Newsgroups: talk.environment,alt.politics.greens
From:
[email protected] (John J. Ladasky II)
Subject: Ca. Green Platform, Ecology Section
Message-ID: <
[email protected]>
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1993 19:35:07 GMT
Lines: 871
>Is no one going to respond to my request for a Green position on the
>Gas Tax?
>- Cris Moore, NM Green Party
Hi, Cris,
The following article is an excerpt from the platform of the Green
Party of California. This is the Ecology section of the platform. Many
sections of this document are relevant to the issue of transportation and
taxation, so I though it would be best to simply post the whole thing. I
hope this helps.
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/* Written 8:48 pm Nov 5, 1992 by
[email protected] in igc:gpoc.lit+media */
/* ---------- "1992 Platform" ---------- */
ECOLOGY AND EARTH STEWARDSHIP
Recycling
Nature uses and reuses everything through continual recycling. We
should pattern our use of resources after this model; we should
use resources in sustainable cycles. Our motto should be reduce,
reuse and recycle.
California alone produces more waste than does the whole of
China. We are squandering our resources through wasteful
practices like excessive packaging. We are throwing away useful
resources by burying them in massive and useless landfills.
The Green Party demands conservation and recycling:
+ Through legal and tax incentives, we should create a market for
recycled goods.
+ We should institute convenient curbside recycling (including
yard clippings) in all urban areas.
+ We should manufacture "recycled" paper, to be labeled as such,
out of a specific percentage of post-consumer waste paper.
+ We should rapidly phase out composites and other materials that
cannot be recycled.
+ We should educate our children on the benefits of recycling.
+ We should simplify procedures that let people choose not to
receive junk mail.
+ We should legislate deposits on glass, metal and plastic
beverage containers.
+ We should legislate limitations in packaging and impose
penalties for wasteful packaging.
+ We should remove the obstacles to the sale of items in bulk. We
should standardize containers to make their reuse easier.
+ We should restructure garbage rates to encourage reduction in
the volume of waste.
+ We should design and produce high quality goods that are
durable, repairable and, then, recyclable at the end of their
useful life; this concept is the opposite of the current "planned
obsolescence".
Water
Conservation (reduce, reuse, recycle) must be an essential
element in any water policy. Similarly, the principle of
bioregionalism - living within the means of a region's natural
resources - should give direction to future water policies.
Like the oxygen we breath, the water we drink is an essential of
life. We must have a reliable water supply and it must be
unpolluted. The present drought in California has shown that we
need to reorder our priorities to assure that we always have a
sufficient water supply for our essential needs. Water tables in
many parts of the nation, including California, are dropping
drastically. At the same time, they are being polluted by
chemical farming and the dumping of industrial wastes.
The Green Party calls for measures to protect and conserve our
water supply:
+ Conservation must be an essential element in a viable water
policy.
+ We must legally mandate that water efficient appliances be used
in new construction and encourage modification of existing
appliances to be more water efficient.
+ We should design drought-tolerant landscaping.
+ We should install household equipment to collect rainwater.
+ We should make full use of gray water and reclaimed water
systems using solar aquaculture water treatment methods. We
should install dual piping systems: pure water for drinking and
washing, and reclaimed water for lawn watering and similar
purposes. We should investigate the possibility of reclaiming
water to potable levels.
+ We should pre-treat industrial wastes to eliminate the presence
of metals, solvents and other toxins in sewer water . This would
allow the more complete reclamation and reuse of sludge.
+ We should eliminate storm drain pollution of the ocean through
education, enforcement of bans against toxic dumping into storm
drains and treatment near outflow to allow for reclamation.
+ We should eliminate water subsidies for agriculture. Higher
water prices would give agribusiness an incentive to conserve.
+ We should use drip irrigation systems in agriculture and
landscaping.
+ We should authorize desalinization processes only if they are
powered by renewable energy resources.
+ We should establish community organizations to monitor water
tables, determine and regulate draw, and to oversee the
enforcement of restrictions.
Protection of the Atmosphere
A healthy atmosphere is essential in maintaining human and animal
health. The atmosphere must be protected and restored.
