The Green Party of Hawaii is a grassroots organization of citizens who joined together in 1991 to work for a better future for the Islands and the world, for a society at peace with itself and its environment, a society that is democratic and just. The Green Party of Hawaii is an autonomous local organization that is part of the worldwide Green political movement based on four core values or "Pillars":

Ecological Wisdom
Grassroots Democracy
Social And Economic Justice
Nonviolence

Our Platform is based on the Ten Key Values of the American Green movement:

Ecological wisdom
Community-based economics
Grassroots democracy
Decentralization
Gender equality
Personal and social responsibility
Respect for diversity
Nonviolence
Global responsibility
Future focus

Each Green group decides for itself how these values are translated into specific recommendations for action. The Hawai`i Greens have adopted this platform. While it draws on programs and platforms common to other Green groups, it differs in detail and emphasis. We believe it reflects the special aloha for people and 'aina that is the unique heritage of our Islands.

A. Green Philosophy

We are struggling for meaning and purpose in a society that often reduces the Earth and its human and non-human communities to markets, commodities, and objects to be bought and sold, managed and controlled. The core Green values of ecological wisdom, grassroots democracy, social justice, and non-violence, and the many planks in this platform, are based on a different philosophy: we acknowledge and celebrate our connectedness to the Earth, to each other, and to all of life. Green spirituality is reflected in many Hawaiian values, such as m™lama `™ina (caring for the land), l?kahi (unity, harmony) and laulima (working together).

Greens seek to restore balance through recognizing that our planet and all of life are unique aspects of an integrated whole, and also through affirming the significant inherent values and contribution of each part of that whole. We declare on behalf of humankind that every generation has responsibilities towards future generations not to misuse resources that are the common heritage of all.

Instead of exploiting fellow humans and the Earth, Greens embrace an attitude of love, compassion and humility. It involves flexible and reciprocal processes that can brings us back to our center, back into balance with ourselves and our community and nature, or being pono (moral, proper, righteous).

B. A Just And Sustainable Economy

Mass-market tourism and unsustainable development, advanced largely by off-Island corporate interests, have driven Hawai`i's economy. The over-expansion of mass tourism has degraded Hawai`i's unique natural and cultural environment, inflated the cost of living, driven up housing prices, and generated mainly low paying service jobs. Continued promotion of mass tourism and luxury shopping malls will mostly further enrich multinational corporations and well-connected local allies, not Hawai`i's average citizens.

We call for a new definition of wealth that includes clean air and water, biodiversity, health, education and peace as measures of economic well being. Instead of destructive growth, Greens favor "sustainable development," which means that economic activities satisfy everyones basic needs and provide a high quality of life for people today, without destroying the environment, the heritage of the Islands past, or compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Instead of tourist-driven growth, Greens envision a locally owned, truly diversified, and more self-reliant economy. We can reduce our need for imported products and outside capital by nourishing locally owned enterprises that produce the goods and services we normally consume. Hawai`i could grow and process its own food, instead of importing at least 80% of it. Islanders could use energy more efficiently and use locally available renewable energy sources rather than pay for expensive imported fossil fuels. We could grow our own timber products for various uses. Supporting local manufacturers, artisans and services would keep money in our local economy. Reducing imports would mean lessening our dependence on the income derived from mass tourism to supply our basic needs.

We must encourage local entrepreneurs. Existing business can be strengthened via business assistance programs; community revitalization efforts; more exporting of local products; and employee ownership. New locally owned enterprises can be encouraged through programs that help new businesses start and survive the first critical year. We need to attract outside businesses that protect and enhance Hawai`i's unique human, cultural, and environmental resources.

Greens call for:
A statewide moratorium on building non bio-diversified golf courses, marinas, resorts, and projects, unless sustainability is the foremost consideration

• Promotion of locally owned small-scale eco-tourism, sensitive to Hawai`i's people, culture and environment
• Limits on multinational and foreign investment
• Capital gains taxes that penalize short-term speculation in land and housing
• Reducing the extraordinary powers of private corporations by amending the laws and U.S. Constitution
• Tax credits and incentives to develop forward-looking local business (i.e., organic agriculture, alternative energy, biotechnology) that encourage the sustainable use of local materials, talent, products, and services
• An economic strategy rooted in community-centered planning, based on sustainable use of local resources
• We enthusiastically support cooperative enterprises which employees both own and manage

In sum, we favor an economy that benefits the whole community. We envision a business environment that rewards the local entrepreneur, the small business, and the responsible locally owned company. Many well-proven ways exist to increase the value of local products, and to develop and support the community's human capital - the talent, experience, and knowledge of our own residents.

