************** GreenGram ************** The Green Party of NJ Monthly Bulletin April 1998 issue "Eventually everybody will vote Green in some way, but meanwhile someone has to start now. Why not work for a party that represents the future? As Woody Guthrie sang: 'This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York island!'" -- Pete Seeger - Disque and Williams gathering signatures to run for Freeholder - Green Party outlines budget priorities - Greens demonstrate against revision of organic standards - Proposals for consideration at the Annual Convention - Draft of a position paper on reform of the federal tax code - Hoffman speaks at anti-nuclear rally in Connecticut - Community sustainability and self reliance in the global age - From the counties - New York Green Party to run gubernatorial campaign - California earthquake - Endnotes CALENDAR (contact e-mail and phone number information is listed once, the first time the contact appears in the schedule) April 4: The New Jersey Greens will participate in the Children's Peace Fair at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, NJ from 11:00AM to 5:00PM. The Children's Peace Fair aims to share with young people messages of understanding, cooperation and ways to build peace in our changing society. Contact Rena Amada (732-849- 9050). April 4, 9:00am: Green Party Executive Committee meeting at 21 W. Pierrepont Avenue, Rutherford. Contact Gary Novosielski (201-507- 5477; gpn@bigfoot.com). April 5, 5:00pm: The Middlesex/Somerset Greens will meet at Tumulty's Pub, 261 George Street, New Brunswick. Contact Bill Colucci (732-247-4855; Cyrano@TheThinker.com) or Mark Grieco (732-545-5187). April 5: Organizational meeting toward the establishment of a Green Party local in Sussex County. Contact Harold Lewis (973- 827-9197; grunwald@nji.com). April 5, 4:00pm: The Global Cinema Cafe presents: "When the Mountain Trembles," a stirring documentary about the struggle of the Guatemalan people who suffered under a brutal military regime for 35 years. The film features testimony by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Rigoberta Menchu. Labor rights organizer Sebastian Quinac, a Mayan Kaqchikel, will introduce the film and lead a discussion following the screening. Free admission. Location: Third World Center of Princeton University, corner of Olden Street and Prospect Avenue, Princeton. Info: 609-497-3998. April 5, 6:30pm: Utne Salon at 1303 Revere Road, Yardley, PA. Topic: "Intentional Communities." Info: 215-493-4104. April 6, 7:00pm: Organizer's Meeting at 49 Park Street, Montclair. A report will be presented on the race for City Council in Newark, particularly the efforts of a politically independent candidate, Manny Lavin. Contact Madelyn Hoffman (973- 252-0797; OrganizerGPNJ@juno.com) or Joe Fortunato (973-744-5958; JFortun845@aol.com). April 13, 7:00pm: Organizer's Meeting at 49 Park Street, Montclair. Contact Joe or Madelyn. April 14, 6:30pm to 8:00pm: Anti-nuclear rally to oppose reopening of Salem I Nuclear Power Plant and to attempt to convince Cape May County Freeholders to stop purchasing power from PSE&G once utility deregulation takes effect. at Cape May County Freeholder Building --All are urged to attend! (GSP South to first traffic light. Make a left and first left onto service road. Administration Building is on your right.) Email norco@bellatlantic.net for more information. April 18, 9:00am to 4:30pm: Green Party's Second Annual Convention at the Labor Education Center in New Brunswick. See details below. April 18: NJ Environmental Federation Conference: "Our Water, Our Health, Our Future." At the Cancer Institute of NJ, New Brunswick. Info: 732-280-8988. (Those attending the NJEF Conference should consider taking some time to stop over at the Green Party convention across town!) April 22: Final ELEC hearing on public financing for gubernatorial campaigns. The hearing will begin promptly at 11:15am at the ELEC offices in Trenton, 28 West State Street. If you are interested in testifying, contact ELEC at 609-292-8700. Also, contact Madelyn Hoffman at 973-252-0797 for information about a possible press conference prior to the hearing. April 22, 10:00am: "Jobs and the Environment: A Dialogue with Robert Wages, National President, OCAW (Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union). At the UAW Hall, 14 Commerce Drive, Cranford. Info: 609-695-7100. April 23, 10:00am to 3:00pm: Montclair State University's Earth Day Celebration -- the New Jersey Greens will have a table at this event. Contact Stuart Hutchison (hutch@gpnj.org) to volunteer your time at the table. April 23-25: Fourth Mid-Atlantic Environmental Conference at Ramapo College, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, New Jersey. At the Saturday session (April 25) Paul Mayer and Madelyn Hoffman will facilitate and respond to a presentation by Ward Morehouse of Corporations, Law and Democracy on the Multilateral Agreement on Investments. For advance registration call 914-658-9120 or contact Tula Tsalis at ttsalis@igc.apc.org. May 1, 7:00pm: Labor Arts Festival at the American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark, 83 Norwood Street, Haledon. Exhibit: "Global Visions: The International Agitprop Art of Mike Alewitz." Followed by an outdoor festival featuring the NJ Industrial Union Council's "Solidarity Singers"; actor Marvin Jefferson portraying Paul Robeson in a one-man show. The Eco- Chorale may be performing. Info: 973-595-7953. May 3, 4:00pm: The Global Cinema Cafe presents: "Out of Work," the first-ever documentary about gay men and lesbians on the job. Filmmakers Kelly Anderson and Tami Gold present compelling and inspiring stories of common individuals who perform uncommon acts of resistance in the face of discrimination. Presented at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. Free admission. Location: Third World Center of Princeton University, corner of Olden