The Earth's protective ozone layer is being depleted by
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone-destroying chemicals.
This has already resulted in an increase in cancer-causing
ultraviolet radiation. The extent of this ozone destruction has
been confirmed by data from satellites and is far greater than
most experts had predicted. Doctors fear a serious increase in
skin cancers and related disorders.
Our fossil-fuel dependent lifestyle releases huge quantities of
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cattle release large
quantities of methane. These and other gasses tend to trap the
earth's heat and prevent it from being radiated back into space.
This contributes to a gradual destabilization of the earth's
climate (the warming trend known as the greenhouse effect).
Fragile ecological systems cannot adapt quickly enough to survive
expected climate changes. Damage to the crop producing capacity
of many agricultural areas will lead to widespread hunger.
Global warming could also lead to a dangerous rise in sea levels.
The Green Party demands that these dangers be countered:
+ The U.S. Government must ban the use of CFCs and other ozone
destroying products. Environmentally safe alternatives exist for
most purposes.
+ The U.S. should legislate the reduction of its carbon dioxide
emissions to 35% of 1990 levels by the year 2005.
+ We should cooperate with the rest of the world in reducing the
use of fossil fuels by large scale conservation and by converting
to safe, renewable energy sources.
+ The U.S. should implement the provisions of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The U.S.
should work on other international agreements to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions.
+ Deforestation must be halted. Global warming is aggravated by
deforestation since plant life, primarily forests, breaks up CO2
through photosynthesis. We must undertake domestic and
international reforestation programs to help preserve the
atmosphere.
+ The U.S. should establish an environmental trust fund with money
raised from pollution fees and other public revenues. The fund
should be administered by an appropriate governmental agency and
used to assist programs such as reforestation, conversion to
non-polluting energy sources and the development of substitutes
for ozone-destroying substances.
Ocean Protection
Our oceans, with their enormous diversity of life and function,
are essential to life on Earth and must be preserved.
Yet today the oceans are threatened by both governments and
businesses who want to exploit ocean resources without
considering the consequences. Exploitation of undersea mineral
wealth is often done without regard for the environmental damage
to land and sea. Greed and indiscriminate harvesting techniques
lead to needless devastation of marine species. Ocean vessels
contaminate the sea through leaks large and small and the dumping
of their refuse with impunity. Whole oceans are threatened with
radioactive contamination by ships transporting weapons grade
plutonium and by oceanic testing of nuclear weapons. The oceans
are further contaminated by heavily polluted streams and rivers
and undersea toxic dump sites with secret contents.
The Green Party demands that the oceans be protected:
+ The U.S. Government should sign the Laws of the Sea Treaty which
establishes the global sharing of ocean resources.
+ The U.S. Government should sign the National Oceans Protection
Act (H.R. 989) which would ban offshore drilling to a distance of
50 to 175 miles from U.S. shores.
+ We support the California Sanctuary Act (A.B. 10) which calls
for the permanent protection of State waters.
+ We should establish environmental standards for ocean-going
vessels.
+ We should ban the ocean transportation of nuclear and toxic
wastes.
+ We should map undersea toxic dump sites and ,where possible,
recover and treat the toxic wastes.
+ We should ban drift-net fishing, a practice that
indiscriminately kills marine mammals and other species not
intended for the catch. We should ban the importing of fish and
fish products from countries that use drift-nets.
+ We should ban the importing of coral products and the
destruction of breakwaters which are necessary to protect dying
reefs.
Forestry Practices
Forests are indispensable to human and animal life and must be
protected.
Vast forests once covered most land. They moderate the Earth's
climate and provide habitats for myriad species of wildlife. The
Earth's remaining forests are a critical resource in that useful
products, especially medicines, originate in the forest. Today's
global market economy, in the hands of multi-national
corporations, irresponsibly uses and often destroys this valuable
and irreplaceable resource.
The governments of many countries are selling off their rain
forest land to cattle growers for the production of cheap beef,
most of which is exported to First World countries such as the
U.S. Unsuitable rain forest land is also given to subsistence
farmers who, in a few seasons, ruin the soil, while in the
meantime landowners hoard prime agricultural land for
speculation. In California, on both state and federal lands,
trees are harvested and the raw logs are exported, thus exporting
jobs.
