years ago at a conference held at Lake Mohonk, a Quaker Retreat in the Hudson Valley, I read and copied this beautiful text:
"A Declaration from the Harmless and Innocent People of God,
called Quakers, to Charles the Second (1660)
We utterly deny all outward wars and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or any pretense whatever; this is our testimony to the whole world. The spirit of Christ by which we are guided is not changeable, so as to command us from a thing as evil and again to move unto it; and we certainly know and testify to the world, that the spirit of Christ, which leads us into all Truths, will never move us to fight and war against any man with outward weapons, neither for the Kingdom of Christ nor for the kingdoms of this world."
It is after reading this text that I wrote for the first time the new fundamental human right for all humans on this planet "not to kill and not to be killed, not in the name of a nation or a religion nor anyone else."

~ Idea 1887 ~
We have now a world-wide economy.
And why not:
a world-wide government
a world-wide humanity
a world-wide spirituality
a world-wide philosophy
a world-wide justice
a world-wide cherished, well-cared, magnificent earthly home
etc.
while keeping our incredible, cherishable, precious diversity?

~ Idea 1888 ~
What an incredible planet in the universe this will be when we will be one human family living in justice, peace, love and harmony with our divine Earth, with each other and with the heavens.

~ Idea 1889 ~
One thing humanity must learn according to my observations in the last fifty years at the UN is the fact that we cannot let a period of twenty to thirty years elapse until a major new global phenomenon is acted upon by governments. This was the case of the population crisis, the environment crisis, the climate crisis, the aging crisis and now the governance crisis of the planet. We cannot loose twenty to thirty years each time. The reaction must be much faster and less time lost in excuses that it should not be done, that everything will be fine. If this continues, we will soon be in terminal trouble.

~ Idea 1890 ~
To a professor of environment from a Canadian University I said that one of my recommendations was that no student of economics should be allowed to enter that field without having studied first ecology. Before you change your home, the planet, you should know your home, the planet. He said that this has been solved, that he was teaching, Economic Ecology. I would prefer Ecological Economics or Ecolonomics.

~ Idea 1891 ~
One of my main reasons for hope is that God or evolution can not have taken all the pains to create this marvelous Earth with its incredible diversity of life to let the most advanced of all species, humanity destroy it. It just cannot be. Humanity will now discover that the end purpose of God or evolution was not to make money and flood ourselves with material possessions but to take good care of this marvelous, miraculous Earth and of its further evolution. We have entered a new era of this perhaps unique living planet in the universe. The quicker all people see this, the less damage will be done to life and to the Earth itself.

~ Idea 1892 ~
In the declarations of duties and responsibilities which are now coming strongly to the fore in the United Nations there should be the fundamental duty of every nation not to undertake anything that might endanger populations outside of their own territories. The most glaring example is the launching by the United States of the Cassini Space Capsule with eighty pounds of plutonium on board as a source of energy, return to the Earth, twirl around it in order to accelerate its speed and be able to reach more distant areas of the universe. If there is an accident, millions of people will die on this planet from nuclear radiations, many of them outside the United States. I strongly support the people's request to the President of the United States that the capsule should be redirected into the sun which would absorb it.

~ Idea 1893 ~
The UN Human Rights Commission should begin to establish a novel list of Universal "No Rights". One would be that no nation has the right to undertake activities putting in danger populations of other nations or the basic elements of life on which all humans depend. The Cassini Space adventure would be one of the first typical examples of "No Rights". But there are many others. After rights, responsibilities, no-rights should become the third great area of action of the United Nations.

~ Idea 1894 ~
Closely linked to the preceding is the question of nuclear testing and nuclear arms and stockpiles. To have nuclear arms and to make nuclear tests should be placed on the same list of "No Rights". Nations can assure their security by a Central World Security System as is foreseen in the Charter. They have no rights to endanger neighbors and the entire Earth with nuclear tests and missiles.

~ Idea 1895 ~
One of the greatest obstacles to a better world is the built in pride, stubbornness and power obsession of institutions. A nation is never wrong. A religion is never wrong. A private firm is never wrong. One could count on one's fingers the nations, religions and firms which have acknowledged that they did something wrong. Has Germany asked forgiveness from the Jewish people? Has the US asked forgiveness for Hiroshima and for Viet Nam? Have manufacturers of land mines asked forgiveness for the killing of so many innocent people?
The United Nations Secretary General was therefore right when he asked for a convening in the year 2000 of all heads of states to review the last one hundred years including some barbaric actions committed during that period.
I pray that in 2000 many governments will acknowledge their barbaric actions, ask for forgiveness and offer some repair or compensation, for example to forgive the debts of the harmed countries.

~ Idea 1896 ~
Another subject which should be raised at the beginning of a new century and millennium is to challenge a political, economic and social system which gives particular value to those who are in power and makes the ordinary, humble people admire them. There are endless examples. One should tell people not to admire undeservedly such and such people or such and such countries. For example, no one on Earth should admire the United States for launching the Cassini outer space craft at the risk of millions of people on this planet. No one should admire countries which posses nuclear arms or are armed up to their teeth. No one should admire multi-millionaires and billionaires. Nobody should admire big, enormous, powerful companies for having that power. Noone should admire militaries. We should turn our back on them because they are people who are ready to kill. We should remember the definition of the military by Tolstoy reproduced in idea 1284. Noone should admire big cities like New York, Bombay, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and so many others which have lost most of their oxygen. Noone should admire people who have mansions far beyond their needs, filled with endless amounts of things. Noone should admire families who have children whose rooms are filled with toys. Noone should admire people who have two or three automobiles or yatchs. Noone should admire people who have private airplanes, and so on and so forth. This might perhaps bring about a better world. Governments are paying huge sums to make foreign countries admire them. The United States is the best example. In every poor country there is only one wish of the people, it is to be admitted as an immigrant to the United States because they admire the United States as a paradise. Everything that comes from the US is by definition admirable and is presented as such by the public relations of the American Embassies and corporations. And then they complain about illegal immigrants!

~ Idea 1897 ~
Since the end of the last century, starting with the first World Peoples' Peace Conference in 1899 in the Hague, the phenomenon of world conferences has reached an incredible degree of influence, affluence and breadth of coverage for the further progress and journey of humanity on planet Earth. This new fundamental, global social phenomenon must be very thoroughly used and studied by humanity, as we enter the next century. Such stock-taking is essential in the general review of the world situation and of our further evolution in the next century and millennium. It is a very vital new social, anthropological, evolutionary phenomenon.

~ Idea 1898 ~
To forgive all or most foreign debts during the Jubilee year 2000, to poor countries, would be a classical means of pumpriming the world economy, especially now that the world economy begins to be in crisis. I am surprised that the classical economists of our time do not think of it. It would simply be a new Marshall Plan: no interests, no reimbursements, except voluntarily some time in the future, preferably to a world revolving aid fund (see Idea 435 in Volume I).

~ Idea 1899 ~
With the creation of the United Religions Organization, the holding of a regular World Parliament of Religions and many other new means of inter-religious cooperation we are at long last emerging from our past religious chaos and conflict and on the verge of a world spiritual Renaissance around the common spirituality of all religions while maintaining their precious diversity.
This will be of immense help to our 21st century evolution, giving again spirituality a first place in human affairs. It concerns one of the 21 basic segments of human life which I consider to be in need of reconsideration and rethinking from scratch, namely:
- a spiritual Renaissance and inter-religious cooperation (see Volume I, Idea 538 and the following idea.

