Green Party Watch

From Green Party US:

It’s the 40th Earth Day, and while the Green Party of the United States recognizes this historic event, we have no special celebration planned.  Every day is Earth Day for us, so we continue today to do what we do all the time – support candidates who work for sustainable governments, educate elected officials on Green Party values, and work in our communities to promote our message of ecological wisdom.

We are working hard to make every day Earth Day, and we need your support.

Every day a new Green Party candidate declares their run for Congress (49 so far!) is Earth Day for us.

Every day a Green Party member points out that producing more “eco-friendly” products only creates more waste and stress on the planet is Earth Day for us.

Every day a Green Party member writes a letter to the editor of their local paper opposing a new garbage incinerator in a poor community is Earth Day to us.

Every day we take Congress for task for watered-down, corporate-authored climate bills is Earth Day for us.

Every day Greens come together to try and end the environmentally-destructive, oil-driven wars in Iraq and Afghanstan is Earth Day for us. read more »

Thoughts on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
By Rich Whitney, Green Party candidate for Governor

The 40th Anniversary of Earth Day reminds me of the very first Earth Day, in 1970. I was a high-school Freshman that year and I remember an upper-classman named Billy Barth who recruited some of us to go out to a local stream and pick up litter and trash that had been dumped into it.  The problem was very visible and easily identifiable and the solution was equally clear. We just went out, did some work and solved the problem.

A lot of things haven’t changed much since 1970: The principal cause of the contamination arises from the fact that most industrial activity is conducted by large-scale corporations that, in the absence of regulatory or other controls, naturally find it more profitable to dump contaminants into our air, water, and land, rather than incur the expense of controlling or safely disposing of the contaminants. Giant agribusiness conglomerates find it more profitable to overuse pesticides and herbicides in agriculture, than to use more environmentally friendly practices. And the public policy changes needed to curb such abusive practices are frustratingly slow in coming, with limited victories coming only after years of concerted public pressure. Why? Because the same giant multinational corporations that benefit the most from these practices also bankroll the campaigns of the candidates that the people rely upon to regulate or prohibit environmental contamination.

read more »

Two fossil-fuel dangers threaten America’s economic health, public health and natural habitats: coal and offshore drilling for oil, say Greens on Earth Day 2010

• Greens demand an end to mountaintop removal mining, poisoning of water, lethal worker safety violations, and industry corruption and control over government policy

• Obama’s offshore drilling plans threaten Alaska and the Atlantic coast with public health disasters and devastations of natural habitats

WASHINGTON, DC — On Earth Day 2010, Green Party candidates and leaders said that coal and offshore drilling for oil represented two severe threats to America’s public and environmental well-being, and urged President Obama and Congress to reverse course on both. read more »

Green Party of Connecticut officials announced today that Ruthann “Rae” Johnson has filed for the Connecticut State Senate race in the 9th district as a Green Party candidate. “Rae” Johnson is married with two children and lives in Middletown. She has worked in Office of Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities and currently works as a counselor in a group home. She has a degree in theater and dance and has been working on her Masters at Central Connecticut State University. She is active in her community, raising funds for the Amazing Grace Food Pantry and other charities.

From Jill Stein, Green candidate for Governor of Massachusetts:

40 years ago tomorrow, millions of people around the country took part in the first-ever Earth Day. The event was designed “to shake up the political establishment and force the environment onto the national agenda,” according to Gaylord Nelson, a US Senator from Wisconsin who was one of the driving forces behind it.

Despite 40 years of successful Earth days, our environment is at greater risk today than ever before. We face an increasingly threatened climate, unabated oil addiction, expansion of polluting coal and biomass plants, degradation of forests and fisheries, shrinking open space, ongoing toxic threats and senseless wars that are as harmful to the climate as they are to global security. On this Earth Day, let us make a new commitment to the vision of a whole and healthy planet – to a revitalized grassroots democracy, new leadership, and green economic transformation. Each of these are critical if we are to stop the ongoing destruction and achieve the healthy, just, secure green future we deserve.

That’s why we’re asking our supporters to redouble their effort to “shake up the political establishment” in 2010 by doing three things to help this campaign. We’re asking you to 1) donate money; 2) volunteer time; and 3) host an event with your friends and neighbors so that they can become part of the movement that will bring true green solutions to the Commonwealth. read more »

Taken from Hugh Giordano’s campaign website.

Hugh Giordano will be one of the featured speakers at a rally this Thursday, April 22, at the Regional Department of Environmental Protection offices in Norristown.

The rally is to call attention to the state’s horrible record on allowing natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

There is more below the fold. read more »

As reported yesterday, Maine Green Anna Trevorrow was hoping to raise $500 from supporters. She called today to let me know that her goal was reached, with $2 to spare. Because Maine’s Clean Elections law limits how much a candidate can raise…in this case, $500, Trevorrow is no longer taking donations. Congratulations are due her and her supporters, some of whom came from us here at Green Party Watch.

From a Green Party US email entitled “Another World is Possible, the Green Party is Necessary”:

Join the Green Party in Detroit This June!

The Green Party of the United States will be holding its Annual National Meeting this June in Detroit.  Will you be there?

In order to spread the Green message as widely as possible, our meeting will be held in conjunction with the U.S. Social Forum, a gathering of tens of thousands of people working to build people’s solutions to economic and  ecological crisis.

