MGP Green New Deal (short form)
Please review the short version of the short form of the MDGND to vote on whether to approve it for use in MGP materials. (A comprehensive long form is planned to finalize in advance of the 2021 Maryland legislative session.)
Poll Created Thu 27 Feb 2020 10:26PM
MDGND short form Closed Sat 14 Mar 2020 9:03PM
Please review the short version of the short form of the MDGND to vote on whether to approve it for use in MGP materials. (A comprehensive long form is planned to finalize in advance of the 2021 Maryland legislative session.) The proposal for approval will remain open until March 14, 2020.
The Maryland Green Party’s Green New Deal:
1: Locally-based Economics and Grassroots Democracy
Fund equitable public financing for state elections.
Curtail and end pay-to-play politics.
A thriving multi-party democracy where working class folks have a true voice; enact Ranked Choice Voting and third party ballot access
A carbon neutral economy capable of providing green jobs for all who need them.
Add a warning label to all campaign materials funded by the fossil fuel industry and other major climate-destroyer industries.
Promote community owned banks to provide investment capital to fund green jobs to struggling areas. Provide incentives for health care facilities. Ensure adequate schooling for all areas of the state. Promote locally-based, organic farming and urban gardening.
2: Social and Racial Justice
Reparations
Build bottom-up climate resilience.
Empowerment of marginalized communities and a democratic economy.
Initiate Maryland Environmental Neighborhood Defense Corps to remediate all lead paint in Baltimore’s Black Butterfly and brownfield sites across Maryland.
3: Nonviolence:
Climate apartheid and injustice is a major root cause of violence in Baltimore and across the state. Climate justice demands demilitarization and investment in community-controlled public safety.
Maryland Must Stop Profiting from Climate Pollution.
End tax breaks for corporate arms dealers.
Divert funding from enforcement and incarceration to mediation and peace building.
Enact strict controls per and poly fluoroalkyl contamination.
Grassroots peacekeeping from individuals up and across Maryland’s society.
4: Ecological Wisdom
The planet’s resources are finite. We must increase community wealth through greater equity, not unsustainable growth.
Mandate 100% truly renewable energy: 100 Percent Clean Renewable Energy by 2032.
End all animal agriculture subsidies and phase out animal agriculture and overfishing. End use of toxic chemicals in our agriculture.
Set a moratorium on all new fossil fuel infrastructure.
Divest state pension funds from fossil fuel companies.
Invest in full ecological restoration of the ecosystem, including reforestation and wetland revival, to full biodiversity.
Ban single use plastics.
Begin the just transition to a green future now by all means necessary.
Build a circular economy that recycles all valuable resources.
Build an economy powered not by endless growth, but by boundless equity.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
Agree | 87.5% | 7 |
|
| Abstain | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Disagree | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Block | 12.5% | 1 |
|
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| Undecided | 0% | 2 |
|
8 of 10 people have participated (80%)
Theresa Alexander Sat 29 Feb 2020 8:18PM
I don’t disagree with you, Tim. But I think at this point we’re hoping to move forward from editing to an up or down vote. But if we feel that there are enough additional edits needed, please feel free to vote not to approve this version of the document and we can move forward that way.
Timothy Willard, Maryland alternate Thu 5 Mar 2020 8:45PM
annearundelgreens Fri 6 Mar 2020 1:21AM
I agree with this in general, but suggest some edits, and strongly feel this is not ready for dissemination. I don't have enough space to go in further detail here, so will add the edit suggestions as a comment. -Ted
annearundelgreens Fri 6 Mar 2020 1:21AM
Here are my edits and comments:
1. Four things are grouped together here: "Promote community owned banks to provide investment capital to fund green jobs to struggling areas. Provide incentives for health care facilities. Ensure adequate schooling for all areas of the state. Promote locally-based, organic farming and urban gardening." Why not give them separate bullets? Everything else is separated.
2. "Reparations" This needs a sentence of details like the other bullets. It could mean anything as a single word.
3. "Black Butterfly" is not something that most Marylanders know the meaning of. And limiting to lead paint is too restrictive IMHO. Can't this bullet just read "Initiate Maryland Environmental Neighborhood Defense Corps to remove lead paint and other toxins in urban areas" ?
4. "Maryland Must Stop Profiting from Climate Pollution." What does this mean? Can't it be more specific?
5. "Enact strict controls per and poly fluoroalkyl contamination." I have no idea what that means, and I bet 99.9% of other Marylanders will be equally stumped.
6. "Grassroots peacekeeping from individuals up and across Maryland’s society." What does "up and across" mean? Can it just be "across"?
7. Under renewable energy, can we omit the burning of trees for energy? (which is actually in MD code, but it actually increases atmospheric CO2)
8. I object to "phasing out animal agriculture" because that is dictatorial, forcing a vegan diet when most people don't want that, and equates small family farms with big factory farms. This bullet point needs some nuance.
9. I'd like to see Maryland close its coal plants.
10. "Invest in full ecological restoration of the ecosystem, including reforestation and wetland revival, to full biodiversity." That is full of incorrect terminology. As an ecologist, I would like to suggest this instead: "Protect Maryland's ecosystems and biodiversity, and restore our watersheds and landscapes to function as naturally as practicable."
11. "Begin the just transition to a green future now by all means necessary." What does this mean? This is so vague it doesn't mean anything. I would strike it because it is also redundant with the more specific goals.
12. "circular economy" What does that mean? A little too wonky. These should all be written so anyone can understand them.
13. "Build an economy powered not by endless growth, but by boundless equity." Another vague statement that can be deleted.
And as a general point, can we have "Agree with Amendments" as a choice, like the MD General Assembly does for testimony (Favorable With Amendments)
-Ted
annearundelgreens Sat 14 Mar 2020 12:44AM
Can we extend this proposal? We discussed edits but none of them are reflected here. Thanks.
Theresa Alexander Sat 14 Mar 2020 12:48AM
Yes. I apologize that I didn’t withdraw this version of the proposal. I will post the most updated version for a vote starting Sunday morning unless anyone proposes additional edits before then.
Thanks!
~Theresa
Renaud De'Aundre Brown Sat 14 Mar 2020 11:56AM
Ted cancel you unblock the proposal now that Theresa will make the changes.
Theresa Alexander Sat 14 Mar 2020 12:03PM
I will need to post the updated version so that people can decide whether they want to vote in favor or against that. I will be able to do that tomorrow.~Theresa
Timothy Willard, Maryland alternate · Fri 28 Feb 2020 1:10AM
It's an excellent document. But one or two points seem hyper-specific, like "Enact strict controls per and poly fluoroalkyl contamination." Can this point be made more broadly?