~ Idea 1900 ~
"The world will not evolve past its current state of crisis
by using the same thinking that created the situation."
Einstein
What will happen when there will come a world economic crisis? Well, the smart economists of the dying American dream of endless economic development will resort to the old means of pumpriming thousands of billions of dollars into the world economy, including this time to poor countries, in order to stimulate consumption, i.e. production and employment. And the result will be a world ecological disaster, a quicker death of our nature, and of the Earth.
Why not hold urgently a world economic conference to rethink the whole obsolete economic and monetary system? Europe is creating a European currency. Why not create a world currency? The world conditions have changed so fundamentally with the population explosion, the consumption explosion, the destruction of nature, the climate changes, the disruption of the normal functioning of our planet, that I constantly return to my request that we must rethink from scratch the 21 fundamental segments of human life listed in Ideas 527 to 547 of Volume I.
Let us therefore convene urgently the following 21 world conferences on these subjects:
a new political system for planet Earth
a new economics
a new education
a new media and communications
a new democracy
a new global leadership
a spiritual Renaissance and inter-religious cooperation
a non-violent human society
a well-preserved planet
a decent well-being for all humans
a stabilization of the world population
right human settlements on the planet
the disarmament, demilitarization, denuclearization and global security of the planet
a new science and technology
a new anthropology, sociology and new ways of life
a new human biology
a new philosophy, cosmology and long-term view of evolution
a new world ethics and justice
a new world psychology
a new science and art of planetary management
an art and culture Renaissance

~ Idea 1901 ~
It is a rare privilege for humanity to stand on the eve of a new millennium. It provides a unique opportunity to measure the road covered and to chart the road ahead.
On the eve of the year 1000 humans feared the end of the world. Pest and cholera were sweeping over Europe. The people took refuge in churches waiting for the moment of the Apocalypse. But nothing happened and the people expressed their gratitude to God by building cathedrals.
Today we have our scares too: the scare of an atomic holocaust, the threat of possible deterioration of our planet's environment and climate to the point that it might become unlivable. This is therefore a time for reflection, for stock-taking, confession, forgiveness, foresight, rededication and an evolutionary vision of the future.
It would be criminal to enter the third millennium with business-as-usual. We must absolutely use the year 2000 to undertake an unprecedented, comprehensive evaluation of our journey on this planet, of our progress, our mistakes and foolishness, of our failures and growing pains, and of our hopes, dreams and ideals of the future.
We must hold an extraordinary world-wide celebration of life in the year 2000, preceded by unprecedented thinking, action and determination to solve our remaining problems in order to enter the Third Millennium with a clean slate.
The United Nations, the world's global organization, is at the center of this celebration. It stimulates and coordinates numerous world-wide activities in preparation of the celebration and events during the celebration. The UN will hold a Millennium General Assembly at the heads of states level accompanied by a Peoples' General Assembly 2000.
Several governments have created national commissions for the year 2000, to coordinate national activities and events. Religions, professions, institutions, media, businesses, local authorities, citizens organizations, the arts, and last but not least individuals and families are active in the preparation and advent of a better, peaceful third millennium.
For the first time in history we can enter a new millennium with our eyes wide open, with all the basic information available about our planet and human condition, with a host of proposals, ideas and visions for our further successful evolution on this perhaps unique life endowed planet in the universe.
The 1st of January 2000 has already been declared One Day in Peace and the entire year 2000 International Year for a Culture of Peace and International Year of Thanksgiving. I hope that the 1st of January will also be declared World Day of Love to be celebrated every year. On that day there should be innumerable manifestations of love for peace, for all our human brothers and sisters, for our miraculous nature and for everything that is good in the heavens and on Earth.

~ Idea 1902 ~
Delegates to the UN should use more often the word love in their speeches which are too political, too intellectual. Former Secretary General U Thant regretted that he seldom heard the word spirituality in UN meetings. I regret that I seldom hear the word love. Every UN delegate speaking should have before him a "heart stick" as the indigenous people have to remind them that they should speak from the heart. I use such a stick.

~ Idea 1903 ~
When will we see at long last on this planet the first Ministry of Peace, Love and Non-violence? Its founder would find a whole agenda and a host of ideas in these four volumes of 2000 ideas. The computerized index would produce them automatically. The first leader on Earth who had the courage to create a Ministry of Peace was a general, President Eisenhower, after World War II. Harold Stassen, one of the signers of the United Nations Charter was the US Secretary of Peace. The ministry was later abolished when the cold war came. It would be interesting to return to the files and see how this ministry was organized. Mr. Harold Stassen is still alive. I will write to him and see if he could send us documentation on it.

~ Idea 1904 ~
I recommend that a totally new world organization should be considered for our Earth and humanity, a World Organization of Evolution into which the United Nations could be incorporated. This
organization would listen to evolutionary scientists who look at evolution in its multiplicity of forms from the smallest bacteria to the evolution of humankind within the basic elements of the planet, its airs, its water, its climate etc. and who have a long-term view of what the future evolution of this planet is likely to be. This is indispensable because henceforth everything on this planet has to be seen in terms of a long-term future evolution . Our species is now in charge of the Earth's future evolution. If we stick to obsolete values we will put an end to it. If we adopt new values, new objectives, visions, institutions, and laws, evolution will continue. This is henceforth problem number one on this planet. Everything else has to abide to it.

~ Idea 1905 ~
The New World Organization of Evolution would issue yearly reports on the state of evolution of our planet, review the prospects of the future and recommend corrective actions, including emergency measures and world laws.

~ Idea 1906 ~
The most important single step that could help save the Earth and humanity would be to create in each government a Ministry of the Future and in the United Nations and in each of its agencies a Department and Commission of the Future. It would be the first step towards the creation of a World Organization of Evolution. It is good that the European Union had the vision to create a position of Commissioner for the Future. May this good example be followed by many institutions around the world, public and private.

~ Idea 1907 ~
When one considers the vital importance of the future evolution of this planet and of humanity, it would be also important to create a World University of Evolution and the Future, or at least Faculties of Evolution and the Future in all Universities.

~ Idea 1908 ~
When rethinking from scratch the 21 basic segments of human life listed in ideas 527 to 547 in Volume II and in the Introduction to this volume, one of the principal thinking processes and foresight should deal with the future of each segment.

~ Idea 1909 ~
When Barbara and I got married, people called us the Cosmic Couple. We took it as a nice nickname and compliment. But we would have never expected that two years later we would be the prophetic couple of a new age in humanity's journey on planet Earth: the age of cosmic consciousness, evolution and spirituality.
Thirty years ago I was already called the prophet of a new global age and the father of global education. It is good after such fatherhoods to be now also the co-worker with the feminine, the next new age of humanity in the 21st century, the cosmic, spiritual age.

~ Idea 1910 ~
The UN Summit General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states level should be a unique, unprecedented World Peace Assembly, aimed at settling once and for all the few stubbornly persisting ancient international conflicts prevailing on Earth (especially the Middle East, Cyprus and Kashmir). All mediations, negotiations, behind the scenes efforts of heads of states during 1999 should be aimed at that goal. It would be the greatest anniversary gift to humanity of all times.
The Assembly should then decide the holding of a World Conference on Violence (see idea 5 in Volume I) which would deal with all other remaining forms of violence on this planet and formulate a world strategy of ways and means to eliminate them.

~ Idea 1911 ~
The poor countries when accused by the rich ones of their overpopulation, one of the main adverse factors in our future evolution, should retort:
You caused it because no one asked you to come and save our children from early death. Smart as you claim to be you could have told us that it was no longer necessary to have six children to have at least two left to till the land and take care of our old age. You could also have offered us a world old age security system or opened your borders to allow the immigration of our surplus youth to your own countries.
Yes, when will we see the first world-wide old age security system on this planet? It could be done by a proper Earth government with the savings from military expenditures which would no longer be necessary if we had a central world security system as is foreseen in the Charter of the United Nations.

~ Idea 1912 ~
The creation by the Rio de Janeiro Conference of an Earth Council is a great step ahead in human history. One of its first tasks is to draft an Earth Charter. An admirable text of that Charter is now in circulation among Non-governmental organizations for their comments. It opens a completely new chapter of world charters. We also need a charter for the seas and oceans, a charter for outer space, for the air and atmosphere, for the world's waters, for the mountain areas, for arid zones, for the world's forestry covers, for the world's vegetation, for other species, for human settlements, etc. A vast new field of human philosophy, behavior and future evolution has been opened: the fundamental rights of the Earth.

~ Idea 1913 ~
Similarly the three existing Draft Declarations of Human Responsibilities which are mentioned in these 2000 ideas have opened a completely new chapter too because I can see the rapid emergence of requests and work on declarations of human responsibilities and duties:
Toward the Earth as a whole
Toward the seas and oceans
Toward outer space
Toward the air and atmosphere
Toward the waters of the Earth
Toward its forest covers
Toward vegetation
Toward other species
Toward human settlements, etc.
Toward evolution, etc.
And another great chapter will be opened by my recommendation in Idea 1892 that there should be Declarations of No-rights, the rights not to do harm and unnecessary damages to people and to the Earth.

~ Idea 1914 ~
The Director of the Robert Muller School in Buenos Aires, Mrs. Gabriella Roncoroni Christeller, claims that existing human rights are incomplete and will remain inefficient until humanity recognizes the first and foremost human right of each individual to be transcended by a new education to our total planetary home, to the total human family, to the universe, to the heavens and to our role and fulfillment in the eternal stream of time. In her view, the World Core Curriculum provides for such an education and should be applied in all schools of the world.

~ Idea 1915 ~
We have on this Earth a top level of institutions dealing with the world and humanity as a whole, a host of economic organizations like the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the International Bank, the Regional Economic Commissions, the International Monetary Fund, the General Agreement Tariffs and Trades, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Development Program, the World Food Program, the Food and Agricultural Organization, etc., but we do not have a single organization that deals with the most fundamental problem of all, namely the meaning and fulfillment of human life. I recommend that as we enter the 21st century and 3rd millennium a World Agency of Philosophy should be created. The Greek word philosophy means love of wisdom. It is about time that we deal not only with the materialistic side of life. At our stage of evolution we must ask ourselves very basically about the meaning of human life on this planet, in the universe and evolution of time.