C. Grassroots Democracy

Greens would like to see true democracy in Hawai`i. Today, decisions are made by the few, and usually benefit the rich and powerful. We advocate direct democracy, where all citizens can discuss and decide on neighborhood issues such as land use, parks, schools and community services. We advocate:

Strict conflict of interest laws which forbid legislators from voting on matters affecting their large campaign contributors or business associates Decentralize many State functions to the County level, while insuring Constitutional rights are protected and adequate funding is provided Creation of Neighborhood and Community Boards, or expansion of their role, to make policy, such as where to build a park, local zoning codes and development plans, school programs, etc. Increased electronic access to government, such as the present legislative ACCESS program available in libraries and homes Air more hearings on public television Enforcement and extension of "sunshine" laws that open government meetings and information to all Rights for referendum and initiative Proportional representation for national, state and county elections Instant runoff voting for single winner races

A form of semi-bribery, politely called contributions, now corrupts most campaigns for higher office. Too many officeholders sell themselves to PACs (political action committees) and corporate contributors, in order to pay for expensive TV campaigns pandering to the worst instincts of an increasingly cynical and non-voting public. Greens would:

• Ban PAC and corporate campaign contributions
• Support public funding of campaigns for legitimate candidates
• Limit paid TV and newspaper political advertising
• Encourage more forums to publicize candidates' stands on issues
• Require the distribution of voter information booklets before each election containing candidates' background and position on major issues, and information on initiatives, charter reforms, etc.
• permit write-in voting
• Support all forms of public education that prepare people for the responsibilities of governing themselves, and encourage independent thinking.

D. Preserving The Environment

The human race can live in harmony with the earth, and not continue destroying it for short-term profits. We can protect our natural resource heritage for future generations and have a healthy economy. This requires that we adopt "true-cost" pricing in energy and resource management, because market prices fail to accurately reflect the impact on our environment of destructive and inefficient industrial practices.

D1. Energy
Hawai`i imports 90% of its energy, in the form of fossil fuels. To reduce Hawai`i's dependence on coal and oil, we would:

• Reduce Hawai`i's current energy consumption by 50%, by use of proven, reasonably priced efficiency measures
• Substitute renewable energy sources such as solar, hydroelectric, biomass, wind, OTEC, and hydrogen for fossil fuels used to generate electricity and for transportation
• Support County Governments in enacting the Hawaii Residential Model Energy Code
• Encourage the State to allocate significantly more Research & Development resources for innovative, small-scale, diverse and dispersible technologies, rather than large-scale, centralized, capital-intensive projects
• Support legislation mandating solar water heating, where feasible, in all new construction
• promote competition for operation and/or ownership of all or parts of the electric grid by community non-profits or for-profit enterprises
• Support legislation to phase out existing geothermal programs immediately. The current projects have proven to harm humans and the environment, and government has proven itself unwilling to enforce rules and regulations. In addition, they have been insensitive to traditional Hawaiian cultural values
• Phase out the O`ahu H-POWER plant as recycling grows
• We support a nuclear free pacific

D2. Atmosphere
Greens would protect air quality, reduce CO2 emissions and slow global warming by:

• Reducing auto traffic and thus motor vehicle exhaust contaminates (see D9)
• Phasing out our oil, coal and garbage burning power plants
• Reducing industrial emissions
• Supporting efforts to save or restore forests, such as debt-for-nature swaps, tax incentives, and replanting projects
• Increasing efforts to protect the ozone layer

D3. Water
Hawai`i must live within its water budget, using only water that can be spared without destroying streams or depleting aquifers. Greens would:

• Increase efficiency of agricultural water use, through techniques such as drip irrigation
• Redesign residential and county water codes and systems to separate graywater (bathwater, dishwater, etc.) from sewage. Graywater could then be used for irrigation with minimal treatment
• Increase use of surface water (rainwater runoff) and decrease reliance on well water
• Restrict drawdown on freshwater aquifers (over pumping causes irreversible damage)
• Protect water supplies from pollution by fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, farm animal waste runoff and other non-point source pollution
• Eliminate the use of herbicides on our parks, school grounds and roadsides
• Promote integrated pest management and composting
• Vigorously promote residential and commercial water conservation
• Advocate democratic, locally based control over water supplies and waste management practices that affect surface and sub-surface waters
• Encourage xeriscaping (plants using little or no water) in dry areas

D4. Oceans And Fisheries
We are appalled by the waste of life and ocean resources caused by driftnet and longline fishing in Hawaiian waters and elsewhere. We would:

