Green Party calls House energy bill dangerously weak, urge stronger steps against global warming

Greens give a thumbs-down to the House energy bill, urge Obama and the Senate to pass stronger anti-global warming legislation

The Green Party’s national Eco-Action Committee is sharply criticizing an energy bill passed in the US House (HR 2454), calling the legislation dangerously inadequate and a concession to polluting industries.

Greens, currently preparing for the party’s 2009 annual national meeting in Durham, North Carolina, are urging the US Senate and President Obama to reject the bill and instead enact stronger policies to curb global warming.  The meeting takes place from July 23 to 26 (http://www.ncgreenparty.org/2009-ANM.html);

“The Energy Bill passed by the US House of Representatives is not a transition to a sustainable energy future,” said Audrey Clement, a Virginia Green and member of the Eco-Action Committee.  “It moves us in the wrong direction by subsidizing more coal and nuclear power, and it’’s far too weak in its support of earth-gentle renewable energies
and in its effort to reduce carbon emissions.”

Greens called the the bill’s cap on greenhouse gas emissions a fraction of what it should be and said that the cap is undermined by the allowance of annual “offsets” that allow polluters to keep polluting.  “These offsets are a handout to large corporations,” said Ms. Clement.

LI Green Sheets 7/15/09

Welcome to the LI Green Sheets
rev 7-15-09

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The LI Green Sheets is a weekly “Green Events” email service about green events and activities in our region.  If your organization or company has an event, class, meeting, seminar or program that you want LI Green’s over 5000 environmental businesspeople, activists, educators email list to know about please fill out this web form or forward information to greensheets@ligreen.com.  Include  date, time, address, event description, web link and contact information.

We also offer sponsored listings and advertisement to businesses that provide sustainability products and services.  To learn more about this great opportunity please contact Chuck Schwartz at chuck@ligreen.com or 631-721-1908.  Thanks for your company’s support

Click here to signup for the LI Green Email List.

Please forward this email to anyone that you think might be interested in it.

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Green Drinks – Green Drinks are monthly networking events for environmental professionals, educators and others held throughout Long Island

• Green Drinks North Fork - Thursday July 16th 6 to 9 pm Castello Di Borghese Winergy Route 48 (Sound Ave) and Alvah’s Lane Cutchogue New York 11935.  Click here for directions More Info www.ligreen.com/greendrinks RSVP greendrinks@ligreen.com or 631-721-1908

• Green Drinks Open House -  With Whole Foods Jericho and Greener Country Store – Monday August 10th, 5-8 PM. Jericho Commons Shopping Center, 429 North Broadway, Jericho 11743. Click Here for Directions

• Coming Soon – Watch for the dates – First annual Southampton Green Drinks “Beach Party” in Mid August,  Green Drinks Open House at the Wales Darby Energy Room,  Western Nassau County Green Drinks, Five Towns Green Drinks

Charitable Events

• Ellen’s Run – Family Event to Benefit Breast Cancer Patient Support Services.  5K race/walk.  Sun August 16th.  9 am sharp. New Location: Southampton Hospital

Live and Learn

• LONG ISLAND SOUND MEDITATION – All environmental issues are symptoms of a far deeper issue – human separation from the rest of nature.  Renew your spiritual relationship with LI Sound to find inner peace.  A shamanic-based meditation.  Older children welcome.  Peter Maniscalco guides.  Summer Sundays through Labor Day weekend.  Meet: 10:30 am, Shoreham Beach parking lot,  N. Country Rd., Shoreham.  Info: 631.874.4104.

• Sierra Club Long Island Water Sentinels Invites you to taste wine and meet LI artists Martha Clara Vineyards 6025 Sound Ave, Riverhead, NY 11901 Sunday, August 16  1:00pm – 5:00pm *Cost: $25.00 pay at door RSVP:  Linda Freilich, Coastal Waterways Chair, turton@optonline.net or Sally Anne Keller at sawatercolor@optonline.net *100% of funds go toward buying water test kits *20% of artists’ earnings pledged to the cause

• Renewable Energy Long Island (RELI) – Free public seminar on Renewable Energy, Town of East Hampton – July 30 – 6:00-8:00pm www.renewableenergylongisland.org for more info

• Green Living LI Meetup – August 6th at Bobbi-Que, 70 W Main St, Patchogue, NY 11772, 631-447-7744.  More details at
  http://www.meetup.com/Living- Green-Long-Island/calendar/ 10788718/. Michael Brylewski of Organic Cleaning in Hampton Bays will be speaking about the benefits of green cleaning your home.