~ Idea 1916 ~
A World Agency of Philosophy would put on the top of its agenda the attainment of happiness not only through economic means. One can be happier with a frugal, simple life than a life of affluence imposed on us by marketing, advertising and the media. The drafters of the US Constitution were very wise when they declared that the pursuit of happiness was one of the main purposes of government. So let us have governments on this planet from the local to the top of the world which will bring peace and happiness to all humans admitted to the miracle of life.

~ Idea 1917 ~
After I have finished these 2000 Ideas and Dreams for the Year 2000 I will return to the main subject that occupied all my life, namely the subject of happiness and the art of living. This should not only condemn all our errors of the past mentioned in the 2000 ideas but it should also aim at eliminating forms of making people unhappy for purely economic motives. I'm speaking of the damages made to human happiness by over-selling, selling the wrong products, fostering overconsumption, reducing the personal life of the human being to be a pure materialistic consumer.
The Joy of Living in the 21st Century will be my Testament to humanity.

~ Idea 1918 ~
It would be good for the world to return, during the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to the proclamation made by President Franklin Roosevelt at the beginning of World War II when he was very preoccupied with the violation of human rights in a number of fascist countries and said that we should build a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The freedom of speech and expression everywhere in the world.
The freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the world.
The freedom from want which translated into world terms means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peace-time life for its inhabitants everywhere in the world.
The freedom from fear which translated into world terms means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor anywhere in the world.

These are very beautiful human freedoms enunciated by one of the most remarkable men of this century. We should look how they fare today and perhaps expand them. I propose to add:
The freedom of any human being to settle in any location of this planet which is our common home
The freedom from military service which teaches young men how to kill other human beings.
The freedom of planet Earth from any military establishments and armaments on its soil, in and on its waters, in the atmosphere and in outer-space.

~ Idea 1919 ~
I hope that in the 21st century there will come a day when there will be hundreds of world servants and hundreds of doctors and not a single military for each 100,000 inhabitants of the world, the reverse situation from today when there are 556 militaries, 85 doctors and only one world servant per 100,000 Earth inhabitants.

~ Idea 1920 ~
I recommend that the Earth Council, the new body created by the Rio de Janeiro Conference on the Environment should give every year a number of great prizes to people and institutions who have done something very remarkable to preserve the environment, to beautify the Earth, or who have come up with remarkable, impactful, successful new ideas. They should be tantamount to Nobel Prizes for Peace with the Earth.
More generally: why don't the 185 governments of the United Nations create substantial world prizes to recompense major advances in peace and world cooperation? A small contribution of 100,000 dollars a year per nation would represent a total of 18.5 million dollars for United Nations Prizes. They could be a major instrument for world progress in many fields such as peace, human rights, the environment, etc. I suggest that the Secretary General or a member government inscribe the subject of World Prizes on the agenda of the General Assembly 2000.

~ Idea 1921 to 1923 ~
To Robert, the man of my dreams and Dreams for a Better World,
Here are three ideas for you from me for a Better World:
Barbara Gaughen Muller
Idea 1921 The best seller book Ladder of Years by Anne Tyler speaks of personal courage of the heroine, to leave her confused, meaningless life and start over with nothing but the clothes on her back and $500. The process of the benefits of simplicity to find one's meaning for life is summed up when she moves to a new home with her thought on page 171, "she liked the notion of a life no larger than a single, compact box."
What a beautiful idea that each of us could have a more meaningful life, as Gandhi did when all his possessions at this death were gathered they took less space than one compact box.
Idea 1922 As Robert and I listen to the radio in our simple cabin on Mt. Rasur, so many songs reflect the peace and justice humanity seeks. This morning the song, 'If I Had a Hammer', speaks to the theme of justice: "I'd hammer out justice, I'd hammer out love for all people all over the world." Beautiful ideas, in fact once while riding in a taxi to the airport in New York, I asked the cab driver what two songs he remembers learning first and he said, 'If I Had a Hammer' and 'Let There Be Peace on Earth'.
There could be two new songs 'The Cleanest Mile on Earth'* to show how one person can make a difference and the Hopi word, Kogyun Deyo for 'Spider Boy' given to you to remind you to capture all evil on planet Earth and toss it into outer space.
*See Annex to ideas 1401 to 1500.
Idea 1923 David Cooperrider and Jim Lord inspired the following idea. Children of Planet Earth can become the new vision keepers using the technique of imagining a perfect world and asking their parents, teachers and clergy as well as elected officials of their communities three or four questions that both renew the dreams of the one being interviewed as well as inspire the younger generation. The questions could be as follows:
1. "As you reflect on your career, can you tell me the story of a highpoint, a time when you felt most alive, most impactful, most successful in terms of contribution to this school, community, etc.?"
2. "So what was it that made it a highpoint? Can you tell me what you value the most about yourself?"
3. "What one thing are you most proud of?"
Thus the connection of generations and inspiration begins with a shared vision of hope and joy.

~ Idea 1924 ~
Never give up if you have an idea in which you believe profoundly, an idea that will improve the peace, the happiness and the living conditions of your human brothers and sisters. I will narrate here an anecdote from my own life:
Many years ago in the 1960's a proposal was made by two great Latin American UN people, Raul Prebish from Argentina and Hernan Santa Cruz from Chile. It was to create a United Nations Marshall Plan of a revolving nature. Poor countries would repay interest free, long-term loans at a time when they would be developed. The debates on this took years. Both Raul Prebish and Hernan Santa Cruz returned to their countries. I remained one of the lone fighters for this idea that was staunchly opposed by the United States because they said nobody on Earth should get loans at fuzzy or no rates of interest or for long-term periods of time. This would disrupt the normal banking system. The proposal was known as SUNFED, Special UN Fund for Economic Development. At one point the US State Department sent a former colleague of mine who said to me: Robert, we are sick and tired to get all these cables about what you try to do. You should stop. We and our western allies will never agree to this proposal as you perfectly know. I answered him: Well, I will stop only when you give in. The earlier you give in the less cables you will receive. After that, a last determining meeting took place for a final voting on the proposal. To the astonishment of everyone, the German delegate instead of voting against it voted in favor! The western delegations withdrew for consultations and after a while came back and voted in favor of it, including the US. The plan was passed. After the meeting was over I asked the German delegate why Germany changed its vote. He answered: Germany did not. I did. I was commander of a German tank Division in the second World War. When I heard a man like you who had the courage and tenacity to continue his fight for an idea he considered a blessing for the world, I broke my instructions and voted in favor. I salute you from the bottom of my heart.
My own heart is full of joy when I remember that today. This is how the United Nations Development Program was born first named Special Fund for Development, one of the biggest aid programs on Earth which otherwise might not have been created.

~ Idea 1925 ~
I recommend that the World Peoples' Assembly 2000 should most forcefully recommend that UN world conferences should be reconvened at certain intervals and that a permanent item should be included on the agenda of each UN General Assembly, "New world conferences or repeat world conferences needed to keep peace, well-being, social justice, the environment and the further evolution of this planet on a positive course."

~ Idea 1926 ~
As one of the major new UN world conferences I would recommend a conference on more frugal, simple and less Earth destroying lives in the rich countries and the urgent improvement of the consumption and well-being of the people in the poor countries.

~ Idea 1927 ~
Another urgent UN world conference should be held on marketing and advertisement in the world. There are many negative and detrimental aspects of these two new, giant modern activities . They promote in the poor countries lifestyles and types of consumption which are detrimental to these countries and are exported to them for pure profit motives.

~ Idea 1928 ~
My dream is to see a World University of the Art of Living created on the campus or near the University for Peace in Costa Rica. The magnificent world land of the University is vast enough to accommodate several world universities.

~ Idea 1929 ~
Are we really an intelligent species? Suppose the astronauts brought back from another planet a plant, a flower, a bird, an insect or a butterfly? What excitement it would provoke with humanity! And yet the same humanity lets die every five hours one of our own miraculous species formed over millions or years!
Are we an intelligent species when we bomb mothers and children of our own race in big cities because our government dislikes a leader or a particular country?
Are we an intelligent species spiking our miraculous, infinitely precious home with 34,000 nuclear arms, the accidental explosion of which might create havoc?
And what will we answer when the youth of tomorrow will ask us: "What do you leave us to live on and to administer? You have recklessly destroyed 30 percent of the nature of this planet in the last thirty years?"