• Impose economic sanctions upon countries that allow driftnetting
• Strongly enforce the international ban on driftnetting

We would also:

• Impose economic sanctions upon countries that defy the International Whaling Commission ban on whaling
• Prohibit imports of tuna caught by methods that kill dolphins
• Oppose sea strip-mining and refining of minerals in Hawaiian waters
• Enforce and expand anti-pollution laws to include strict limitations on the introduction of harmful noise into the marine environment
• Set and enforce rules prohibiting discharge of untreated sewage into streams or coastal waters, and require secondary treatment of sewage where necessary
• Fund programs to protect wetlands threatened by development
• Encourage fish pond development where applicable
• Prohibit long-line fishing in Isle waters by out-of-state boats
• Limit fishing in depleted areas until local fisheries recover; establish and enforce sustainable yields
• Severely restrict reef fish collecting to allow this resource to recover

D5. Wilderness
Hawai`i is home to more endangered species than any other place in the United States. We must protect our unique flora and fauna; we must preserve our remaining wilderness as places of solace, refuge from modern life, and spiritual regeneration. We would:

• Increase Hawai`i's Department of Land and Natural Resources funds, and strengthen the department's programs that protect and preserve the Islands' oceans and land
• Enforce equal access laws for Hawai`i's citizens who are increasingly being shut out from the Islands' ocean and forests by private owners
• Work closely with private groups which buy and preserve native habitats since adequate space is needed for our flora and fauna

D6. Land Use
We view with concern the present concentration of land ownership in Hawai`i; today most land is owned by the government or the large estates, with only a small portion divided among individual landowners. Land must be used for the long-term well being of Hawai`i residents and Hawai`i's environment. Planning boards dominated by development interests do not best serve the `aina and us. Greens therefore:

• Call for elected land-use boards, with minimum qualifications for board members, open meetings, and public scrutiny of planning decisions to ensure proactive public participation
• Will work for the right of initiative to rescind inappropriate decisions

• Limit development of historically or ecologically significant areas
• Preserve our coastline and scenic wonders for public enjoyment
• Establish greenbelts as buffers to urban development

D7. Food And Farming
Greens call for sustainable agriculture and food self-reliance in Hawai`i (we now import at least 80% of our food). We would:

• Encourage intelligent farming practices to conserve topsoil
• Discourage the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, genetically altered seeds
• Support alternative sustainable crop production
• Support small-scale, family owned diversified farming
• End tax policies, crop subsidies and State lease regulations that favor big plantations and factory farms, at the expense of the smaller growers
• Set up land trusts to shelter productive farmland from development pressures
• Encourage aquaculture, thus reducing overfishing of Island waters as well as reducing reliance on imported fish

Animal husbandry must also be reformed. Meat animals are now confined in feedlots and fed on grain. It takes several pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat which is a waste of food. Moreover, feedlot-waste pollutes water supplies. We support:

• small-scale homestead livestock raising, or ranching, on marginal land not suitable for other crops
• Small feedlots dispersed on all islands, and grass-fed, organic animal feeding methods, are preferable to large industrialized feedlots.

We believe that these goals will be best achieved by consumer education. For health, environmental, and social justice reasons, we urge consumers to avoid feedlot meat and eat lower on the food chain.

D8. Manufacturing
Greens would encourage manufacturers to produce goods that are durable, repairable, reusable, recyclable, and energy efficient, with a goal of zero emissions in their manufacture. We would also:

• Discourage over-consumption; encourage consumers to share, repair and live better with less
• Enact and enforce laws controlling industrial pollution by assessing its "true cost"
• Assess "true-cost" based fees to products in relation to the environmental cost caused by their production, use, and disposal

D9. Transportation
Private cars pollute the air, clog cities and waste energy reserves. We would:

• Reduce auto traffic with energy-efficient, non-polluting mass transit closely linked with park-and-ride stations, busses, jitneys, and other alternatives to cars
• Promote the use of bicycles, by creating bike paths, providing free bicycle carriage on mass transit, and providing bicycle storage lockers
• Encourage energy efficiency in cars by raising gas taxes gradually but significantly
• Set and enforce strict emission standards
• Encourage manufacturers to produce cars that run on renewable energy

D10. Cities And Housing
Greens envision an alternative to the suburb: the cluster project. A cluster would consist of townhouses or row houses, surrounded by green space. It would be built on a mass transit line, so those residents could manage without cars. Each cluster could have its own meeting area, convenience store, and day-care. Such projects could be modeled on the co-housing communities in Europe and the Mainland, or integral residential-commercial "pocket cities" being built in California and elsewhere. They would foster a sense of community, use land efficiently, and reduce the environmental costs of commuting. We need to begin redesigning cities and communities around mass transit hubs and a mix of reasonably priced housing, work, and shopping areas. New housing could be built to these specifications; old housing could be retrofitted. We would promote this transformation of Hawai`i's community by:

