I just returned from Panama City after 3 years and what a change. Its SOOOO CLEAN. We found Panama City to have received a real positive make over. We asked people why the big change and everyone said it is due to the efforts of the mayor. Talk about something positive about the city this would be it. A big difference.....

Name withheld by request

From August 26 to September 4, 2002, there will be another Earth Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

It is being titled, "The World Summit on Sustainable Development" --- also known as 'Rio 10'. The last Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992, hence the 'Rio 10' designation.

The Johannesburg Summit is intended to shape the global sustainable development agenda for the coming decade(s). It will bring together tens of thousands of participants; including heads of state and government, international environmental activists, national delegates and leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGO's), United Nations agencies, the International Business Community, Multilateral Financial Institutions, as well as many other major groups and peoples throughout the world who have an immediate interest in the prospect of local, national and global survival and the promotion and implementation of sustainable environmental values and practices in their communities.

The 2002 Earth Summit will attempt to build on the agenda of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, which focused on ways for countries to cooperate together in addressing global environmental problems such as pollution, climate change, depletion of the ozone layer, the conservation and management of marine and freshwater resources, widespread desertification, urban sprawl, the proliferation of hazardous waste and the overwhelming loss of the Earth's biological diversity, among other issues.

The Rio Summit resulted in several major developments in international cooperation including the creation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, a document entitled, "Agenda 21", as well as new treaties on climate change and biological diversity.

The 2002 Earth Summit in Johannesburg will most likely focus on a number of specific global environmental, sustainability and developmental problems and issues, some of which include; natural resources conservation, addressing the causes and solutions of climate change, harnessing alternative energy sources, slowing the global population explosion, developing environmentally sustainable and livable cities and communities, promoting sustainable/organic agricultural practices and human health alternatives, properly managing the world's fisheries, conserving the world's forests, securing international aid and poverty reduction commitments, as well as addressing and implementing the issues, principles and directives of the Agenda 21 document previously developed at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

The Johannesburg Summit will hopefully serve as a means through which major international attention will be directed towards meeting the difficult environmental, social and developmental challenges of the 21st century.

This includes improving people's lives on the ground, conserving our dwindling finite natural resources in a world where population growth and ever-increasing demands for food, water, shelter, sanitation, energy, health services and economic security are ever in demand and on the rise.

Steve Jones
Boulder, Colorado

I'm trying to find the descendants of my granduncle, Walter Wilson (Plummer) who was from Manchester/St. Elizabeth, Jamaica. His brother, Isaac Wilson (Plummer) was my grandfather. There are a number of my grandfather's children still alive (including my mother) and I would like to make contact with the Panamanian branch of the family.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Kay Robinson
KRobinson@mzrl.com

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