~ Idea 1930 ~
The UN General Assembly 2000 at the heads of states level must absolutely measure up to its historical tasks and be remembered for its audacity and long-term views of the future. It should above all decide to embark on the writing of a constitution for proper Earth government. If it does not, future historians will not forgive its members.

~ Idea 1931 ~
At this stage of our evolution the concept of competition and survival of the fittest must be abandoned in favor of the concept of cooperation. The whole future evolution of the Earth and of humanity depends on it. Only cooperation will save the Earth and humanity. From now on cooperation must be the supreme law of Earth and human survival. We must aim at a United Earth and Nature.

~ Idea 1932 ~
What a strange world in which the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, France, UK, Russia and China) account for eighty percent of the world's arms exports! No wonder that there is no progress in the disarmament of this planet. Given this condition I suggest that a people's movement, a world non-governmental organization be created to request the abolishment of the veto power given to these countries. An outer space inspection team visiting this planet would declare that we are politically completely out of our minds. They would recommend that the veto power be given to demilitarized, disarmed countries. Why give a premium to bigness, power and the possession of horrendous means of violence against humans and the Earth?

~ Idea 1933 ~
I hear more and more voices and read more and more articles that slowly but surely the economic system of this planet is going towards disaster. I suggest that someone should have the courage like President Roosevelt to speak of a new deal and that the United Nations be requested to convene an unprecedented world economic conference to review entirely the situation, to see what is wrong, to pinpoint the dangers, to correct our course and system, and to provide for emergency situations. I have at least a dozen books that were sent me by people who propose new ways in the economic and monetary systems for the planet. The conference would probably get many more.

~ Idea 1934 ~
I am glad that at the opening of the 20th World Congress on Philosophy in Boston the creation of a World Commission on Spirituality has been announced. Together with the creation of United Religions Organization similar to the United Nations it will bring about a much needed spiritual Renaissance.

~ Idea 1935 ~
At the same World Congress on Philosophy I proposed the creation of a World Agency of Philosophy. We very much need a new world philosophy for our behavior and ideals on this planet.

~ Idea 1936 ~
For the same reason at the Conference of Long-term Evolutionary Scientists which will be held by the Club of Budapest in Cagliari, Italy in 1999 I will recommend the creation of a World Association or Organization of Long-term Evolutionary Scientists.

~ Idea 1937 ~
My main message in these 2000 ideas is this: Humans from now on must understand that the fate of the whole Earth and of our future evolution is at stake. This world-wide evolutionary challenge has never existed before. It requires from humanity new values, new ways of life, new institutions and new laws.

~ Idea 1938 ~
It is an irony that at the end of this century when it would be so essential to review the role and structure of the first world-wide organization ever created on this planet, the United Nations is placed on the defensive instead of upgrading it to cope with the colossal, numerous global problems facing this planet and humanity. It is totally incomprehensible especially from an enlightened country like the United States. I feel compelled to say it and to beg all nations to do with courage, audacity and vision what is right and necessary for the Earth and humanity, irrespective of the US position.

~ Idea 1939 ~
Dear reader,
Send me your ideas and dreams. Send them to the President of your country, to your elected parliamentarians, to the Secretary General of the UN, to the heads of UN agencies, etc. Big, urgent problems and emergencies are facing humanity. The future of our descendants depends on our actions of today. Proclaim your ideas and dreams for a better world. It is your sacred duty. God and humanity will recompense you beyond belief.

~ Idea 1940 ~
Governments at the General Assembly 2000 should request the United Nations to submit a report on the most economical ways public services could be provided for the common good of humanity and of the Earth. Such a report should be prepared by the top economists of the world. Governments would be surprised by the number, costs and duplications of the same public services in 185 nations. They would be appalled by the almost non-existence of common services for humanity and for the Earth as a whole, for the seas and oceans, for our air and atmosphere, for our waters, for transportation. An infinitely more rational, cheaper and more effective system of common public services must be adopted for the world.

~ Idea 1941 ~
For every new human-made gadget, instrument, invention comes along an instruction manual. But for the biggest, most incredible, most mind-boggling invention we live on and depend on, namely the Earth, there is not even an outline for an instruction manual! This is why the Earth is in trouble and why we need so urgently, so absolutely a proper Earth government: it will be the beginning of creating, at long last in our checkered, often dismal history, an instruction manual for our planet. Without it we are bound to destroy it and to be doomed ourselves. Anti-Earth government thinking and advocacy towards the Earth is criminal.

~ Idea 1942 ~
Two of the worst principles and words still used on planet Earth are: fundamentalism and infallibility. Examples:
my nation, right or wrong
my religion, right or wrong
my business, right or wrong
the infallibility of religious leaders, etc.
The two words should be eliminated form human language. No human person, no human institution can be totally right and infallible. We are all imperfect, if only in minimal ways Human progress can continue only if we learn from each other and cooperate. After the era of competition we are entering the new, evolutionary era of adaptation and cooperation which will produce wonders.

~ Idea 1943 ~
The world sociology has fundamentally changed since the 1920's when the League of Nations was created and since the 1940's when the UN was born. The New 21st Century UN must reflect the world society of today and not of past times especially in a period of evolution which is so rapid. There should be every ten years a new San Francisco conference of all nations to review, update and modernize their first global instruments for world cooperation.

~ Idea 1944 ~
The proper representation of peoples' and of their associations must henceforth be placed as an item on the agenda of the UN General Assembly. A 96 year old gentleman sent me anonymously a Peace Plan in which he proposes the creation of a world humanitarian government elected through a plebiscite conducted by a union of all the world's humanitarian associations. Perhaps the human society has reached the point when such associations have become indeed the skeleton and backbone around which the world of tomorrow should be organized and governed.

~ Idea 1945 ~
Since the multinational corporations have by far been the greatest beneficiaries of the work of the United Nations which has opened to them the whole world to trade and invest, to the minimum of customs controls and other obstacles, it is high time that these multinational corporations be taxed to provide financial resources for the United Nations to do other good work for the planet. An inspection team from outer space would be astonished that this is not yet done. The people of Earth should express the same astonishment and request that this major anomaly be corrected. With increased financial resources the United Nations and its 32 specialized agencies could do more wonders.

~ Idea 1946 to 1947 ~
To my ideas 557 to 564 (Volume II) on proper Earth government, I want to add the following:
Idea 1946 A conference which would contribute to thinking and planning of proper Earth government by reviewing the entire range of problems and solutions that would allow the provision of the most economical public services and means for the common good of the Earth and of humanity from the local to the global levels.
Idea 1947 A world Earth and human government in which people would be represented by international and world peoples' associations and movements.

~ Idea 1948 ~
I consider my proposal for a world conference on Proper Earth Government through the Free Market System important. Indeed the most remarkable businessmen and executives on Earth have given a lot of thought, imagination and work to achieve the highest and most economical profits for their enterprises. If these people were called upon to exercise the same talent on how to govern the Earth and humanity including the provision of common public services, an entirely new world political system might emerge. For example, it is not impossible that they would recommend that the financing of common services should not come from taxation of the people and consumers but would come from taxation of the business world itself.

~ Idea 1949 ~
Following the creation of the United Nations Organization and the forthcoming United Religions Organization I highly recommend that a United Philosophies Organization be also created. Philosophy is love for wisdom. We sorely need a common, recent, global, new wisdom for our further evolution on this planet, a wisdom which includes the care and preservation of the Earth itself, its nature and the elements which sustain our lives. Such an organization would have a permanent inter-philosophical world staff the same way as the United Nations is serviced by a permanent international world staff and the United Religions Organization will be served by a permanent inter-religious world staff.
In idea 1151 I proposed that the United Religions Organization and a new United Peoples' Organization should be made specialized agencies of the United Nations. So should the new United Philosophies Organization whose task it will be to give humanity a new global meaning adequate for our current stage of evolution.

~ Idea 1950 ~
There are constant, numerous mergers, fusions and partnerships between larger businesses and multinational corporations. Why don't we see mergers, fusions and partnerships between nations? At least, don't complain that the corporations rule the world.

~ Idea 1951 ~
The International Chamber of Commerce should also be transformed into a United Business Organization serviced by a permanent world business staff and also should become a specialized agency of the United Nations.

~ Idea 1952 ~
Many more United World Organizations should be created with world servants provided by their various members and become specialized agencies of the United Nations. As a result the major association phenomenon of our current stage of evolution on this planet would receive a concrete, positive and contributing form. The diversity of our planet and of humanity would be building blocks of a world unity and proper Earth government.

~ Idea 1953 ~
The Inter-parliamentary Union should be transformed into a United Parliaments Organization with a permanent inter-parliamentary staff from all parliaments of the world.

