G R E E N A C T I O N

Bul l eti n of the Burl i ngton Greens Ni i mber 2 Summer 1989

P.O. Box 4567
Burlington, Vermont 05406
Just Say No to Hydro-Quebec
by Gary Sisco
The Hydro-Quebec power project
began in the early 1970's with
the support of a consortium of
i nt er nat i onal i nv es t or s . The
already completed Phase / ooded
an area half the size of Vermont
and displaced thousands of Cre e
and I nui t I ndi ans . Phas e I I
t hr eat ens ev en gr eat er
dest r uct i on.
How t o measure t he "wort h"
of a Native culture in terms of
the 'Tx)ttom line"? What is the
appropriate "impact fee" for*
cul tural genoci de and the
d e s t r u c t i o n o f a s u b a r c t i c
ecology? Can we even think in
t h e s e t e r ms a n d s t i l l c a l l
ourselves human beings?
These ar e t he r eal i ssues
confronting the people of Burlington in the proposed
purchase of electricity from Hydro-Quebec- a
purchase that has strong support in the power
structure. The way we choose to answer these
questions will tell us much about ourselves and the
real f>oUtics of our dty.
The expansion of Hydro-Quebec's already
enormous hydro-electric project should be opposed
at all costsy and the easiest way for Burlington
activists to get involved in the struggle is to oppose
the purchase of Hydro-Quebec power by the
Burlington Electric Department.
Thousands more square miles of pristine wetlands
and forests will be submerged by Phase Two of the
project, with grave ecological consequences. The
himtan rights of the Cree people, who have lived.
Europeans emerged from the cave,
will be further trampled upon by
the Hydro-Quebec Corporation and
the Canadian governments. All in
the pursuit of prots and "growth."
The subarctic ecology of northern
Quebec has already been damaged
by Phase One on a scale that is
a l mo s t i n c o n c e i v a b l e . P h a s e Tw o
will complete the nightmare and
Phas e Thr ee, t he c onv er s i on of
James Bay into a fresh water
"reservoir" for the production of
hydro power, would create an
ecological disaster for which there
is no suitable word. Happily, Phase
Three is fantasy at this point.
Unhappily, Phase One is a hard
reality and Phase Two ^n imminent
possibility if Vermonters swallow
the corporate hook and buy Hydro-
Quebec.
The Cree insist that the climate of northern Quebec
itself has already been altered by the sheer scope of
the ooding accomplished by Phase One. Ten
thousand caribou drowned while trying to ford an
articially swollen river in 1984; their corpses had to
be removed by helicopter. Large portions of the
caribou breeding grounds will be permanently
destroyed by Phase Two. Nearly every migratory
species of bird in the eastern corridor nests in the
same region; these grounds, too, will be largely
destroyed by Phase Two.
Moreover, the release of extraordinary amounts of
fresh water into the salt-water ecology of James Bay-
-a "side effect" of the project produced by the
rechanneling of huge rivers and the "controlled"
release of their watersposes ecological questions
hunted, shed and trapped on the land since before that cannot be answered at present, though the
TTia Hydro-Quebee Project 8p6U$ cultural
genocide tor the Cree Indians
damage is certain to be extreme in its consequences,
not least for the beluga whale.
And this is only to touch on the ecological problems
created by Hydro-Quebec. No independent
investigation of Phase One's environmental impact
has been conducted to date by either the Quebec or
the Canadian governments. All substantial work in
this area has been performed by the Cree, at their
expense. No prior study of the cumulative impact of
Phase Two is planned by either government. Indeed,
by Vermont standards, Quebec doesn't have an
environmental review process.
During the recent municipal elections, all factions
in Burlington were laying claim to the word
"environmentalist" and celebrating Vermont's (not
necessarily deserved) reputation for environmental
consciousness. Burlington also enjoys a (more
deserved) reputation as a municipal champion of
internationalism and human rights.
It is time to test whether these claims represent
political reality or the normal hot air generated by
politicians during em electoral season. Phase Two is
entirely dependent on the import of power to New
England and New York.
Environmentalists and human-rights activists
should pressure the city government into making its
rhetoric reality by refusing to buy Hydro-Quebec's
power and the corporation's whitewash of what can
only be called an utter disregard for the ecology of
(Quebec and the him\an rights of the Cree, whose
culture, already severely disrupted by Phase One,
may well be destroyed by Phase Two.
