One of the Green-Rainbow Party’s shining stars left this mortal world on September 5, 2022.  Samuel Elie Yarden at the age of 99. Up to the very final days, Elie was an active contributor and supporter of the Green-Rainbow Party.  He did not take fools kindly.  He spoke his mind.  He even thought to run again for Cambridge City Council at 97 just because Greens needed to be heard. Perhaps one of his final supportive acts was his offer to provide the registration fee to Green-Rainbow Party members who could not afford to attend the 2022 Green Annual Convention. A full testament to his life can be reached at the Green Party’s website at Elie Yarden Memorial.

by John Andrews.  In the recent gubernatorial debate between Democrat Maura Healey and Republican Jeff Diehl, Healy effectively pledged allegiance to fossil fuel companies.  Alison King (NBC Boston):  And just quickly, is there anything about the Green New Deal that goes a bit too far, in your opinion?   Maura Healey:  "My plan is to have a diverse portfolio. One of the reasons that we’re in the fix we are with energy prices right now is that we’ve been held hostage by Big Oil and the fossil fuel industry. We need to diversify that here in this state. Solar, wind, storage, and the like.   I’ve supported many of the moves of the Baker administration and of the legislature.  We need to continue on that path. Our economic well-being, and frankly, Alison, our state’s competitiveness, is going to be dependent on this." Continue reading

by Zachary Kontra. Five months ago, I put my name forward to become a town meeting member representing my precinct in Holbrook, Massachusetts. I had no experience with local town meetings before, and I was excited at the prospect of serving my community and making the world a better place in some small way. I was delighted to get acquainted with several other local environmental activists, who were also serving as town meeting members themselves, and learned about the uphill battle they were fighting to protect our beloved Town Forest from planned destruction from developers who had the blessing of town officials.   Continue reading

by John Blumenstiel. Today we explore: ”Grassroots Democracy” (decisions made as close as possible by those most affected)  Many recall a game played as children called “paper, rock, scissors”. In it we would count, “One, two, three, shoot” and then throw out one hand in the shape of a rock ( closed fist), paper (open hand), or scissors (index and middle finger).  The rules were simple.  Paper-covered rock and won. Scissors cut paper and won. Rock broke scissors and won.-- Little did we expect our adult lives to be controlled by a similar, though far more consequential effort called “land, labor, capital”, otherwise,  the organization of our economic world that determines winners and losers. Land, labor, and capital are the essential components of economic systems. How they are managed, which is prioritized, and how the parts are regulated have a great deal to do with today’s winners and losers. Continue reading