Think green policy
Green Institute the only think tank on green issues in the U.S.
By Doug Malkan
Green Party of Colorado

They call it the "only national policy institute in the United States based explicitly on the values and principles of Green politics."

The Green Institute is a think tank that works on local, national and international green issues and values. The Institute shares "an eco-social analysis and vision that has spawned Green Parties in over 100 countries," though as a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization, the group is careful to state that they cannot endorse any political party or candidate.

For instance, the Green Institute recently released an article on the defeat of the proposed European Constitution in France. It's a contentious issue, with Germany and Spain voting for it and France against it. Even European Greens are split on the issue. The Institute's paper provides in-depth analysis on this complicated issue.

Last year the Institute commissioned a paper dealing with a local issue. The city of Arcata, Calif. passed an ordinance prohibiting city staff from complying with the PATRIOT Act. Bill O'Reilly featured the story on the Fox network. The Institute hopes that information about the issue might spur other cities and towns to consider passing similar measures.

At press time, the Institute was planning the release June 30 of its first foreign policy paper, "Strategic Demands of the 21st Century--A New Vision for a New World." The basic tenet is that the U.S. government has followed a policy that has undermined our security rather than increased it. The paper will be available for download on line, and printed copies will be available for $1 at the upcoming Green Party national gathering in Tulsa, Okla.

Also at the end of June, the Institute is hosting an officeholder conference in Madison, Wis. on Green policy. And in the future, the Institute has plans to become a book publisher, starting with online books and then publishing books in print. The Institute has a monthly online zine called eGP360.

Other issues the Institute plans to take on include free trade, global security, global warming, privatization of water systems, debt cancellation, alternative transportation, energy and voting reform.

Three prominent Green Party members founded the Institute in 2001: Thomas Linzey, the original legal adviser to the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP); David Cobb, former Green Party legal advisor, founder of the Green Party of Texas and Green Party presidential candidate in 2004; and Linda Martin, a member of the first steering committee of the ASGP.

"We need a new policy institute to put Green ideas in the forefront," says Dean Myerson, who serves as the organization's executive director. "Greens have been talking about a 501(c) 3 for years." The Green Party of the United States employed Myerson as its political coordinator from its founding in August 2001 until he took the job as director with the Institute in September 2003.

Information about the Green Institute, including their online magazine, is available at www.greeninstitute.net.  Information and registration for their officeholders' conference is at www.Greenpolicy.us.

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