Recycle! Go Green!
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There are many issues the Green Party supports, one being recycling. Recycling has been an issue for many, many years. Although it has been included in lesson plans in the school system to teach children early on, starting in elementary school, it continues to be an on-going problem. Parents need to take a more active role in recycling so their children will continue recycling into their adult years.
With today’s economy many people have turned to recycling to make a little extra money. These people that put their pride aside and go along the streets late at night the night before trash pick up or early in the morning the day off to sift through people’s garbage looking for recyclable goods. They will then take their collection of goods to a local recycling center and get reimbursed cash for it.
Is it really that hard to recycle? Many would say yes, but please, how hard is to have an extra trash can or bin next to your garbage can to collect recyclable products. Recycling centers accept aluminum, glass, plastic, and paper. You can either use one bin to collect the products or separate bins for each type of recyclable. At the end of the week either set the container on the side of the street on trash pick up day or take your collection to the local recycling center. Or, if you know of someone who does collect recyclables for extra income, why not call them and have them collect the items from you.
Look for the “Recyclable” symbol on the products that are recyclable. There are many recycling symbols but the most commonly used one is the symbol with three moving arrows forming a triangle. The Green Party has many ideas and articles on how to recycle. Everyone, everywhere, can recycle. Do the right thing and help the environment. Go Green!!
Recycled Christmas Trees?
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Recycling Christmas tress? Who has ever heard of such a thing? Well, it’s true. A Christmas tree, once covered in twinkling lights and decoreations and that brought joy to the Christmas holiday, can be recycled to help the environment in many ways.
One such way is to turn it into mulch to use in community parks and gardens, as well as playgrounds for children. The mulch is also used as a cushion on pathways for hikers. Many communities offer mulch free of charge to residents for their own personal use.
Another way that Christmas trees can be recycled is placing them in the wilderness creating protection for small animals. It gives them a place to hide from predators as well as protect them from harsh weather. There is an ongoing problem with erosion in the wetlands. For years the wetlands have been building fences by lining up the recycled Christmas trees. This has helped prevent the erosion saving acres of marshland. Christmas trees are also dropped in lakes or ponds giving fish protecttion at the bottom by providing a structure they can hide, feed, and reproduce.
Believe it or not, many Christmas trees are used as fuel. A company in Wisconsin has the trees gound up and uses it to fuel it’s paper mill and a company in Vermont have trees chipped and they burn them to generate electricity for power companies.
Choosing to use a live Christmas tree over an artifical Christmas tree is an enjoyable way to save the environment. The artificial trees do not decompose in the landfill, but, the live Christmas tree you have enjoyed over the holiday can be reused in many ways. Instead of leaving your live Christmas tree at the curb for trash pick up, look into contacting your local munincipality for locations to drop your tree off or to learn of scheduled pickup days.
Why Conserving Water is Important
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water conservation is important in numerous ways. Listed below are some tips on how you can conserve water in and around your home.
1. Wash your dishes in a dishwasher rather than hand wash. Hand washing dishes uses three times more water than the dishwasher. Also, only run the dishwasher when it is completely full. Same goes with your washing machine. Make sure you are running it with full loads of laundry. If your loads are half full, be sure to use the appropriate settings.
2. Collect rain water with buckets to water your plants and flowers. You can also place the buckets at the bottom of your gutters to collect rain water. If you water your grass with a hose, water at night. Most of the water evaporates before it hits the ground if watering is done during the day.
3. Fill a couple of water bottles 2-3 inches with sand or cat litter and place them in the water tank of your toilet. This will displace some of the water when the toilet is flushed and the tank fills back up with water, saving some water each time a person flushes the toilet. Also, if you place food coloring in your toilet tank, wait a few minutes and if you see the colored water appear in the toilet bowl, you have a leak.
4. Go around your house and look for leaky faucets in the bathroom and kitchen. You would be surprised how much water is wasted with a little drip. Up to 24 gallons, in one day!
5. You will use less water taking a shower than taking a bath. Also, turning the water off while you lather up will reduce the amount of water used while you take a shower. If you are a die-hard bather, you can use your bath water to water flowers or plants outside.
There are many ways you can conserve water, but if you can follow just a few, you will be amazed at how much water you can save. That will not only benefit your wallet, but also benefit the environment you live in.
Green Party Opposes Capital Punishment
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The death penalty is a highly debated subject between Americans. Many Americans oppose the death penalty, and along with them is the Green Party. The Green Party states capital punishment is an ineffective crime deterrent and it does not value human life. It has been stated that the death penalty is more so an emotional compensation for the crime victims families, and eye for an eye.