• Green Living Seminars – Starflower Experiences – Speakers on a variety of ‘green living’ topics at the Melville Library on the 2nd Thursday (except July & August) 7-9 pm 516-938-6152 Email:info@ starflowerexperiences.org www.starflowerexperiences.org

• Discovering a Sense of Place Discussion Course – Starflower Experiences 516-938-6152 :info@starflowerexperiences.org This 8 session course will meet Tuesday evenings at Manor Farm. The purpose of the Discovering a Sense of Place course is:  to understand the meaning of a bioregional perspective, and what it would mean to develop one, to consider the benefits of consciously developing an intimate relationship with your place, and to explore what it might mean to protect the place where you live. Starts October 6 Download a registration flyer at www.starflowerexperiences.org.  More info at www.nwei.org

• Permaculture Design Course – Starflower Experiences 516-938-6152 :info@starflowerexperiences.org Permaculture design is a comprehensive set of principles and theories regarding sustainability.  This is an internationally recognized certification program which, upon successful completion of the course, the student is now enabled to teach and practice permaculture design. Download registration form www.starflowerexperiences.org

• Stony Brook Advanced Energy Research Center Annual Conference - If you are in any way involved in the search for innovative solutions to the world’s energy needs, then Advanced Energy 2009 is the one conference you cannot afford to miss. On November 18 & 19 the energy world will be focused on the Hyatt Regency Long Island hotel in Hauppauge, New York. Mark the dates on your calendar today! For info or to register Kathleen Ferrell at kferrell@notes.cc.sunysb.edu,  or by telephone at  (631) 632-4625.
  

Long Island Environmental Groups

• EECO Farm – Win a John Deere Mower/Tractor!  Raffle tickets only $20  Three for $50.  Tickets sold at EECO Farm Stand
  55 Long Lane, East Hampton &  Balsam Farm Stand Town Lane, Amagansett. All proceeds will support EECO Farm Drawing on Saturday, September 5 at EECO Farm’s Pot Luck Picnic 6 PM

• Group for the East End – Friday Forum: Algae, Aquaculture and the Environment – Can We Really Farm the Bays?  July 17th 9 to 10 am.  Join Group for the East End President Bob DeLuca and his award-winning co-host, WLIU 88.3 FM radio’s Bonnie Grice for an informative discussion about algal blooms, what they can tell us about the health of our coastal waters, and how they impact the viability of commercial shell fishing and aquaculture for the future.  Joining Bob and Bonnie for this discussion will be John Aldred of the East Hampton Town Hatchery, Karen Rivera of the East End Marine Farmers Association, Greg Rivera from Cornell Cooperative Extension’s shellfish and aquaculture program, and Dr. Steve Tettlebach, a Marine Scientist and Local Shellfish Expert.

• Peconic Land Trust – Bridge Gardens – Join us for Friday Evening special events – www.peconic.landtrust.org

• Babylon Green Party – On Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 7pm, the Babylon Green Party Gathering will feature a showing of Michael Moore’s film, “Sicko” The film uses humor to point out the sad state of medical coverage in the United States.  It outlines how much more successful a single-payer universal healthcare system has been in every other industrialized country. This showing is an extension of the Babylon Green Party’s 100 Days series which discusses issues that President Obama needed to address in his first 100 Days. http://www.BabylonGreens.org The event will be held at Pisces Café, 14A Railroad Avenue, Babylon, NY (631-321-1231) http://www.piscescafe.net.  For info call 631-422-4702 or email ian.wilder@yahoo.com Children are welcome. All gatherings are free of charge, and open to the public.

