Green politics

Green politics is a body of political ideas informed by environmentalism and aimed at developing a sustainable society. It is considered by its advocates to be an alternative to both left and right views and parties, although adherents of both views tend to view Greens as "on the other side". Certainly has taken the form of pressure groups and green parties in various countries such as the UK., Germany and Australia, but with varying success. Has placed green issues on the mainstream political agenda, but not yet succeeded in forming strong independent political entities. Likely to grow in power and influence. Some of these views include: 1. A commitment to the methods of consensus decision-making, participatory democracy and deliberative democracy wherever feasible. 2.Local and moral purchasing provisions for government especially, requiring the source of supply to follow environmental and labor standards similar to those prevailing in the consuming jurisdiction. 3. Measuring well-being as an alternative to consumer price index based means of measuring economic growth. 4. Full cost accounting and an end to dirty subsidy of pollution by government. 5. A green tax shift that would increase consumption and sales taxes on all resource-intensive items, while reducing income tax and capital gains tax. 6.A cessation of all taxes levied against strictly local production and trade. 7. Against nuclear power and the build up of persistent organic pollutants - based on a strict adherence to the precautionary principle where technologies are rejected unless they can be proven to not cause significant harm to the health of living things or the biosphere. In Germany and Sweden programs have been initiated to shut down all nuclear plants (known as nuclear power phase-out). 8. An end to biological forms of pollution and human health damage via the subsidy of dairy farming and the meat industry. 9. Treating waste as a resource - a commodification of something of negative value, previously dumped into the commons without full cost accounting. 10. Investing heavily in human capital. 11. Accounting reform that would probably disadvantage both labour and large investors in favor of smaller investors. 12. An end to the War on Drugs in the United States and Europe. 13. An end to the War on Terrorism and the curtailment of civil rights - focusing instead on growing deliberative democracy in war-torn regions and the construction of a civil society with an increased role for women 14. Urban secession by major cities to permit them to shake off control of the suburbs and renew their economies in ways that they cannot do if they require the permission of their surrounding regions, e.g. to tax, ban cars in downtowns, or put money in mass transit instead of highways. 15.Bioregional democracy reflecting ecological boundaries in politics directly. Because it lacks clear identification with powerful interest groups, and tends to appeal more to a world-view or mindset, Green politics tends to grow slowly but also not to easily lose ground to other views or parties over time.