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Proposal Details

Proposal ID	666
Proposal	2012 Platform amendment proposal: Eco-Action- Energy
Presenter	Sponsored by Eco-Action - Platform Committee
Floor Manager	Budd Dickinson
Phase	Closed
Discussion	05/14/2012 - 05/27/2012
Voting	05/28/2012 - 06/03/2012
Result	Adopted
Presens Quorum	31 0.6666
Consens Quorum	40 0.6666 of Yes and No Votes

Background

The purpose of this amendment is to update the GPUS Ecological Sustainability Platform Section B. 3. to update subsection f on biofuels and to make stylistic changes.

Proposal

Amend Ecological Sustainability Chapter III, Section B. 3.

Original wording:

B. Energy

3. End the Use of Dirty and Dangerous Energy Sources.

The Green Party advocates the phase-out of nuclear and coal power plants. All processes associated with nuclear power are dangerous, from the mining of uranium to the transportation and disposal of the radioactive waste. Coal is the largest contributor to climate change with estimates as high as 80%.

a. The generation of nuclear waste must be halted. It can remain hazardous for thousands of years and there is no way to isolate it from the biosphere for the durations of its toxic life. We oppose public subsidies for nuclear power. Cost is another huge factor making it unfeasible, with each new nuclear power plant costing billions of dollars.

b. The Green Party calls for a formal moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants, the early retirement of existing nuclear power reactors, and the phase-out of technologies that use or produce nuclear waste, such as nuclear waste incinerators, food irradiators, and all uses of depleted uranium.

c. The Green Party calls for a ban on mountaintop removal coal mining. With limited supplies and in the absence of commercially viable "clean coal" carbon sequestration, which is many decades away, coal is neither an economically nor environmentally sustainable solution.

d. Greens call for the cessation of development of fuels produced with polluting, energy-intensive processes or from unsustainable or toxic feed stocks, such as genetically-engineered crops, coal and waste streams contaminated with persistent toxics.

e. We oppose further oil and gas drilling or exploration on our nation's outer continental shelf, on our public lands, in the Rocky Mountains, and under the Great Lakes.

f. Due to serious negative impacts on food, soil, and water, Greens oppose biofuels production except for small-scale production such as that from used vegetable oils.
Further, we oppose the use of biomass as an energy source on a large scale because of the adverse impacts it will have on our forests, soils, and natural habitats. Biomass from landfills may pose problems of air pollution if incinerators are used.

Proposed Change:

B. Energy.

3. Elimination of dirty and dangerous energy sources.

The Green Party advocates the phase-out of nuclear and coal power plants. All processes associated with nuclear power are dangerous, from the mining of uranium to the transportation and disposal of the radioactive waste. Coal is the largest contributor to climate change with estimates as high as 80%.

a. The generation of nuclear waste must be halted. It is hazardous for thousands of years and there is no way to isolate it from the biosphere for the duration of its toxic life. We oppose public subsidies for nuclear power. Cost is another huge factor making it unfeasible, with each new nuclear power plant costing billions of dollars.

b. The Green Party calls for a formal moratorium on the construction of new nuclear power plants, the early retirement of existing nuclear power reactors, and the phase-out of technologies that use or produce nuclear waste, such as nuclear waste incinerators, food irradiators, and all uses of depleted uranium.

c. We call for a ban on mountaintop removal coal mining. With limited supplies and in the absence of commercially viable "clean coal" carbon sequestration, which may never be feasible, coal is neither an economically nor environmentally sustainable solution.

d. We call for the cessation of development of fuels produced with polluting, energy-intensive processes or from unsustainable or toxic feed stocks, such as genetically-engineered crops, coal and waste streams contaminated with persistent toxics.

e. We oppose further oil and gas drilling or exploration on our nation's outer continental shelf, on our public lands, in the Rocky Mountains, and under the Great Lakes.

f. Due to serious negative impacts on food, soil, and water, we oppose industrial-scale biofuels production and biomass burning for electric power generation. We approve small scale distributed production under local control such as: production of biodiesel from waste oils, or production of charcoal and byproducts from wood wastes or sustainably harvested wood, or small scale production of ethanol from crop wastes or maize stalk sugar, or production of fuel gas for localized electricity generation from anaerobic methane digesters or charcoal gasifiers. We do not object to the utilization of fuel gases seeping from landfills as that is one way to reduce air pollution. We support as a minimum standard the Principles for Sustainable Biomass statement signed by Clean Water Action, Environmental Defense Fund, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Geos Institute, Greenpeace USA, National Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Southern Environmental Law Center, Union of Concerned Scientists, The Wilderness Society, and World Wildlife Fund.

Resources

IMPLEMENTATION / TIMELINE / RESOURCESā€ØApproval of this proposal will amend the 2012 Draft Platform, to be presented for approval at the 2012 Presidential Nominating Convention.

References

REFERENCESā€Ø
2010 Platform: http://www.gp.org/committees/platform/2010/index.phpā€Ø
Proposition 636: http://gp.org/cgi-bin/vote/propdetail?pid=636

CONTACT
ā€Øā€ØPlatform Committee
ā€ØJan Martell, co-chair, 919-682-2472, ninth.st@frontier.com
ā€ØBruce Hinkforth, co-chair, 262-569-1370, bhinkforth@milwpc.comā€Ø
Section editor: Tim Willard, dravidic@yahoo.com

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