~ Idea 1954 ~
As proposed before the Union of International Associations in Brussels should definitely be transformed into a United Peoples' Associations Organization with a permanent inter-associational staff and should also become a specialized agency of the UN.

~ Idea 1955 ~
New world universities should be created next to all united organizations. We have already a United Nations University and a University for Peace. We similarly need a World Spirituality University, a World Business University, a World Parliamentary University, a World NGO's University, and several others. The whole university system of this planet must be upgraded from scratch.

~ Idea 1956 ~
And why not a World Heads of States University fulfilling the dream of Confucius and my own that there should be at least one place on Earth where heads of states could be properly trained to take good care of the world? And why not create also a United Heads of States Network connected by instantaneous communications between all of them and with the Secretary General of the UN?

~ Idea 1957 ~
I hope that students in local, national, regional, international, transnational and world affairs or planetics will read these 2000 ideas and decide to write a host of new, audacious, path-breaking theses and ideas to bring about the new world order so urgently needed for our further successful evolution.

~ Idea 1958 ~
I hope that the International Association of University Presidents will bring these ideas to the attention of the faculties of politics and world affairs around the globe. They should produce by the year 2000 a major report of their ideas concerning university education in the 21st century.

~ Idea 1959 ~
I hope that all elderly people in all walks of life will write down their ideas for reform and progress in the world and in their respective fields as I have done at the age of 75 for mine. It is your absolute duty. Do not let them get buried with you in your tombs.

~ Idea 1960 ~
The UN was able to put an end to political colonialism within a short period of forty years. But colonialism, the spread of power always resurges in other forms. Today we have Pluto-colonialism, the colonialism of money. We have Coca Cola-colonialism, the sales power of products displacing natural local products. We have the media-colonialism, the domination of those who own the media. We have atomic-colonialism, the imposition of power through the threat of atomic weaponry. We have Martial-colonialism the colonialism of the big military powers.
A new item should be placed on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly entitled, Survey and Inquiry into New Forms of Colonialism in the World.
If there is no agreement in the United Nations to take up that subject I recommend the creation of a World Commission of Eminent Personalities on Neo-colonialisms.

~ Idea 1961 ~
Most existing political parties in the world are becoming obsolete: conservative, labor, socialist, republican, democrat, etc. They are part of a past period of our evolution. Since the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing world-wide, there should be a World Party of the Poor and since the Earth has become a major preoccupation, the new parties must be ecological parties like the Greens and World Party of Natural Law which recommends that we follow the laws of nature in our government of the Earth. Also a World Peace Party, the Golden Party.
In this connection I have an idea for the Green Parties that might seem silly: the Hindus wear a red dot in the space right above the middle of their eyebrows. They call it the third eye. The people who believe in nature should wear a green dot at that spot to show that they love and care for nature and the preservation of the Earth.

~ Idea 1962 ~
Economy (oikos, the home, nomos, the management) has received a shock from ecology (oikos, the home, logos, the knowledge) which should have come first. I propose a few new words and philosophies, namely ecophily (the love of the home) and ecocracy, the voice of the home. And since the Greek word Gaia means the goddess Earth we could also speak of Gaiacracy or Geogracy, the voice, the power of the Earth, or of Terracracy (from the Latin), or Earthcracy (from English).

~ Idea 1963 ~
Young men of this world: when you are adolescents be faithful to the dream(s) of your childhood planted into you by God, evolution, nature or the cosmos. Express it in your life, beliefs, words and studies. This will attract to you a loving life companion who will help you remain faithful to your dream(s) and not fall prey to false values offered or promoted by society. It has happened to me twice in my life. Without Margarita Gallo, my wife from Chili and Barbara Gaughen of Hungarian origin my life would not have been the magic, incredible fulfillment of my childhood's dreams it has been.

~ Idea 1964 ~
The Secretary General of the UN and the heads of the 32 specialized agencies and UN world programs should prepare a comprehensive mind, heart and soul-boggling report for the year 2000 entitled:
Major Challenges to the World and Humanity in the 21st Century
That report should review major evolutionary challenges to peace, education, well-being, good health, justice, the environment, democracy, human rights and other major subjects on the human agenda.

~ Idea 1965 ~
The yearly State of the World Conference held by the US Gorbachev Foundation in San Francisco should similarly deal with the major challenges to the Earth and humanity and publish a pathbreaking document for the year 2000.

~ Idea 1966 ~
As early as 1960 Norman Cousins and I recommended to the Secretary General of the UN that a yearly report on the state of the world should be published by the UN and by all United Nations agencies and world programs. The idea was turned down. It was too daring, too political. The practice was continued to submit to the General Assembly and to other UN bodies like the Economic and Social Council only reports requested by governments in these bodies. I propose that our idea should be implemented from the year 2000 on every year and by all UN agencies and world programs.

~ Idea 1967 ~
There is a new, important factor we must take into account on this planet: on the one hand the acceleration of many phenomena, such as new scientific and technological developments, new productions, new constructions, new transport, new marketing, new media, etc. and on the other hand the slowness, the lagging behind of changes in values, institutions and laws. Values: it took humanity twenty years to become concerned about the population explosion, twenty years for the environment, twenty years for the climatic issue, and not yet concern for the consumption explosion. Institutions: it took twenty years, a world war and sixty million deaths to create a second, slightly improved international institution over the League of Nations, the United Nations; it took forty years to create the European Union. Laws: no real, world laws were adopted in this century; it is a field in which there is no progress practically, due to the stubborn opposition of national sovereignties; as a result most recommendations for the survival of the Earth have not been implemented.
Here are a few outstanding recognitions of the preceding:
Values
According to a survey of long-term evolutionary scientists, both a number of astrophysicists (e.g. Eric Chaisson) and biologists (e.g. Nobel Prize winner Christian de Duve) have come to the conclusion that on any planet in the universe on which there is life, one species develops sooner or later to the point of gaining a total knowledge of its planet. At that point a change of values must take place to permit further evolution; if that species sticks to its earlier values, evolution on that planet will end.
According to these scientists we have reached that crucial point on planet Earth (see Introduction to Ideas 1401 to 1500 in Volume III).
Two opinions from statesmen:
Mikhail Gorbachev
We are in dire need of redefining the parameters of our society's economic, political and social development. The conflict between man and the rest of nature carries the risk of truly catastrophic consequences. We are suffering a loss of fundamental spiritual values, the anchors that are indispensable for normal life worthy of human nature.
Vaclav Havel
There are good reasons for suggesting that the modern age has ended. Many things indicate that we are going through a transitional period when it seems that something is on the way out and something else is painfully being born. It is as if something were crumbling, decaying and exhausting itself, while something else still indistinct were arising from the rubble.
Institutions
In a pathbreaking second world report Beyond the Limits, published in 1992, twenty years after the first famous report The Limits of Growth in 1972, the authors offer a series of computerized futures of humanity and of the Earth, taking various assumptions of population growth, economic growth, consumption growth, etc. Only one set of assumptions point to both the survivability of humanity and conservation of the Earth's vital natural elements. But the authors conclude that even that hypothesis is unlikely to succeed because existing institutions will not change in time to avoid the catastrophe. Hence the absolute need to change our institutions and to urgently create a proper Earth government as I recommend repeatedly in these 2000 ideas.
Laws
Recent examples regarding the attempt to create new world law and world legal institutions, were it only in the field of world criminality and human rights, have shown the stubborn opposition of the United States in particular against any world legal system or laws, such systems and laws being contrary to American sovereignty and constitution.
Some hope rests in the 1999 World Peace Conference in The Hague, sponsored by the World Federalists to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the first World Peace Conference held in Holland in 1899 at the initiative of the Czar of Russia.

~ Idea 1968 ~
What a historical, moral irony it is that the United States, the great enlightened country of this century, has become the most powerful and stubborn obstacle to the further evolution of this planet with its fundamentalist belief in the freedom of profit-making and endless so called economic development, a correct American dream at the end of the 19th century but now a disastrous ideology. The United States, if it does not change its basic philosophy will become responsible for the end of evolution on this planet. Why is that? It is because like all great empires in human history the US believes in its power, nourishes and increases it by every possible means and does not adapt to the new requirements of evolution. The British historian Toynbee has shown this to be the case of the demise of all great empires of the past. The only difference is that this time, the US might bring along with its own demise the demise of most of life on Earth.

~ Idea 1969 ~
From a beautiful, equilibrated, harmonious, interdependent natural Earth ours is becoming a severely ill, dying Earth. We have innumerable hospitals to care for sick people, but we have no hospitals to care for this sick world. Healthcare must be extended to the world! The United Nations should be renamed the World Health Organization!