The Green Party demands that our forests be protected:
+ We must overhaul California and U.S. Forest Service rules to
protect our forests and use them wisely.
+ We must review, reform and restructure all Federal and State
land-use policies so that our practices become environmentally
sustainable and will provide a continuing supply of high quality
wood products.
+ We must ban the harvest of Ancient Forests.
+ We must ban the export of raw logs and other minimally processed
forest practices, (i.e., pulp, chips, carts, slabs, etc.) which
cost American jobs.
+ We should offer subsidies to local watershed-based mills which
maximize employment opportunities through value-adding
processing, demonstrated sustainability, and worker control.
+ We should use work projects, goats, and similar methods to
control undergrowth rather than spraying herbicides, especially
near communities.
+ We should grow and use hemp as a plentiful and renewable
resource for the manufacture of paper and other forest products.
+ We should protect significant archaeological, historical and
cultural sites.
+ We should support the rights of indigenous rain forest people to
their ecologically sound use of rain forests, such as rubber
extraction, nut gathering and the gathering of medicinal herbs.
We should end the importation of rain forest beef.
+ We should forgive the debts of Third World countries that need
help in halting the destruction of their rain forest lands. (See
also "Third World Debt" plank)
+ We should develop labels that identify ecologically sound forest
products. This would help consumers to support ecologically
sound forestry.
+ We must maintain and restore values such as the protection of
wildlife habitats, fisheries, biodiversity, scenery and
recreation. We must accept responsibility for the effect local
actions have on the global economy and ecology.
Organic Farming/Ecologically Sustainable Agriculture
Ecological wisdom demands that we practice a sustainable
agriculture that conserves water, soil and energy and results in
a minimum of pollution.
However, the bulk of our current agriculture consists of
large-scale agribusiness that relies heavily on the use of
chemical biocides and fertilizers, as well as economic subsidies.
It mines water resources to grow monoculture crops and to raise
grain-fed animals in factory farms. The system has resulted in
the loss of half the nation's topsoil, pollution of ground water
and waterways, a massive waste of water and energy and a decline
in the nutritional quality of our food. This agricultural system
is not sustainable.
The Green Party demands that we convert to a more environmentally
sound agriculture:
+ We should encourage small-scale family farms, polyculture crops
and regional food supplies. We should discourage large-scale
agribusiness and the transportation of food over long distances
to its markets.
+ We should encourage agricultural colleges to teach organic and
sustainable farming methods. Schools like the University of
California Agricultural Extension should perform research in
organic farming methods and should research integrated pest
management as a way to replace our present emphasis on chemical
biocides and fertilizers.
+ We should ban the development of plant varieties that are
tolerant of increased levels of chemical biocides. We should end
genetic engineering in agriculture and the release of genetically
engineered organisms into the environment.
+ We should place pollution fees on fertilizers and use the
revenue from these taxes to clean up pollution from the use of
fertilizers.
+ We should ban the importation of products treated with chemicals
banned in the U.S. and those grown with slash and burn farming
methods.
+ We should replant stands of trees as windbreaks to curb topsoil
loss and to prevent future dust bowls.
+ We should educate the public to increase its acceptance of
organic produce rather than favoring appearance-enhanced produce
grown with biocides.
Biocides (Pesticides/Herbicides/Fungicides)
Ecological wisdom demands an end to methods of pest and weed
control which poison the earth, disrupt ecosystems, and threaten
both the health of people and other living things.
Massive biocide use is a failed policy perpetuated by
agribusiness and the chemical industry. These businesses value
profits over human and ecological health. The more biocides are
used, the more target organisms develop resistance to them.
Biological controls are disrupted. Pesticides directly endanger
farm workers, neighboring populations and wildlife and ultimately
also consumers. Aerial spraying is particularly dangerous since
it results in a wider distribution of the poisons involved.
The Green Party demands a rapid curtailment of pesticide use:
+ We should quickly phase out biocide use. Sustainable, organic
pest control methods should be substituted.