Youth Greens Founded i n Ohi o
by Danny Fisher
Over the weekend of May 25-29, over 70
students from throughout the U.S. and
Canada, including a contingent of 15 from
Burlington, met at Antioch College, in
Yellow Springs, Ohio, for the founding of
the Youth Greens. The idea, as put out by
the conference organizers, was to found a
new student movement based on the best of
t h e Ne w L e f t a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l Gr e e n
political philosophies. Towards the
achievement of a new political agenda for
young people, the conference featured work
shops dening nature, debunking New
Ageism, and debating positions on
capitalism, ecology and a host of other
issues. The conference culminated with the
adoption, by vote, of several principles of
unity, most notably, anti-capitalism,
gay/ l esbi an/ bi sexual l i ber at i on,
revolutionary dual power, radical
munidpalism, and participatory democracy.
The Youth Green Conference attempted to
place a greater degree of emphasis on theory,
history and political program than is usually
considered relevant by contemporary student
activists. The lack of theoretical and historical
understanding, so common in the student
movement today, has ruled out the possibility of
developing an overall theory of radical social
change. What follows is an inability to envision
Utopian alternatives to the present order.
The Burlington contingent played an important
role at the conference by preparing position
papers and workshops; and Burlington resident
Chiah Heller gave a presentation on eco-
feminism. The Burlington Youth Greens are now
studying feminism, preparing to ght
development of the waterfront, and putting
together a Youth Green pamphlet summarizing
t he c onf er enc e.
Waterfront Update
by Michael Sheridan
The battle over the future of Burlington's waterfront
entered another round in May. This time, it features a
small group of homeowners, some Greens and others who
have led an appeal in Superior Court to block the
Planning Commission's approval of t'^'enty condominium
u n i t s .
The condos, which developer Bany Mossman (owner of
One Lawson Lane) intends to build below Battery Park,
will go for a mere $300,000 apiece. The full arrogance and
callousness of the project becomes clear when one recalls
that it will be situated in Ward 3, the poorest, most
congested, and arguably the ward most burdened by the
affordable housing crisis.
The role of City Hall in all of this is ambiguous. While the
administration argues pragmatically in favor of a "mixed"
waterfront, meaning a mixture of public and private
development, the current reality is that we will all soon be
looking at twenty quarter-million dollar condos. Must
Burlington swallow twenty luxury condos for every new
public amenity, such as the Boathouse? Where has the
admi ni strati on been on thi s i ssue? The i dea of the
conversion of the waterfront into a slick condo strip
should bring loud condemnation, not quietism.
The people of Ward 3 and all Burlington deserve better.
The appeal of Mossman's luxury condos is a small battle
in the greater war of arresting runaway growth,
reassessing the future of Burlington and preserving our
c o mmu n i t i e s .
Which Way Vermont Democracy:
Growth or Ecology? "Efciency" or Community?
VERMONT
Recreating Democracy
PAPERS
on a Human Scale
By Paul Fleckenstein
How does Frank Brjran's libertarian vision of a twenty-
rst century Vermont comprised of forty powerful
political units called shires compare to a Green vision?
Provocatively. Bryan, a UVM professor, native Vermonter,
and co-author of The Vermont Papers: Recreating
Democracy on a Human
S c a l e , l e d a p a n e l
di scussi on on t he f ut ure of
democracy along with Gary
Si sco and Sandr a Bai r d of
the Burlington Greens at
the Greens' May public
f o r u m. Br y a n ' s b o o k
d e s c r i b e s a t w e n t i e t h -
cent ur y t r end t owar d
centralization of political
power i n Mont pel i er.
Education, social welfare,
and public nance are a
f e w o f t h e a r e a s w h e r e
centralizers have usurped
l o c a l c o n t r o l , t h u s
endangeri ng Vermont ' s
d e m o c r a t i c a n d c o m m u n a l
t r a d i t i o n s .
