If you are frustrated by the slow pace of social progress, or, if you have participated in the political process, but have been unhappy with the results, take heart. There are new winds blowing.

There is good reason to believe that humankind is on an upward evolutionary path and that a new global ethos is emerging in which peaceful strategies for conflict resolution will prevail, the Earth's fragile ecosystems will be protected, and the unfair burden of poverty upon billions of people will be lifted.

Part of the solution will be through the harnessing of technology in service of social change. Changes in technology are an integral part of human evolution. While technological progress breeds new dangers on the battlefield and in the laboratory, technology has also resulted in liberating advances in communication that may be credited with the relatively peaceful democratic revolutions that have occurred in South Africa, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere.

By exposing the misdeeds of government and business to the harsh light of global publicity, the communications revolution validates the aspirations of people everywhere to live in peace, freedom, economic security, and harmony with the environment.

The following self-evident truths cannot be denied:

• That policies which use violent means to achieve political ends are both morally and strategically bankrupt.
• That citizens everywhere have the right to determine their own destiny through local self-government.
• That all human beings are entitled to a fair share in the wealth that is derived from the Earth's natural resources.
• That the survival of the human species depends on maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

We need radical change in the priorities that govern the social, economic, and political institutions that govern our planet. This is not a choice but a necessity, and there are more and more people recognizing this truth.

One of the purposes of Earth Action Index is to prove that there is an accelerating worldwide movement to incorporate the principles of nonviolence, democracy, equitable sharing of the Earth's wealth, and sustainability into the basic rules governing the actions of humans on the planet.