+ We should immediately halt the aerial spraying of biocides. We
should halt biocide spraying by cities, school boards, Caltrans
and other government agencies. We should immediately stop the
spraying of herbicides by state and national departments of
forestry, especially near human communities.
+ We should establish neighborhood groups acting in concert with
government agencies to monitor local pesticide use. The
California EPA should investigate violations in biocide use, with
appropriate public oversight provisions to diminish bias from
government and industry. The EPA should improve standards by
which it determines the safety of chemicals allowed on the
market.
+ Pesticides that are illegal in the U.S. should not be exported
to other countries.
Toxic Wastes
We must adopt attitudes and practices that respect the rights of
present and future generations to a healthy environment. Toxic
waste poisons the ecosystem, rendering it unhealthy and often
unliveable.
Through pollution, toxic wastes and radioactive contamination,
our society is seriously damaging our environment. Once toxic
materials are released into the environment it is difficult, and
sometimes impossible, to contain or neutralize them. EPA
standards for the control of toxins are inadequate, poorly
enforced, and allow for the export of known toxins to other
countries. The identification and clean-up of toxic sites, even
critical superfund sites, are severely inadequate.
The Green Party demands an aggressive policy to control and
counter toxins:
+ We must develop alternatives to toxins so that we can eliminate
their use.
+ Toxins must be contained and neutralized at their point of use.
Once the toxins are introduced into the environment, controlling
them becomes difficult or impossible.
+ Companies convicted of dumping toxins should be fined more than
it would have cost them to neutralize the poisons in the first
place.
+ We should apply a standard of "dangerous until proven safe" to
questionable substances, with the burden of proof on
manufacturers and industrial users rather than on the public.
+ Toxic wastes on military and industrial sites must be cleaned
up. Companies hired to perform toxic clean-ups must be able to
show that they have not previously profited from the production,
supply or use of those substances. Companies that previously
profited should be required to perform clean-up services at cost.
In the case of military sties, at least 50% of the clean-up costs
should be borne by the companies that supplied the toxins, with
government funds from the military budget to be used for the
balance.
+ We must set and enforce stringent standards through a
revitalized EPA. We must not let businesses influence or hinder
the EPA's work.
+ Community-based system should be developed to identify and
organize "neighborhoods at risk" and to initiate action to
counter pollution.
+ A healthy environment is the right of everyone regardless of
income. Poor communities should no longer be convenient
locations for toxic dumping. This practice (toxic racism)
violates the principles of the Environmental Justice movement.
Nuclear Contamination
Greens seek the healthiest possible environment with a minimum of
nuclear contamination bequeathed to future generations.
Ionizing radiation is inherently injurious to life. While
unavoidable background levels of radiation exist, further
releases of radioactivity into the environment must be minimized.
Any increase in radiation, no matter how small, causes damage to
living organisms.
Historically, nuclear fission was developed for military
purposes, first in the second world war and then during the cold
war. Nuclear power was a spin-off useful in providing materials
for building nuclear weapons and as an ideological justification
for the nuclear industry. It also served to make nuclear fission
appear more benevolent. In fact, nuclear power is neither cheap
nor safe.
The mining, use and disposal of nuclear materials, (all parts of
the cycle), pose enormous dangers for people and animals, air,
water and soil. Some radioactive contamination, like that around
Chernobyl, will remain in the environment for millennia.
The Green Party demands that nuclear contamination be minimized:
+ We must immediately put a stop to uranium mining.
+ We must immediately stop the production of nuclear weapons.
Nationally and globally we should dismantle existing nuclear
weapons and plan for the safe storage of the radioactive
materials involved.
+ We should prevent nuclear proliferation. We should ratify the
global Comprehensive Test Ban (CTB).
+ We should rapidly phase out the production of electricity by
nuclear power plants. We must repudiate the National Energy
Strategy (NES) that calls for the construction of 200 new nuclear
reactors.
+ We should curtail the medical profession's overuse of
radioactive isotopes in its diagnostic and treatment procedures.
+ We should recycle medical radioactive materials rather than dump
them. We should develop storage-to-decay alternatives for
medical wastes.
