Greenbeat:News and Opinion From The Green Party Of Ohio

[irishbobcat]

GreenBeat: News and Opinion From The Green Party Of Ohio



There has been a great deal of activity here in Ohio in the past few weeks and the Green Party has taken a stand on many of the important issues, our State central committee voted to oppose SB5, voted to oppose fracking in Ohio's State parks, and prior to the nuclear disaster in Japan we voted to oppose the 20 year license extension of the Davis Besse nuclear power plant.

This edition of GreenBeat contains some very important information about how you can get involved and on attending our potluck meeting on May 22.
                                       


ANNOUNCEMENTS


Bob Fitrakis, co-chair of the Ohio Green Party central committee, to interview Cynthia McKinney this Wed.!

This week's show – Cynthia McKinney and Bob Fitrakis discuss the situation in Libya---Wednesday, April 27
Here's how to listen and call in to Bob Fitrakis' new radio show:
On Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm
Go to: http://talktainmentradio.com
Click on "Listen Live", Bob's program "Fight Back!" will be on
Call 877-932-9766

Make your voice heard! Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!



The Green Party of Ohio Calls for Candidates for the 2011 & 2012 Elections.

The Green Party is looking for progressives to run for elected office in 2011 and in 2012.  2011, an off-year election,
all kinds of local offices are up, from city councils to school boards to township trustees.  In 2012 , seats in the US Congress,
the Ohio State Senate and House of Representatives and other local offices are up for election.
To be competitive for these seats, candidates need to begin their campaigns early. If you or someone you know is thinking
of running, please contact your local Green Party or the Candidates Committee of the Green Party of Ohio.
All across the country hundreds of Green Party candidates will be challenging the two corporate parties.
This will be a great time for someone to learn the art of running for office, and  a smart, energetic person could win.


The Green Party is a grassroots activist party working for social change and we believe deeply in participatory democracy and that
the diversity of our communities should be reflected among our elected leaders. We are looking for people who are under-represented
in elective office, women, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, gays and lesbians, people with disabilities and other minorities.
We also welcome young people to become involved in leadership and to address the concerns of Americas youth through elected office.


We are also looking for people to work with the candidates as campaign coordinators, managers and campaign volunteers.

* The filing date is fast approaching for many city council races.
Filing dates vary for municipal offices, check with your local board of elections.



The Green Party of Ohio Candidates Committee
Logan Martinez   greensofwcohio@hotmail.com / cell 937-260-2591
David Berenson   greenerdavid@sbcglobal.net / cell  216-548-0254
Joshua  Krekeler  joshxles@fuse.net  / 513-351-1289
Nicholas Teti   nteti@clover.net  / 740-502-4772

 

May 4th-24 Hour Fast for Peace (Please Forward)

Dear Friends,
     Since the early 1970's, people in Ohio and around the US have sponsored events to
commemorate the anniversary of the shooting of students at Kent State University on May 4th 1970
and at Jackson State in Mississippi on May 14,1970.  These shootings came in response to the
escalation of the Vietnam war and the rise of the Black Consciousness/Power Movement.

    We are calling on people to fast for 24 hours for peace on May 4th 2011. We are also asking
people to commit to support actions and educational events to build awareness for world peace.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, two of the longest wars
in our history. Now we are bombing Libya. People need to take a stand to end this madness.

  For Jobs &Peace,
    Logan Martinez


Just Say No To Fracking

 

The Green Party of Ohio support a permanent ban on hydrofracking for a variety of reasons (threats to the public health, water quality, and environment, while investing in another fossil fuel rather than clean renewable energy) and urged Governor Kasich to support that position now that he has taken office.

 

The type of drilling used on the Marcellus Shale formation involves fracking: pumping a mixture of sand, water, and chemical additives under high pressure into the shale to fracture or break up the shale so as to release a greater flow of natural gas.

 

Fracking even a single natural gas well consumes millions of gallons of water, which can be a significant burden on local water tables.

 

As things currently stand, frackers are exempted from having to comply with the Clean Water Act. This means they can legally poison the water. By hiding behind a claim the chemicals are proprietary knowledge, they are not even required to inform the public of the chemicals that they are pumping into the ground. Chemicals that can include methanol, diesel, anhydrous ammonia, ethylene glycol, toluene, and xylene. 

 

Each well produces millions of gallons of industrial wastewater that require cleaning.

 

While the drilling is occurring, each well typically stores their fracking water in a pit near the drilling pad. If these pits overflow or leak they contaminate local water supplies and cause environmental damage.

 

 

The Green Party of Ohio believes despite short-term economic benefits, Marcellus Shale gas drilling will have a net negative economic and environmental impact for Ohio. We should instead be conserving energy, and developing clean, renewable energy sources, activities that if structured effectively can also create jobs and spur economic development.

 

 

  SB 5, signature gathering opportunity

collect signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot to repeal Ohio's Senate Bill 5, Ohio-s "union-busting" bill, one of your chances to collect signatures is to join the effort to collect signatures at a well known flea market on, on weekends, on I-75 just north of Cincinnati. 231,147 signatures are required before the end of June.  If you would like to help, please send an email note to Don Loritz  - don@leftofdayton.net - to be placed on the list of people getting notification about signature collecting opportunities. 

Green Party of Ohio members from across the state will be attending training sessions this week to begin collecting signatures to have the SB 5 Referendum on this coming November's election ballot. Ohio Greens oppose SB 5 because of its union-busting language and laws aimed at Ohio's civil servants and public employees.Once trained, Green Party of Ohio members will be setting up sites across the Buckeye State in order to collect signatures from registered voters. We will post these locations with the dates and times once they become available.



This effort is being coordinated state-wide by We Are Ohio ,visit the website and volunteer. 

STATE CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETING POTLUCK
All Ohio Greens are invited to join the State Central Committee at our May 22, 2011 potluck meeting at Blacklick Woods Metro Park
6975 E. Livingston Ave. ,Reynoldsburg, OH 43068. Please bring a dish to share, your own place setting and silverware, and something to drink. No alcoholic beverages allowed in the park.       
                         A general agenda for the day, this is not written in stone and may change:
                        11am to 12 pm ---training for anyone interested in facilitating Green Party meetings
                        12pm to 2pm ---State Committee meeting ( all may observe, only members of the state committee can vote)
                         2pm to 3 pm ---potluck dinner
                         3pm to 4 pm--- keynote speaker & open forum( keynote-Cleveland City Councilman & Green Party member Brian Cummings)
Folks are welcome to bring an instrument and hang out and socialize until???we have to be out by 10pm.