Introduction
The 2000 Platform of the Green Independent Party of Maine
sets forth a vision for a future based on the ten key values
of the international green movement.
Our vision is focused on a peaceful and prosperous community
life characterized by value-based grassroots democracy,
environmental and economic sustainability, fulfilling and
gainful work and leisure, and interdependence of individuals
and their environment.
This platform is an evolving document, originally envisioned
by the Maine Green Party of 1996, and changes in response to
events and developments.
The Green Independent Party of Maine shall use this document
as a guide to develop strategies and policies for moving our
values forward.
This 2000 Platform of the Green Independent Party of Maine
sets forth our vision of a new democracy, independent from
the established politics of the Democratic and Republican
parties, and one which recognizes that ecological balance in
the new millennium is a priority for the betterment of
humanity, in the State of Maine and worldwide.
The Ten Key Values
Non-Violence
Decentralization
Ecological Wisdom
Respect for Diversity
Grassroots Democracy
Social and Economic Justice
Community-Based Economics
Future Focus and Sustainability
Gender Equity/Post-Patriarchal Values/Feminism
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Economic Development
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that a healthy
economy provides the following:
Low unemployment,
Jobs with living wages and health care benefits,
Businesses which produce goods for local and regional markets,
Zero pollution standards,
A healing ecosystem, and
Clean and efficient renewable energy.
The Green Independent Party of Maine recommends economic
development through:
The creation of accessible regional and statewide
transportation systems,
Nurturing care and stewardship of the environment and
natural resources,
Assistance for low-income Mainers to move into a new
economic mainstream, and
Countering the influences of the powerful global economy.
The Green Independent Party of Maine realizes that
N.A.F.T.A., G.A.T.T., and the W.T.O. drive international
policies that strive for a global economy to the detriment
of the economy of the State of Maine, and we call upon its
citizens and politicians to counter these influences.
Agriculture, manufacturing, fisheries and forests will
continue to be diminished by efforts to feed the global
marketplace, because we believe that no biologically
renewable natural resource can survive its demands.
Maximizing good jobs, and including pollution and the
depletion of resources into the full accounting of
production costs, are green goals in economic development
decisions.
If elected, Green Independents of Maine will pursue these
policy goals:
Changing tax and incentive policies to reward businesses
which provide a living wage and employ sustainable resource
practices,
Subsidizing and retrofitting of industries to an
intermediate technology which accommodates more jobs and/or
spares the environment or saves energy,
Instituting tax penalties for businesses which allow
unfavorable employment conditions, unsafe work places, low
wages, or increased automation which reduces jobs,
Ending all non-sustainable forest practices,
Capitalizing programs which support employee buy-out and
ownership of businesses as well as support for peer group
lending and business skill assistance for micro business,
Providing economic development assistance and tax code
changes which favor Maine owned and based businesses,
Instituting tax penalties for pollution and resource
depletion,
Promoting development and use of renewable and non-polluting
heating systems and fuels,
Supporting community-supported and cooperative agricultural
ventures,
Legalizing the cultivation of hemp, and promoting the
development of new hemp-based industries, and
Redirecting turnpike revenues from tolls and taxes on
highway freight to the development of interstate rail and
alternatives to car and truck use.
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Political Democracy
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that
grassroots democracy is the only political system which can
work. We also believe that the American political system is
no longer a true democracy. We therefore intend to work to
reform Maine's political culture according to the following
goals:
The end of corporate dominance of politics,
Encouragement of a multiplicity of political parties in Maine,
Greater citizen political participation and awareness, and
The election of a true citizen legislature.
If elected, Green Independents of Maine will pursue these
policy goals:
Enacting a system of proportional representation, reflective
of the views of all citizens,
Banning all PAC, corporate and "soft" party contributions
from all political campaigns in Maine,
Setting campaign spending limits,
Mandating free political programming in place of paid
television advertising,
Protecting the Maine Clean Elections law,
Providing easier ballot access to alternative political
parties, and
Including a "None of the Above" option on the ballot for
every election.
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Education
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that public
education in the state of Maine needs to be centered around
individual growth. Community strength depends upon the
development of every individual within the community. We
believe in public education that serves the people of the
State of Maine above and beyond serving the interests of
business.
We expect public education to provide the following to all
citizens:
A learning atmosphere free of corporate advertising,
Awareness of the individual's inherent rights as citizens of
the state, country and world,
Skills to use the tools and resources required to function
in modern society,
Knowledge about the laws that govern local communities,
Freedom to explore areas of interest,
A connection to the larger community, and
A sense of personal, social and global responsibility.
The Green Independent Party of Maine is committed to:
Curricula and instruction equal to today's complex
challenges,
Dual emphasis on achieving individual potential and
cooperative problem solving,
Universal access and equity of education opportunity in a
life long context,
Democratic educational institutions in which students,
teachers, administrators, parents and others share
responsibility,
Community based decision making with neighborhood
involvement,
Support for lifelong learning for all people,
Safe and healthy learning environments, and
Equitable distribution of public funds among public schools.
