As of April 2004, 202 Green Party members in 27 states held elected office positions in the USA: California with 65, Pennsylvania with 26, Massachusetts with 19 and Wisconsin with 18, to name the top four.

What is the Green Party all about, other than ecology? Here are the ten key values as ratified at the 2000 Green National Convention.

1. Grassroots Democracy: To work to increase public participation in government.
2. Social Justice and Equal Opportunity: All persons should have the right and opportunity to benefit equally from the resources afforded us by society and the environment.
3. Ecological Wisdom: To maintain an ecological balance and live within the ecological and resource limits of our communities and our planet.
4. Non-Violence: To promote non-violent methods to oppose practices and policies with which we disagree and to guide our actions toward lasting personal, community and global peace.
5. Decentralization of Wealth and Power: To support a restructuring of social, political and economic institutions away from a system which is controlled by and mostly benefits the powerful few to a democratic, less bureaucratic system.
6. Community-Based Economics and Economic Justice: To support independently owned and operated companies which are socially responsible, as well as co-operatives and public enterprises that distribute resources and control to more people through democratic participation.
7. Feminism and Gender Equity: To call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of male domination and control with more cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender.
8. Respect for Diversity: To believe in the importance of valuing cultural, ethnic, racial, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity and to promote the development of respectful relationships across these lines.
9. Personal and Global Responsibility: To encourage individuals to act to improve their personal well-being and, at the same time, to enhance ecological balance and social harmony.
10. Future Focus and Sustainability: To counterbalance the drive for short-term profits by assuring that economic development, new technologies, and fiscal policies are responsible to future generations who will inherit the results of our actions.

At their June national convention, the Green Party will decide who it will send into the 2004 presidential race. In spite of the highly qualified candidates running, the result of the convention might be to endorse Ralph Nader, who ran on a Green Party ticket in the 2000 presidential elections. Nader, who this year chose to run on an Independent Party ticket, said he will accept the Green Party’s endorsement if they choose to award it to him. For more information on the Green Party, please visit their website at www.gp.org.