April 2009 GreenGram

The Green Party of NJ Bulletin - April 2009

* GPNJ Annual Convention
* County local reports
* Proposals for the convention to consider
* Letter to the editor
* GPUS Annual National Meeting notice
* Green Fest 2009
* Green candidate successes
* Reverend Billy's Bailout
* Cynthia McKinney commentaries
* CMMNJ Monthly Public Meeting

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GREEN PARTY OF NEW JERSEY ANNUAL CONVENTION

GPNJ's 13th Annual Convention will be held Sat. May 23.
Location: 2211 West Landis Avenue, Vineland, NJ 08360
(right off Exit 32A of Route 55). Registration will begin
at 9:00am. The convention will feature the introduction
of our 2009 candidates and the election of our party
officers, plus a presentation by keynote speaker David
Petrovich. For more information, email: Chair[at]gpnj. org.

(Proposals for the convention to consider and other
material related to the convention are included below.)

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COUNTY LOCAL REPORTS

Bergen County

Submitted by Ed Fanning

The last Green Council conference call included a review
of plans for Earth Day 2009. Gail Dixon and I discussed
possible activities. Katy Meyer, Alvin Meyer and I also
reviewed what Bergen County has done in the past. BC has
distributed a letter (the text of which is included at
the end of this GreenGram) on Green Party letterhead
along with a packet of sunflower seeds inside a small
(coin) envelope. We have a stamp which is used to stamp
BCGP (Bergen County Green Party) on the envelope.
A possible place where sunflower seeds can be ordered is:
Wildseed Farms - www.wildseedfarms. com 800-848-0078.

We distributed the letter on April 22 with the sunflower
seeds stapled to the outside envelope. We will be doing
so again on Saturday, April 25.

[Earth Day awareness is current all during the month of
April, so there is still time for other counties to
emulate what the Bergen Greens have done. Feel free to use
the text of the letter included at the end of this issue.]

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Essex County

Submitted by Jane Califf

People from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network,
GreenPeace and D.C. Rising Tide disrupted the World
Coal-to-Liquids Conference in Washington, DC on March 26.

If you click on the link below you can watch a short
video of this event. The video quality is not good
because the protestors had to sneak in, but you will
clearly hear one young man speak from the balcony about
the dangers of coal and then you will see and hear Ted
Glick (our Essex County Coordinator) also speak. The
police came and told all of the protesters to leave, and
they did because their point was to disrupt, not to get
arrested.

www.youtube. com/dcrisingtide

The process of making and burning the liquid that would
come from coal is twice as polluting as the process of
refining oil into gasoline and burning it. The reason the
coal industry wants this to be developed is that the
diesel fuel that results can be used in motor vehicles
and they will then have a broader market for their coal
products.

After you watch the video, you will see that there are
related ones about the March 2 actions in Washington, DC
against coal. Ted, Daniel Glick and I participated in a
rally at the U.S. Capitol and then a civil disobedience
protest outside the 103-year-old coal plant that warms
and cools the U.S. Capitol Building. Five gates to the
plant were blocked by thousands of people calling for
clean energy, not polluting fossil fuels. No one was
arrested because there were too many protesters!

Additionally, Ted and I participated in the March 28
rally in Toms River to shut down the Oyster Creek nuclear
power plant. About 100 people attended the rally
sponsored by Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch to demand that
the NRC refuse to approve continued operations at the
40-year old plant (the oldest in the country). Carol Gay,
who helped organize the action, asked Ted to speak and
introduced him as a member of the Green Party of New Jersey.

* * *

Letter to the Asbury Park Press 4/9/09 (excerpts)

Concerns remain over Oyster Creek

At the recent Citizen's Rally at Huddy Park in Toms
River, the attendees heard first-hand from experts who
have been following the safety and health issues at
Oyster Creek. We were not surprised, and we predicted at
the rally, that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would
re-license Oyster Creek. It was the 49th time the NRC
used its rubber stamp to approve license extensions to
nuclear plants throughout the U.S. It maintained its
record of never ordering the shutdown of a nuclear plant.

Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch will continue to educate the
public about the serious problems of this reactor. It is
a decaying plant already compromised by years of
radiation and heat, with a questionable containment
system. It pollutes Barnegat Bay and its emissions are
linked to cancer. It is susceptible to terrorism with an
impossible evacuation plan, while its lethal waste
continues to be stockpiled on-site.