We believe that the Ten Key Values serve well as a context
for this vision of a newly charged educational system in
Maine.
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Energy
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes in the
development of strategies and practices of energy use that
do not waste our resources or cause harm to our environment.
In a world of finite natural resources that can be used for
energy production, we will not survive if we continue to
consume them without regard for conservation and
sustainability. Individuals, communities, government and
industry share the responsibility for making these changes.
We believe in striving for a no-waste policy of energy
production and use.
If elected, Green Independents of Maine will pursue these
policy goals:
Establishing standards for use of energy efficient buildings
and appliance technology in new construction and
retrofitting,
Curtailing fossil fuel-based air conditioning and promoting
natural cooling/ventilation systems,
Supporting incentives to manufacturers who follow energy
conservation practices,
Reducing energy consumption in commercial lighting,
including advertising,
Recommending new construction standards which promote use of
non-toxic materials and natural lighting in commercial and
public buildings,
Actively developing the use of alternative energies,
including active and passive solar, hydrogen, wind, low-head
hydropower, alcohol, tidal, geothermal, bio-energy and
methane,
Ending subsidies of fossil und nuclear fuel use and
production, and
Supporting research efforts for increased efficiencies in
wood and fossil fuel burning technologies and nuclear waste
disposal.
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Health Care
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that the
health of all citizens is both a personal and a community
responsibility. Human health is affected by the health of
our physical environment and by our personal behavior. It is
the community's responsibility to provide a system that
supports health maintenance for all, and promotes healthy
behavioral patterns and preventative health practices.
If elected, Green Independents of Maine will pursue these
policy goals:
Establishing a state-funded single payer health care system
with basic health care for all citizens, regardless of
ability to pay,
Increasing financial support for public health,
Eliminating the emission of toxins and environmental
pollution,
Providing access to a broad range of services and
complimentary therapies,
Supporting the training and use of alternative health care
practitioners,
Ensuring individual access to regular monitoring of health,
with special attention to individuals in high risk groups,
Mandating the labeling of all foods that have been
genetically-engineered, irradiated, or foods to which
chemical pesticides have been applied,
Providing access to prescription drugs, regardless of
ability to pay, and
Funding research into causation and prevention of disease,
in addition to treatment.
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Natural Resources
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that we are
dependent on the health of our natural resources. How we
treat our natural resources is a paradigm for the health of
our society and of ourselves. Ecological wisdom, diversity,
interdependence and a long-term focus will heal our planet
and our communities. We must reassert our authority over
what is allowed into our air and water. No individuals or
companies should be allowed to destroy and poison our
natural resources for any form or gain.
We must encourage and support stewardship of the Earth. By
our examples we will teach others that not only can we make
our natural systems sustainable, but our social and economic
systems as well.
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that the
following actions must be taken:
Eliminate toxic chemical emissions,
Adopt a concrete timetable for industry (primarily pulp and
paper) to phase out completely the use of chlorine and
chlorine-based chemicals by the year 2004,
Charter only corporations that abide by their agreements to
use our resources in a sustainable manner, and revoke the
charters of those that don't,
Eliminate the use of pesticides,
Stop all burning of plastics and related materials,
including hospital incinerators,
Recycle all recyclable materials including batteries,
compost all compostables, and forbid the importation of all
radioactive waste,
Abolish all nuclear energy technology in Maine,
Ensure that Maine Yankee absorbs the full costs of
decommissioning as well as full liability for any accident
that may occur in the transportation of radioactive waste
from the site,
Manage all wildlife and plant species based on biodiversity
and the overall health of Maine's woods and waters, not on
the pressures of special interests,
Phase out all dragging, drift-netting and gill-netting,
Encourage training and hiring of out-of-work fisherman to
patrol our shores and inland waterways for sources of
pollution and illegal fishing,
Encourage the aquaculture of shellfish and seaweeds without
the use of toxic chemicals,
Require accountable waste disposal from contained salmon
farms,
Encourage fully sustainable, labor-intensive and
chemical-free forestry practices,
Consider broader offsite impacts in governmental reviews of
developments proposed for environmentally sensitive areas of
the state,
Recognize Maine's offshore marine environment as a precious
and threatened natural resource, and consider the risks
imposed upon it by human development, and
Publicly purchase available lands for the purpose of
conserving it in perpetuity as an undeveloped natural
resource.
The 2000 Green Independent Party of Maine
Plank on Social Justice
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes in the
equitable, respectful, and humane treatment of all citizens.
The Green Independent Party of Maine believes that the
following actions must be taken:
Continue to oppose the death penalty in Maine,
Strengthen and enforce laws against hate crimes of all
types, domestic violence and child abuse,
Continue to advocate for and create support systems that
provide basic needs to the people of Maine,
Oppose prejudice and discrimination in all its forms and
work toward increasing the awareness of and sensitivity to
differences among people, and
Increase funding for public attorneys.
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