04 May 2021Politics
Socialist visions of a Green New Deal abound, but political roadmaps for their realization seem to have been foreclosed. After the electoral defeats of Corbyn and Sanders, and the fracturing of the climate movement in the Global North following its apex in the autumn of 2019, this disjuncture is starker than ever. From it, a range of dilemmas arise. Foremost among them is how socialists should conceive of the Green New Deal now that its precondition, the prospect of administering the state, has receded into the distance; and how the left can reconcile the ‘long game’ of democratic socialism with the urgency of the climate timeline. To address these questions, a preliminary look at the two main iterations of the GND – British and American – is necessary.
What was happening in the Courier 25, 50 and 100 years ago?
Sayings and doings of 25 years ago.
IT WAS the end of an era in Wallyford, reported the East Lothian Courier on April 5, 1996. Wallyford’s long-standing association with greyhound racing finally came to end last Friday when Wallyford Dog Track held its last meeting prior to the site being taken over by Morrison Homes. Racing has taken place there since 1937, and for the last four years Mary Robertson and her husband Hugh have been running the track on a month-to-month lease. However, when owner Norman Henderson decided to let the land go for housing, the couple were left with no choice but to pull out.
IndyStar
There has been a lot of noise on both sides of the issue regarding Senate Bill 389, aka “the wetlands bill.” One side says the legislation will be detrimental to an array of wildlife species.
The other says SB 389 merely addresses puddles in farm fields that are not really wetlands. It all can be very confusing.
I’ll try to offer some clarity. Senate Bill 389 would be egregiously bad for all Hoosiers for two reasons: flooding and drinking water.
First of all, most of Indiana’s natural wetlands have already been destroyed. This happened a long time ago, when wilderness areas were converted to agriculture. Still, much of Indiana is pretty wet: Those endless farm fields you see across Indiana lie on top of hundreds of millions of miles of drainage tiles that move water away.