Edith Gbur
President, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch

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Mercer County

Nick Mellis and Ken Wolski are planning to run as Green
Party candidates for Lawrence Township Council. Steve
Welzer will soon start collecting signatures to run for
State Assembly in the 12th District.

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Monmouth County

Through various cleanups and environmental projects, the
Green Party of Monmouth County has been developing
relationships locally with the leadership of Clean Ocean
Action (COA), Hazlet Township's Environmental Commission,
the Hazlet Township Committee as well as the Hazlet Area
Quality of Life Alliance. As a result of Rich Fuller's
speeches to the latter two organizations, they both
signed on to COA's opposition to the LNG (Liquefied
Natural Gas) "Insanity Island" proposal off our coast.
Subsequently, Rich has been invited to speak on May 14
to the Union Beach Township Committee regarding our
opposition to the LNG proposal.

On Saturday, April 25, the Aberdeen Greens will once
again add their names to the other Green Party
participants in COA's biannual Beach Sweeps to help
remove shoreline debris and record the results on Beach
Sweep Data Cards. (On Earth Day Oprah Winfrey showed a
floating "island" of plastic and other debris
contaminating the Pacific Ocean. She reported that it was
the size of Texas and killing birds and other living things.)

The plastic cap collection campaign is winding down.
Greens who have been collecting caps may now turn them in
to Rich or bring them to the GPNJ convention in May.

Relationships are also being developed with activists in
Middlesex County, such as the Coordinator of the Green
Party of Middlesex County, Matt Natale, a Brookdale
Community College student; the peace activists in
Highland Park; and with Citizen Action by way of a recent
anti-war march through downtown New Brunswick.

One additional highlight from New Brunswick: at a recent
visit to the upstairs juice bar at the George Street
Co-op (organic health food store) the manager requested
a Green Party sticker for display there. A promise to
fulfill that request was made pronto!

Lastly,work has begun on our long-anticipated Green Party
of Monmouth County web site.

Submitted by Rich Fuller
Coordinator, Green Party of Monmouth County

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Ocean County

Coordinator Jason Koralja reports that he is intending to
run for Surf City Boro Council and has obtained nearly
twice the number of petition signatures required.

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PROPOSALS FOR THE GPNJ CONVENTION TO CONSIDER

Proposal submitted by Ed Fanning
of the Bergen County Greens:

Establishment of a GPNJ Coordinator/ Project Manager position.

Be it resolved that GPNJ establishes the new position of
State Coordinator/ Project Manager. The holder of this
position will work with the GPNJ County and State
officials to help implement policies approved in various
GPNJ venues.

(I believe that we need a person in this position to
ensure that we act upon various projects/resolution s
that are approved by the party.)

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Six proposals submitted by Nick Mellis
of the Mercer County Greens:

Proposal #1:

Allowing the State Chair to propose ideas and actions.

This (BYLAWS AMENDMENT) resolution if passed would permit
the State Chair of the Green Party of New Jersey to
propose resolutions both online and at state party
conventions and at monthly GC/EC meetings. If passed this
resolution would override any of Robert's Rules of Order
restrictions on the chair making proposals.

Proposal #2:

Recording the votes of our Representatives to the
National Committee.

Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that all votes
taken by our three representatives to the Green National
Committee of the GPUS, be recorded and posted on a
special page of the GPNJ web site. If passed this
resolution would create a web page that would record all
the votes that our reps to the national committee take.
A link to the proposal would be listed and the vote taken
by our reps would be recorded. This page would be created
and maintained by the GPNJ ComCom and a from at least one
of national reps.

Proposal #3:

The Green Council will determine how our Green National
Committee Representatives will vote.

Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT): The votes taken
by our national reps will be discussed by the GPNJ Green
Council prior to the voting deadline imposed by the GNC.
A vote will then be taken by the GPNJ Council as to how
we would like our reps to vote on a particular issue(s).
The purpose of this proposal is to engage the Green
Council of NJ in the daily activity of the national
party. To make the GPNJ as a whole thoroughly
knowledgeable of the issues facing the Green Party of
United States. An EC/GC vote will be taken before the
national deadline so that our rep's can register their
votes

Proposal #4:

The Green Council can determine whether to terminate the
term of a Representative to the Green National Committee
(or GNC) or other national committees.

Be it resolved (AS A BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that the Green
Council for the GPNJ will be given the right to remove or
recall a member from any of the national Green Party
committees including as our state representative to the
national body and the other various working committees
that exists now and or will be created in the future..