There are over 3500 inmates on death row across the nation. The average time it takes from a person being convicted to being executed is approximately 10 years. It is being studied that it may be cheaper to house an inmate under a life sentence than to keep an inmate on death row. Approximately 10% of inmates on death row are mentally retarded. Although there is a ruling stating that it is constitutional to execute an inmate with mental retardation, many states have passed legislation abolishing this ruling relying on the public’s feeling it was excessive punishment.
It was also legal for minors to executed but in a ruling in 2005 it was abolished to execute a minor.
It has been proven that there have been some inmates that were killed by the death penalty and then later found to be innocent. DNA testing has exonerated many inmates, with some being on death row. How could such a barbaric practice be legal when it isn’t 100% full proof and accurate.
Capital punishment is illegal in many countries around the world. There are more countries against it, than for it. The United Nations seems to lean towards the abolishment of capital punishment stating in a formal statement through out the world it is desirable to “progressively restrict the number of offenses for which the death penalty might be imposed, with a view to the desirability of abolishing this punishment”.
The Green Party will continue to fight against the democrats and republicans on death penalty until it is abolished across the nation. Who do you stand with?
Iraqi War and Peace
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War and Peace. Not only a title of a famous book but it is also an issue that the Green Party strongly stands by. There isn’t one person that loves war, but many who feel that war is the answer to settle disputes between nations. Not only are many lives lost of those that fight the wars but there are many lives of innocent people indirectly involved in the war that are lost. Many men, women, and children are killed by bombs and enemy fire.
As of September 7, 2010 the total number of deaths in the Iraqi War was 4,418, with 3,495 of those deaths in combat. With that, there have been approximately between 97,000 to 106,000 documented civilian deaths in Iraq. Those are innocent victims that did not have a choice and unfortunately had to pay the price.
The cost of the Iraqi War is over $150 billion a year, yes “billion”. It costs approximately $390,000 to deploy a soldier to Iraq for just one year. That is an absurd amount money for a war and it certainly doesn’t compensate for the life lost of even one of the soldiers.
Many families are losing a son or daughter, niece or nephew, brother or sister? Think of the little children that have to see their Mom or Dad leave for a long period of time or never come back. When reading articles on both sides there are good points brought to our attention. But, the bottom line is, no human life is worth losing over a war, American or not.
There have been many wars, and with that, many people who oppose war. The Green Party stands by their position that war is not effective or justifiable to settle disputes among nations and strongly urges the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq with the assistance of the UN Coalition.
Pro-Choice, Giving Women the Right to Control Their Body
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It is safe to say that abortion is one of the most controversial issues the government battles. Many citizens feel abortion should be illegal and fight for “Pro-Life”. They feel that human life begins at the time of conception. “Pro-Choice” advocates disagree. They feel, along with the courts, that the point of “viability”, is when the fetus can survive outside it’s mother’s womb. Natural viability begins when the pregnancy is about 6 months along. Because of the modern medical practices, the age of viability is set back considerably.
The point of the matter is that abortion is the woman’s right to control her body. It is very important that the option of an abortion remains safe and available. Clinics need to be available and staffed with informed employees to offer advice on abortion and the procedure of an abortion. Due to the dedication of abortion physicians across the nation, abortions are one of the safest medical procedures providing women with accessible, safe care.
If abortion became illegal, women will still seek to get an abortion illegally. Getting an illegal abortion could be very dangerous, as it was starting back in the 1880′s. Thousands of women died after attempting abortions on their own or going to someone who is not trained professionally and use primitive methods in unsanitary conditions. This will happen again if abortion becomes illegal. Because of legalized abortion, a women’s chance of death from an abortion is far less likely to occur then a woman dying during childbirth.
Not so long ago several abortion clinics were getting bombs and physicians were getting shot. Laws were created called “Clinic Access” limiting the pro-life protesters what they can and cannot do and how far away they must be from the entrance of the abortion clinic. The women needed to feel safe. There were also laws that regulate when the states perform an abortion. First trimester abortions are not regulated. A second trimester abortion is regulated but it is not banned. A third trimester abortion can be banned, which most states practice.
Importance for fighting for the Earth
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Throughout the centuries planet Earth has taken a lot of abuse from people that have exploited it. Today, people are paying a price because of the greediness of others. The United States and other developed countries have exploited the natural resources that they have and they are now the one’s that are calling for better solutions. You may have noticed that the prices of oil have increased exponentially over the past few years. One of the reasons why citizens are paying so high for a gallon of oil is because the demand is so high and that the supply of oil can no longer sustain it. It is predicted that in the next fifty to a hundred years, our supply of oil will be longer available.
Green parties in most countries are looking for ways to sustain energy sources so that they can use it to power factories, cars, and of course homes. However, they have a lot of obstacles to get over before they find the best solution. One of the main hurdles that they need to get over is, of course, the financial barriers because there is no technology that is available that is as abundant and as powerful as oil. A lot of non-government organizations are now trying to development newer and more efficient technology but they are having a hard time because there is no real basis to go on.