• Funding model sustainable cities projects
• Providing low-cost loans for retrofitting existing housing stocks
• Rewriting housing and tax codes to encourage mixed land uses
• Integrating commercial and residential areas to reduce commuting
• Opening the land planning process to community input (see Section D6)
• Redesigning the planning process to minimize unnecessary delays
• Changing tax and building codes to promote energy and water efficiency in old buildings as well as all new construction

Greens believe that we must house all Hawai`i's citizens, including the poor. Hawai`i urgently needs adequate, reasonably-priced housing for its lower and middle-income residents. Current government housing policies are ineffective. The State forces developers to build a few "affordable" houses for the lucky and the politically connected. This random bonanza for a few families does little to ease the overall housing crisis.

Greens would increase the housing supply by:

• Helping nonprofit groups build reasonably priced rentals and form rental housing trusts
• Funding a State Housing Trust Fund at the $100 million level

Reducing land and building costs by:

• Rezoning 10% of marginal agricultural land for cluster housing
• Redesigning the planning and inspection process to minimize unnecessary delays
• Funding a state-guaranteed loan program for inexpensive, self-help housing

D11. Waste Management
We can prevent waste by buying less and using less (source reduction), reusing and refurbishing. What waste we do produce must be recycled to the greatest extent possible. Greens would:

• Encourage local industries to use locally collected recyclables as raw materials; this would reduce transportation costs and make recycling more cost effective
• Encourage use of products made from recycled materials
• Provide curb-side pickup of recyclable materials
• Bale and store sorted materials in balefills for easy recovery with future recycling technologies
• Charge fees for unsorted wastes
• Charge fines for illegal dumping
• Set up facilities to compost yard and kitchen waste
• Phase out the O`ahu garbage to energy plant as recycling grows

D12. Population
None of the previous proposals will save the environment if the human population continues to grow at the current rate. Greens support worldwide zero population growth. We would promote contraception research, distribution, and education at home and overseas.

Though we have experienced a temporary diminishing of the population in Hawai`i during the 1990's, it has not been the norm. Hawai`i's population has grown quickly, 2.4% annually during the period 1970-1986. This was three times as fast as the overall U.S. population growth. Only a small part of this was due to natural increase (the surplus of births over deaths). Most population growth here is due to migration, from foreign countries and from the Mainland. This migration was spurred by the growth of the tourist industry, which creates more low-paying menial jobs than local residents can fill.

Population growth must cease. We need carrying capacity studies for all counties to determine development limits. (See Section B)

E. Justice For Na Ka'naka Maoli, "Native Hawaiians"
Hawai`i's history since Captain Cook is marked by the assault on the Islands' indigenous culture and people by missionaries, soldiers, traders, and businessmen. In 1893, U.S. troops aided American businessmen in forcibly overthrowing the legitimate government of Queen Lili`uokalani. The national landbase and sovereignty of na k™naka maoli were taken. Since illegal annexation in 1898, the Federal and State governments have cheated and neglected the native Hawaiian people. In 1993, the U.S. Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the "Apology Bill." (U.S. Public Law 103-150) This admission of crime states in part "the native Hawaiians have never lost their inherent sovereignty nor their national home base." Greens demand justice for na k™naka maoli. We support the following:

• Protecting sacred and culturally significant sites
• Efforts to nurture native Hawaiian culture
• Na k™naka maoli leadership and guardianship in protecting gathering rights and lobbying the Legislature to safeguard these rights without interference
• Return of, or adequate compensation for, Ceded Lands
• Immediate distribution of Hawaiian Homelands; Federal and State funds to be allocated for the necessary infrastructure
• A prohibition of future sale or diminishments of the Ceded Land trust
• A call for open dialogue among all residents of Hawai`i on the sovereignty option of full independence
• Hawaiian sovereignty in a form fair to both native Hawaiians and other citizens of Hawai`i

F. A Decent Life For All
Greens stand for equal opportunity for all, regardless of class, race, creed, culture, gender, sexual orientation, or physical and mental handicaps. We call for community programs that would allow all people to live in decency and dignity. We support:

