For the Sake of Our Children by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

Editor's Introduction: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has a passionate desire for a sustainable future. The economic, the political, and the personal worlds are all part of this evolving vision. So too, is our spiritual life. Kennedy views the corporate assault on the environment as "a moral assault on future generations." And he has worked tirelessly to defend and preserve the common ecological birthright of our children.

In the 1990s, Kennedy helped lead the fight to turn back the anti-environmental legislation during the 104th Congress. The New York Watershed Agreement, which he negotiated on behalf of environmentalists and New York City watershed consumers, is regarded as an international model in stakeholder consensus negotiations and sustainable development. Currently, he acts as Chief Prosecuting Attorney for Riverkeepers, Senior Attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, and is President of the Waterkeeper Alliance. In addition to work on environmental issues across the continent, Kennedy has assisted several indigenous tribes in Latin America and Canada in successfully negotiating treaties protecting traditional homelands.

In this article, the author warns us of the attack underway on our natural heritage, of the dangers of domination of the government by large corporations, and of the spiritual implications of our plunder of the Earth.

— K. Lauren de Boer

For the Sake of Our Children