Street and Prospect Avenue, Princeton. Info: 609-497-3998. May 6, 7:30pm: Monthly meeting of the Mercer County Greens. Contact Nick Mellis (609-393-4349; yesman@pluto.njcc.com). ---------------------------------------------------------- DISQUE AND WILLIAMS GATHERING SIGNATURES TO RUN FOR FREEHOLDER County Coordinators Fred Disque (Burlington) and Paul Williams (Atlantic) are gathering signatures to get on the November ballot as the Green Party candidates for Freeholder in their respective counties. Greens from around the state are encouraged to help out with the petition drives. Paul is planning to kick off his campaign with a press conference in front of Price's Pit, the Superfund site and former toxic waste dump that remains such an environmental hazard and eyesore in Atlantic County. He will continue to promote the "Unplug Salem" campaign, the effort to keep the Nuclear Regulatory Commission from re-opening the Salem I reactor. And he will use his campaign as a forum to point out how the Atlantic City casinos are thriving while the A.C. school system is certainly not. The quality of education could easily be upgraded if the casinos were taxed fairly. Fred's candidacy will address the following issues: . Preservation of open space in urban areas: The people of Burlington County have voted to levy a special purpose tax on themselves in order to preserve farmland and open space. So far the Republican Freeholders in power have been reluctant to spend any of the tax money in urban areas and have given the lions share to rich farmers in northern Burlington County. . Eliminate county sanctioned pollution: The county complex in Mount Holly is by far the loudest noise polluter in the area. The county composting site has been a center of contention for the people of north-central Burlington County since it was installed. . Put in place infrastructure impact fees: In Burlington County builders throw up huge tracts of housing then take the money and run, leaving the community to cope with the massive problems of traffic congestion, trash collection, providing schools, police protection and a number of other physical and social problems. Builders should be made to help pay for these services before they put in place a single house. . Save Burlington Island: An unholy axis of builders, short sighted city managers and shady politicians want to build a golf course on the 400 acres of a low and wet island in the middle of the Delaware River. I oppose this plan and contend that the freeholders should use open space money to preserve this island. . Find public funding to support day care centers: I believe that there should be a day care center in every elementary school in the county. Need should determine the final number of schools necessary to support this program. The county must provide safe and low cost day care, not only for working families, but also for the children whose parents are being kicked off of welfare. . Stop the transfer of affordable housing quotas: Rich and ruthless communities in Burlington County are trying to pay poor communities to take over their affordable housing quotas. I believe that this practice is not only a violation of the spirit of the law, it will do the reverse of what the low cost housing law intended. GREEN PARTY OUTLINES BUDGET PRIORITIES On Wednesday, March 25, Rena Amada of the Ocean County Greens testified in Trenton before the State Senate at the public hearing on the Fiscal Year 1999 State Budget. She emphasized that the current budget is built on the shoulders of the average taxpayer and that upcoming policy changes and repayment of current debt promise to increase that burden. For the sake of fiscal responsibility, environmental integrity, and future generations, the Greens challenge both Democrat and Republican elected officials to: (a) Establish clear and justifiable priorities for public spending. Instead of corporate welfare, public funds should be used to protect the environment, preserve open space, build decent, affordable housing and fund vital social service and community programs; (b) Cut taxes with innovative, equitable tax alternatives and shift the burden off low to moderate income residents onto the very rich and the corporations; (c) Find an equitable solution to the problem of making payments into the state pension fund when the revenues from the bond sales are no longer available. "Although the 1997 gubernatorial campaign is behind us, not so are some of the issues raised during that campaign, " said Ms. Amada. "Where are those who continue to point out that this budget is built upon economic wizardry, instead of common sense fiscal responsibility, that the benefits of an income tax cut were more than offset by a rise in property tax and an increase in user fees and that the budget still favors big business over the needs of communities?" "While departments are either happy with their budget allocation or distressed, the fact remains that the burden for funding this budget lies overwhelmingly with the New Jersey taxpayer," added Madelyn Hoffman, former Green Party candidate for Governor. "This burden may become even heavier as the consequences of the $2.8 billion bond sale come home to roost and heavier still, if the state goes ahead and "bails out" the garbage incinerator industry." The Green Party supports those organizations who are working desperately to prevent the state from "bailing out" the incinerator industry in the form of low-to-no interest loans or through the imposition of a garbage tax and those who would like to see that consumers don't pay for the so-called "stranded investments" of the nuclear power industry once utility deregulation is implemented. GREENS DEMONSTRATE AGAINST PROPOSED REVISION OF ORGANIC STANDARDS As mentioned in our last issue, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing new "organic" standards aimed at validating many non-organic practices. If the standards pass, American