• Rangers of the Earth Program Day- Starflower Experiences 516-938-6152 info@starflowerexperiences.org – Rangers of the Earth helps upper elementary learners understand basic ecological processes, develop positive feelings about being in the natural world, and use their new understandings and feelings to change their own environmental habits.  This full-day session will provide an overview of the program, give you a chance to experience some of the activities (both indoor and outdoor), and help you find out how your group can participate in the program. This workshop is for classroom teachers, outdoor leaders, those who care for wild places, and others interested in seeing a model earth education program. November 15, 2009  8:30 am – 5:00 pm Sweet Hollow Hall, West Hills County Park. Download or request registration flyer www.starflowerexperiences.org

• Earth Education Workshop – Starflower Experiences:516-938-6152 info@starflowerexperiences.org Join us for a full day of stimulating sessions and demonstration activities introducing earth education. Earth education programs help learners understand basic ecological processes, develop positive feelings about the natural world, and use their new understandings and feelings to begin making change in their own environmental habits.November 14, 2009 8:30 – 5:00 at Sweet Hollow Hall, West Hills County Park, Melville.  Download or request registration flyer www.starflowerexperiences.org

• LI Naturally environmental fair – Starflower Experiences 516-938-6152 info@starflowerexperiences.org This is our annual environmental fair to be held at Manor Farm in Huntington.September 26, 2009 10 am – 4 pm Just come – no signup required. www.starflowerexperiences.org

Local Government

• More Planning for the Great Greening of Southampton – Thurs. July 16th 5:30 pm Rogers Memorial Library – Open meeting with the Town’s Sustainable Southampton Green Committee to learn about local initiatives. 283-0774 x 523 for reservations.

Schools

• DONATE USED BIKES NOVEMBER 7 & 8, 2009. 9:00 a.m. – 4:00p.m. at The Wheatley School 11 Bacon Road, Old Westbury, NY.  Bikes will be shipped to Ghana, West Africa to be used as socially, economically, and environmentally appropriate and sustainable transportation technology, helping people break the poverty cycle, providing access to school, work, health care, and market places.  In collaboration with The Village Bike Project.org, we have already sent nearly 2000 bikes to Ghana!  Re-Cycle your cycles and help The Wheatley Afri-Bike Coalition change more lives in rural West Africa.  And please help us spread the word by posting this info at your local bike shop, house of worship, community center, etc. For more info and other drop off locations in Nassau and Western Suffolk, please contact Steve Finkeklstein at (H) 516-334-2375,  (W- school year) 516-333-7143 or earthfink@aol.com and check the school website this fall at ewsdonline.org.

Long Island Green Businesses

• Workshop with Wendy Eden – Certified Hippocrates Health Educator/ Nutritionist/ Speaker – Raw Living Foods, Wellness, and Anti-aging – Reverse cancer, diabetes, obesity, depression and many health challenges.  Saturday July 18th, 2009 2pm-4pm  ANANDA YOGA and WELLNESS  20 Hampton Road  Southampton,. NY www.anandayogawellness.com 631-204-1219

• Go Solar Saturday Solar Tour -  Educational seminar on solar energy.  See how solar electric and solar thermal work first hand in our SunShack.  August 15, 2009  10 a.m. - Noon  Signup at gosolar.com 631-727-2224.  Also Sept. 12th and 19th

• East End GreenFest – Weekend of August 1st and 2nd. 2 day outdoor festival celebrating the latest green solutions in a fun and informative setting.  Festivities include live music from local musicians, healthy and organic foods and beverages, interactive displays, speakers, kids activities, speakers, hand on demonstrations, exhibits and shopping for natural and sustainable products.  Strawberry Fields Fairgrounds – Rt 48 in Mattituck.  For more info 631-470-3933 or www.eastendgreenfest.com

• Second Annual Solar Day – August 8th 12pm Eastern Energy Systems 631 779 1026. mfroehlich@e2sys.com -  Event will be held at our Renewable Energy Demo Home Facility (3305 Alrich Lane, Laurel).  Live Music, Food, Local Farm Products, Wine Tasting, Green Vendors. Renewable Energy Tours and Presentations will be given hourly promoting education, conservation and energy efficiency and production.

