I woke up the other morning, looked outside, and saw robins foraging for grubs in my unfrozen backyard. I looked at the thermometer and saw it was 52 degrees, the sun shining, and wondered where winter had gone.  I realized that I hadn't had to shovel any snow and thought to myself:  Wow what a wonderful winter we had, but I am still glad it is gone.  I went to my calendar to check my schedule and found that it was February 9th and we still had 6 weeks of winter left.  Maybe that groundhog Punxsutawney Phil has it all wrong.  Maybe that rodent is merely a purveyor of "alt facts'', "false news" or worse yet an "asset" of the SSIC (Snow Shovel Industrial Complex) or just a plain run-of-the-mill "useful idiot".  Whatever it is, something seems seriously amiss. And that is factual!!  

To deny the reality of climate change, global pollution, catastrophic storms related to climate change and the growing negative impact on humanity is akin to denying the house is on fire when the rooms fill with smoke and the floor becomes hot.  It's time that the climate change deniers give up on using rodents as their source of information and consider the collective body of knowledge of the majority of climate scientists.  I am not a scientist or science writer, but when I get news story after news story proclaiming scientific confirmation of climate change and pay attention to what is happening in my world as well as the climate conditions throughout the world I must admit that something momentous is happening.

Mountains burning, the Colorado River drying up in the West, flooding in the South, unseasonably warm winter in the Northeast, and historic fires in Europe and Australia are not just bad luck occurrences. They are consequences of government inaction, public apathy, and a generalized sense of powerlessness.

Add to the carbonization of our air through fossil fuel-dependent transportation systems, an economic system based upon material consumption (more fossil fuel use), a bought-and-sold political system (fossil fuel companies' financial contributions), a war machine that is the biggest fossil fuel user in the world. A massive user of fossil fuel for war machine production and a massive destroyer of the environment via years of perpetual war. Taken collectively we have not just a war on people, but a war on the world's environment.  No wonder I must mention apathy and powerlessness.  That is what we have succumbed to.

With the GRP's Key Value of Ecological Wisdom, we promote investments in energy research and alternative energy systems, economic and tax system that rewards conservation over consumption, diplomacy and trade over war and economic sanctions, local production for human needs and grassroots democracy/and local economic development that defends the land and the people from profit-driven corporate control of our lives. The water, land, air, and all aspects of our world are a "commons" to be shared and respected. It is intended to be used for the benefit of all and not exploited for the profit of the few. Many of these practices are enshrined in the balance of our 10 Key Values.  We Greens should be both proud of our commitment to the 10 Key Values as well as determined to build our numbers to restore peace, freedom, and democracy as well as build a sustainable future for future generations.

Goals, values, and aspirations are only as powerful as the actions that support them. Greens throughout Massachusetts are stepping up to the challenge.  Zackary Kontra has organized a “green caucus” within the Holbrook Town Meeting process focused on defending the local environment from corporate exploitation.  Lois Gagnon reports on activities from western Massachusetts in their efforts to likewise protect the natural resources in the local communities from further destruction.  Across the state, there are ongoing efforts to link with such groups as the Extinction Rebellion to create a larger sustained effort to protect our natural resources. There are certainly many efforts afoot across the state that give us all opportunities for constructive action and the creation of positive outcomes in defense of People, Planet and Peace.

This is the 3rd article demonstrating how our 10 key values improve life for real people. by John Blumenstiel