To s t e m t h e t i d e o f
c e n t r a l i z a t i o n a n d r e v i t a l i z e
citizenship, Bryan proposed
r e - ma k i n g Ve r mo n t ' s
political landscape into
shi r es of about 10, 000
people, the optimal size for
assuring both economies of
scal e and parti ci patory
democracy. In the new
f e d e r a t i o n o f s h i r e s , t h e
st at e woul d be a cr eat ur e of
the shi res. The state woul d
play an almost exclusively
administrative role. Important policy decisions would be
made at the local level. Environmental protection,
however, would be an exception; in this area power
would ow from the top down because environmental
T H E
Frank Bryan
John McClaughry
problems cross political boundaries.
Although sharing Bryan's libertarian criticisms of
political centralization and joining his call for local
democracy, the Greens offered a si-^nicantly different
perspective. Baird questioned Bryan's dismissal of the role
o f e c o n o m i c f o r c e s i n
central i zati on. In contrast to the
laissez-faire and "community-
scal e capi tal i sm," wi th i ts
o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r
entrepreneurship, advocated by
Bryan, the Greens argued for
political control of the economy
through municipally controlled
cooperatives. Baird questioned
whether the prot-ori ented
m a r k e t c o u l d e v e r b e
community-based.
Sisco, in response to what he
sai d was t he nar r owness and
reformist nature of Bryan's
proposals, pointed to the need
f or a br oad- scoped and
ecol ogi cal cr i t i que of t he
existing political and economic
st ruct ure. What i s needed i s a
left movement working for
radical change through dual
power opposition to existing
power structures. A key aspect
of dual power is developing
local participatory political and
e c o n o m i c i n s t i t u t i o n s t o
countervail the authority of the
centralized state. He argued
t h a t a f t e r n e w a u t o n o m o u s
democr at i c and soci al l y
oriented institutions are created,
the need for central i zed control
of environmental policy would likely be transcended by
moral commitments to protect the well-being of neighbors
a n d n a t u r e .
C A L E N D A R
June 29, Thur sday- GREEN PUBLI C
MEETING, 7 p.m. Fletcher Library. Hydro-
Quebec and Ecological Devastation. Panel
induding activists for the Cree Indians and
representatives of the MeW England Coalition
for Energy Efciency and the Environment.
June 27, Tuesday- Fi nal "PLAN- ON- I T"
meeting. Presentation of reports on housing, the
natural environment, transportation, and other
areas from task forces. 7 p.m. at the First Baptist
Church on St. Paul Street.
June 26-30-VERMONT WORLD PEACE FILM
FESTI VAL. Bi l l i ngs Audi t or i um, UVM
beginning at 7 p.m. each evening. Martha Day
656- 2970.
B URL I NGT ON COL L E GE L E CT URE S E RI E S
At Burlington College, Thursdays (except 7/10)
at 7 p.m.
June 22"Homeless Women Speak"
June 29~"Compar i ng Puer t o Cabezas,
Nicaragua and Burlington, VT" with Dan
Higgins.
July 6"The War Between the Abenaki Indians
a n d t h e S t a t e o f Ve r mo n t " w i t h H o me r S t .
^ tFrands.
' July 10~"The Destruction of the Lands of the
Cree Indians by Hydro-Quebec" with Jim
Higgins."
August 3--"A New China: 40 Years After the
People's Revolution" with Li Puchiang.
S U M M E R W O R K S H O P S A T T H E
I N S T I T U T E F O R S O C I A L E C O L O G Y
(ISE, PC, Box 89, Plaineld, VT 05667.454-8493.)
**Partial listingsend for full schedule**
June
26- 27 Ron LaFr anc e of t he Mohawk Nat i on on
Native American perspectives 7 p.m.
30 Margot Adler, author of Drawing Down the
Moon, on Ecology and Spirituality 7 p.m.
July
8-9 Jan Peterson of the National Congress of
Nei ghbor hood Women on Women and
Commimity Development 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
15 Conference on Global Perspectives on
Sustainable Agriculture, sponsored by Rural
Vermont 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
12 Howar d Hawki ns on t he Gr een Movement 7
p . m.
14,15,16 Ynestra King on Eco-Feminism, begins
7 p.m. Friday.
19 John Mohawk on Native American history 7
p . m.
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Editors: Sandy Baird, Danny Fisher, Julie Rubaud, Paul Fleckenstein and Michael Sheridan.
Production: Julie, Michael, Lyn and Punch Line Design
Green Action has several purposes. We wish to critically examine public policy,
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