citizens will be denied the right of informed choice. Among the proposed changes are an acceptance of: food irradiation, use of sludge fertilizer, animal cannibalism, factory farming methods, and genetic engineering. While these are current practices in large, corporate agriculture, many small to mid-size organic farming enterprises eschew these practices and have established a growing market for true organic produce. In the past 3 years, organic farming has grown from a $1 billion to a $3.5 billion industry. At USDA hearings held on March 5 at Livingston College of Rutgers University in Piscataway, the Greens from New Jersey and New York participated in a press conference and rally, as part of the Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture. Madelyn Hoffman testified at the hearings on behalf of the Green Party of New Jersey. Below are excerpts from her remarks: "The Green Party stands in firm opposition to the USDA's proposed changes. We charge the giants of agribusiness with using our government to interfere with the free market and to undermine the credibility of small to mid-size organic farming enterprises. These standards amount to no more than a rubber stamp on the already unsustainable, cruel, and unhealthy practices of corporate agriculture. If adopted, they will undermine consumer choice in the market and strip existing organic farms of credibility. "It is not enough that American agribusiness seeks to endanger our health and environment, they also seek access to lucrative overseas markets. Despite the fact that most European nations will not purchase US organic produce if these standards pass, these corporations will push the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations to integrate the USDA standards into international rules currently under development. This, in turn, provides the basis for a discrimination suit through the WTO once Europeans reject our produce. "Multinational trade agreements have paved the way for lowering standards and usurpation of our rights. They permit the entry of produce with quality far below even our poor standards and attempt to sucker the public into believing they receive more for less. They believe we are blind to the health and environmental costs lurking in the discounts. These agreements also permit agribusiness to steamroller the rights of citizens in other nations. They become chemical warriors exporting our toxins to fields outside our borders to reap the profits of low wage labor. In turn, exposure harms the workers and residual toxins invade our diet. "Setting organic standards could benefit a movement toward sustainable agriculture by focusing wider public attention on the issues. However, the USDA cannot now provide sound regulatory practices because it is dominated by corporate desires to entrench unacceptable and unsustainable practices and control market share under false pretenses. "The USDA can make proper decisions only as an agency devoted to public welfare and open to successful alternatives to provide clean, healthy food. It must acknowledge the hard work, concern and dedication now exhibited by organic farmers and their supporters as the leading forces in the establishment of national standards. "To this end, we challenge the USDA to protect our freedom of choice by disclosing existing industry and independent studies concerning the health risks associated with all human-made or chemically-processed fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and factory-farming methods. "Finally, we call for a repeal of all "food defamation" laws which hinder this type of disclosure and unconstitutionally prohibit open, public discourse on this topic." Additional comments will be accepted by the USDA until May 1. The Whole Earth Center (Nassau Street in Princeton) is inviting people to stop in during April to either call the USDA from the store at their expense or to sign a letter to the USDA that they will send in for you at their expense. As an attraction to get people into the store to do this, they will have local organic farmer Ed Lidzdarski talking about food irradiation on April 18. All bulk food will be 20% off that day and on again on Earth Day, April 22. There is a rally scheduled for April 26 at Times Square in New York City (4 PM to 6 PM). You can check out their web site at: www.ams.gov/nop or write to Eileen Stommes (below is a sample letter) Eileen S. Stommes, Deputy Administrator USDA-AMS-TM-NOP, Room 4007-So. Ag. Stop 0275 P.O. Box 96456 Washington, DC 20090-6456 Dear Ms. Stommes, I am writing in response to the proposed National Organic Standards to let you know that I do not want genetically engineered organisms, processing agents or agricultural inputs to be allowed in organic farming and handling under any circumstance -- even on a case by case basis. I also ask that you prohibit the use of irradiation, applications of sewage sludge in organic farming and handling. And, I ask that the standard for the treatment of livestock and the fee structure for certification he consistent with the recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB). Thank you for including my input in your final decision. Sincerely, Signature, date, name, address In all correspondence, refer to Docket No. TMD-94-00-2. As an alternative to the questionable health and environmental practices of corporate agribusiness, Greens around the country have been supporting an initiative called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) whereby local residents fund the seasonal plantings of local farmers with pre-payments for produce. A membership share gives the supporter a weekly supply of fresh (usually organic) vegetables for one seasonal fee. A new CSA outlet in New Jersey is North Slope Farm in Lambertville (north of Trenton). For more information call them at 609-466-4191. ------------------------------------------------------ (the GreenGram this month is in two parts)