Green Imagination: Imagining a Green World
Yesterday, I was at my local mall's food court when I realized what a Green mall it is. The ceiling throughout the mall's main thoroughfares have huge skylights; on sunny days it's almost eerie how how its corridors are illuminated with natural light. The irony of using a Green friendly lighting system at the consumer's locus of global capitalism was delicious. I began to wonder how the mall could be made even more environmentally friendly (offering recycling bins to start) and how the experience of mall shopping could be transformed in ways that make consumption less catastrophic (I'm still contemplating this one).
On a related note, I've recently become active in several Green locals (namely Baltimore County and Baltimore City) where we're in the outset of a historic era: We are running 15 local and congressional Green candidates this election cycle. Through various listserves, discussions about campaign strategy, Green ideals and other related topics have made their way into my consciousness. One poster commented how users of the listserve tend to become more active during discussions of national politics rather than important local issues. This was such an important point that I felt compelled to do something...Hence the birth of Green Imagination.
I invite all Greens from across the US and in other countries to contribute to this blog. That is, I hope this page becomes a forum for Greens to not only share local challenges and successes, but also to collectively imagine how a Green world would truly look like and to collaborate on making concrete progress towards the achievement of our goals (political, social, environmental...you name it).
Because I'm a busy person (as busy as everyone else I know at least), I would like this to become an open forum. Feel free to use this blog to share your ideas on how to put our ideals into action on the local or even state level. Generally speaking, I'd like to avoid discussing national politics as there's plenty of that already both online and offline.
Daniel
posted by Daniel @ 10:49 PM
5 Comments:
Hi Daniel -
Thanks for setting up this cool Blog. I would like
to see some layered discussion of the 10 Key Values.
We hear how Greens are united through their `belief'
in these values (problematical at the outset) even
as they admit bluntly that there is no consensus on
what is actually being enumerated.
Many are aware that North America's 10 Key Values
derive from Germany's orginal 4 Pillars. These
were re-edited in 2001 into the `6 Principles,' as
articulated by the Global Greens Charter, Australia.
Further thoughts?
Richard
That's a great point Richard. Maybe what I'll do is to spend a day writing about a particular value and how we can apply it politically as well as socially.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Concerning `the' 10 Key Values -
There are apparent contradictory or conflicted
readings within fundamental Green priciples --
meaning that upholding one of them can be in
violation of other ones.
Take the notion of Grassroots Democracy. In it,
a Green elected delegate is expected to implement
and promote the collective interests of one's
constituency, above advancing one's own personal
interests. But a disconnect arises when (expressed)
community interests are not `Green' interests.
The progressive stances of Greens on issues like
forest preservation, non-violence, socialized health-
care, gay rights, etc, are often at odds with the
majority opinion.
So does an elected Green go with one's own conscience,
or with the wishes of the majority to whom they are
obligated? In Maryland, large-scale poultry farming
contributes to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. Do
Greens represent local farm economies (also tobacco),
or a minority of clean-water advocates?
There is also a similar dilemma with legalizing slot
machines in Maryland -- ostensibly to help pay for
public education. Again, does an elected Green
official adopt a Green position, or one that is
sought by the community at large -- the `grassroots?'
Richard
This is an interesting problem I'd say for any political party and/or candidate in a representative democracy. If an individual wants to represent a group of people in a geographical region (district, city, state, etc.), to what extent does s/he need to conform or adjust her/his views to appeal to the constituency?
So, for a Green, how do we field candidates in areas where the majority does not agree our messages or principles as a party, as Richard points out?
Post a Comment
<< Home