THE GREEN PARTY HAS SOLUTIONS!
“The only counterweight possible to all of this [inaction on climate change by industrialized nations] is some very substantial popular movement, which is not just going to call for solar panels on your roof, which is a good thing, but is going to dismantle an entire sociological, cultural, economic, and ideological structure which is driving us to disaster. It’s not a small task, but it’s a task that had better be undertaken, and probably pretty quickly, or it’s just going to be too late.” - Noam Chomsky, September 2010
GREEN PARTY PLATFORM
We are currenlty working to update the Green Party Platform for 2012. Proposed revisions are posted on the national Green Party website, www.gp.org.
GREEN SOLUTIONS TO CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET CRISIS
As he asumes leadership in California, Jerry Brown is laying out the California finances in what is probably the most honest and thorough manner we have seen here for many a year. His "solutions," however, are not new: austerity, layoffs, increased taxes
There are other solutions that would bring real and lasting prosperity to California, solutions such as a return to taxing the wealthy at a significantly higher rate than the middle class, a state bank (South Dakota is the only state in the nation with a state bank and the only state without a budget edficit), and single payer health care. (California One Care, Senate Bill 810, is currently being discussed in the state legislature. It has been twice passed by both houses of the legislature, only to be vetoed by Gov Schwarzennegger.)
Alameda Greens published an analysis of the California budget deficit two years ago. It still holds true today.
To read their insightful analysis and solutions, click here:
Alameda County Greens: On Taxes and Budget Deficits.
To learn more about the history of tax "reform" in California and the potential of state banks, click here:
Laura Wells's analysis of Prop 13
"13 ways Prop 13 has been unlucky for California"
and her proposal for a State Bank
"State Bank for California
ABOLISH CORPORATE PERSONHOOD!
The decision of the Supreme Court in the "Citizens United" case in January 2010 opened the floodgates for corporate control of our entire political and economic system. Based on the illegitimate claim to Constitutional protections intended for the people, corporations have claimed "personhood," and in their quest for short-term profit, are systemaically destroying our planet."
Take back our democratic sovereignty!
Join the Movement to Amend the Constitution!
www.MovetoAmend.org
ELECTION REFORM
Fear still ranks supreme in elections, forcing conscientious voters to choose from the lesser of two evils. Ranked-Choice Voting gives you a real choice, free of the possibility of your vote electing candidates you oppose. Second only to proportional representation, RCV an essential step toward a more democratic and just electoral system, capable of bringing about the changes we desperately need.
Support Ranked-Choice Voting!
Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), also called Instant Run-off Voting (IRV), is spreading and bringing about positive changes in both electoral outcomes and the way candidates conduct their campaigns. With RCV, voters rank candidates in terms of preference (first, second, third, etc.). If no candidate wins a majority in the first tally ("pass") and the voter's first-choice candidate receives the fewest votes, those votes go to the voter's second choice. If that candidate is eliminated, those votes go to the voter's third choice, and so on, until one of the candidates receives a majority of the total votes.
This eliminates the all-too-frequent possibility of an unpopular candidate winning with less than a majority of the votes and prevents the "spoiler effect" the splits the vote among candidates with similar values. Jean Quan's election this year for Mayor of Oakland is a dramatic example of the power of RCV. Not only is RCV more democratic, it encourages candidates to work together and to focus on the issues, rather than tear each other down. In most cases, in order to win, candidates must be willing to ask voters with other first-choice preferences to consider them as their second or third choice candidate.
Ranked-Choice Voting would allow us to vote our conscience rather than our fear. It makes elections more democratic and more positive.
To learn more about RCV (IRV), visit these web sites and watch the the fun video below.
Democracy is coming to the USA!
* "We need majority rule elections,"
John Nichols in the Nation magazine, Oct 28, 2010
* Californians for Electoral Reform
* New America Foundation proposal for proportional representation
* FairVote
* Green Party of the United States
Save Richardson Grove!
Humboldt Greens oppose widening Hwy 101 through Richardson Grove. There are alternatives.
To learn more and find out what you can do, visit
www.saverichardsongrove.org
NOT ON OUR PACIFIC COAST!
On November 9, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gave the US Navy permission to “take” more than 600,000 marine mammals over the next five years in the expanded Northwest Training Range Complex. The NWTRC extends from the border of Canada to Mendocino County. It is 60 miles off shore for ships, just 13 miles for planes, and includes critical whale migration routes. Naval exercises will include testing of new weaponry and ammunition (habitat and marine life disruption, destruction, and pollution with toxic chemicals, heavy metals, depleted uranium, etc.), deployment of sonar (which has killed hundreds of marine mammals in numerous incidents worldwide), and ship-based flight training (which has already sent panicked livestock off of cliffs on the Oregon coast and through fences in the Hwy 36 valley).