+ We must ban the shallow burial of radioactive wastes and ban
their incineration. We must develop methods to achieve
long-term, safe storage of radioactive wastes. We should
emphasize transportable above-ground, dry-cask storage of such
wastes for easy monitoring and handling.
+ We should require all nuclear material generators to be
responsible for the safe containment of their radioactive wastes.
+ We should establish strong criminal penalties for radioactive
contamination of the environment.
+ We must allow no deregulation concerning radioactive wastes that
might permit their dumping in community landfills or even their
use in consumer products. We must prevent the construction of
unsafe disposal sites, like the proposed Ward Valley dump, for
so-called low level wastes. Nuclear wastes considered BRC (Below
Regulatory Concern) must be reclassified on the basis of far more
stringent environmental standards.
+ We must develop independent radiation monitoring networks for
all industrial and military nuclear facilities.
+ We should stop all irradiation of food products.
Energy
Conservation should be an essential element of any energy policy:
reduce, reuse, recycle. We need ecologically sound and
economically viable energy sources.
Our current energy practices rely on fossil fuels that pollute
the atmosphere and encourage dependence on foreign suppliers and
nuclear generators which produce radioactive wastes that will
remain a potential hazard for millennia. If we don't act soon,
our environment may deteriorate beyond a point where it can be
saved.
The Green Party demands a radical change in our energy policies:
+ We should begin the phase-out fossil fuels as an energy source.
As quickly as possible, we should convert to renewable energy
sources for our all our energy needs.
+ Through subsidies and incentives, we should encourage the
development of such renewable energy sources as passive and
active solar energy, biomass, ocean, wind and small scale hydro
energy sources.
+ We should establish high energy efficiency standards for
lighting and home appliances.
+ We should increase the efficiency of our buildings and
industrial technologies to reduce the demand for energy. Through
tax incentives, we should encourage energy conservation and
renewable energy use in the design of new buildings, and similar
incentives for retrofitting existing structures.
+ We should eliminate subsidies, tax benefits and research funding
to corporations and businesses that use non-renewable energy
sources.
+ We should enact legislation at the State level to encourage
decentralized public ownership and democratic control of our
energy system. We should emphasize planning to achieve the
lowest overall cost.
Transportation
We need ecologically sound forms of transportation that minimize
pollution and maximize energy efficiency.
A major source of atmospheric pollution is the fossil fueled car
which releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
This mode of transport is inefficient, costly and environmentally
destructive.
The Green Party demands that we develop alternatives:
+ We should develop high gas mileage and solar, electric and other
non-fossil fuel powered vehicles for local travel.
+ We should schedule an increase in Corporate Average Fuel Economy
(CAFE) standards to 60 MPG for cars and 45 MPG for light trucks
by the year 2010. We should abolish presidential ability to
override these goals. We should legislate a "gas guzzler" tax on
new vehicles that get a lower MPG than the CAFE and offer "gas
sipper" rebates for vehicles that get a higher MPG.
+ We should encourage the choice of human powered transportation,
including bicycles. We should establish bicycle lanes. We
should provide free transportation of bicycles on public transit.
We should provide free public storage lockers for bicycles and
free showers for cyclists wherever possible.
+ We should establish multi-zoning in communities so that people
can live within walking distance of their work and provide
incentives for them to do so.
+ We should locate services like stores, restaurants and laundries
so that most people can easily access them on foot or by bicycle.
+ We should emphasize affordable mass transit systems. They could
be partly subsidized with revenues from taxes on non-efficient
vehicles and on gasoline. Mass-transit should be more economical
to use than private vehicles.
+ We should discourage unnecessary auto use by eliminating free
parking in non-residential areas that are well served by public
transportation.
+ We should encourage mass transportation, including light and
heavy rail for long distance travel. We should de-emphasize air
travel.
+ For freight transportation, we should emphasize the use of light
and heavy rail.
+ We should levy a substantially increased tax on gasoline that
would more accurately reflect its true cost - that is the costs
of the undesirable affects on the environmental and society (See
also the "Economic Measurement" plank). These tax increases
should be incremental with the availability of high mileage cars.