• HIA Environmental &  Energy Seminars & Expo Several “green” seminars & exhibition hall with several “green” technologies October 23, 2009  8 AM – 4 PM www.hia-li.org 631.543.5355

• Introduction to Photovoltaics – 8 hour seminar – Windsine, Inc. www.windsine.org 631-514-4166 Sat July 25th.  8:30 to 4:30.  Holiday Inn East End, Riverhead.  Understand PV before you talk to contractors or do it yourself
  

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Please forward this email to anyone that you think might be interested in it.

LICSN: Presentation/Educational Climate Materials from the National Academy of Sciences

Ecological Impacts of Climate Change

Life on Earth is profoundly affected by the planet’s climate. Explore some of the ecological impacts of climate change that have already been observed—right in your own backyard.  Here’s a straightforward science-based set of presentation slides on why Congress needs to act this year on Climate legislation.

Powerpoint Presentation Modules on Ecological Impacts

These Powerpoint presentation modules were developed to assist educators, museum docents, and other interested parties in sharing information about the ecological impacts of climate change.

Presentations can be personalized to your geographic region. For your convenience, presenter notes are embedded in the Powerpoint files.  (If you prefer, you may download the Full Presentation (5.9 MB) including all geographic regions.)

Step 1: Download Introductory Powerpoint Slides (5.8 MB)

Step 2: Download Powerpoint Slides for Your Region

• Northeast (98 KB)

Step 3: Download Conclusion Powerpoint Slides (335 KB)

Step 4: Combine Powerpoint Slides into a Single Presentation and Enjoy!

This 28-page booklet is based on Ecological Impacts of Climate Change (2009), a report by an independent panel of experts convened by the National Research Council. It explains general themes about the ecological consequences of climate change and identifies examples of ecological changes across the United States . Download PDF Version (8 MB) Explore Ecological Impacts of Climate Change Online at: Introduction

Cynthia McKinney requests your presence in DC…

From a 7/13/09 e-mail from a Cynthia McKinney supporter:

We just received word that the Viva Palestina convoy is still being held in Egypt despite negotiations. Convoy organizers Cynthia McKinney [former Congresswoman, and 2008 Green Party presidential candidate] and George Galloway are calling for protests tomorrow. Those of us who are in Washington, DC will be gathering tomorrow (Tuesday, July 14) outside the Egyptian embassy at noon to demand that Egyptian authorities allow the aid through! Please come out and spread the message!

*Please Forward Far and Wide*

Emergency Protest! Demand that Egyptian Authorities allow humanitarian aid into Gaza!

When: Tuesday, July 14th at 12 noon

Where: Egyptian Embassy, Washington, DC (Van Ness metro – red line) (3521 International Court, NW)

For updates on the Washington, DC protest or to endorse, please contact:
703.231.7553.

Michael Moore’s “Sicko” 8/5/09 7p Babylon

On Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 7pm, the Babylon Green Party Gathering will feature a showing of Michael Moore’s film, “Sicko” The film uses humor to point out the sad state of medical coverage in the United States.  It outlines how much more successful a single-payer universal healthcare system has been in every other industrialized country. This showing is an extension of the Babylon Green Party’s 100 Days series which discusses issues that President Obama needed to address in his first 100 Days. www.BabylonGreens.org The event will be held at Pisces Café, 14A Railroad Avenue, Babylon, NY (631-321-1231)www.piscescafe.net map) Come hungry! For directions to the Babylon Green Gathering, call 631-422-4702 or email ian.wilder@yahoo.com Children are welcome. All gatherings are free of charge, and open to the public.

A social media version of this press release can be found at http://pitch.pe/17653

Unlike the Democratic and Republican Parties, the national Green Party supports

a universal, comprehensive, national single-payer health insurance program as the only solution to the current disastrous for-profit system.

