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- You already know that nuclear war is bad for you and the world’s health. Now we have new data that requires a fundamental rethinking of our nuclear weapons policy. Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) just released a report titled ‘Nuclear Famine: A billion people at risk.’ The authors explore a scenario based on a war between India and Pakistan where 100 Hiroshima sized bombs are exploded, causing the sun to be ‘blotted out.’ They estimate that one billion people, one sixth of the human race, could starve over the following decade. The study illustrates that smaller nuclear powers, not just the US and Russia, pose a threat to the entire planet.
- In another recent report issued by Global Zero, Gen. James E. Cartwright, the retired vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a former commander of all US nuclear forces, calls for large cuts in our nuclear arsenal, to 900 warheads, with only half of them deployed at any one time. The report concludes with, “an urgent and transformational change in U.S. nuclear force structure, strategy and posture is needed to squarely address the security threats facing the nation in the 21st century.”
- President Obama has pronounced a goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, but the specific steps and timetable remain aspirational. We need to make sure the findings of these reports have a direct impact on our nation’s policy. Together we can declare our commitment to a world without nuclear weapons and demand urgent action to preserve life on this precious planet.
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- Tell President Obama it is time for him to turn his stated goal into action. Ask him to see that these two recent reports, ‘Nuclear Famine: A billion people at risk,’ and ‘Modernizing U.S. Nuclear Strategy, Force Structure and Posture,’ guide our nation’s nuclear policy toward nuclear abolition . If you have time, please send a similar message to your Senators and Representative.
- President Barack Obama
- Web: www.whitehouse.gov/contact
- Tel: 202 456-1111 (9:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Fax: 202 456-2461
- Mail:
- President Barack Obama
- The White House
- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
- Washington, DC 20500
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Photo credit: Tim Barber, tim-barber.com
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