Some compensatory provision should be made for the impact on low
income drivers.
+ We should eliminate subsidies for airlines and airports.
+ We should maintain variable toll fees that would be lower for
cars containing more than two people. Similarly, we should
establish variable parking fees based on the number of passengers
per vehicle.
+ We should require businesses of 100 or more employees to help
their employees to achieve a minimum base ridership per vehicle
(for example, 1.5 to 2.5). Through the use of gas tax revenues,
we should subsidize businesses in buying solar, electric and
other environmentally benign fueled vehicles for their employees'
use.
Urban Land Use
Undeveloped lands, wilderness and agricultural lands are
necessary for the ecological sustainability of the Earth and must
be preserved. Thus, growth must be planned to minimize impact on
these precious resources.
Because the Earth is a closed system, it cannot tolerate
unrestrained growth without serious environmental consequences.
Yet growth and development are often seen as desirable in
themselves. But the consequences of this over-development are
environmental destruction as areas exceed their natural carrying
capacities.
The Green Party demands that we preserve agricultural and
wilderness lands:
+ We should implement the ideas and principles of the ECO CITIES
movement.
+ We should encourage high density communities as one way to
prevent urban sprawl into agricultural and wilderness areas.
+ An increase in the population density of cities should be
preceded by appropriate infrastructure developments to facilitate
public transit travel, shopping, recycling and other functions as
much as possible.
+ We should plan these high density communities so that they are
comparable with desirable social goals. We should retain open
spaces, parklands and greenbelts as components of all development
plans so as to maintain a high quality of life.
+ Schools and places of employment should be located within easy
walking or bicycle commuting distances from residences, or along
mass transit lines.
+ We should use water treatment and closed-loop sewage treatment
systems wherever possible.
+ We should encourage urban development which uses solar and other
alternative energy sources.
+ We must stabilize the size of the American population and we
must limit American consumption levels.
Wildlife
Our continuing destruction of animal habitats threatens an
ever-growing number of species with extinction. This not only
deprives these species of their existence, but will deprive
future human generations of the enrichment of having these
species on the Earth. As Greens, we believe that humanity should
share the planet with all its other species.
For this reason, we emphasize the importance of protecting
endangered species and their habitats. All policies concerning
human settlement, food, energy, natural resources, water (fresh
and saline), coastal development and industrialization should be
formulated to prevent further disruption of the non-human
ecosystems' ability to maintain themselves.
The Green Party advocates policies to defend wildlife:
+ When planning economic developments, we should ensure the
protection of native animals and plants in their natural
surroundings.
+ The government should work to sponsor and re-establish habitats
for wildlife, instead of practicing game species management for
maximum sustainable yields.
+ We should reintroduce native species to areas from which they
have been eradicated.
+ We should eliminate predator control on public lands and
reintroduce native predators where they would contribute to a
viable ecosystem.
+ We should stop any further drainage of wetlands and any further
development of shore areas.
+ We should strengthen the Endangered Species Act and eliminate
the presidentially-appointed committee ("God Squad") which has
the power to order species into extinction.
Animal Farming
Animal farming must be practiced in an ethically and
environmentally responsible way.
The current treatment of animals on American farms is
unacceptable for ethical, environmental and health reasons. More
than half of the water used for all purposes and 80% of all the
grain grown in the U.S. is consumed by livestock. Animal farming
is a major contributor to water pollution and the greenhouse
effect through the vast amounts of animal waste and methane
released into the environment.
Grazing on public lands - so called "welfare ranching" because it
is largely subsidized by taxpayers - is causing serious damage to
ecosystems throughout the Western states. The factory farming of
cattle, sheep and poultry is an extremely cruel, wasteful,
unhealthy and polluting form of agriculture. Animals are kept in
overcrowded, unnatural and unsanitary conditions, causing severe
physical and psychological suffering. These conditions also
cause diseases so the animals have to be given antibiotics to
counteract them. They are also given hormones to induce rapid
growth.