The purpose of this resolution will be to give the Green
Council of GPNJ the right to recall any of our reps to
the GNC for bad and or abusive behavior. Bad and or
abusive behavior will be defined as such: when a
representative can't communicate with fellow greens
without insulting or snide remarks or bulling of others
in the Green Party. Politely questioning authority or
respectfully disagreeing with another Green is not
grounds for recall.

Proposal #5:

Public Loyalty to the GPNJ.

Be it resolved (BYLAWS AMENDMENT) that all elected GPNJ
officers and committee chairs and county coordinators and
county chairs be required to remain publicly loyal to our
National, State and County and Municipal Green Party
candidates and not take any OFFICIAL position(s) with
a candidate from another party, etc. The person(s) may
temporarily step aside for the length of the campaign
and ask for reinstatement by the GPNJ Green Council afterwards.

The purpose of this resolution is to ensure that duly
elected officers of GPNJ (including County Chairs) will
publicly support Green Party candidates or step down from
that position till elections are over. As an example: A
state GPNJ (elected) officer could not be an official
contact or spokesperson for another candidate whether or
not a green is running for that office. As an individual
you can support any candidate you want and vote
accordingly, you may choose to step down from your
elected GPNJ or County position and publicly declare and
or make yourself publicly available for the candidate of
your choice.

Proposal #6:

Ownership of Yahoo Groups.

Be it resolved and added as an amendment to the GPNJ
bylaws that Ownership of any YahooGroups created by and
for the GPNJ shall remain the corporate property of
Yahoo!, Inc. I propose that when it comes to management
of any GPNJ created YahooGroups that there will be
multiple owners of all state party run lists.

Multiple owners will be defined as current members of the
Executive Committee. The only person with permission to
delete a group will be given to the Chair, all other
officers will be given ownership privileges except being
able to cause deletion of group. Deletion of a GPNJ
YahooGroup will be determined by and voted upon by the
GPNJ Green Council and proceed to be deleted no more than
thirty (30) days later and no less than ten days from the
date of the vote. Current owners of YahooGroups who are
not members of the current GPNJ Executive Committee will
surrender there ownership privileges over to people on
the current committee in a timely fashion.

All state level committees will be created on YahooGroups
and will have the following label in front of them: GPNJ-
. This rule does not apply to any county lists created on
Yahoo. It would just make sense to have several people
co-owners of the county list serves so that the list
doesn't die if and when people decided to just leave
the party.

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Three resolutions submitted by Scott Baier
of the Mercer County Greens:

Resolution 1. Resolved; that by 2011 all GPNJ members
shall no longer be members of other political parties.

Discussion; it will unify the Greens as one party and
snuff out all other ideologies.

Resolution 2. Resolved; that the GPNJ shall endorse a
constitutional amendment to ban the manufacture, sale,
and possession all types of guns except for law
enforcement and military personnel.

Discussion; In light of the recent violence in recent
years, it would be a good idea to implement a
constitutional amendment banning guns as a preclude to
reducing crime.

Resolution 3. Resolved; that the GPNJ shall waive dues
for members who are unemployed, and they shall have the
same voting rights as dues paying members, and
accordingly shall reduce yearly membership dues to $20,
and shall establish a one-time life membership dues
payment for those who wish to be life GPNJ members at $100.

Discussion; It makes dues more affordable, and
establishes a life membership rate for those who want to
avoid the hassle of paying dues every single year.

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LETTER FROM ALVIN MEYER OF THE BERGEN COUNTY GREENS

April 21, 2009

Katy and I joined the Green Party 11 years ago, because
we were convinced of the need for a new political
approach to the myriad of threats to our planet and
people. We assumed that there would be a high level of
political commitment from both our leadership, and rank
and file. Which would lead to a rapid growth of the party
as we attracted more folks that understood the fact that
the system is well represented by the duopoly, but the
needs of the vast majority of Americans are ignored ...
at best.

What we have seen is an unbelievable level of personal
vendetta in conjunction with an inability to do anything
constructive. We are at a crossroads, and I don't think
it is too late to save this noble and necessary effort to
provide an alternative to the morass we find ourselves in.

What is necessary, for starters, is to elect new
leadership that will breathe new life into the Greens;
inspire and motivate our ranks: attract new and diverse
folks to the cause; elect Greens to office, and shed any
vain hope that the Democrats will do it for us.

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FROM THE GPUS ANNUAL NATIONAL MEETING COMMITTEE

This year, the Green Party of the United States'
annual meeting will be held in Durham, North Carolina,
July 23-26. Anyone active in or interested in the
Green Party is encouraged to attend.

