GPWA – Rights of Natu
Green Party of Washington State
January 28, 2024.
Proposed Green Party Platform Amendment
GPWA Contact:
Lisa Canar, 915 N 79th St, Seattle, WA 98103, United States
Author: Alice B Green, 9215 Greenwood Ave N, #403, Seattle WA 98103
Chapter of the Platform and letter of plank being addressed:
Section 3 Ecological Sustainability, Letter O. Rights of Nature.
Current Language:
“We support the adoption of local, state, and federal laws which recognize the legal rights of natural communities and ecosystems – including wetlands, streams, rivers, aquifers, and other water systems – to exist, flourish, regenerate, naturally evolve, and be restored. We support the inclusion in those laws of the ability of people and communities to file legal actions in the name of the affected natural community or ecosystem, and for courts to require restoration of the natural community or ecosystem back to its pre-damaged state.”
Proposed Amendment: The language above would remain the same, but a subtopic under letter O. Rights of Nature would start with number 1. The text of which follows:
1. Regarding Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals. Greens recognize that human, animal, and plant life on this planet are not separate from nature. Functional harm to Nature from Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals {EDCs] must be reduced in the environment. Because EDC’s have toxic effects on the ability of natural systems to heal and regenerate themselves, with subsequent negative impacts on biodiversity; these chemicals must be reduced and ultimately eliminated . The Rights of Natural Systems to be free from harm by dysregulating EDCs is in the best interest of present and future generations of human, animal, plant and systemic biomes in all soil, wetlands, freshwater and saltwater environments necessary to sustain life.
A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, may cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, industrial solvents, pesticides, plastics, animal feed additives and human food additives and preservatives.
EDC’s are associated with immune and metabolic dysfunction, harmful neurologic effects in animals and humans, metabolic injury, chronic disease, and cancer in both humans and animals but they also affect plant tissues and soil health through agricultural run-off and contamination.
Some of these substances, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS.) are called “forever chemicals”..
These by-products of petroleum extraction, PFAS, may easily seep into groundwater, and build up in living tissues over time. They are not regulated in all states at the time of this writing, and should be removed from consumer use products immediately.
2. A responsible use policy for necessary EDC pharmaceuticals and chemotherapy waste as well as certain fire retardants should be implemented as well to protect the larger biosphere.
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You will be hearing more about these chemicals if you are not familiar with EDCs already. The cumulative effect of chemical signals in our environment along with stress contribute greatly to chronic disease in humans. The recent report [1/17/24] out of the American Cancer Society that projects the cancer rate of people under 50 to exceed 2 million cases for the first time underscores the need for better stewardship of ourselves and our larger world. The well-being of both is clearly linked.
Several countries with nationalized health also have large data sets of health statistics and are motivated to keep healthcare costs low and citizens healthy. Many bans on certain food additives and agricultural chemicals have resulted.
I work with children who have diabetes, an endocrine disease that is on the rise. Many people want to point to something like vaccines or artificial colors in food and make a direct chain of cause and effect to ADHD, but in reality many triggering factors exist, and if a child gets 5 vaccines one day, an adverse childhood experience, and has toxic exposures the next, so that their physical, emotional, and mental states are simultaneously assaulted, these effects are cumulative.
With post viral syndromes and dysregulation of immunity affecting the health of so many people right now, post pandemic, it is more imperative to be good stewards of ourselves as well as the world at large. With Nature itself in a fragile state, we need to decrease the burdens we as humans put on Nature’s ability to heal and regenerate.
Alice B Green [RN]