Green Options » democratic party http://greenoptions.com/tag/democratic-party Posts tagged 'democratic party' Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:31:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en Reconfiguring Labor Day: The Convergence of the Labor and Environmental Movements http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/01/reconfiguring-labor-day-the-convergence-of-the-labor-and-environmental-movements/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/01/reconfiguring-labor-day-the-convergence-of-the-labor-and-environmental-movements/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:31:03 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/01/reconfiguring-labor-day-the-convergence-of-the-labor-and-environmental-movements/ The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a palpable shift in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have given way to scaled-down parades, and neighborhood cookouts. But long before Labor Day symbolized the end of summer, and the closing of the municipal pool, it was a celebration of this country’s backbone - its laborers.

The first governmental recognition of Labor Day came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. In 1894 President Grover Cleveland declared Labor Day a national holiday. Throughout the 20th century, the interests of labor groups were firmly entrenched in the populist vision and the platform of the Democratic Party. But starting in the 1960s and 1970s, a chasm began to grow within the Democratic Party between the established interests of the labor movement and the emerging interests of the environmental movement.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/09/01/reconfiguring-labor-day-the-convergence-of-the-labor-and-environmental-movements/feed/ Dems Aim to Leave Green Legacy in Denver http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/05/20/dems-take-steps-to-leave-green-legacy-in-denver/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/05/20/dems-take-steps-to-leave-green-legacy-in-denver/#comments Tue, 20 May 2008 20:30:10 +0000 Timothy B. Hurst http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/05/20/dems-take-steps-to-leave-green-legacy-in-denver/ greening the democratic national convention, environmental legacy in Denver My colleague Jennifer Lance recently wrote that both of the major parties would be trying to “out-green” each other for this summer’s national conventions. Republicans and Democrats alike have made efforts to green (or appear to green) what is, for all intents and purposes, a very non-green affair. But Democrats want this August’s convention in Denver to serve as a blueprint for not only how to make a convention greener, but how to make the host city greener long after the convention has ended.

“We are hoping that everything we are doing for greening (the convention) has some legacy value,” said Parry Burnap, “greening” director for the host committee. The committee has launched plans for local river clean-ups, tree-planting and tree care events, and is sourcing its food from local and organic sources. Other programs aimed at leaving a legacy include (after the jump)…

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