GPWI, Ecological Sustainability, Introduction: Modify language on population in introduction to Ecological Sustainability section
Name of party/caucus/committee and co-chair contact information
Wisconsin Green Party
Co chairs:
Dave Schwab david.c.schwab@gmail.com
Jo’ Nathan Kingfisher zkingfisherbird@gmail.com
Brief explanation of approval process and date of approval
The proposal was submitted to the WIGP Coordinating Council for discussion and voting, and was approved on 9/30/21.
Contact Information for author or designated contact person: name, address, phone, e-mail.
Dave Schwab david.c.schwab@gmail.com
Chapter of the platform and letter of plank being addressed; or, if introducing new material, chapter and section where new plank should appear
III. Ecological Sustainability, Introduction, fourth paragraph
Current language of plank being addressed
We support planetary efforts to slow the ever-increasing numbers of humans pressuring the ecosystems, and we especially support the reduction of consumption of the world’s raw materials by the industrialized Northern Hemisphere.
Proposed revision or amendment of the current language, or proposed new plank
We support planetary efforts to reverse ever-increasing human pressures on ecosystems, and we especially support the reduction of consumption of the world’s raw materials by the industrialized Northern Hemisphere.
Additional comments or questions
The existing statement “We support planetary efforts to slow the ever-increasing numbers of humans pressuring the ecosystems” could be misunderstood by potential supporters and twisted by detractors as expressing support by the US Green Party for top-down population control, particularly on a planetary or global scale, ie. in other countries. Such a statement can raise red flags among those who are conscious of the history of imperialism, colonialism, and eugenics, and historical attempts particularly by European settler civilizations to reduce the populations of groups seen as the “other” based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, class, etc. For this reason, any policies regarding population should be specific rather than ambiguous to prevent such misinterpretations from damaging the Green Party’s reputation.
The proposed replacement text “We support planetary efforts to reverse ever-increasing human pressures on ecosystems” mitigates this danger and recognizes that the problem for ecological sustainability is not the number of humans per se, but the pressures that humans place on ecosystems.