WHEREAS, the Anishinaabeg, Menominee, Potawatami and other Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region have a responsibility to protect Mother Earth for future generations, and

WHEREAS, scientific consensus has developed that Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere have a profound effect on the Earth's climate; and

WHEREAS, it has been shown that human activities and energy consumption are increasingly altering the Earth climate and that natural influences cannot explain the rapid increase in near-surface temperatures observed during the second half of the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, the 2001 Third Assessment Report from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2000 U.S. Global Change Research Program's (USGCRP) First National Assessment indicate that global warming has begun; and

WHEREAS, global warming poses significant threats to Native and non-Native communities across the world in the form of heat waves, drought, shrinking water supplies and snow pack, catastrophic fires, floods and storms, coastal erosion, new diseases, and loss of traditional plant and animal life.

WHEREAS, we believe that it is our right and our duty to institute a new energy economy, one whose foundation is built on the efficient and profitable use of clean energy that supports our tribal self-sufficiency and sovereignty; and

WHEREAS, 128 countries have signed onto the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement requiring countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by the period 2008-2012; and more than 150 cities have volunteered to meet the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol as independent municipalities and in the spirit of protection of the environment and their economies.

WHEREAS, in March 2001, the U.S. officially refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions the nation is responsible for; and

WHEREAS, energy consumption, specifically the burning of fossil fuels, accounts for more than 80% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions; and

WHEREAS, tribal lands represent a vast amount of renewable energy potential – wind and solar power that can meet the energy needs of both local tribes and surrounding communities; and

WHEREAS, wind power blowing through Indian reservations in just four northern Great Plains states could support almost 200,000 MW of wind power, enough to reduce output from coal plants by 30% and reduce our electricity-based global warming pollution by 25%; and Great Lakes Native nations could similarly produce alternative/natural energy for our tribal communities and for export.

WHEREAS, actions taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase energy efficiency provide multiple local benefits by decreasing air pollution, creating jobs, reducing energy expenditures, and saving money for the community; and

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Midwest Association of Sovereign Tribes commits to meeting the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol and, in doing so, pledges to require that our communities obtain ______ percent of our electricity from renewable energy sources by __year___.