We want to have a dynamic program of workshops, panels,
and other presentations that will provide attendees with
the tools and information they need to raise money, run
campaigns, and build the Green Party.

Do you have a proposal for consideration? If so, please
submit - by May 4 - the following in an email attachment
to Hillary Kane (hillarya[at] upenn.edu) and Matt Abel
(attorneyabel[ at]riseup. net) with the subject heading:
ANMC 2009 Workshop.

1. An abstract of no more than one page describing your
workshop, panel, or presentation. Please be sure to
include what the attendees will learn from attending your
session. And please spell out any acronyms or
abbreviations you use (because the reviewer of your
abstract may not know what they mean).
2. The maximum number of people that can be accommodated
in your session.
3. The audio-visual equipment you would need, within
reason because of budget constraints. It would really
help the party if you brought your own equipment. Let us
know either way.
4. A biographical sketch (one or two paragraphs) of the
presenter(s) . Please be sure to include the presenters'
expertise in the subject being presented.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to
contact Hillary or Matt. You may also send an email to
them suggesting workshop topics that you would like to
see but do not want to present.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you
to make the 2009 annual meeting one that has a positive
impact on the growth of the Green Party!

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GREEN FEST 2009

Six years ago, members of the Green Party of New York
State initiated a project which has turned into a
biennial gathering called "Green Fest." Starting this
year it will become a regional event. They are seeking
participants from GPNJ (they link to www.GPNJ.org from
the home page of their Web site). We should encourage
our members to attend and, beyond that, to give a
presentation, participate in a workshop, or staff an
exhibit (Steve Welzer, our Communications Committee
Chair, will be a keynote speaker).

Proceeds from the event will accrue to regional state
Green parties based on percentage of attendance from each
state. In other words, if 10% of the attendees are from
New Jersey, then GPNJ will get 10% of the residual (after
expenses) revenues.

Here are excerpts from the text of the flyer about the event:

Celebrate Sustainable Living and Sustainable Politics

Aug. 7-9, 2009

Alfred University, Alfred, NY

Spend a weekend sharing skills for sustainable living and
sustainable politics on the Alfred University campus in
rural upstate New York. Learn how to build a small wind
turbine, bake in an earth oven, set up a CSA, live job
free, build new media outlets, run a third party
political campaign, and much more.

Green Fest is a benefit for the Green Party of New York
and other Green parties in our region. The festival is
open to all who are interested in sustainable living and
sustainable politics. The weekend will include workshops,
tours, and keynote addresses, exhibitors, swimming, yoga
and hiking. Dorm rooms, camping and the Saxon Inn are
available for lodging on campus. Local campgrounds and
Bed-and-Breakfasts are also available. Meals prepared
from locally-grown food will be served at the Alfred
University dining hall.

We invite Green-friendly activists to offer panels and
workshops on sustainable topics and Green-friendly
musicians to perform. We also invite Green-friendly
exhibitors to set up tents and publicize their activist
organization or sell their own crafts, local food items,
books and renewable energy systems.

For more info:
http://nygreenfest. org/
info[at]nygreenfest .org

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GREEN CANDIDATE SUCCESSES ON APRIL 7

ILLINOIS

- Jon Murray won re-election as Mount Morris Village
Trustee, Ogle County. He finished second of three
candidates with 485 votes or 34%.
- Bruce Samuels won his race for Oak Park Village Library
Board, Cook County. He finished first of five candidates
for four seats with 3,757 votes or 21.51%.

WISCONSIN

- Tony Palmeri won re-election to the Oshkosh Common
Council. He finished first of six candidates for three
seats with 6,633 votes or 23.59%.
- Bob Poeschel won election to the Oshkosh Common
Council. He finished third of six candidates for three
seats with 4,717 votes or 16.78%.
- Satya Rhodes-Conway ran unopposed for Madison
Alderperson District 12, Dane County.
- Marsha Rummel ran unopposed for Dane County Common
Council District 6.
- Jo Ellen Gramling ran unopposed for Schleswig Town
Clerk, Manitowoc County.

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REVEREND BILLY'S BAILOUT

By David Weidner

Wall Street Journal 4/16/09 (excerpts)

Would Jesus take a bailout?

Confronted with the once-in-a-century opportunity to
remake the financial system, the reformers in Washington
have a choice: Succumb to the temptation of serving
financial supermarkets or lift up community banks and
street-level economies.

Enter Reverend Billy Talen, the New York-based street
preacher, performer and activist who - along with his
flock, the Church of Life After Shopping - believes
government has a moral obligation to support communities
before big banks.

