Issue #267 – October 2019
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Our Evening for Peace is October 20th! RSVP here.
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Perspectives
- Principles for Global Sustainability by David Krieger
- With Bolton Out of the Way, Peace with North Korea Is Possible by Christine Ahn
- Ten Ways that the Climate Crisis and Militarism Are Intertwined by Medea Benjamin
- Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change by Carlos Umaña
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
- U.S. Tests Four Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles
- Faulty $5 Part Leads to $850 Million in Cost Overruns
- Eleven Corporations to Work Together on New ICBM
Nuclear Waste
- Plutonium Test Results Halt Plan for Road Outside Denver
Nuclear Disarmament
- Thirteen Countries Sign and/or Ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
- Pope Francis Will Visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki in November
War and Peace
- Iraqi Children Test Positive for Depleted Uranium
Resources
- This Fall in Nuclear Threat History
- How a U.S.-Russia Nuclear War Would Escalate
- History of Nuclear Weapons Programs
- My Fish Is Your Fish
Foundation Activities
- Evening for Peace to Honor David Krieger
- Peace Literacy: A Change of Paradigm
- Poetry Contest Winners Announced
- Chappell Receives Unity Walden Award
- Solutions News Podcast
Quotes
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Principles for Global Sustainability
by David Krieger
I would encourage you to seek to advance global sustainability by adopting a planetary perspective, doing no harm, engaging in doing good for the planet and its present and future inhabitants, choosing hope, and persevering. If we accept these responsibilities as individuals and work to implement them in our national and international policies, we can turn Earth Day into a year-round commitment to creating a planet we can be proud to pass on to future generations.
To read more, click here.
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With Bolton Out of the Way, Peace with North Korea Is Possible
by Christine Ahn
On September 10, President Trump fired John Bolton, his third national security adviser, announcing on Twitter that Bolton’s “services were no longer needed.”
From the very day Bolton assumed the role of national security adviser 17 months ago, prospects for peace with North Korea didn’t have a fighting chance. Bolton was a proponent of U.S. military action to prevent Iran and Iraq from obtaining weapons of mass destruction, and he made his position on North Korea clear in an August 2017 Wall Street Journal op-ed in which he outlined military options for North Korea, from cyberattacks to regime change through special operations forces.
To read more, click here.
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Ten Ways that the Climate Crisis and Militarism Are Intertwined
by Medea Benjamin
The environmental justice movement that is surging globally is intentionally intersectional, showing how global warming is connected to issues such as race, poverty, migration and public health. One area intimately linked to the climate crisis that gets little attention, however, is militarism.
To free up billions of Pentagon dollars for investing in critical environmental projects and to eliminate the environmental havoc of war, movements for a livable, peaceful planet need to put “ending war” at the top of the “must do” list.
To read more, click here.
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Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change
by Carlos Umaña
Life on Earth faces two existential threats: the climate crisis and nuclear weapons. Both threats are closely linked and mutually reinforcing. With the world in flames, the climate crisis is, even for its fiercest deniers, impossible to ignore. However, the vast majority of people do ignore how this situation worsens the risk of nuclear war and why nuclear disarmament is more important today than ever.
To read more, click here.
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U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
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U.S. Tests Four Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles
On September 4-6, the United States Navy test-fired four submarine-launched ballistic missiles off the coast of Southern California from the USS Nebraska. The military repeated a standard line about tests of missiles whose sole purpose is to deliver nuclear warheads anywhere on Earth within minutes: “Our nation’s sea-based deterrent has been a critical component of our national security since the 1960s, and this week’s launches continue to demonstrate the credibility and reliability of our life-extended missiles.”
“USS Nebraska Tests Four Trident II D5 Missiles,” U.S. Navy, September 6, 2019.
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Faulty $5 Part Leads to $850 Million in Cost Overruns
A faulty $5 electrical component used in two new U.S. nuclear weapon designs will cause a one-year delay and will cost taxpayers up to an additional $850 million.The W88 ALT 370 (a nuclear warhead on submarine-launched ballistic missiles) and the B61-12 (a nuclear gravity bomb) were both using the same commercial capacitors in an effort to help control costs. Prior to this most recent issue, the B61-12 already cost over twice its weight in gold.
During stress testing, some of the capacitors did not meet reliability requirements. Therefore, the National Nuclear Security Administration will have to do significant work in order to integrate a different part.