American consumption of large amounts of animal products causes
much of our society's cancer, heart disease and other
degenerative diseases. In the interests of the environment,
health and non-violence, we encourage individuals to adopt a
vegetarian, or even strict vegetarian ("vegan") lifestyle.
The Green Party advocates a humane treatment of farm animals:
+ We should rapidly phase out factory farming, as other countries
are already doing.
+ We should prohibit feedlots, inhumane treatment of food animals
and the routine use of hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals,
such as genetically engineered compounds like BVT for cows.
+ We should ban the genetic manipulation of farm animals.
+ We should ban the exportation of live animals for overseas
slaughter.
+ We should regulate the domestic transportation and slaughter of
animals to insure humane treatment.
+ We should transfer the responsibility for enforcing animal
welfare laws from the Department of Agriculture to an agency
specifically created to protect animals and the environment.
+ We should eliminate all government subsidies, including water
subsidies, that go to the meat, poultry and dairy industries.
+ We should terminate permits that allow livestock grazing on
public lands.
+ We should initiate public education to encourage people to
reduce their consumption of animal foods, including information
on healthy vegetarian diets. We should make vegetarian meals
available at all public institutions including primary and
secondary schools.
Ethical Treatment of Animals
As Greens we replace the traditional western belief that our
species is the center of creation, and that other life forms
exist only for our use and enjoyment, with an ethic that reveres
all life. We don't believe that our species has a right to
exploit and inflict violence on other creatures simply because we
have the desire and power to do so. Our ethic upholds not only
the value of biological diversity, and the integrity and
continuity of species, but also the value of individual lives and
the interest of individual animals.
Throughout history, humanity has exploited other animal species
with enormous brutality. We have rationalized this through the
belief that the rest of creation has been placed here only for
our benefit.
For too long our society has accepted the medical establishment's
claim that animal experimentation is necessary, but a lot of
evidence shows that not only do alternative testing methods exist
but they might, in fact, be safer and more effective in promoting
human health. Animal experimentation is an unnecessary
ineffective, and inappropriate research method which must be
terminated.
The Green Party advocates a truly humane treatment of animals:
+ We must rapidly phase out all animal experimentation.
+ We must rechannel the billions of dollars disbursed annually by
the National Institutes of Health for animal experiments into
direct health care, preventive medicine and biomedical research
using non-animal procedures such as clinical, epidemiological and
cell culture research.
+ We must immediately outlaw the use of animals for consumer
product testing, tobacco and alcohol testing, psychological
testing, classroom demonstrations and dissections, weapons
development and other military programs.
+ Government should mandate the clear labeling of products to tell
whether they have been tested on animals and whether they contain
any animal products or by-products.
+ We should establish procedures to develop greater public
scrutiny of all animal research. The areas to be controlled
should include the welfare of laboratory animals and a halt to
wasteful public funding of unnecessary research, such as
duplicative experiments.
+ We must immediately end the abuse of animals, including farm
animals, and strengthen our enforcement of existing laws.
+ We must immediately outlaw all commercial fur ranching and
trapping and the use of goods produced from exotic or endangered
animals.
+ We should prohibit large scale commercial breeding facilities,
such as "puppy mills," because of the massive suffering,
overpopulation and ill health such facilities produce.
+ State and municipal governments should subsidize spay and neuter
clinics to combat the ever worsening pet overpopulation problem
which results in the killing of millions of animals every year.
Where unwanted companion animals are being killed in shelters, we
advocate mandatory spay and neuter laws.
+ We should ban the exploitation of animals in entertainment and
sports, such as dog and horse racing, dog and cock fighting, fox
hunting, hare coursing, rodeos, circuses and other such
spectacles.
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--
== John J. Ladasky II ("ii") =========================
[email protected] ==
"Great composers do not borrow - "Talking about music is like
they steal." - John Ladasky ~ - dancing about architecture."
(quote stolen from Stravinsky, who o o - Elvis Costello? Laurie
stole it from a statement made by > Anderson? Frank Zappa?
Pablo Picasso about painting, who \_/ -------------------------------
stole it from...) "Property is theft." - Groucho
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"A man w/o charity in his heart - what has he to do with music?" - Confucius
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