Recently, the 2000 Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader explained that the inability of the U.S. auto industry to compete is due to the U.S. being the only auto-producing nations that does not have single payer healthcare. The 2008 Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney said in her acceptance speech that

Only a sick government would place  . . . an insurance lobbyist in-between a patient and his doctor.

During her six terms in Congress, McKinney said she was “a cosponsor of every bill to create a national system for universal access to health care under a single-payer model.”

According to a CBS new poll, ninety percent of Americans believe the American health care system needs fundamental changes or needs to be completely rebuilt. Two-thirds of Americans believe the federal government should guarantee universal health care for all citizens.  This belief is shown to have good cause by a UN Human Development Report which showed that while the United States leads the world in spending on health care,

countries spending substantially less than the US have healthier populations.… The infant mortality rate for the U.S. is now higher than for many other industrial countries.

And the New England Journal of Medicine shows that a prime cause of the problem is insurance companies’ greed and inefficiency.  They reported that

administrative costs account for 31 percent of all health care expenditures in the United States. The average overhead for U.S. private health insurers is 11.7 percent; for Medicare, it is 3.6 percent; for Canada’s national health insurance program, it is 1.3 percent.

Yet neither the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, nor the corporate media are willing to even discuss a single-payer system.

President Obama has consistently excluded single payer universal healthcare from any discussion.  At the President’s healthcare forums around the country, discussions of single payer were dismissed despite audience support. The President also publicly excluded Rep. John Conyers to the White House summit on healthcare despite Conyer’s Single Payer bill HR 676 having 90 co-sponsors in Congress.  The President was later embarrassed into inviting Conyers.

The corporate media have done no better in discussing single payer healthcare as an option.  A new study released by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) found the

views of advocates of single payer have only been aired five times in the hundreds of major newspaper, broadcasts and cable stories about healthcare reform over the past week. No single-payer advocate has appeared on a major TV broadcast or cable network to talk about the policy during that period.

Babylon Green Party Gatherings are held on the first Wednesday of every month:

Rev. Billy Talen for Mayor Fundraiser w/ Joan Baez 7/27/09

Save The Date
ELECT-A-LUJAH!  Vote Rev Billy Fundraiser at the Highline Ballroom
Monday, July 27th 7pm
Tickets on Sale Now: http://bit.ly/vrbtix
431 W 16th St
New York, NY 10011
between 9th and 10th Ave
With the Rev and Life After Shopping Gospel Choir, Joan Baez, Jollyship the Whiz-Bang,

Greta Gaines, the New York Street Vendors Chorus, and Yetta Kurland!

LI Green Events Sheet 7/8/09

Welcome to the LI Green Sheets
rev 7-8-09

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The LI Green Sheets is a weekly “Green Events” email service about green events and activities in our region.  If your organization or company has an event, class, meeting, seminar or program that you want LI Green’s over 5000 environmental businesspeople, activists, educators email list to know about please fill out this web form or forward information to greensheets@ligreen.com.  Include  date, time, address, event description, web link and contact information.

We also offer sponsored listings and advertisement to businesses that provide sustainability products and services.  To learn more about this great opportunity please contact Chuck Schwartz at chuck@ligreen.com or 631-721-1908.  Thanks for your company’s support.

Click here to signup for the LI Green Email List.

Please forward this email to anyone that you think might be interested in it.

Cynthia McKinney: I’m back home; Thanks to all of you!

Hello,

Well, all I can say is “Thank you!” Your calls, faxes, protests, and prayers all made a huge difference and helped to secure our protection and our release.  I would also like to thank those at the Tel Aviv Embassy for their work on behalf of the three U.S. citizens held by the Israelis.  For those of you who missed it, here is the statement I put out from the Israeli prison.  Please forgive the undone, but needed edits.  I have tried twice, now, to get into Gaza.  I just got off the phone with George Galloway who extended a personal invitation to me to join him and the US convoy in Viva Palestina!  I’m certainly excited about that.  Maybe I will finally make it to Gaza.