This is just the latest massive cost overrun in the United States’ 30-year, $1.7 trillion process to rebuild its nuclear arsenal and production infrastructure.
Joseph Trevithick, “U.S. to Spend Hundreds of Millions to Replace a $5 Part in Revamped Nuclear Weapons,” The Drive, September 26, 2019.
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Eleven Corporations to Work Together on New ICBM
The weapons company Northrup Grumman has announced partnerships with ten other corporations in its proposal to build a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the United States. The United States will use these ICBMs to continue its posture of threatening other nations with nuclear weapons for decades to come.
Companies in the United States and around the world make billions of dollars each year from the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems.
Aaron Mehta, “Northrop Teams with Lockheed on ICBM replacement. Here’s who else is involved,” Defense News, September 16, 2019.
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Plutonium Test Results Halt Plan for Road Outside Denver
A recent soil test showed levels of plutonium five times higher than the cleanup standard at a site that was slated to become a widely traveled road. The land is located in the buffer zone outside of Rocky Flats, where the United States manufactured plutonium pits for nuclear bombs from 1952 to 1989. The site was raided by the FBI in 1989 and shut down because of extreme mishandling of radioactive materials, including plutonium.
The City of Broomfield issued a statement saying that Jefferson Parkway “is not moving forward at this time.”
“Plutonium Test Results Stall Plan For Toll Road Near Rocky Flats,” Colorado Public Radio, September 3, 2019.
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Thirteen More Countries Sign and/or Ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
In September, thirteen more countries signed and/or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. On September 25, Ecuador ratified the treaty. On September 26, there was a ceremony at the United Nations in New York at which twelve additional countries formally increased their commitment to the treaty.
The following countries signed the treaty: Botswana, Dominica, Grenada, Lesotho, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Tanzania, and Zambia.
The following countries ratified the treaty: Bangladesh, Kiribati, and Laos.
The Maldives and Trinidad & Tobago signed and ratified the treaty at the September 26 ceremony.
There are now 79 signatories to the treaty, 32 of which have ratified. The treaty will enter into force 90 days after the 50th country ratifies it.
For a complete list of countries and their treaty status, click here.
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Pope Francis Will Visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki in November
Pope Francis will visit the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in late November as part of a visit to the region. Pope Francis has been a vocal supporter of the abolition of nuclear weapons, and he is expected to amplify this position when visiting the two atomic-bombed cities.
The Japanese government has thus far refused to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, preferring to keep itself under the perceived security of the U.S. nuclear umbrella. Pope Francis is expected to meet with Prime Minister Abe and Emperor Naruhito during his time in Japan.
“Pope Francis to visit Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki from Nov. 23 to 26,” Japan Times, September 13, 2019.
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Iraqi Children Test Positive for Depleted Uranium
Independent researchers have found that the bodies of Iraqi children born with congenital disabilities, such as heart disease and malformed limbs, near a former United States air base in southern Iraq are contaminated with high levels of radioactive heavy metals associated with toxic depleted uranium pollution left over from the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
Researchers tested the hair and teeth of children from villages in proximity to the Talil Air Base, a former U.S. air base, located south of Baghdad and near the city Nasiriyah. They found elevated levels of uranium and of thorium, two slightly radioactive heavy metals linked to cancer and used to make nuclear fuel.
Mike Ludwig, “Iraqi Kids Test Positive for Depleted Uranium Remnants Near Former U.S. Air Base,” Truthout, September 19, 2019.
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This Fall in Nuclear Threat History
History chronicles many instances when humans have been threatened by nuclear weapons. In this article, Jeffrey Mason outlines some of the threats that have taken place in the Fall, including a December 2008 interview in which U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney confirmed that the U.S. President has sole, unchecked authority to launch nuclear weapons at any time.
To read Mason’s full article, click here.
For more information on the history of the Nuclear Age, visit NAPF’s Nuclear Files website.
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How a U.S.-Russia Nuclear War Would Escalate
The Science & Global Security Program at Princeton University has produced a short animation to demonstrate a plausible escalating war between the United States and Russia using realistic nuclear force postures, targets and fatality estimates. It is estimated that there would be more than 90 million people dead and injured within the first few hours of the conflict.
