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Weekly Newsletter of the Green Party of Ohio
Vol. I, No. 8 -- June 23, 2001
(This newsletter distributed to 2,984)
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F E A T U R E D   I N   T H I S   I S S U E
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1) CENTRAL OHIO GREENS WORK TO SAVE DARBY CREEK
2) OIL DEPLETION: TURNING POINT FOR HUMANKIND
3) MONTANA GREENS WIN SCHOOL BOARD SEAT
4) ANOTHER GREEN VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA
5) OPALINSKY RUNS FOR CITY COUNCIL IN ANNAPOLIS
6) THE OHIO STATE FAIR BOOTH NEEDS YOU!
7) MANSANTO AND THE DRUG WAR IN COLOMBIA
8) INTERNET REVOLUTIONIZING LIFE FOR TEENS
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1) CENTRAL OHIO GREENS WORK TO SAVE DARBY CREEK
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Many Central Ohio Greens are investing their efforts
this spring into saving the Darby Creek watershed.
Big and Little Darby Creeks are State and National
Scenic Rivers located just west of Columbus. They
are home to at least three Federally-listed endan-
gered species. Urban sprawl threatens to destroy
the creeks' biological integrity.

The Central Ohio Green Party is officially supporting
a petition campaign to prevent the City of Columbus
from extending additional sewer and water service
into the Darby watershed for a period of five years.
Right now the City is supporting development that is
filling in flood plains and destroying sensitive
habitat. If this activity can be stopped, officials
may enact the proper planning that will allow develop-
ment to occur without destroying the watershed.

The petition is being managed by a local nonprofit,
Progress with Economic and Environmental Responsibility
(PEER), which has three Greens on its board as well as
prominent Republicans and Democrats. To get this idea
on the ballot, 12,000 signatures are necessary. Your
help is needed! Learn more at http://www.peerohio.org
or email noconnector@columbus.rr.com or call Paul
Dumouchelle at 614-766-4511.

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2) OIL DEPLETION: TURNING POINT FOR HUMANKIND
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The reality of oil depletion is a major factor re-
quiring a green political solution. For a truly
excellent and sobering lecture, "Peak Oil: A Turning
Point for Mankind," by world renowned petroleum
geologist C. J. Campbell, watch the streaming video at:
http://www.rz.tu-clausthal.de/realvideo/event/peak-oil.ram.

A text version with charts is also available at:
http://energycrisis.org/de/lecture.html.

(Note: The first minute of the video is in German.
The remainder of the presentation is in English. The
video is well worth watching. You may want to have
the lecture.html page up in your browser as you watch
the video to be able to better see the charts.)

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3) MONTANA GREENS WIN SCHOOL BOARD SEAT
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The Montana Greens report a victory in the very first
campaign they undertook. David Merrill, a member of
the Glacial Lake Missoula Greens, was elected to the
school board. He got 20% (4057 votes), coming in 3rd
with 5 people running for 3 seats. Eighty-five (85)
Greens now hold office in 20 states.

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4) ANOTHER GREEN VICTORY IN CALIFORNIA
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Four-time Los Angeles Community College District
trustee candidate and Green Party member Nancy
Perlman won a spot on the board in a surprise land-
slide victory. Perlman, 53, of Los Angeles, won 63%
of the vote on June 5 after trailing her opponent,
Samuel J. "Joey" Hill, by 4% in a crowded primary
of four candidates. It was as though every voter
who chose one of the two losing candidates in April
switched their vote to Perlman.

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5) OPALINSKY RUNS FOR CITY COUNCIL IN ANNAPOLIS
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The Green Party entered its first candidate in an
Annapolis, Maryland election this year, as Murray
Hill resident Isaac Opalinsky filed last week to
run for the Ward 1 City Council seat now held by
Democrat Louise Hammond. Mr. Opalinsky, who said he
hopes to bring a fresh, progressive vision to Anna-
polis politics, is a recent graduate of St. John's
College. The 24-year-old serves as recording secre-
tary for the Maryland Conservation Council and writes
for its legislative newsletter, Conservation Report.
He also has worked as a carpenter and is employed by
Free State Press. For more information about
Mr. Opalinsky's campaign, visit his Web site at
http://www.isaac2001.org.

