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Hi Penny,<br>
<br>
Actually, the biofuels debate is </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">very much in full swing right now, and most
policy of 10 years ago is likely no longer in play. 10 years ago was
before 9-11, before the United States invaded Iraq for the second
time, before Katrina, and before "Halliburton" was a household name. My comment was not intended to be about that one standard but about democratic process in general.<br>
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The point is not that the government, its employees, </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">its private,
hired consultants or </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">its elected officials have no desire whatsoever for
input from "stakeholders." The point is that </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">in regard to many issues -- like, for example, use and protection of biodiverity -- we are all "stakeholders." But, public comment and
participation in democratic process are often solicited primarily by</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> exclusive</font> invitation<font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">, which by its very nature is no longer public. A
hand-picked set of stakeholders</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">, usually</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> top-heavy with</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> industry leaders, is
informed about the public comment period, meetings are held, informaton
is shared but only among those insiders involved, and their
comments are reviewed.</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> It's like putting together a managerial "dream team" to get the job done, not to engage a vital civic voice and democratic process. </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">(Sorry but, publishing the over-200-page daily Federal Register written in legalease as a means of informing the public is not working well.) When the emphasis is on creating exclusive groups to craft the policies that drive our public political life, a "behind closed doors" brand of democracy results. L</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">egally required comment period</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">s</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> quietly open and close, and
policy is crafted before "the public" </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">even knows what </font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">was at stake</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> in the first place.
This isn't democracy, it</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">'s a pirated version, not the real thing.<br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> <br>
</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hand-picked focus groups seem to work well some of the time, more or less> For example, the National Organic Board did a huge amount of groundwork -- and then thanks to the internet and the OCA, the NOP received more public comment than any other piece of legislation in American history. (The "Roadless Rule" for US National Forests has received the most public comment of any piece of legislation, over a decade. The NOP received the most over a single several-month comment period). Maybe it sounds naive to keep expecting things to change, since this is the way the political game is played, and it's been that way for quite some time. The upper-crust of tradesmen and university-educated top people -- wealthy, one and all, compared to the "public" -- control things just like they were royalty, or as Tom Wolfe called them, "Masters of the Universe." They are the unelected leaders of our time. Given modern American culture, m</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">any, perhaps most of these leaders, these master "players," have the emotional intelligence of sharks. I'll bet the guys from Enron were among those involved in crafting energy policy ten years ago -- they were on top of things back then, right? Does taxation without representation sound familiar? How about government without representation. That's the danger of relying on insider focus groups -- unelected management teams -- to perform our civic duties for us. <br>
<br>
Bringing this back to medicinal plants -- the theme of public participation comes up now and again as a critical factor for conservation and preservation of biodiversity to succeed in the long run. It is also critical for preservation of traditional knowledge, its practice and use. Who crafts our laws and how that's done are central to our public identity and ultimately, to our public freedoms. When Thomas Jefferson wrote the Bill of Rights he wanted to include freedom of medical choice, but with the power and influence of a man like Benjamin Rush in the room with him, the idea of course was abandoned. I personally wish Rush had not been invited into the Constitutional focus group -- but he was too wealthy and powerful not to be. Just because the game has always been played this way does not mean that change cannot, should not, and will not occur. In fact, as we should all know by now, big changes are inevitably on the way, environmentally speaking. Though it may be naive to pine for a higher order of democracy, as an environmentalist concerned about healing people and the planet, I have to hope for a spiritual, emotional, and political evolution of human culture and particularly, of American culture. I have to want not only to posture about the critical necessity of participatory democratic process, but to actively work to instill it and engage in it.</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Maybe I just have more faith in the political agendas of average people than I do in the machiavellian agendas of industry leaders. <br>
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be well, Jennifer<br>
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-----Original Message-----<br>
From: Goods From The Woods <penny@pinenut.com><br>
To: cafesombra@aol.com<br>
Cc: MPWG@lists.plantconservation.org<br>
Sent: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 9:42 am<br>
Subject: Re: [MPWG] Sustainable Service Marks?<br>
<br>
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<pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt>Jennifer,<br>
My guess is the lack of public participation is a result of the <br>
biofuels. Policy for biofuels was being developed 10 years ago.<br>
There is no desire for stakeholder input on fuels.<br>
Penny<br>
<br>
<br>
> <br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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