Here’s my “Letter from an Israeli Prison:”

Letter from an Israeli Prison by Cynthia McKinney

Original audio message available here: http://freegaza.org/it/home/56-news/984-a-message-from-cynthia-from-a-cell-block-in-israel

A funny thing happened to me on my way to Gaza.  Before I left for Gaza, I was giddy with excitement.  The children needed school supplies.  It was a last-minute, but urgent request.  Please bring crayons for the children.  And so I accpeted congtributions of crayola crayons, #2 pencils, pencil sharpeners, paint brushes, and crayola watercolors. 

July 5: Cynthia McKinney being deported from Israel

A report from the popular Green Party site Green Party Watch, and a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, affirm that Cynthia McKinney was brought from jail to the airport, and is currently being deported by Israel. Supporters wait and worry until she arrives home in the US safely. Former Congresswoman and former Green Party candidate for President Cynthia McKinney was on a boat trying to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, when the boat — with 21 activists — was taken by Israel.

(excerpt from) Green Party Watch
BREAKING NEWS: Israeli authorities deporting Cynthia McKinney
July 5th, 2009 by Gregg Jocoy · 8 Comments

This breaking news comes via David Josue, a close associate and supporter of Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney: Editor’s notes in parenthesis.

Obama’s military PR offensive? Pink boxers and forgotten coverups

Where are the news photos of the Code Pink house?

It seems more than a coincidence that one of today’s top stories on Yahoo news is the story of the soldier who was phootgraphed fighting in pink boxers and that on the same day the cover of the USA Today magazine is about the military charities who are “selfless” in the “time of war”.  The most galling part is USA Today wrote about Pat Tillman’s family starting a charity without mentioning the coverup of him being killed by friendly fire.  And we are not in a war, we declared war on other countries and have been paying for it ever since.  The corporate press spent the Bush administration promoting these wars as a good and necessary thing, only to be shown up by the independent media that they were printed government generated lies.  Now that Obama is continuing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the corporate press is back to beating the drum to generate public support for these unneccessary wars.  Wanna write an article about someone in pink, how about the Code Pink house in Washington DC?  Wanna write about selflessness, how about the peace activists who were shunned and mocked for opposing these wars from the beginning?

So-called Working Families Party locks the most progressive candidate out of NYC Mayor debate

Ever since Working Families Party sold the pro-war candidates of Clinton and Spitzer as a vote for peace in 2006, I expect nothing from them.  And have not been disappointed.

from the Village Voice

Last night three candidates for Mayor of New York — Michael Bloomberg, councilmember Tony Avella, and comptroller Bill Thompson — attended the Working Families Party Mayoral Forum at the Hotel Trades Council on West 44th Street. (We should mention that Green Party candidate Reverend Billy wanted to be at the forum, but was excluded; “The Working Families Party have sent a cynical signal,” his office tells us. “New York is not a corporation. New York is a city. A city in a democracy. Let’s debate like it is.”)

Related:

• Jonathan Tasini: Hypocrisy by the Working Families Party
• An Open Letter to Pete Seeger
• David McReynolds responds to Pete Seeger
• David McReynolds: Vote Green Party over Working Families
• David McReynolds responds to Pete Seeger

NYT: New York’s Defective Legislators

Some of the suggestions from the NYT to fix the NY State Legislature:

CLEANER MONEY New York’s campaign finance system is a disgrace. When the Legislature is in session, lawmakers spend every night harvesting campaign funds, often using loopholes as big as a bank. Write “party housekeeping” on the check, and it can have as many zeros as you want. Corporate subsidiaries have a field day. And the lobbyists who write the checks then also write the laws. Public financing should be the goal, but even real, enforceable limits would be a start.

COMPETITIVE ELECTIONS Anybody who wants to challenge a party-sanctioned candidate in New York will find a rigged system. A challenger faces highly paid party lawyers whose “blood sport,” as they call it, is to make that candidate spend too much time and money in court. The idea is to challenge signatures on petitions, name by name. No ZIP code? No middle initial? Then 1,000 signatures turns into 449, one too short to get on the ballot.

Other states make it easier. California allows one state official to approve petitions, with an emphasis on allowing candidates to run, not to be forced to disappear.