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6) THE OHIO STATE FAIR BOOTH NEEDS YOU!
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The Green Party of Ohio needs volunteers for its
booth at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus Aug. 3-19.
The purposes of this booth will be: (1) to raise
awareness by engaging people in conversation and
distributing literature, (2) to collect petition
signatures, (3) to inform the public of Green candi-
dates for state and local offices by means of a dis-
play, (4) to exchange tee-shirts, bumper stickers,
buttons and other small items for small contribu-
tions in order to partially defray the cost of the
booth, and (5) to solicit contributions to the Green
Party PAC.

The booth is on the south (11th Avenue) end of the
fair, far away from the parking lots on the north
(17th Avenue) end. It is located in the North Commer-
cial Building, the northernmost of three identical
open-air structures built near the turn of the 19th
Century. It is the very last booth on the left-hand
side of the rear exit which opens on to the Ohio
Department of Natural Resources.

Volunteers signing up a few weeks in advance will
receive tickets for their first day at the fair.
Other volunteers must pay their way into the fair,
but will be reimbursed $5. Those volunteering
for the fair more than once will be given exhibitors'
tickets for their remaining shifts.

Volunteers are needed for the following shifts.
Contact Bill Kerwin at wkerwin@hotmail.com or
614-267-5777 to volunteer a specific time.

Fri., Aug. 3: 9:30--1:30
Sat., Aug. 4: 5:30--9:30
Sun., Aug. 5: 9:30--1:30, 5:30--9:30
Mon., Aug. 6: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Tue., Aug. 7: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Wed., Aug. 8: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30
Thu., Aug. 9: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Fri., Aug. 10: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Sat., Aug. 11: 9:30--1:30, 5:30--9:30
Sun., Aug. 12: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Mon., Aug. 13: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Tue., Aug. 14: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Wed., Aug. 15: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Thu., Aug. 16: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Fri., Aug. 17: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Sat., Aug. 18: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30
Sun., Aug. 19: 9:30--1:30, 1:30--5:30, 5:30--9:30

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7) MANSANTO AND THE DRUG WAR IN COLOMBIA
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The United States has sprayed hundreds of thousands
of gallons of Roundup, an herbicide produced by chemi-
cal and biotechnology giant, Monsanto, in recent years
as part of the drug war in Colombia. The use of this
herbicide has consistently produced health complaints
from farmers in the Colombian countryside. Those com-
plaints have gone largely ignored by government offi-
cials in Washington and corporate honchos within
Monsanto. Meanwhile, Monsanto's sordid history as the
manufacturer of Agent Orange, a defoliant used during
the Vietnam war, raises serious questions about its
role in Colombia's drug war and the need for trans-
parency in its dealings with Washington. Released
Thursday, June 21, Jeremy Bigwood produced this inves-
tigative report for CorpWatch:

http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/military/featured/2001/monsanto.html

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8) INTERNET REVOLUTIONIZING LIFE FOR TEENS
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"The Internet is revolutionizing the way teens con-
duct their lives," said Amanda Lenhart, principal
author of "Teenage Life Online: the rise of the
instant-message generation and the Internet's impact
on friendship and family relationships," released by
the Pew Internet & American Life Project June 20.
The study is based on interviews late last
year with 754 teens who use the Internet and their
parents. Among the most striking findings is the
degree to which the Internet is beginning to challenge
the telephone as a means of communicating among teens.
The study concludes that the Internet "is the tele-
phone, television, game console and radio wrapped up
in one for most teenagers."

For the full report and questionnaire, see:
http://www.pewinternet.org/reports/toc.asp?Report=36

For a news article in The Mercury News, June 21, see:
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/front/docs/webteens21.htm

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Green Party of Ohio
PO Box 851, Kent OH 44240
Email: secretary@ohiogreens.org
Web: http://www.ohiogreens.org