the SNAP program

Garrison Collette, who works as an energy extension agent at the Cooperative Extension Service, sent around a message via e-mail exhorting people to help support the Sustainable Natural Alternative Power program at GVEA. It's a good idea, in my mind, and like him, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet (I've been looking into producing alternative energy, but the Republic is not there yet, alas). Here's what he said about the program:

[It] is the way our local utility gauges interest in renewable energy, and is also how it pays renewable producers.  Right now, SNAP has less than one thousand members.

I can't really complain about this small number, since until today, I wasn't a member of SNAP.  Many of us don't get an electric bill, or have it on autopay, or pay our electric bill to a landlord.  So we don't see a box that says "check here to become a member of SNAP."  Since I am one of those, I had to actually hunt down the link to become a SNAP member, and after I found the web page, it was really easy.  So, I'm including the link to the web page to sign up to be a SNAP member.  It's https://www.gvea.com/secure/snap.php. If every one of you signs up for SNAP as a result of this email, which is really just a reminder, then we will have doubled the number of SNAP members.  Think about that--Fairbanks' main renewable energy program could grow by 100% in the next few hours if you just click on the link below.

I signed up to donate $5 a month.  The minimum is $2.  I know we can all afford that.  It's more of a statement that, yes, the Interior cares about energy.  That's really all we can do right now; make a statement.  But I assure you that its a loud statement, and that there are a lot of people working to make sure that this statement doesn't go unnoticed.

Good on you, Garrison, and I think I'll take your advice.

Kevin Morford in deep trouble

This is one for the Green Party Gone Bad blog, I think. Kevin Morford, a writer, community activist, and legal beagle for the Green Party of Alaska on many occasions, has been arrested and charged with child pornography. The Anchorage Daily News interviewed Jim Sykes about the arrest:

Jim Sykes, a consumer advocate from Palmer and a former Green Party candidate for Alaska governor and U.S. senator, said he was completely surprised to hear of the charges against Morford.

"I find the accusation quite shocking and hope it's not true," Sykes said Monday night. "He's contributed a lot to the community." .... "One of the principles of the Green Party is taking personal responsibility, and I'm sure ... he'll take personal responsibility for them" if the accusations prove to be true, Sykes said.

Shocking is right. Morford has done wonderful things for Alaska, and if this is true, it shows how a person can be both admirable and despicable at the same time. If it's not true, it will still cloud his reputation and probably ruin his life for years to come, that being the depth of revulsion which any taint of this kind of crime induces in people.

You just never know.

The first key value

The first of the Ten Key Values of the Green Party of the United States is Grassroots Democracy:

Every human being deserves a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of another. Therefore, we will work to increase public participation at every level of government and to ensure that our public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. We will also work to create new types of political organizations which expand the process of participatory democracy by directly including citizens in the decision-making process.

Alaskans for Clean Elections is doing something about corruption in Alaska politics with its Clean Elections initiative. Money, as has become apparent, can have a corrosive effect on the moral fiber of our representatives.

Go check out this initiative, and add your name to the list of supporters!

Green business caucus

Check out the article in Green Pages, "Walking the walk: Green business owners positioned to make a difference":

As a caucus within the party, Green business owners could start a meaningful discussion about how best to utilize the skills and resources we bring to the Party. We can set an example of what "business" can be, and what it looks like when a moral compass and a little vision are added to the mix. We all talked about our desire to see a network form that would unite Green business owners nationwide and help Greens communicate with each other to help grow the party.

If you are interested in helping to form such a group or caucus, please contact mattfuniciello@earthlink.net

For a while, the TY-Green website had a Green Business page, with lots of information on community-based economics. Here's some information from Synthesis/Regeneration on the topic, in two articles by Steve Welzer. The journal also has a page of links to articles on Green economics.

For some local writing on this, there's my own recent editorial on community currency, and two articles by Phil Loring over at The Fireweed on local agriculture.