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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	935
Proposal	2018 Platform Amendment Ecological Wisdom and Population
Presenter	Platform Committee: Sponsored by Platform Committee
Floor Manager	Margaret Flowers
Phase	Closed
Discussion	09/17/2018 - 10/14/2018
Voting	10/15/2018 - 10/21/2018
Result	Failed
Presens Quorum	33 0.6666
Consens Quorum	62 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

There are good planks on contraception, women’s health, and family planning under the Social Justice Section of the GP-US Platform. There is, however, a glaring lack on the issue of population under the Ecological Sustainability Section. As Greens, our Key Value of Ecological Wisdom compels us to address this issue in a more comprehensive manner. At the same time, we realize that when the Green Party addresses human population issues it must do so with an awareness that, in the past, methods to control populations have been used as a means of oppression and the consequences have fallen squarely on the shoulders of women. This proposal attempts to bring the ecological aspects of this extremely important issue into some prominence in our platform. Therefore, we propose adding the following subsection as indicated below.

Proposal

Amend Chapter III. Ecological Sustainability by adding the following new section:

N. Ecological Wisdom and Population

Unprecedented human population growth, and consumption by the affluent, aggravate global warming, environmental pollution, habitat loss, the sixth mass extinction, harmful farming practices, and the over-consumption of finite natural resources such as fresh water and arable land. The Green Party advocates a comprehensive program to address the root causes of overpopulation since it is one of the major driving forces behind the loss of ecosystems such as rain forests, temperate woodlands, coral reefs, wetlands, and Arctic ice. In addition to the planks listed in Chapter II: Social Justice I. Population, which call for the empowerment of women, voluntary family planning, easy access to contraceptives, etc., we commit to the following:

1. Promote the understanding that humans are only one strand in the web of life and that we must live in balance with All Our Relations. Support leaders who commit to stabilizing population growth through voluntary measures and the exercise of human rights in accordance with the Iroquois Confederacy’s Seventh Generation principle which considers impacts seven generations forward.
2. Empower women so they have full control of their reproductive lives. Reject “lifeboat ethics,” “eugenics,” and any form of coercion. The horrifying history of forced sterilizations of Native American, African American, Latinx, and poor women in the U.S. commits us to vigilance.
3. Develop Green educational materials for school curricula to teach that ecosystems have a carrying capacity that can't be exceeded without serious damage, that wealthy nations can only support their lifestyle by exploiting the Global South, and that it's not just numbers but population, affluence, and technologies (the I=PAT equation) that determine our impact on the ecosystem.
4. Oppose globalization policies (colonialism in a new guise), including "development" programs that push people off their land and destroy the equilibrium of self-sufficient cultures in order to force them into corporate economies and/or to enable others to attain their resources.
5. Create bio-regional maps of the U.S. that develop a “sense of place” and reconnect people to the land.
6. Support “rewilding,” habitat restoration, and biodiversity protections.

Resources

Approval of this proposal will amend the 2018 GPUS Platform

CONTACT:
Platform Committee: Bruce Hinkforth, co-chair, bhinkforth@milwpc.com, 262-569-1370; Linda Cree, co-chair, creelinda@hotmail.com, 906-942-7076; Tim Willard, Dravidic@hotmail.com

References

None

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