~ Idea 1970 ~
Work on an Earth Charter undertaken since the Rio de Janeiro Conference on the Environment is extremely useful but too slow, a period from 1993 to the year 2002 being much too long.
I recommend that work be immediately undertaken on a whole series of particularly important aspects of the Earth such as:
A Charter for our Solar System and Outer-space
A Charter for Future Evolution
A Charter for the Atmosphere
A Charter for the Seas and Oceans
A Charter for World Water
A Charter for World Species
A Charter for the Earth Forest Covers and Vegetation
A Charter for Top Soils
A Charter for Mountain Areas
A Charter for the World's Great Lakes
A Charter for the Arid and Semi-arid Zones
A Charter for the Arctic and Antarctic.
The same procedure was followed after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights when Charters for Children's Rights, Women's Rights, Indigenous Rights, Racial Equality, etc. were undertaken.

~ Idea 1971 ~
A prophecy: The time will come when humanity will rejoice when learning that the so called gross national product has declined as well as the world population, that world tourism has declined, world transportation has declined, that consumption has declined, that prices have declined, that waste and garbage have declined and that as a result the Earth and nature have been less destroyed. Once this will happen a new era will be born.

~ Idea 1972 ~
The time has come when governments should give tax incentives, financial subsides, encouragement and recognition to people who preserve nature, who do not allow natural lands and grounds they possess to be developed, or sell them to developers to pay for the high-cost education of their children in Universities where they are taught to further "develop", i.e. destroy the Earth as business people, architects, marketing and advertising experts, etc.
And why do we humans speak of developed and underdeveloped countries? Why not overdeveloped countries and underdeveloped countries? Overflying the Untied States one sees below several ecological disaster areas and yet the US continues to offer itself as a model to be envied and imitated by all countries in the world.
I recommend a new classification of countries into:
Still livable countries
Increasingly unlivable countries
Many western overproducing and overconsuming countries would be in the second category together with the overpopulated countries of the world. Each country should establish a basic distinction between its natural still livable areas and its overpopulated, overdeveloped unlivable areas.

~ Idea 1973 ~
To help the birth of a proper Earth and Humanity government, it would be useful to see created a number of new world movements and international non-governmental organizations: e.g. to disarmament and demilitarization there should be added desecretization and decorruption movements. They would pinpoint and denounce the many secret agents planted by big powers in other countries, in world organizations, non-governmental organizations and the media, as well as their corruptive practices through monetary bribes and other rewards. No nation on Earth should have secret services and corruptive practices. The taxpayers are entitled to get full information on what such so-called "services" cost. This should become an important item on the subject of world ethics which is coming strongly to the fore in UNESCO and the UN. Simon Bolivar was right when he recommended the creation of a Moral and Ethical Department in national governments.

~ Idea 1974 ~
The Secretary General of the United Nations and the heads of all 32 specialized agencies and world programs of the UN should publish for the year 2000 a document in which they would list and elaborate on:
1. The main subjects and world issues on which they are hopeful and optimistic.
2. The world problems and issues which give them major worries and concerns.
Each regional organization should prepare the same report for the various continents and regions.
Each member government of the United Nations should do it for their country.
This could be of ominous help in planning appropriate actions, behaviors, policies and legislations in the 21st century to assure our future evolution.

~ Idea 1975 ~
Since disarmament talks have taken place since 1899, during the first Peoples' Peace Conference in The Hague, continued during the entire twentieth century under the League of Nations and the United Nations, and the situation today is worse than ever, I suggest that consideration be given to suppressing disarmament from the agenda of the United Nations and that governments which enjoy continuing the debate should hold conferences and meetings on it outside the United Nations. It would be a substantial saving for the UN budget.

~ Idea 1976 ~
I dream that out of the United States, which was the result of a dream and had the dream of a progressive, just and prosperous world a host of new dreams will be born for the 21st century. At the top of these should be the dream of a United States of the World, a well governed world. Humanity is anxiously awaiting a renaissance of the United States as a country of dreams and visions for a better world and not to remain entrenched in its current, materialistic, soulless, Earth-damaging moneycracy.

~ Idea 1977 ~
Dear reader,
Do not defer, do not postpone your hopes, your dreams, your ideals, you ideas. Write them down and work for them right away and constantly. This is an essential part of your cosmic or divine nature as the religions call it, and role in life. Put your joys and passion into it. It will bring you untold happiness and unexpected rewards. They mysterious forces of the universe will help you as they did me, making my life a magic, miraculous story which I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams.

~ Idea 1978 ~
The UN is in my view and experience the most mind-boggling effort ever in human history to come to grips with all of humanity's and of the Earth's problems and further successful evolution. It does this in three ways:
- the fight against all evil, errors and injustices;
- the fulfillment of our dreams: peace, justice, well-being, human rights, literacy, the environment, the preserving of the Earth, continued evolution, etc.
- the promotion of great philosophical concepts and ideals such as hope, faith, dreams, visions, prayer, gratitude, forgiveness, etc.
Is it not astonishing that the problem of climatic changes which was signaled to humanity in a first UN world climate conference in 1979, followed by a second on in 1987, took almost twenty years to get the attention of the world media and of many governments? I will never forget how in the late 1970's a number of climatologists (a new profession born in the wake of meteorology, i.e. weather forecasting) flooded the UN Secretary General and my office, as his assistant, with warnings that something basically wrong was going to happen to the world's climate. We convened the 1979 world conference because we believed that their warnings deserved attention. The conference predicted that around the year 2020 we will see changes in the ocean currents which would bring havoc to the climate of a number of regions. Well, we have already today the problems created by the Niño current. The US also reports that the last fifteen months had the highest temperatures in recorded history. But many articles say disparagingly that this is a pet-project of Vice President Al Gore who prefaced the first major, classic report of 1990 Climate in Crisis, by Albert K. Bates (The Book Publishing Co., Summertown, PO Box 99, TN 38483) which names some of the climatologists who sent us their warnings (Stephen Schneider is a name I remember because Schneider was my mother's name.)
Well, I am glad that at least one country on Earth has a vice presidency for global affairs. In a recent letter to Al Gore on the celebration of the year 2000 I mentioned to him that in my 2000 ideas I recommend the creation of the same vice presidency for global affairs in all countries on Earth. A draft treaty to prevent a further climate deterioration and increase in world temperatures is waiting for ratification by the US Congress which has its severest doubts about it. Of course because capitalism is not ready to accept such an obstacle in its ideology.

~ Idea 1979 ~
With regard to world water, the United Nations convened the first world water conference in 1967. The experts forecast at it that world water consumption would quadruple by the year 2000. At that time there existed barely any Ministries of Water on the planet. We hired the one from Argentina, Guillermo Cano, as the Secretary of the Conference. Today there are Ministers of Water in most countries of Earth. Thirty years having passed since 1967, the UN should urgently convene a second world water conference.
Let us remember that thanks to the UN World Population Conferences of 1954, 1965, 1974 and 1984 an increase of the world population of 2.2 billion people by the year 2000 was prevented (see Idea 503, Volume II). The convening of further climate and water conferences could have similar beneficial effects for the world.

~ Idea 1980 ~
Another fundamental element of human life merits urgent attention world-wide: air, the oxygen we must breathe to keep alive. The UN has a World Atmospheric Program but has never held a world conference on the air or atmosphere. I recommend that one should be convened urgently. The content of oxygen in the Earth' atmosphere is diminishing in particular over big cities and industrial areas. This merits a close world watch. I regret that the World Meteorological Organization has not yet been transformed into the World Climate Organization.

~ Idea 1981 ~
To the group of 14 demilitarized countries of this planet (see idea 20 in Volume I) I would like to see added another group: countries which have abolished war in their constitution. The only country which has done it so far is Japan in its postwar constitution (Article 9). Japan should take the leadership in inducing and helping other countries to amend their constitution the same way. Such dispositions in national constitutions would be a first step towards the limitation of national sovereignty, an example to be followed in other fields, such as the environment and preservation of the Earth.

~ Idea 1982 ~
In Idea 502 (Volume II) I listed the three main periods through which the Untied Nations and humanity have gone since 1945: 1) humanism; 2) the environment; and 3) the Earth as number 1. In these last 500 Ideas I mentioned a fourth period: our future evolution.
It suddenly occurs to me that the UN is still structured according to the needs and philosophy of the first period, namely humanism with the objectives of peace, well-being, health, labor, food, education, culture, human rights, etc. The structure of the UN system does not reflect adequately the other three recent and equally fundamental preoccupations, except the environment. A basic, restructuring of the UN and its specialized agencies must therefore be considered, to make it the principal, central Organization of the Earth and of Future Evolution. We should create a World Air and Atmosphere agency, a World Water Agency, a World Climate Agency, a World Ocean Agency, a World Outer Space Agency, etc. Within these fundamental aspects of the Earth we should consider the place, actions and fulfillment of the human species.
This reform should become a priority item on the agenda of world affairs at this beginning of a new century and millennium.