The Green Party will be meeting from June 24-27, 2010, in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  We hope you can make it.

Yes, I would like to register now!

Sorry, I can’t make it. Let me support the Green Party by making a contribution now.

Here’s what to expect in Detroit: read more »

Dan Craigie is the Minnesota Green Party’s candidate for State Representative in District 59B, the same part of Minneapolis represented by Green Cam Gordon on Minneapolis’ city council. The Minnesota Daily has published a letter by university graduate student and District 59B resident Amanda Jansen about why Craigie deserves support:

In addition to the predictable enthusiasm, youth and passion for representing this district as seen before in other challengers, Craigie brings the ability to build coalitions based on his unique array of experiences and training. This is essential given the incredible diversity of this district. This candidate seems to confound easy stereotypes: a Green Party candidate who served in the Navy; the only son of a single mom who has attained an advanced degree from a widely respected institution; an ardent sports fan who dreamed of being a professional baseball player, but instead has opted to work with autistic children in Minneapolis public schools; and a renewable energy expert who has navigated the Saturday- night chaos of downtown Minneapolis parking vehicles to pay for college.

You can read the full letter at the Minnesota Daily.

Jill Stein, who is a doctor and environmental health advocate as well as the Massachusetts Green-Rainbow Party’s candidate for governor, spoke about health care in a Norton Mirror article entitled “Governor candidate Jill Stein makes a house call in Easton”.

Stein spoke to about 20 people in the Coles’ living room for more than 45 minutes, including Cohen, who asked what could be done to implement a single-payer system of health care in Massachusetts.

“I personally do support single-payer,” he said.

Stein, 59, of Lexington, said a lot is being done already.

She said Massachusetts would first need to obtain federal waivers before establishing a state Medicare-for-all or single-payer system.

“It can be done,” Stein said. “This is how Canada moved to a single-payer system,” she said. “It was adopted in one province, and it worked so well, and saved them so much money, that pretty soon another province adopted it, and then another.” read more »

David Cobb, the Green Party’s 2004 candidate for president, has been active recently as a leader of Move To Amend, a coalition working for a Constitutional Amendment to establish that constitutional rights are for humans, not corporations. The Arizona Daily Wildcat recently covered Cobb’s presentation at the University of Arizona in Tucson:

David Cobb, the 2004 Green Party presidential candidate, gave a presentation at the UA Law School on April 13 describing why citizens should be working towards amending the Constitution. read more »

The chair of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, Frank Habineza, has been elected President of the African Green Parties Federation, last weekend in Kampala, Uganda.

Habineza, who’s Green Party has faced police and military attacks for even seeking permission to hold meetings and register the party with the national government, has had his life threatened in the past.

This is a big recognition and support for the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, which is still struggling to get registered. Its also a big support for Democracy in Rwanda.

-Frank Habineza

A story at Newsblaze explains that California Green Party co-founder Hank Chapot has offered his services to the Golden State as a member of the Fair Political Practices Commission. Governor Schwarzenegger. A retirement on the commission has left the governor with an appointment to make, and he cannot appoint a Democrat. Chapot says that his being a Green gives him a special ability to serve that another corporate party leader won’t have.

“Everyone knows our politicians are bought and paid for…the FPPC hasn’t done a thing to stop that. It’s become worse. It’s like the fox guarding the hen house,” said Chapot.

“I will not carry the baggage of an appointee from one of the major parties that have made a mockery of fair elections in California. I will not continue the sham of pretending to fairly regulate the election process,” Chapot added.

Chapot is a gardener at the University of California at Berkley, and holds a Bachelor in Biology from San Francisco State University. He lives in Oakland.

In a message to supporters at Facebook, Maine Green Independent Party chair Anna Trevorrow issued an appeal for donations to her campaign. Please donate to her campaign here. EDITOR’S NOTE…this link has been disabled, as Trevorrow has raised all the money she is allowed to raise by state law.

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard by now, I am running for State House Representative in district 120, which represents Portland’s East End and Downtown peninsula neighborhoods. Today, I completed verification of 67, $5 qualifying contributions to the Maine Clean Election Fund. This means that I will qualify for Maine’s public campaign funding system, which levels the playing field for all candidates, and keeps private interest dollars out of campaigns.

NOW is the ONLY OPPORTUNITY for me to raise money (up to $500) from friends like you. Tomorrow (4/21/2010) is the deadline for raising this “seed” money. I am working hard this evening to raise some last minute funds to pay for sign materials to give me the edge in visibility at this early stage in the race.

Please consider making an online contribution to my campaign BEFORE the end of the day TOMORROW by clicking the donate button on this link:

www.trevorrow4tomorrow.blogspot.com

And, check out my campaign website at www.AnnaTrevorrow.org

Sincerely,

Anna

Maine’s Voter Owned Elections will only permit her campaign to raise a total of $500 in this last day. Any donations over $500 total will be returned to the contributor. Don’t let that be an excuse for not giving! Just think of it as a donation that might come back to you some day.

Trevorrow is an elected member of Portland’s Charter Commission, and will be the second Green elected to Maine’s legislature.

Dan Craigie is running for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives with the Green Party. His Facebook page includes information about him, his campaign, and the issues he will focus on between now and November. The full text of his campaign announcement speech is below the fold. read more »