This project is motivated by the need to highlight the potentially catastrophic consequences of current U.S. and Russian nuclear war plans. The risk of nuclear war has increased dramatically in the past two years as the United States and Russia have abandoned long-standing nuclear arms control treaties, started to develop new kinds of nuclear weapons, and expanded the circumstances in which they might use nuclear weapons.
To watch the simulation, click here.
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History of Nuclear Weapons Programs
Silvia De Michelis, a Ph.D. student at University of Bradford in the UK and an international trainee with the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, has published a series of reports on nations’ nuclear weapons programs.
De Michelis has produced full-length reports and summaries of nuclear weapons programs in North Korea, Iran, India and Pakistan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. To access the reports, click here.
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My Fish Is Your Fish
The Marshall Islands Student Association (MISA), based at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, has produced a film that tells the story of nuclear weapons testing on the people and places of the Marshall Islands with interviews of survivors. It showcases the work of MISA in educating young people, in particular, about the nuclear legacy in their country and across the Pacific region, primarily through the interconnectedness of the oceans.
To watch the 16-minute film, click here.
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Evening for Peace to Honor David Krieger
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s 36th Annual Evening for Peace will honor NAPF President and Co-Founder David Krieger. The event will take place on Sunday, October 20, in Santa Barbara, California.
Krieger has dedicated his life’s work to ending the nuclear age and has been a mentor, a respected colleague, and an inspiration to countless people across the globe. He will retire at the end of 2019 after leading the Foundation for nearly four decades.
This year’s award will be presented by Daniel Ellsberg, NAPF Distinguished Fellow.
For sponsorship information and tickets, click here.
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Peace Literacy: A Change of Paradigm
Meredith McGuinness, a kindergarten teacher at LaVérendrye School in Canada, has written an article for the publication Inform-Action: The Manitoba Review for Francophone Educators.
McGuinness writes, “Changing my own mode of thinking hasn’t been hard; neither was difficult explaining it to the children. My colleagues are astonished by the authentic welcoming spirit and kindness that are pervasive amongst primary school children. I am amazed by how quickly they learn. Would it be possible that all other subjects could be taught more successfully if we integrate Peace Literacy in our curriculum? I am looking forward to a change in this paradigm. Peace Literacy is an indispensable subject for the future and it starts from now.”
To read the full article, click here.
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Poetry Contest Winners Announced
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has announced the winners of its Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards. Winners and Honorable Mentions were selected in three age categories: adult, youth (13-18); and youth (12 and under).
To read the winning poems and learn more about the contest, click here.
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Chappell Receives Unity Walden Award
On August 2, 2019, Unity Worldwide, joined by an association of spiritual living centers, announced the recipients of the second year of its Walden Awards to honor “dynamic socially conscious leaders” who use “empowering spiritual ideas and philosophies” to change lives and make our planet a better place. NAPF Peace Literacy Director Paul K. Chappell has been honored in the category of social and environmental activism, for “exemplary contribution to the understanding, practice, and meaningful expression of spiritually guided social and environmental activism.”
For more information on the Walden Awards, click here.
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Solutions News Podcast
NAPF Deputy Director Rick Wayman was a guest on the World Business Academy’s podcast “Solutions News.” Wayman spoke with the hosts about work that NAPF is doing to address the root causes of violence, as well as immediate work to take the world back from the brink of nuclear war.
Click here to download this episode of “Solutions News.”
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“Anti-nuclear civil resistance is the right of every citizen of this planet. For the nuclear threat, attacking as it does every core concept of human rights, calls for urgent and universal action for its prevention.”
— Judge Christopher Weeramantry, former Vice-President of the International Court of Justice. This quote appears in the book Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action, which is available to purchase in the NAPF Peace Store.
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“We commend the States that have already signed and ratified the [Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons], and we urge all other states—including the nuclear-armed states—to do so as soon as possible, and to get on with the urgent task of eliminating nuclear weapons once and for all.”
— Statement adopted at the 17th Annual World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates.
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“The [Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons] offers an alternative to the irresponsibility and irrationality of world leaders with nuclear weapons. It outlaws nuclear weapons for everyone, for all time. This treaty is the future. It will enter into force. More countries are joining the treaty at a ceremony in this very building, at this very moment.”
— Mitchie Takeuchi, daughter of a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, delivering a statement at the United Nations on behalf of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
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David Krieger
Carol Warner
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