"I've been trying to drive people out of their
institutions, " Reverend Billy says. "Their institutions
aren't working."

It's hard to imagine Timothy Geithner taking advice from
an iconoclast dressed in a white suit, clerical collar
and Elvis-inspired hair, but the Reverend Billy may be on
to something. In place of a system where big banks and
corporations enter neighborhoods only to profit from
them, Reverend Billy wants to empower small banks and
credit unions that hold a stake in the communities they
serve by offering incentives and making it harder for big
finance to undercut local business. It's hard to argue
against the system he envisions.

Think for a moment about what community finance could
mean for the nation: Neighborhood banks would lend to
local businesses. Profits could stay in the community.
Simply knowing who your customers are and living near
them could bring common sense - the most basic and sound
form of risk management - back to banking.

Sure, it sounds kind of dreamy, but such systems are
already in place in neighborhoods large and small. Small
businesses thrive, but they are often at the mercy of big
banks who giveth and taketh credit according to shifts in
economic cycles.

"The Wall Street experience is parallel and equal to the
destruction of neighborhoods through chain stores,"
Reverend Billy says. Basic economics are on the
Reverend's side. For every dollar spent at a chain store,
studies show only 50 cents stays in that community. By
contrast, 90 cents of every dollar spent at a local
business remains in the local economy.

"There's not a Puritan attitude about it, there's a
practical attitude about it," Reverend Billy says.
"People want to know what they can do for their friends
and for themselves. We're trying to help each other;
share money, share energy, share homes."

It's unlikely that sharing is on the business plan at
Citigroup Inc. or Goldman Sachs Group Inc., companies
that Reverend Billy excoriates in his sermons. He says
the steel and mirrored-glass buildings that house major
banks are designed to hide what happens inside.

Though colorful, Reverend Billy is no longer a fringe
figure. Since he began preaching on the street corners in
Times Square a decade ago, he and his anticonsumerism
message have gained mainstream attention, thanks in part
to his book and a world tour with the church's 40-member
choir.

His breakthrough came in 2007 with the release of "What
Would Jesus Buy?", a documentary about his church's
efforts to promote a shopping-free Christmas. This year,
he's running for New York City mayor on the Green Party
ticket, campaigning on a community-first platform.
Candidate Billy wants to end the city's reliance on
industries susceptible to bubbles and busts: Tourism,
Wall Street and real estate. "Neighborhoods vulnerable to
the bubble economies are the ones hurting right now," he says.

Reverend Billy knows he faces long odds both in his
mayoral run and his effort to change a system built
around spending and credit speculation, but there are
signs of hope. His audience was growing before the
financial crisis, and things have only gained momentum since.

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Links to recent Cynthia McKinney commentaries

Remarks at the Forum for Palestine held in London - 3/31/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=11

Buyer's Remorse, Economic Collapse, Oligarchs, and War - 4/7/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=12

The Economy, From Soros and Greenspan to Napoleon's Waterloo,
and a Tip of the Hat to Haiti, Too - 4/20/09
www.gp.org/cynthia/ display.php? ID=13

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CMMNJ MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING AGENDA - APRIL 14

CMMNJ (Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey)
supporters are urged to contact your assembly
representative now to show your support for the New
Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. The final
steps to passing this bill into law will be the votes of
the New Jersey Assembly Health and Senior Services
Committee (Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Chairman) and in the
full assembly.

CMMNJ appeared on WIFI 1460 AM Talk Radio in Burlington
on March 12. CMMNJ and NORML NJ met with representatives
of the American Lung Association on March 17 in Union,
NJ. CMMNJ gave a medical marijuana seminar at
Collingswood Public Library on March 21. CMMNJ speakers
appeared at the NORML Freedom Forum in Philadelphia on
April 20 (Rep. Mark Cohen plans to introduce a medical
marijuana bill in PA modeled after the NJ bill).

A Global Marijuana March will be held on May 2 in New
Brunswick, Philadelphia and hundreds of other cities
nationwide.