~ Idea 1983 ~
I have underlined before the fallacies in the existing world political and economic systems under which the rich countries and the rich in those countries are getting richer often without any work while the poor countries and the poor in all countries cannot get out of their poverty despite all their work and efforts. I kept a document of 6 October 1976 in which Mr. Robert McNamara, the President of the International Bank underlined that there were 900 million people in the poor countries who lived in desperate poverty. In 1997, 20 years later the UN Secretary General, at the Conference on the World Social Situation held in Denmark reported that there were 1 billion 300 million people in the poor countries who had an income of only one dollar a day. When will the world community at long last try to correct this situation in an effective, humanitarian, right economic, social and political system for this Earth and the entire humanity?

~ Idea 1984 ~
I pray that someone will create a World Association of Reformers for a Better World. I would be happy to be one of its first members. Would anyone on this planet have ever imagined that some day billions of bottles of water would be shipped from Evian at the foot of the Mt. Blanc in France to far away countries, when nature has provided most of humanity with pure water in most places of the Earth?
Soon we will probably also see bottles of compressed pure air shipped from Costa Rica to be sold in the United States and in overpopulated cities.
Crazy will you say?
Well, remember my words in a few years.

~ Idea 1985 ~
I recommend that starting in the year 2000 the UN and all its agencies and world programs should publish yearly reports on two major subjects not or insufficiently covered by world organizations namely:
1. Actions of love, compassion, generosity, volunteer services, philanthropy and gaiaphily to bring about a better Earth and human condition on this planet.
2. A report on spirituality in the world.

~ Idea 1986 ~
A Pilot's view of polluted Earth
Here in Europe, we pay up to five times the US price for fuel. It is very highly taxed for sure, but it does have the effect of making us a little more responsible in the field of energy consumption. In fact, the motor-fuel tax in the United Kingdom is being increased expressly for this purpose.
Global warming is fact, not fiction. There are dreadful floods in Bangladesh, and the world's climate is changing I read in the UK newspaper that dragonflies the size of small birds have been borne across the Atlantic Ocean from the US and appeared in the British Isles for the first time.
I am a British Airways airline Captain who has been flying for 30 years. And I can tell you from my position high above the surface of the Earth how much worse pollution has become during my career. No longer do I enjoy such wonderful views of the Alps, the Rockies or Mount Kilimanjaro. No longer can I see Mount McKinley from 200 miles away.
When I began my career, Purple Haze was a Top 10 hit song. Now, unfortunately, it is often a reality.
Come on, America. Catalytic converters aren't the answer. Get real, get walking or at least get more efficient power plants.
Michael D'Alton
West Sussex, England
USA Today, 19 October 1998

~ Idea 1987 ~
In my view the two main purposes of government should be:
- to make the Earth a paradise
- to render humanity happy.
Well, since we have already words like humanizing, civilizing, pacifying, why don't we coin two more words: paradizing and happinizing, to create paradise and achieve happiness on Earth. A landscaper or a person tending a beautiful garden would be a paradizer by beautifying a little corner of the Earth. A philanthropist would be a happinizer, a gaiaphilist a paradizer. Why not? It is all a matter of starting a new custom. After a while it would be accepted as common sense. Did not God give us this message and duty when he placed Adam and Eve in paradise Earth?
How exciting will be the day when we will be able to say: we did it, we have made the Earth a Paradise, a garden of Eden inhabited by a happy human family! And how exciting this task will be for the 21st century!

~ Idea 1988 ~
After the appearance of global crises on this planet, we will now see the appearance of evolutionary crises.
After the birth of global institutions for this planet we will now see the birth of evolutionary institutions.
After the need for global education we will now see the need for evolutionary education.
After the birth of global media we will now see the birth of evolutionary media.
After the appearance of global conferences we will now also see the appearance of evolutionary conferences,
etc.

~ Idea 1989 ~
Global consciousness and evolutionary consciousness will now be the two keys to our survival and further evolution. We must rethink everything within the global character of our planet and its further evolution. Only then will we succeed and will everything make sense. This is a new, very exciting era in humanity's journey and fate on this planet. It will lead to the most unexpected, marvelous results, held impossible today. Of course old beliefs, values, institutions and interest groups will oppose it, but their opposition will not hold against the inexorable imperatives of evolution which will show up in major crisis and emergency situation, if we do not act in time.

~ Idea 1990 ~
In 1975 I was asked by a British magazine, The New Era, to contribute an article with my views on education. I wrote it on The Need for Global Education. Given the birth of a global consciousness to humanity at that time, it had profound effects and earned me the title of Father of Global Education and let to a new education in 34 Robert Muller Schools around the world.
Twenty-two years later a new consciousness is being born to the human species: an evolutionary consciousness, a growing concern for the future of the Earth and humanity. I would therefore write today an essay on The Need for an Evolutionary Education. We teach history but no futurstory. I am sure that not a single school on Earth teaches the children what the world is likely to be when they will be adults. This is as irresponsible as was the absence of a global education in 1975. And in a few years, I will have to write a third essay on The Need for Cosmic Education, because a cosmic consciousness will be born next to humanity.

~ Idea 1991 ~
Since Barbara and I were brought in mysterious, unplanned ways to meet, become husband and wife, and to live on Sacred Mt. Rasur in Costa Rica where Rasur, the indigenous God of the children appeared to them and prophecized that peace will extend from this hill to the entire world, we consider ourselves to be his messengers too, day and night, day after day and wherever we go on this planet.
The demilitarization of Costa Rica was born on this hill,
The first University for Peace on this planet was created on it,
The first International Radio for Peace is located here,
The first Earth Council created by the 2nd UN Conference on the Environment in Rio de Janeiro will have its seat here.
Please, dear friends, add to the above.
And please dear reader, come and sit on one of our benches of dreams, visions, ideas, hope, faith, love, forgiveness, gratitude, or build a BENCH OF DREAMS wherever you live and become messengers of Rasur, helping him to fulfill his prophecy.

~ Idea 1992 ~
As part of a world spiritual Renaissance I hope that a best-selling, widely distributed world report and book will be published on the world's religions' basic environmental beliefs and recommendations to their faithful: e.g. to respect Gods' Creation, to protect nature, to live simple, frugal lives, fasting etc. I have come across many of them in my work around the world. The indigenous spiritualities are probably the most environmentalist religions of all and would merit a world report of their own. A coordinated world-wide effort by the new United Religions Organization could have very beneficial effects. I am glad to learn that Harvard University has held ten conferences on the environmental contributions of the world's religions and has submitted the finds to the United Nations.

~ Idea 1993 ~
It should become a world law and law of every nation that each city publish a daily air quality report, indicating the CO2 content.
Similarly, at the end of each flight of passenger airplanes, the amount of fuel consumed and CO2 emitted in the atmosphere should be announced to the passengers. The International Civil Aviation Organization should publish every month the total tonnage of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by aviation. The time will soon come when air traffic will be limited.

~ Idea 1994 ~
The current political and economic "system" of planet Earth is a disastrous, chaotic, unjust, illogical, unacceptable humanity', Earth' and evolution damaging system. It is surprising that it could last so long. If not rethought from scratch, it will lead to auto-destruction and untold havoc, similar to what happened in a Russia unprepared for the end of communism. Please, leaders of nations, lift yourself beyond your states and become the artisans of a much needed novel, political and economic world system adequate for the new conditions prevailing on this planet and required by our further evolution.

~ Idea 1995 ~
I hope that during the UN General Assembly 2000, one head of state will have to courage to stand up and say to his assembled peers: "The world of sovereign nations has created an unbelievable chaos; the powers given to economists and business are leading us to disaster; the Earth, its vital air, its waters, its nature, its vegetation and many species which it took millions of years to form, our climate are all in jeopardy. We live in a World War III against the Earth, our home. All this will end in a global disaster without precedent.
I appeal to you, I beg you, I implore you, let us put aside all other items on our agenda and keep only one fundamental one: to have this General Assembly of heads of states remain in permanent session day and night if necessary, until we give birth to a new political and economic system for this miraculous planet and its sacred human family. Please stand up, delegates of the world, hold each other's hand and let us swear together that we will accomplish this historical miracle before it is too late: to save this Earth, to save humanity with a new world constitution. All the rest is secondary. Let us create a United States of the World or a World Union like the European Union. Let us perform this miracle in the House of Mica, on the shores of the River of the Rising Sun, wherefrom our indigenous brethren prophecized that a civilization of peace will extend to the entire world."