Thankfully, EPIC (our beloved Environmental Protection Information Center) has taken on organizing a grassroots campaign to call for Congressional hearings and a halt to war games in our coastal waters. To make this happen, Congress needs to hear from thousands of citizens. The first thing you can do is sign the petition at http://www.wildcalifornia.org/blog/navywarfaretraining/. Then attend the next City Council meeting in your area.
Humboldt, Marin, and Mendocino County Boards of Supervisors, Mike Thompson, Diane Feinstein, and Barbara Boxer have all formally voiced their objections, to no avail. We need our City Councils to join them in demanding extension of the public comment period and, if necessary, Congressional hearings to put a stop to war games on the North Coast.
HUMBOLDT COUNTY
GENERAL PLAN UPDATE
Support Plan A
Preserve the beauty and resources of
Humboldt County!
For more information and upcoming events, visit
www.healthyhumboldt.org.
CLIMATE CHANGE
UN Climate Conference 2010
Copenhagen to Cancun: what just happened?
"The bottom line is that we are running out of time. In the next 12 months, we must seize the small ripples of hope that are emanating from Cancun. We must build a mass public mobilization that insists on real action to bring the words and framework of the Cancun agreements to life."
Elizabeth May, Party Leader
Green Party of Canada
December 13, 2010
Click here to read Elizabeth May's insightful report on climate negotiations.
UN Climate Conference 2009
Global Greens call for honest,scientifically sound climate agreement
Copenhagen, Sunday 13 December 2009
As the Copenhagen COP enters its second week, the Global Greens today called for an honest climate agreement, based on science not tricky accounting. The Global Greens are concerned that rich nations are building loopholes into the agreement to give the appearance of strong targets without the reality. Click HERE to read the entire statement.
November 23, 2009. With the Copenhagen climate summit two weeks away, best-selling journalist Naomi Klein examines the grassroots movement behind the climate debate proposal that argues all the costs associated with adapting to a more hostile ecology—everything from building stronger sea walls to switching to cleaner, more expensive technologies—are the responsibility of the countries that created the crisis. Klein also discusses the 10th anniversary of the Seattle WTO protests and the 10th anniversary of her first book, No Logo.
Click HERE to watch the Democracy Now! interview with Naomi Klein.
Ban Calls for $30B in Climate Aid to Poor Nations
November 20, 2009. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on rich nations to provide billions of dollars in funding for poor countries to address the effects of climate change. Ban said the funding should come as part of an agreement at next month’s climate summit in Copenhagen.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “Everything depends on adequate financing. In the short term, we look to the developed world to provide roughly $10 billion in fast track funding annually over the next three years. With this money, we can jump-start low emissions growth in developing countries, limit deforestation, and finance immediate adaptation measures.”
The Story of Cap and Trade:
Promise or Distraction?
The Story of Cap & Trade is a fast-paced, fact-filled look at the leading climate solution being discussed at Copenhagen and on Capitol Hill. Host Annie Leonard introduces the energy traders and Wall Street financiers at the heart of this scheme and reveals the "devils in the details" in current cap and trade proposals: free permits to big polluters, fake offsets and distraction from what’s really required to tackle the climate crisis. If you’ve heard about cap and trade, but aren’t sure how it works (or who benefits), this is the film is for you.
HEALTH CARE
Support Single Payer Health Care for All!
Since its intitial inception in 1984, the US Green Party has advocated for single payer health care. Trusting Barack Obama's campaign promise of support, many looked forward to a "Medicare for All" system, similar to what citizens in Canada enjoy.
It is deeply disappointing to see the new president and congressional majority choose to defy the will of the people and declare unequivocally that single payer is "off the table." The reason, as usual: corporate money in our "democracy."
To gain a better understanding of the healthcare debate, read Scott McLarty's insightful, thoroughly documented analysis HERE.
Californians Bypass Congress in State Campaign for Single Payer Health Care
www.californiaonecare.org/
WIYOT HONOR TAX
Do you live in Wiyot Territory?
The Humboldt Green Party has joined wiith Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development and Democracy Unlimited of Humbodt County in honoring the sovereignty of the Wiyot Nation. We recognize that we occupy land that is, to this day, Wiyot Territory. With respect and appreciation for the blessings of this land that we now call home, Humboldt Greens support the Wiyot Honor Tax with an annual, voluntary payment to the Wiyot Tribe.
To learn more:
Wiyot Tribe: www.wiyot.com
Wiyot Honor Tax: www.honortax.org
* Click on the map for a larger image of Wiyot Territory.