CMMNJ has new photos, etc. on Facebook
and Facebook Friends of CMMNJ:
www.facebook. com/profile. php?id=502598656

Future scheduled meetings are May 12, June 9, and July 14.
CMMNJ meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the
month at the Lawrence Twp. Library, from 7:00-9:00pm.
All are welcome. Snacks are served. The library is at
2751 Brunswick Pike, Lawrence Twp., Tel. #609.882.9246.
(Meeting at the library does not imply their endorsement
of our issue.) For more info, contact: Ken Wolski, RN,
MPA - Executive Director; Coalition for Medical
Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.; www.cmmnj.org; 844 Spruce
St., Trenton, NJ 08648; 609-394-2137; ohamkrw[at]aol. com

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Here is the text of the letter the Bergen County Greens
distributed on Earth Day along with an attached packet of
sunflower seeds:

Bergen County Green Party
201-493-8044 www.gpnj.org

READY. SET. GROW!

Best time to plant: May 15 to June 15

Choose a sunny spot - the more sun the better, but at
least 6 hours each day. Sunflowers do best in fertile,
well-drained soil. With a trowel, thoroughly loosen the
soil where you plan to plant - an area about 4 inches
wide and several inches deep. If the soil is dry, moisten
lightly. Drop in a seed, cover with soil, tamp soil
snugly but not hard around the seed, and water well. Keep
the soil moist, but not soggy, until your plants come up.

Plant seeds a foot or more apart in rows or groups.

Your sunflowers will emerge (germinate) in 7 to 21 days
and will bloom 60 to 90 days after emergence.

Planting tip: After planting, place a "collar" around
each seed. A collar will help mark the exact spot to
watch for the plants to merge and will also protect the
young seedling from cutworms that can destroy your plant.
A good collar can be made from a half-gallon plastic milk
jug. First, cut away the bottom on the jug. Three inches
above the bottom, cut away the remainder of the jug.
Gently push the collar about a half inch into the soil
around the planted seed.

Growing tip #1: Don't over-water your sunflowers. When
they are about 1 to 2 inches tall, gradually reduce
watering. Give them a good drink if the weather is very
dry and the plants look droopy. Avoid spraying the whole
plant - sunflowers like water on their roots but not on
their leaves.

Growing tip #2: Sunflowers are wildflowers and will
probably grow strong and tall without the use of
fertilizer. If you think fertilizer is needed, choose a
good all-purpose one and use with the help of an adult.
But remember, over-fertilizing will cause poor flower
development.

Growing tip #3: If your plant grows very tall, a stake
may be needed to help the plant withstand wind. Alongside
the main stem put a stake firmly in the soil and tie the
plant loosely to the stake in several places.

You've got flowers, Now what?

Sunflowers are sometimes cut for use indoors, BUT some
sunflower pollen can stain whatever it comes in contact
with.

We suggest you leave the blooms on the plants and watch
the seeds develop and ripen in the center because when
the seeds begin to mature they will attract a wide
variety of birds, especially the American Goldfinch, New
Jersey's state bird.

You can harvest the seeds for yourself. Sunflowers are
ready for harvest as soon as birds begin to pick at the
outer rows of seed. At that time the outer rows are
completely ripe, the next rows are about to ripe but not
dry, and the center seeds are still somewhat green. Cut
the flower (with about a foot of stalk) and hang in an
airy spot to dry. When thoroughly dry, the seeds may be
removed by rubbing them lightly.

IMPORTANT: If you harvest the seeds for yourself or leave
them for the birds, make sure they have not been sprayed
or dusted with chemicals.

Enjoy!

Do you know:
. Sunflowers are annuals? That means they only grow one
season and must be replanted each year. Perennials are
plants that grow many years. Trees and shrubs are
perennials. Bi-annuals grow for two years to complete
their life cycle. Parsley is a familiar bi-annual.
. Sunflowers are native throughout America? Native
Americans have grown sunflowers for 8,000 years. They
have ground the seeds into meal for food and have
extracted oil for food, for food preparation, and for
hair applications.
. Sunflower seeds are extremely high in proteins,
calcium, phosphorous, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin?
. Sunflowers will turn their faces during the day to
follow the sun?

By planting these seeds we recognize we are part of, not
separate from nature. We support a sustainable society
which utilizes resources so future generations will
benefit. We live within the ecological and resource
limits of our communities and our planet. We practice
agriculture which replenishes the soil, and we live in
ways that respect the integrity of natural systems.


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The GreenGram is circulated monthly in an effort to keep
all GPNJ members informed about party news, Green-related
activities, and upcoming events. Members are encouraged
to submit articles and event announcements.

The deadline for the next issue will be June 15. Please
submit material for inclusion to: SteveWelzer[ at]msn.com

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GreenGram

Green Party of NJ Bulletin -- www.GPNJ.org
P.O. Box 9802, Trenton, NJ 08650

To subscribe, become a member of GPNJ!

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