~ Idea 1996 ~
If Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were alive and members of the UN Assembly they would be the first to request that the UN Charter be reviewed and updated to the new conditions and needs of the Earth and humanity. Who in that Assembly will be the new Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill and be remembered by future generations?!

~ Idea 1997 ~
I pray that on the occasion of the year 2000 celebration, the United Nations and its member nations will produce an ominous report on the achievements and progress of humanity during the 20th century, along with the miseries and errors we have still committed. On the basis of such reports we will be able to make a fresh start and accomplish more miracles. If I have learned one thing in my half a century at the United Nations, it is that when humans decide to achieve a great, noble objective, they always succeed. We must pray with our American indigenous brethren:
"Great Spirit, grant us the strength and dignity to walk a new trail closer to our Creator."

~ Idea 1998 ~
Twenty years ago I wrote an essay on The Need for Global Education. Today I would write an essay on the need for evolutionary education. Tomorrow I would write an essay on the need for cosmic education.
After World War II humanity acquired beyond national consciousness a global consciousness. Today humanity is acquiring an evolutionary consciousness, a consciousness of the future. Tomorrow humanity will acquire a cosmic consciousness.
After World War II, the United Nations was born as the planet's first global organization. Today the United Nations is becoming the planet's evolutionary organization. Tomorrow the United Nations will become the planet's cosmic organization.
With humanity's transcendence into cosmic consciousness in space and in time, the sciences and religions well converge into an all-encompassing, holistic, spiritual age dreamt of by our ancestors, prophets, visionaries, saints and earthly incarnations of the divine, cosmic forces over eons of time.
Our future is incredibly bright and hopeful if we hasten these processes and think in time of ways to face very likely emergencies.
It is good that the UN has been thinking ahead of time by establishing a UN Trust Fund for Preventive Action.

~ Idea 1999 ~
What is my last, most important dream, my Dream of Dreams after these 2000 ideas and dreams written at the end of fifty years of United Nations experience?
It is to see this Earth well preserved as a unique paradise in the universe, inhabited by a miraculous, deeply loving, spiritual, happy and peaceful humanity, fully enjoying the miracle of human life in that paradise.

~ Idea 2000 ~
From our current world pessimism we can be saved and uplifted by this personal conclusion I arrived at in Idea 552, namely:
Perhaps, out of my passion for life and for this miraculous Earth, a new theory of evolution can be shaped, namely that with our recently acquired tremendous human knowledge of the universe and of our planet we will henceforth be more than the mere preservers and savers of the Earth, but will be her instruments, her most advanced evolutionary agents, her children endowed with the evolutionary task to make it an even more astonishing planet and cosmic evolutionary success, perhaps the most advanced, ultimate masterpiece of the universe and God. Since each species born from nature is a miracle, we are certainly a miracle too.
What great excitement it will be when in the year 2000 humanity will accept this as its new, all-encompassing, common objective for the 21st century!
To make this Earth a paradise
To make humanity a miracle
Think of what a world we could build if the power unleashed in war were applied to constructive tasks! One-tenth of the energy that the various belligerents spent in the World War, a fraction of the money they exploded in hand grenades and poison gas, would suffice to raise the standard of living in every country and avert the economic catastrophe of world-wide unemployment. We must be prepared to make the same heroic sacrifices for the cause of peace that we make ungrudgingly for the cause of war. There is no task that is more important or closer to my heart.
Albert Einstein
AMEN
Ideas 2001-2500
An Agenda for the Future
Part I
Introduction: A Great Historic Decision
Ideas 2001 to 2100
Annex: Sample of Letter to People in High Positions
Part II
Introduction: A Great New Step in Evolution
Ideas 2101 to 2200
Annex: Rashmi Mayur, famous Hindu peace activist
Part III
Introduction: What One Idea Can Do
Ideas 2201 to 2300
Annex: A Point in History
Part IV
Introduction: An Appeal for the United Nations Foundation
Ideas 2301 to 2400
Annex: Encouragement from a Young Man
Part V
Introduction: Never Give Up
Ideas 2401 to 2500
Annex: Common Sense from a Famous US President
Epithets
New or Unusual Words Used or Coined

An Agenda For The Future

Our absolute priorities and objectives
for the 21st century and the third millennium should be:

1. To make this planet a paradise
2. To stop destroying nature at all cost
3. To eradicate from it all the poverty, miseries and errors engendered by power, greed and egotism
4. To make out of all humans one united, cooperating family
5. To create a new social, political world order for the centuries to come
6. To attain a life of fulfillment and happiness for all humans
7. To achieve a human family in harmony with the Earth and the heavens
8. To be the ultimate cosmic success of the Universe and God.

No dream is too big

Barbara Gaughen Muller and Dr. Robert Muller
A Cosmic Couple

See the world with global eyes
Love the world with a global heart
Understand the world with a global mind
Merge with the world and the heavens through a global soul.

Media 21
7456 Evergreen Drive
Santa Barbara, CA 93117
(805) 968-8567
Fax: (805) 968-5747
Email: Barbara@rain.org

IDEAS

"Is there a doubt whether a common government can embrace a larger sphere? Let experience solve it...It is well worth a fair and full experiment."
George Washington

"The world no longer has a choice between force and law; if civilization is to survive, it must choose the rule of law."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower

"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than are governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of their way and let them have it."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower

"If the money spent on armaments was spent on education, there would be no more wars."
President Dwight D. Eisenhower

"It will be just as easy for nations to get along in a republic of the world as it is for you to get along in the republic of the United States."
President Harry S. Truman

"...a genuine world security system...capable of resolving disputes on the basis of law, of insuring the security of the large and the small, and of creating conditions under which arms can finally be abolished...This will require a new effort to achieve world law."
President John F. Kennedy

"No difficulty in the way of a world government can match the danger of a world without it."  Carl Van Doren
"There is no salvation of civilization, or even the human race, other than the creation of a world government."
Albert Einstein

"Today the universal common good poses problems of world-wide dimensions, which cannot be adequately tackled or solved except by the efforts of public authorities endowed with a wideness of powers, structure and means of the same proportions; that is, ...on a world-wide basis."
Pope John XXIII

"Internationalism does not mean the end of individual nations. Orchestras don't mean the end of violins."
Golda Meir

"The whole future of the Earth, as of religion, seems to me to depend on the awakening of our faith in the future."
Teilhard Chardin

"Imagination rules the world"
Napoleon
(Yes, but he had the wrong imagination of conquering the world. Humanity must have the right imagination.)

A vision of the third millennium: "When the lion will lay down with the lamb and nations will learn war no more."
The Bible

"Blessed be the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
Sermon on the Mount

"Science has made unrestricted national sovereignty incompatible with human survival. The only possibilities are now world government or death."     Bertrand Russell

"Unless some effective world super-government for the purpose of preventing war can be set up...the prospects for peace and human progress are dark...If it is found possible to build a world organization of irresistible force and inviolable authority for the purpose of securing peace, there are no limits to the blessings which all men may enjoy and share."
Winston Churchill

"The Universe is not to be narrowed down to the limits of our understanding, which has been man's practice up to now, but the understanding must be stretched and enlarged to take in the image of the Universe as it is discovered."        Francis Bacon

"If governments fail to seize the opportunity of the year 2000 to provide for a better government of planet Earth, history will not forgive them - if there is a history." Robert Muller

PART I

IDEAS 2001 TO 2100

Introduction

A Great Historic Decision

The UN General Assembly 1998 has decided "to hold in the fall of 2000 a heads of states Assembly to focus on means to solve our primary global problems and to reform the means of global governance in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century."

This great historic decision is one of the timeliest and broadest decisions I have ever seen adopted by the UN General Assembly.

May the whole humanity applaud it, look up to it, pray for it and contribute to it its ideas, dreams, visions and active cooperation.

On 11 July 1994, my beloved wife Barbara drew my attention that there were 2000 days left to the year 2000 and that I should write down every day one idea for a better world to reach a total of 2000 by 31 December 1999. I happily began writing and finished them already by 20 December 1998. So many others came to my heart and mind, generated by my fifty years of world service, that I continued to write them down. I thus produced 1000 more ideas bringing the total to 3000 which I dedicate with my love and prayers to the ominous, historic world meeting of heads of states in the year 2000, to all workers of the United Nations and to all those individuals, groups, movements and institutions around the planet working for a new better world, new century and millennium.

May God and the saints in heaven descend to Earth, be actively present amongst us and help us create at long last a just, peaceful, happy human family on our beautiful, miraculous planetary home, our loving, generous Mother Earth, the only planet endowed with life discovered so far among the billions of planets circling around the billions of suns of our galaxy, among the billions of galaxies of the universe.

So help us God and the invisible forces of the universe.

Robert Muller