• A state funded health insurance system, modeled on the Canadian medical system, which would guarantee adequate health care for all Hawai`i residents
• Integrating alternative health care and preventative medicine, including traditional Hawaiian healing (La`au Lapa`au and Lomi Lomi) into in a comprehensive health care system
• Expanded job training and apprenticeship programs
• Guaranteed loan and scholarship programs that would allow any qualified student, no matter how poor, a college education

Greens strive to nurture home and family life. We would help working parents by promoting expanded day-care and after-school programs, and state-assisted parental leave policies. We would seek to limit the damages of divorce by:

• Revising divorce laws to protect women and children
• Insuring prompt payment of court-ordered child support and alimony

We would nurture the extended family by supporting a comprehensive system of support for the elderly that would provide affordable or shared housing, contact with youth and animals, and home health services in all neighborhoods, thus allowing the elderly to remain near friends and relatives.

G. Gender And Racial Equality
Domination and competition are the organizing principles of society: top-down hierarchical structures determine the management of corporations, schools, prisons, hospitals, universities, churches, and of course, government. Dominance sets a pattern for unequal power relationships between men and women, people of different colors, rich and poor, humans and nature.

We must replace dominance and control (the patriarchal system) with partnership and cooperation. Present stereotypes of masculinity and femininity are not an adequate characterization of what it is to be human. We must respect feelings as well as rationality in our approach to life; consider means as well as goals; and appreciate the contemplative part of life as much as the active. We strive for a society based on trust, not fear; nurturing, not controlling others; open communications, not manipulation; empathy with others, not violence against others; respect for nature, not conquest of nature.

Because women are not, and have not been, involved as equal partners in the leadership levels of decision-making, we commit ourselves to achieving gender balance in private and public leadership positions.

We need to strengthen, increase the funding of, and expand the capacity of, the Hawai`i Civil Rights Commission, which presently struggles under a huge backlog of gender and race discrimination cases.

We support programs such as parental leave, childcare and elder care both inside and outside the home (Section F). We will work vigorously to protect women and children from violence within the family. We are pro-choice (Section I1)

H. A Renewed Community Life
Overdevelopment, overcommercialization, the influx of outside values, and the building of sprawling suburbs and dense high-rises, have significantly eroded the Aloha spirit in today's Hawai`i. True communities are places where people know each other, treat each other as friends, and share values and traditions. Communities give meaning and richness to life. The community's history, landmarks and landscapes afford a sense of belonging and identity. Greens favor social policies that reinvigorate community life.

Neighborhood and community have traditionally been a basic unit of politics, a natural forum for discussion, decisions, and actions. Greens strongly believe that ordinary citizens should make decisions directly affecting their communities. (see Section C.)

Schools should be co-managed by parents, teachers, and students. (see Section J)

We believe that:

• The community, not distant bureaucracies or professionals, is the best provider of social services. Creating, strengthening, and transforming community-based associations and mutual-aid groups is the best way to care for our fellow humans. (see Section F)
• Small businesses and cooperatives should form the vibrant basis of the community's economic activities, not mass tourist-oriented facilities owned by offshore corporations who drain off major profits. (see Section B)

Neighborhoods and towns need to be redesigned to encourage neighborliness and community. (see Section D10) Cities and towns need not be car-centered and congested. Properly planned, they can include many places for strolling, shopping, sidewalk cafes, public gatherings and festivities.

This sense of green community extends to the environment. Just as the individual is incomplete without a healthy community, so is the human race dependent on its supporting ecosystem.

I. Nonviolence
Greens will work for peace. Peace is not just the absence of violence: peace is trust and tolerance, based on respect for diversity and rights of self-determination. Also, there can be no peace without justice. We renounce violence as a tactic of social change, and will work through persuasion, not intimidation. Nations and individuals need to settle conflicts without violence, recognizing that it often creates more problems than it solves. We support:

• Drastic reductions in the U.S. military budget
• An end to testing, production, and storage of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons globally
• A ban on sales of weapons by U.S. military contractors to foreign countries
• An end to military foreign aid to repressive regimes
• Diplomatic and economic sanctions against regimes guilty of human rights abuses
• Increased support of UN peacekeeping and conflict resolution programs, such as creating a Center for Peace in the Pacific using indigenous teachers
• Teaching of conflict resolution in schools
• Neighborhood mediation centers
• Funding for shelters for victims fleeing domestic violence
• Prevention and counseling programs addressing problems of family violence

I.1 Abortion
Abortion is a troubling issue to some Greens. They argue that an ethic of nonviolence must include fetuses and ban all abortion. The majority of us support a woman's right to choose whether or not she carries a pregnancy to term. We feel that a greater harm is committed when the state interferes in what should be a private matter.

We believe that a woman should be free to make choices about childbearing.