Green parties are very important so that the future of the earth will be much better and last longer. In the past couple of years, there have been some unusual weather conditions that have destroyed a lot of towns, cities and even countries. This is primarily because of the fact that the Earth is sick and every passing day it is getting hotter and hotter which will eventually completely change the weather. No one knows the total extent of the damage since a lot of the data are mere estimates. One thing is for sure, if people do not take better care of their planet, it may not be around long enough for the generations to come.
Fight for the Right of Earth
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You have probably watched the documentary by Al Gore, called “An Inconvenient Truth”. A lot of people believed it, but yet there are still a lot of people that are skeptics. There is a substantial amount of evidence that the planet is having serious problems, but there only a few people that are fighting to save it. It is very difficult to discount the fact that the Earth is sick and something needs to be done about it. However, the government and many companies do not want to help because they have a lot to gain from not helping. Although, not all parties in the government want to continue to exploit the natural resources that the planet has.
Green parties are advocates for the environment. They have a lot of issues to tackle ,such as how to decrease the effects of global warming, how to slow down the creation of holes in our ozone layer and, of course, how to become less reliant on oil. A lot of people feel that others are taking it to the extreme because they are calling for people to go back to basics. In reality, this is true. There are many ways people can conserve energy in their homes, they can even power their homes by solar energy.
A lot of countries have green parties, but of course, they belong to the minority. In the next ten years, there will be a growing number of supporters for the Green Party. You will find more and more celebrities getting involve with the Green Party. They are trying to spread the word that everyone needs to fight for their environment and their planet. They need to face reality that they cannot continue what they were doing ten years ago because they might end up furthering the destruction of their planet. They should start looking for alternative means of energy and, of course, alternative ways of getting our basic needs. Green parties definitely help spread the awareness for protecting the planet but, like every movement, they have a lot of hurdles that they need to get over.
Homosexuality and Society
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Homosexuals have long been ostracized in society. Up until a few years ago, a lot of them had to live in the “closet” because of fear of retaliation and of discrimination. Today there are many of them that are living openly, however, there is still some sort social stigma that is attached to them. There is a growing debate about the rights of gays, lesbians and transgendered and it seems to be working in their favor. Many states are starting to approve homosexual marriages, but there are still a lot of people that are opposed to it. This particular topic is a major debate in today’s media because there are many people that are closed mind and old fashioned, that they are not totally open to the idea.
There are a lot of homosexuals in our mainstream media. For example, Ellen De Generes and Wanda Sykes are a couple of celebrities that are open about their lesbian marriages. The biggest problem they are facing is that there are still a lot of conservatives against them. In the past few years, tolerance for homosexuals has increased and in some cultures it is openly practiced. The problem is that there are still a lot of people that feel that they are violating some sacred right that is supposedly awarded to a lot of people. Organizations like GLAD are making it a lot easier for homosexuals to have some sense of a support structure and it also helps in fighting for rights, such as having the freedom to express themselves and of discrimination.
If you ask someone that is coming from A liberal upbringing, they say that homosexuals are humans too and that they need to be awarded the same rights that heterosexuals are awarded by the mere fact that they were born. One way of making them feel like the are like any other human being is tolerance. Tolerance is needed so homosexuals can be given the same rights that are given to heterosexuals. This includes marriage. Homosexual marriages should legalized because everyone is free to love who they want to love.
What is a Green Party?
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Almost everyone has heard this term, Green Party. Yet not a lot of people really know what it means. Basically, a Green Party is a political party that is organized formally and is based on the main principles of green politics. So what is green politics? Well, it is plainly a political ideology that gives high priority on environmental goals such as grassroots policy and also participatory democracy. There are a lot of people that are now supporting the Green Party movement because of the fact there is a growing awareness on the protection of the environment and also alleviating the effects of global warming. It has been around for so many years however, the past ten years or so, there has been increased number of followers of this type of party.
Green parties normally call for some sort of social reform in order to decrease the amount of abuse of all our natural resources. They are advocates of sustainable energy which calls for less reliance on oil which is not a renewable source of energy. Some of them have already made bills pass in the legislative bodies of their country in order to development sustainable energy resources. Green parties also focus on the health of the environment and also, of course, the human being. This is very important especially in today’s day and age because almost all our natural resources are being depleted because of capital gains and also because of basic human greed.
Green parties support non-violence. That is why a lot of them opposed the war of terrorism which was mainly supported by other parties. Because they adhere to the spirit of nonviolence, most green parties feel that the war on terrorism somehow curtailed the civil rights of people. In the United States, a country where there is a huge amount of support for the war on terrorism, green parties are now calling for an end to it. Although, a lot of people feel that they are taking it to a very extreme level, there is still a growing amount of people that support green parties.
